Chapter 53
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Chapter 53: Mama!
『Mama…』
Hmm…
『Mama, wake up…』
Five more minutes…
『Mama…』
Who’s… calling for mama so early? And here of all places!
Lin Yu’s morning irritability peaked as she jerked her eyes open, glaring sharply.
Two glossy black ants – one big, one little – scuttled backward against the wall with clicking noises.
『Is Mama mad? Wuwu… 』
The sight immediately melted Lin Yu’s anger, shocking her fully awake.
…Mama?
What?!
Who are they calling mama? Me? It couldn’t be…
No way…!
Have yesterday’s eggs already hatched?
Hold on – they can talk? In Chinese? Without moving their mouthparts?
If they can communicate verbally… does that suggest independent consciousness?
Too much to process! Too abrupt!
Her eyes automatically darted sideways.
Then she spotted densely clustered juvenile ant colonies silently positioned behind and beside her.
Her scalp instantly tingled with discomfort.
It wasn’t really about them being ants—even if they were humans, anyone would get shivers waking up to find a crowd surrounding them, watching intently with unwavering eyes, right?
In fact, the night before sleeping, she had produced two more batches of eggs.
Together with the previous three batches, she now had a total of 410 eggs.
Among the swarm of juvenile ant colonies, broken eggshells were scattered about.
…
Apparently they had all hatched.
Two new varieties of juvenile ant colonies had emerged.
The first matched Juvenile Military Ants in size, with greenish-brown bodies that shifted to emerald green on their six legs.
The second type was more than ten times bigger than Juvenile Military Ants, even taller than the mature Military Ants standing guard nearby—these were jet-black juveniles.
The former were probably Acid Ants, while the latter had to be Iron Armored Ants.
“Mom?”
*Eek!*
Don’t interrupt while I’m thinking!
I haven’t decided how to deal with you yet! If you keep talking to me… I… I might just run away!
Even though they’re my children, they’re still unfamiliar ants. Casual conversation with strangers… is far too intimidating for an antisocial recluse like me!
“Did Mom get angry? Hic…”
I’m not angry, honestly…
Though their voices—both speaking and crying—are undeniably girlish and melodious.
“Sniff…”
They cry like small children, and the sobbing’s getting louder…
Wait, the smaller black ant seems to be the one weeping. The bigger one stays oddly silent.
Are these two the only ones capable of speech after hatching?
“Waaah…”
Fine, fine—first priority is soothing the crybaby.
But… what should I say?
Which tone? Playful? Gentle? Or—ugh, whatever!
“I’m not angry.”
Ugh… That sounded cold.
Damn! Back in school, my frosty tone and expressionless face got me labeled “Ice Queen.” Is history repeating?
Cold-faced *mother*? No way! I’m supposed to be a warm, nurturing mom!
“R-really? Mom isn’t angry?”
“Mm.”
Sorry—no matter how much I try to warm up, my voice turns icy around others.
“Yay!”
The Iron Armored Ant suddenly rattled toward me.
“D-don’t come closer!”
So frightening! Rushing at me unexpectedly—I’m not mentally ready to bond yet!
The Iron Armored Ant stopped obediently at Lin Yu’s command but cocked its head in puzzlement.
“Mom?”
“Sigh… Are you hungry?”
Time to change the subject.
“Starving! Big Sister is too!”
They *are* hungry… The eggshells remain untouched despite being scattered everywhere.
Did they endure hunger waiting for me to wake up?
“Everyone, eat now. Hmm… Consume your birthshells.”
This order addressed all hatched ants.
At once, the colony stirred. Each ant found its own shell and began devouring it eagerly.
Crunch, crunch, crunch…
…
Ah, they’re eating so enthusiastically…
Though I’m somewhat drawn to their eggshells, I feel a bit uncomfortable… After all, these two aren’t like the previous C Qualification Military Ants.
C Qualification Military Ants think more like creatures, but these two… Setting aside the quiet one, the crybaby could already be considered equal to a human child.
It’s difficult to act… Ah, “acting” refers to the eggshells! Not them! Though the sounds are tempting…
These are two large black ants bigger than me, not adorable girls at all.
Eh? That’s not the point?
Then what? Parent-child relationship issues? Forbidden affection?
Hmph! Family bonds aren’t that superficial! This maiden shall overcome any supposed taboo barriers!
Just joking… Actually taking action is impossible.
I’m simply shy, so what!
Back to work – I haven’t appraised them yet. Let’s begin.
First examine those green juvenile ants.
/(Acid Ant, appraisal results omitted)
Confirmed Acid Ant. Due to incomplete development, only Health Value Limit of 25 visible – other attributes remain 0.
Now the dark-colored juvenile Iron Armored Ants.
/(Iron Armored Ant, appraisal results omitted)
Iron Armored Ants with remarkable Health Value Limit! 60 points! Even exceeding mature Military Ants!
They’re truly powerful!
If C Qualification juveniles have such stats, then…
Lin Yu shifted her attention to the two talking Iron Armored Ants munching eggshells like the others.
First appraising the tearful Iron Armored Ant:
B Qualification. Huh? With her talkativeness, I expected A Qualification…
Health Value Limit…80 points. 20 higher than C Qualification juveniles.
Appraising the other one…
A Qualification confirmed! Health Value Limit…120 points? Double the C Qualification juvenile’s!
During appraisal, the A Qualification Iron Armored Ant suddenly came rattling over with eggshell in mandibles.
Wh-what’s she doing?!
Lin Yu backed away instinctively.
The A Qualification ant halted her advance, raising her ant head with eggshell still in mouth.
“Mommy eat?”
