vncnus Chapter 47: Waste Utilization
Chapter 47: Waste Utilization
"Ye Zhi, where is this? Why have we changed locations?"
The emotional fluctuations transmitted by "Chimera" even carried a rare panic, mixed with doubt and shock, giving off a feeling of "Where did I come from? Is this still in China?"
"The territory of the Cinnabar Ant King," Ye Zhi replied briefly, then immediately took out a piece of fruit peel that had been tossed aside and sent a telepathic message, "Look, can you eat this?"
Ye Zhi wasn't sure either. Although ordinary carnivorous plants hunt only to supplement inorganic substances such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and will eat anything, including dead branches and fallen leaves, the matter of this divinely bestowed seed absorbing the fruit of the divinely bestowed seed was another matter.
"It seems possible?" The tree spirit of the "Chimera" responded with an uncertain mental fluctuation. "Wait until I grow an insect trap, and then we'll see if it's really possible."
The "Chimera" grows very fast. Under the deliberate control of the tree spirit, before the main vine has grown to a height of one meter, the first insect trap has already swelled and extended at the end of the only broad leaf.
As soon as the insect trap was completed, "Chimera" couldn't wait to show signs of excitement. Ye Zhi slowly stepped forward, picked up a piece of fruit peel that she couldn't finish eating, and stuffed it directly into the insect trap.
Fine, white, root-like structures extend from the bottom of the trap, enveloping the fruit peels thrown in, attempting to absorb the nutrients and primal force of the divinely bestowed fruit.
"Yes, Ye Zhi, I can absorb this! Is there any more?" The moment the root structure enveloped the fruit peel, "Chimera" emitted an excited emotional fluctuation, happily sharing with Ye Zhi, with whom it had a soul connection.
"Little guy, how are you?" The Black Ant King, sensing the spiritual fluctuations emanating from the tree spirit but unable to understand what the tree spirit was saying, cast a questioning glint in his eyes.
"Citrus Ant King, my divinely bestowed seed can absorb nutrients from the fruit peel, but whether it can be transformed is still unknown."
Ye Zhi nodded in response with her tentacles, then continued to look at the somewhat strange "chimera" that had temporarily grown in front of her: "Feel it, do you get that feeling that some things can't be absorbed and have to grow out of their own accord?"
"Chimera" paused for a moment, seemingly sensing carefully, then said decisively, "Yes! It feels basically the same as last time!"
Beside him, the citron ant king, already somewhat curious, tossed half of the divinely bestowed citron fruit, after it had been cut open and the seeds removed, into the "Chimera's" insect trap. At this moment, it was completely covered by a dense, white, root-like structure.
Upon closer inspection, some tiny, longitudinally arranged buds have already sprouted below the swollen tendrils of the insect trap – it seems that the excess peel of the fruit of the God-given Seed can indeed be transformed into that kind of "nutrient body".
This is good news. Although the primal energy contained in the peel and pulp is not much, even a mosquito's leg is still meat. Now it can be transformed by "Chimera" into a primal energy nutrient form that can be stored for a long time, which is naturally good news.
"Ye Zhi, is there anything else to eat? I can't absorb much nutrition during the transformation process." A resentful mental fluctuation came from "Chimera".
"Yes, there are plenty. I'll get them for you right now." Ye Zhi quickly looked at the corpse behind her and the strips of flesh she had cut off earlier that she hadn't finished eating. She flapped her wings, took off, grabbed a strip, and threw it into the "Chimera's" insect trap.
The tree spirit responded with a joyful and satisfied thought. Its white root-like structure wrapped around the fresh flesh and began to replenish nutrients. Soon after, the main vine and other leaves, whose growth seemed to have stagnated, began to grow again.
"There's no frame here. Extend your main vine this way, but don't make it too long. Just make some insect traps. After we've dealt with these, you'll have to transform back into a seed form. I'll put you back into your life sac for repeated strengthening."
Ye Zhi gestured, guiding the main vine of the "Chimera" towards the direction of the divinely bestowed seed of the citron tree. Then, she randomly returned, extracted two extremely fine ant threads, and infused them with primal energy to turn them into sharp "flying blades," which she then used to cut the corpse.
Pieces of flesh were sliced off, and he felt that he could try to control three ant-silk flying blades at the same time to hone his fine control skills.
After cutting off a considerable amount of flesh, Ye Zhi once again threw it into the "Chimera's" insect trap for it to absorb and replenish nutrients, preparing for the subsequent transformation of more uneaten fruit peels and pulp into Force nutrients.
The main vine of the "Chimera" spreads rapidly under the continuous feeding of the leaves, with broad leaves unfolding and the insect traps hanging at the ends swelling and taking shape, emitting a hazy red primal energy light.
At Ye Zhi's instruction, the "Chimera" temporarily stopped growing after producing ten enormous insect traps, and began to store energy in the Force's nutrient volume.
Lacking any structures to cling to, all ten insect traps dangled low to the ground, opening outwards, which also made it convenient to replenish nutrients. A nearby citron swayed its antennae, and a line of slender worker ants, upon receiving the command, cut pieces of flesh and orderly placed them into the insect traps.
Meanwhile, five more divine fruits were cut in half, and the most essential seed portion was extracted. Worker ants carried half of each fruit to each insect trap, where they quietly awaited the digestion of the chimera.
As the white, root-like structures wrapped around the fruit pulp and peels placed inside, tiny buds containing condensed nutrient bodies began to sprout beneath the "Chimera" vines.
Previously, the conversion of flesh and blood into primordial nutrients took about a day. It is unknown how long it will take to convert these perishable fruit peels and flesh.
Ye Zhi wasn't in a hurry; he was just temporarily halting his growth and evolution for a day or two, since he was only going to get a few bites of the Force Fruit these two days anyway.
In contrast, the strength of "Chimera," the only life seed for now, determines his future. The stronger his transformation ability, the more resources he will have for future growth and evolution, so he is naturally more worthy of attention.
......
As night fell, in order to make it easier to check on the "Chimera" the next day, Ye Zhi did not return to her tree nest, but instead returned to the "Spider Cave" where she used to live, for the first time, to rest for the night.
In the now somewhat cramped cave, Ye Zhi pondered the future development of herself and "Chimera," and then used the mental connection brought by that "space" power to control the worker ants in the tree nest to inspect the eggs and larvae, before falling into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, Ye Zhi left the nest, flapped her wings and took flight, heading towards the location where the "Chimera" had temporarily taken root, to check on the condition of her divinely bestowed seed.
Upon seeing Ye Zhi arrive, with whom she shared a soul connection, the tree spirit sent a joyful thought, which Ye Zhi reciprocated with the same thought. They then landed behind a large insect trap and looked down at the vines beneath it.
As expected, rice-grain-sized pale golden nutrient bodies had already appeared under the vines, which pleased Ye Zhi – they could indeed absorb the excess fruit peels and pulp.