SWDnovel Chapter 3: Encounter with Ants and Spiders
Chapter 3: Encounter with Ants and Spiders
Above the emerald green leaf, a drop of morning dew adorns the scene, and within the glistening dewdrop, the body of an ant is reflected.
But the ant's head was particularly strange - a deep indentation was clearly visible in the center of its "face", like a deformed molding line, and the two compound eyes and mandibles on the left and right sides were of different sizes.
This is Ye Zhi, who for some unknown reason was reborn as a weaver ant and, unfortunately, was reincarnated as a chimera.
By this time, he had been living off the "aphid farm" belonging to this community for several days, producing honeydew from aphids during the day and hiding in the leeward side of the underside of the leaves at night.
The scent signals left by mature weaver ant colonies can repel most malicious predatory insects, and larger animals probably don't even bother with such a small amount of insects, so they live a very comfortable life.
This morning, Ye Zhi was preparing to freeload as usual, but he discovered that there seemed to be many figures moving around at the entrance of the Ye Nest where he used to be.
Upon closer inspection, he discovered that at the exit of the leaf nest, ants with bodies as green as leaves, plump figures, and membranous wings crawled out—these were winged female reproductive ants that had pupated in the same batch as Ye Zhi.
Interspersed among them are male ants with grayish-white bodies, well-developed compound eyes, almost degenerated mandibles, but exceptionally long antennae; all around are a large number of worker ants on guard.
It seems the day for the nuptial flight has finally arrived. These male and female reproductive ants have begun to leave the nest in large numbers, turning the leaf nest, which had been turning somewhat yellowish, green again.
So it seems that the weaver ants in his nest should be the Emerald Weaver Ants, which are the yellow weaver ants he knows well. Ye Zhi thought to himself, if this is still the Earth he knows, then he may not be too far from his old home in his previous life.
But soon, he shook his antennae, as if trying to shake these strange thoughts out of his mind—if he just stayed like this, he would just be eating and waiting to die. Even if he could go back, what could this body do?
As they pondered, facing the rising sun, the reproductive ants began to unfold their transparent membranous wings, allowing heat to be conducted to every corner of their bodies, beginning their final warm-up, preparing for the great harmony of life to follow.
Ye Zhi skillfully slurped up two mouthfuls of aphid honeydew, then shrank back behind a leaf, quietly watching the army of reproductive ants preparing to take off below, calculating in his mind how many of these reproductive ants would perish later.
As the sun gradually rises, some impatient male ants begin to climb to the highest points on various branches, spread their membranous wings, and take off with the air currents, their bodies carrying the deep-seated longing for the blue sky from their bee ancestors as they fly into the air.
Seemingly seeing that some pioneers had finally taken the first step, soon four or five more male ants took to the air, and two of the winged female ants below also flapped their wings and slowly rose into the air with their plump bodies.
Looking towards the sun, countless winged reproductive ants were flying in the air. It seemed that reproductive ants from other nearby nests had joined the battle. In the air, chasing and embracing had begun, and it was about to evolve into a grand aerial impart.
A male ant flew with all its might, its six limbs outstretched, and suddenly grabbed a female reproductive ant that was also flying rapidly ahead. It immediately and firmly grasped the other's back, as if it was finally about to fulfill its destiny.
But just as it was about to go further, an even larger black shadow suddenly appeared above it. Before it could see what was happening, its six segments formed a large net and rushed towards the pair of reproductive ants that were preparing to merge.
The next second, the female ant's large, nutrient-rich abdomen was bitten off by a huge mandible, along with the unfortunate male ant, which was cut in half at the waist. Warm tissue fluid spurted out, and only the female ant's forebody remained, spinning and falling due to the residual nerve reflexes.
Ye Zhi saw it clearly; it was a giant Biwei dragonfly. This kind of dragonfly, with wingspan nearly the width of a palm, could turn a male and female breeding ant into a pair of star-crossed lovers with a single strike.
Each large-scale nuptial flight is a feast for flying predators. More dragonflies flock to the scene, and even insectivorous birds from the forest have joined the feast.
Watching one pair of star-crossed lovers fall to the ground, Ye Zhi was once again glad that he hadn't chosen to leave the nest at this time—some daring flying predators had already begun to fly low over the Ye nest to catch the newly hatched breeding ants.
Ye Zhi shook his head and sighed, then shrank back even more tightly behind the leaf. But just then, he seemed to suddenly hear a faint sound of segmented limbs scraping against the bark behind him through the bristles on his antennae that sensed vibrations.
It seemed that few other worker ants usually came from that direction, and Ye Zhi felt something was wrong. He immediately turned around and saw another "leaf weaver ant" in his eyes, but he did not relax at all. Instead, his heart sank!
At first glance, it looks like an ordinary weaver ant worker, which is now extending its antennae and looking ahead with a pair of familiar big eyes, as if it wants to engage in social behavior with him.
But upon closer inspection, those weren't tentacles at all; they were clearly a pair of raised segments. Even those large eyes were just two black spots. Right in front of its head, two real eyes were reflecting a ghostly green light, revealing their ferocity.
Ant-spider—the name immediately came to Ye Zhi's mind. This was a terrifying mimicry hunter, blending into the ant colony with an appearance similar to that of an ant, waiting for the right moment to launch a fatal attack, sucking the unfortunate worker ants into empty shells.
Seemingly realizing that Ye Zhi had discovered it, the ant-spider stopped pretending, opened its pair of hook-shaped venomous fangs, and then leaped towards the spot where Ye Zhi was standing!
In the critical moment, Ye Zhi leaned forward, lowered his body, and instead of retreating, advanced, barely grazing the ant-spider's abdomen to avoid its deadly embrace.
Turning around, the ant-spider that had missed its attack also turned around. The four of them, two large and two small, had a fierce glint in their eyes. Ye Zhi could even see venom seeping from their sharp fangs.
Even worse, as his position changed, Ye Zhi was forced to the end of the branch, and his only escape route was blocked by the ant spider. He had no way to avoid it.
The spider's forelimbs, disguised as antennae, were raised high again, while its other six limbs lowered once more—a prelude to a pounce. This time, however, Ye Zhi had no room to dodge and could only face the sharp, hooked pincers head-on.
"It's over. There's nowhere to hide now." A sense of desolation flashed through Ye Zhi's mind. He never expected that his second life would end like this.
At this final moment, a resolute thought flashed through his mind: Damn it, I was once a human being, and even if I'm going to die, I can't die a pathetic death!