Summer days were always long; by 7 PM, the sky would only be faintly dark.
After Zhou Qi and Zhou Haidong finished their shift, fearing someone might enter during the night unnoticed, Zhou Qi locked the main gate from the inside.
He stealthily went into a breeding room and, seeing the 10 Five-Tier Ants already on the ground guarding, immediately issued a command to them.
"Go catch me some cockroaches."
The 10 Five-Tier Ants, leading their respective subordinates, scurried towards the dark and damp areas.
Not long after, Zhou Qi saw the ant colonies gather in twos and threes, each carrying a battered cockroach, whose constant twitching limbs were the only sign it was still alive.
Zhou Qi also found cockroaches quite disgusting and couldn't face them in the same way he did ants.
He merely pointed his fingertip at a cockroach, attempting to strengthen it, and unexpectedly, it succeeded.
"Ding, consumed 1 Evolution Point. Cockroach evolved into a First-Tier Cockroach. Strengthening complete. Congratulations, Host, you have gained Elementary intimacy with the First-Tier Cockroach."
"Even a First-Tier requires so many Evolution Points."
Zhou Qi watched as the cockroach's originally battered body recovered with the completion of the strengthening.
Cockroaches in Zhongyuan Province typically range from 10 to 15mm in size; this particular cockroach was already nearly 15mm before strengthening, and after evolving into a First-Tier Cockroach, its size increased to about 18mm.
Continue strengthening!
Zhou Qi glanced at his remaining Evolution Points, which totaled 35.5; the 10 Five-Tier Ants, leading their ant colony, had a fruitful sweep for nearly an entire afternoon.
"Ding, consumed 2 Evolution Points... Congratulations, Host, you have gained Advanced intimacy with the Second-Tier Cockroach."
"Ding, consumed 4 Evolution Points... Congratulations, Host, you have gained Elementary loyalty with the Third-Tier Cockroach."
"Ding, consumed 8 Evolution Points... Congratulations, Host, you have gained Advanced loyalty with the Fourth-Tier Cockroach."
"Ding, consumed 16 Evolution Points... Congratulations, Host, you have gained undying loyalty from the Fifth-Tier Cockroach."
"Ding, congratulations, Host, you have successfully strengthened a Fifth-Tier Cockroach, promoting it to a First-Tier Apostle, and gaining the talents: Cockroach Body, Elementary Defense Enhancement, and Cockroach Conscription."
After evolving to Fifth-Tier, the cockroach's size rapidly expanded, becoming as large as an adult man's fist, and its black-red carapace resembled an ancient general's armor.
Each of its limbs was covered in visible barbs.
"Good heavens, even a typical rat isn't that big!" Zhou Qi was very surprised to see the greatly changed Fifth-Tier Cockroach.
This was the true purpose of the Evolution Space.
Amidst his Feelings, Zhou Qi opened the light screen to view the cockroach's talents.
"Cockroach Body: Physique enhanced tenfold (recovery and stamina based on original foundation)."
"Elementary Defense Enhancement: Cuticle defense enhanced fivefold."
"Cockroach Conscription: Can summon 10 cockroaches."
Zhou Qi immediately commanded this Fifth-Tier Cockroach to recruit subordinates to join the Five-Tier Ants in harvesting Evolution Points.
"During the day, this Fifth-Tier Cockroach still needs to hide, otherwise, it would be disastrous if Mom and Dad found it," Zhou Qi thought.
The sky gradually darkened, under the cover of night.
The pig farm's night was filled with the strong smell of feed and livestock. The dim yellow light swayed in the humid air, casting flickering spots of light.
A cockroach poked its head out from a crack in the corner of the wall, its antennae trembling. After confirming it was safe, it scurried out.
At the same time, a group of ants also emerged from under a feed bag. Though they were natural enemies, they had inexplicably reached a consensus.
A small flying insect, attracted by the light, circled in the low air. The cockroach instantly sprang out, using its hind legs to leap high, biting onto the fly's wing.
The fly struggled desperately, its buzzing breaking the silence. At this moment, the ants swarmed like a tide, climbing up the cockroach's leg onto the fly's body, their sharp mandibles fiercely piercing the fly's soft abdomen.
The fly's struggles grew weaker and weaker, and soon it became motionless.
In a corner, a woodlouse was slowly crawling. The cockroach approached silently, probing with its antennae.
The woodlouse sensed danger and tried to curl into a ball, but the ants were one step ahead. Several ants bit onto the woodlouse's legs, preventing it from curling, while the cockroach seized the opportunity to attack the woodlouse's head.
Under their combined attack, the woodlouse also became a casualty of this slaughter.
In this pig farm shrouded in night, the combination of cockroaches and ants became a nightmare for small insects, and similar scenes constantly occurred in the breeding farm.
——————
1 AM
Zhou Qi, alone with a flashlight, inspected the breeding rooms one by one.
By now, the night was deep, and the pig farm was silent. In the pigsties, dim yellow light spilled down. Large fat pigs lay sprawled, limbs extended, their snores rising and falling.
The piglets huddled tightly together, like fluffy balls, occasionally turning over or grunting a few times. The old sow lay on her side in a corner, piglets nestled beside her, sleeping soundly under the gentle caress of the moonlight.
And on the support pillars next to the pigsty, a funnel-shaped fly trap was hung, similar to a fish trap used for fishing; once flies entered, they couldn't get out.
At this moment, inside these fly traps, some flies were constantly crashing into the cage walls, falling repeatedly yet quickly flying up again; others were colliding and crisscrossing in the confined space of the cage, chaotic and disordered.
They swarmed around the bait, ignoring even being stuck, frantically vying for it, the cage filled with a frantic and desperate atmosphere.
Zhou Qi felt his scalp tingle and had no intention of acting personally, so he issued a command to summon all his subordinates.
In a short while, teams of ants marched like soldiers, while individual cockroaches transformed into tanks and armored personnel carriers, resembling a military parade.
Seeing this, Zhou Qi's heart couldn't help but warm; this, all of it, was his foundation!
Thinking this, Zhou Qi took down the fly trap from above and made an entrance.
Teams of ants, led by the Five-Tier Ants, began to swarm in. In this confined and sealed space, the flies' wings largely lost their air-to-ground advantage.
Cockroaches squeezed through the gaps at the bottom of the cage, targeting the struggling flies that had lost their ability to fly at the bottom of the cage. Simultaneously, a swarm of ants also poured in through the cage wall gaps.
One fly desperately flapped its damaged wings, trying to escape. A cockroach darted up and bit its abdomen.
The fly twisted and shrieked. The ants quickly arrived, some biting its legs to hold it down, others attacking its head and wings. The fly soon became motionless.
In a corner, a large fly put up a desperate resistance. A cockroach ambushed it from behind, embracing and tearing at it. The ants swarmed over, densely covering the fly's entire body.
The fly struggled vigorously, but it could not overcome their coordinated efforts and was eventually subdued.
Inside the fly trap, the slaughter by the ants and cockroaches continued, with the flightless flies completely helpless...