Chapter 87
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Chapter 87: If I Really Want to Mischief… I’ll Enlarge Myself!
Earth Digging Ants proved exceptionally skilled at excavation. Through comparison, Lin Yu discovered they dug several times faster than Worker Ants.
However, unlike Workers who secrete soil-binding mucus while digging, Earth Diggers required trailing Worker Ants to stabilize tunnels.
Even with this limitation, they significantly accelerated the ant network’s construction.
Lin Yu also tested the "Quickly Excavate Soil" skill. When activated, digging speed tripled instantly, making earth parting effortless.
This skill held combat applications too – enabling surprise attacks or swift retreats. Both scenarios allowed bringing other ant species along, exponentially expanding tactical options.
The 10 Stealth Ants reached full maturity by afternoon.
Their names had been predetermined upon hatching: first emerged as Stealth One, second as Stealth Two, etc.
Lin Yu summoned Stealth One to her chamber.
"Mom."
The ant spoke only this before falling silent, head slightly bowed.
This quiet demeanor reminded Lin Yu of herself. Feeling a kinship, she relaxed slightly while appraising Stealth One:
——
Name: Stealth One
Species: Stealth Ant
Qualification: B
Class: None
Level: LV.1
Health Value: 100/100
Magic Value: 35/35
Skills: "Bite", "Stealth"
Attributes: Strength 3
Agility 3
Intelligence 1
Physical Resistance Ability 1
Elemental Magic Resistance Ability 0
Abnormal State Resistance Ability 0
——
The level 1 strength and agility are exceptionally high! They possess the highest initial strength and agility among all ant species.
As for the newly emerged skills.
"Stealth": Upon activation, this skill blurs the user’s presence, granting the effects of "Silent" and "Odorless," while slightly increasing movement speed.
"Silent": Produces no sound during movement.
"Odorless": Emits no detectable scent.
Lin Yu had Stealth One demonstrate the skill.
Though no visible changes occurred initially, Stealth One’s movements, jumps, and even forceful stomps on the floor produced absolutely no sound.
Regarding scent detection…
Lin Yu hesitated for a long moment before finally approaching Stealth One.
Sniff… Sniff…
No distinctive odor could be detected.
She then dipped her white forelimb into raw meat, staining it with blood.
Lin Yu smeared the blood onto Stealth One’s gray forelimb.
When their limbs made contact, Lin Yu noticed Stealth One’s entire body tremble.
Ah! Because Stealth One never spoke, she’d been treating her like an ordinary ant…
But this creature possessed independent intelligence.
Was this equivalent to smearing blood on someone’s hand? Perhaps it was somewhat impolite?
"Mother…"
Stealth One suddenly raised her head, eyes gleaming with unreadable emotion.
Not malicious, but still unsettling…
Wh-what are you doing?!
Lin Yu instinctively retreated. The room stood empty – Little Tear had scampered off to play after delivering Stealth One earlier.
The Stealth Ant daughter stood about the same size as the Military Ant daughter… both considerably larger than Lin Yu herself.
Though unlikely, if Stealth One truly meant harm…
I’ll just enlarge myself!
I possess the "Magnification" skill too! Then we’ll see who’s bigger!
Therefore—
"What are you planning?"
"Nothing."
Perhaps having regained composure, Stealth One lowered her head again, lapsing into silence.
After prolonged observation confirmed no further reactions, Lin Yu cautiously sniffed the blood-smeared forelimb.
Truly odorless.
Yet the moment Lin Yu averted her gaze from Stealth One, all mental awareness of the ant vanished abruptly, leaving momentary blankness in her mind.
Only when visual contact resumed did normal cognition return.
Lin Yu finally understood – "blurring presence" meant drastically reducing perceptibility.
If applied in combat, this momentary mental void could become an enemy’s fatal weakness!
Moreover, the skill held another crucial advantage.
Through monitoring Stealth One’s status panel, Lin Yu discovered this skill! Consumes no Magic Value! Or more precisely, drains Magic Value imperceptibly slowly?
Perhaps permanent skill activation testing should be implemented.
After dismissing Stealth One, Lin Yu shifted her focus to an Acid Ant in Red Pupil’s squad, continuing covert surveillance of her daughters’ activities.
She noted that except for Red Pupil, none of the others detected her hidden observation.
…
…
A white leopard exploded from nearby foliage, charging through mist toward a glossy black ant.
Army Lady pivoted fluidly at the rustling sound, evading Swift Leopard’s pounce while vaulting onto its back. Her mandibles clamped down viciously with the "Bite" skill.
The thrashing feline tried dislodging its attacker, but Army Lady’s jaws remained anchored in flesh while six barbed legs tore deeper into muscle tissue.
When Swift Leopard’s Health Value dwindled and its struggles weakened, Army Lady adjusted her grip and crunched through spinal bone with an audible snap.
The leopard collapsed with a dying wail. Army Lady drank deeply from the gushing wound before delivering the final neck-snapping bite.
As Swift Leopard’s Health Value zeroed out, golden light enveloped Army Lady – she’d leveled up again.
Lvzi looked at her with some admiration.
Many monsters had jumped out to ambush them along the way. Sometimes these monsters targeted Red Pupil and the other older sisters, but other times they aimed for newcomers like them.
Facing these ambushes, most of the new ants, including herself, had been injured at least once. Yet Army Lady remained completely unharmed. Even when the enemy’s level wasn’t too far below hers, she always managed to defeat them in the end.
She seemed like an ant born for battle—skilled in combat and reveling in it.
Red Pupil, who had been silently observing the fight, turned her gaze toward an Acid Ant riding on the back of an Iron Armored Ant behind her.
Lin Yu realized she’d been seen through again and connected mentally with Red Pupil.
*What’s wrong?*
*Army Lady is… unusual. She’s leveling up faster than Lvzi and the others.*
*What are their current levels?*
Since Lin Yu wasn’t physically present, she couldn’t check Army Lady’s Status Panel directly.
Red Pupil, using her *Identification* skill, relayed the results:
Iron One and Iron Two were at Class D LV.4. Acid One and Acid Two were at Class D LV.3. Lvzi was at Class D LV.6. Army Lady, however, had reached Class D LV.13.
*The gap is huge…*
*Is Red Pupil favoring her by letting her kill more monsters?*
*Lvzi and Army Lady have slain roughly the same number and level of monsters. Though Army Lady consumed more raw meat during the journey, the level difference remains excessive.*
As if reading Lin Yu’s thoughts, Red Pupil added:
*Why such a drastic disparity?*
*Likely due to the skill ‘Ability to Fight.’*
So Red Pupil shared the same suspicion.
*Is this skill unique? Or do all talent-type skills boost Experience Value gains… No—perhaps using the skill itself grants Experience Value?*
*Experience Value acquisition…*
*I always assumed it only came from killing enemies or eating raw meat… Could there be other methods?*
*Information remains scarce.*
*To gather intel, we’d need to find humans or other intelligent beings…*
…
Over twenty days passed after Lin Yu’s contemplation about information.
The Weak Ants exploring eastward finally encountered a human—a young girl!
