Li Ruhai laughed heartily and patted Zhou Qi on the shoulder, "This weekend, I'll send the location to your phone. Don't be late."
After the two agreed on a time, Li Ruhai added Zhou Qi to a group chat.
The group chat was named "Great Dragon Country Insect Exchange Conference."
Zhou Qi drove back to the breeding farm with two giant Saw Mantises.
After parking the car, Zhou Qi, dressed in his gear, entered the mountain with the Five-Tier Annam Centipede and a large number of One-Order Army Ants.
Along the way, Zhou Qi did not stop at all; the powerful Physique brought by the Cockroach Body was fully evident at this moment.
Below the mountainside of Second Base.
Zhou Qi stared dumbfounded at everything before him.
Streams of black torrents carried prey on their bodies, and patches of green vegetation were collected and transported towards the mountain cave, leaving the ground patchy and bald, revealing yellow soil.
Countless One-Order Army Ants completely covered the entire ground.
Zhou Qi's scalp tingled. If someone were to pass by and see this, it would be over.
Currently, the Five-Ranked Army Ant Queen was not yet capable of facing human weapons without being at a disadvantage.
He quickly gave instructions to the Five-Ranked Army Ant Queen to build an underground cave.
From now on, the One-Order Army Ants would enter and exit through the underground cave, and the vegetation around Second Base could not be randomly collected.
When vegetation needed to be collected, it had to be transported from a distance.
Zhou Qi opened the sealed cave entrance and walked inside.
He turned on his powerful flashlight.
However, he did not see the Five-Ranked Army Ant Queen inside.
Zhou Qi sensed with the light screen and, following its guidance, saw a half-person-sized pit on the left side of the cave entrance.
He shone the powerful flashlight inside.
Zhou Qi saw a staircase-like passage inside and understood.
This should be the new Dao opened by the Five-Ranked Army Ant Queen, and One-Order Army Ants were constantly entering and exiting on the steps.
Zhou Qi bent down and walked inside.
The cave was narrow and confined, and the small passage leading underground made Zhou Qi feel suppressed.
After walking several hundred meters, the passage gradually became wider.
Zhou Qi looked at both sides of the passage, where strands of a mixture containing mucus secreted by the Five-Ranked Army Ant Queen, mixed with what seemed to be soil, stones, and vegetation, provided excellent reinforcement to the surroundings.
This was the Five-Ranked Army Ant Queen's two-star talent: Advanced Nesting!
It could reinforce the surroundings to the level of reinforced concrete.
Zhou Qi walked for an unknown period, then opened his sports watch, seeing that it had recorded over 7000 meters. Because he was walking on a steep mountain-like path.
That meant he had descended at least 3 to 4000 meters underground.
"Huff, huff."
Zhou Qi gasped for air. The oxygen here was already quite thin.
Strangely, normally, for every kilometer deeper underground, the temperature rises by 25-30 degrees Celsius, but no such increase was felt in this underground passage.
Zhou Qi continued walking down, seeing that the path ahead no longer led underground but to a platform similar to a plaza.
"Is this a karst cave?" Zhou Qi looked at the scene before him, finding it incredible.
Stepping into the underground karst cave, coldness mixed with damp air rushed towards him.
Sharp stalactites hung from the cave ceiling, like menacing fangs.
Under the dim light of the powerful flashlight, the stalagmites varied in shape, resembling crouching beasts.
The depths of the karst cave were thick with darkness, carrying a sense of ancientness.
Zhou Qi looked at the cave ceiling, which was several meters high, and the powerful flashlight could not reach its end.
He faintly heard the sound of underground water flowing.
The karst cave was too vast for the flashlight to illuminate its end, and the surrounding darkness hid unknown monsters.
Zhou Qi walked forward, thoughtfully wondering if the caves within the mountain led to this place.
As he was thinking, he saw the Five-Ranked Army Ant Queen on one side of the karst cave wall, surrounded by groups of One-Order Army Ants.
Zhou Qi approached, took off his backpack, and pulled out the giant Saw Mantis inside.
"Ding, consuming 20 Evolution Points, the giant Saw Mantis has evolved into a One-Order Giant Saw Mantis. Congratulations, Host, you have gained Elementary Intimacy with the One-Order Giant Saw Mantis."
...
"Ding, consuming 320 Evolution Points, the giant Saw Mantis has evolved into a Five-Ranked Giant Saw Mantis. Congratulations, Host, you have gained Undying Loyalty from the Five-Ranked Giant Saw Mantis."
"Ding, congratulations, Host, you have successfully strengthened a Five-Ranked Giant Saw Mantis, promoting it to a First Order Apostle, gaining the talents: Steel Blade, High-Speed Movement, Mantis Instinct, Super Vision, Advanced Camouflage, and Solid Armor."
Zhou Qi looked at the remaining Evolution Points and decided to continue strengthening.
"Ding, consuming 640 Evolution Points, the giant Saw Mantis has evolved into a Six-Ranked Giant Saw Mantis, with a slight increase in all attributes."
...
"Ding, consuming 10400 Evolution Points, the giant Saw Mantis has evolved into a Ten-Tiered Giant Mantis, with a significant increase in all attributes."
"Ding, congratulations, Host, you have successfully strengthened a Ten-Tiered Giant Mantis, promoting it to a Second Order Apostle, gaining a new talent: Wild Energy."
To strengthen it to Ten-Tiered, Zhou Qi spent over 20,000 Evolution Points.
The evolved Mantis in front of him had its body length surge to just over half a meter.
Its entire body shimmered with a metallic luster, emitting a cold green light.
Its forearms were like giant guillotines, with sharp and slender serrations, and its leg segments were covered with sharp barbs.
Its triangular head was held high, and its compound eyes emitted a chilling gaze—truly worthy of being called the killing machine of the insect world.
Zhou Qi opened the Familiar panel.
Apostle: Ten-Tiered Mantis
Rank: Elementary Lifeform
Species: Giant Saw Mantis
Gene: Elementary Mantis Gene
Life Essence: Carbon-based organism
Talents:
Four-star Talent:
Wild Energy: (Powerful bio-energy converted into a tangible energy body, capable of emitting energy wave-like light waves from both arms, significantly enhancing cutting and destructive power.)
Three-star Talent:
Mantis Instinct: (Combat is like a bodily instinct; effortless execution can reach the limits of what other species achieve through training.)
Two-star Talent:
Super Vision: (Powerful compound eyes can scout in all directions, distinguishing subtle movements and directional changes of prey.)
Steel Blade: (Both arms' solidity is significantly enhanced, becoming as indestructible as steel.)
High-Speed Movement: (Short-distance movement speed is significantly increased.)
Advanced Camouflage: (Can blend its body into various environments, significantly enhancing concealment ability.)
One-star Talent:
Solid Armor: (Outer shell defense capability increased fivefold)
Life Strength: 8.5.
Zhou Qi looked at the introduction on the light screen and felt a sense of security at last.
Its Life Strength of 8.5 was second only to the Five-Ranked Army Ant Queen's 10 points.
Zhou Qi, following the same method, strengthened the other giant Saw Mantis to Ten-Tiered (hereinafter collectively referred to as Giant Mantis).
Looking at the Ten-Tiered Giant Mantises beside him, like his Protectors, Zhou Qi smiled with relief.
At this moment, the light from the powerful flashlight was dim.
Zhou Qi realized that he had been out for several hours, and the powerful flashlight was almost out of battery.
