Chapter 97

The dragonfly's reproductive activities lasted for a day and a night. By the time the daylight of the next day arrived, the dragonflies were almost exhausted. Most of them were resting on the steps by the water, while only a few were still laying eggs.

Creatures always go crazy for reproduction.

The water was filled with a large number of dragonfly larvae, which were growing rapidly due to the abundant worm resources. However, Lin did not think they would get enough nutrients to grow up. There would definitely not be enough food, as there were too many dragonflies.

Leviathan now rested on the water's surface with its wings retracted. Lin wanted to see what would happen next. Since the reproductive activities were over, the dragonflies would soon leave. Lin believed that there would definitely be a next step. Whatever it was, watching it all would likely solve the mystery of this pit.

Soon, Lin noticed that some dragonflies began to fly out of the pit. However, before they could reach the pit's mouth, it seemed as if something was pulling them back. They struggled in the air but soon fell and landed on the steps of the pit wall.

What is that?

In the reflection of the light, Lin noticed a silver thread connected to the back of the dragonfly. Although very thin and hard to see, the pulling force seemed very strong.

Now, a large number of dragonflies began to fly out of the pit, but they were all controlled by these threads and could not escape.

Strange, when did these threads connect? They definitely didn't during reproduction, or they would have tangled up while flying. So, did they stick to them while they were resting after being exhausted?

There must be some creature... doing this while Lin wasn't paying attention.

Since Lin mostly stayed on the water's surface at the bottom of the pit, he couldn't see the higher steps. Lin remembered that there were many one to two-meter-wide caves on the higher steps. Perhaps other creatures were hiding inside.

A large number of dragonflies, pulled by the threads and exhausted, struggled for a while before falling from the air. Most landed on the steps, while some fell on the water.

Leviathan spread its wings on the water's surface, and after the wings inflated, it slowly flew up. Lin observed the dragonflies that had fallen and were still struggling. Something would definitely come to clean them up.

When Leviathan rose to a certain height, Lin saw a cave on one of the steps, and indeed, some creatures were crawling out.

These were small arthropods, each about five centimeters long, resembling a creature called 'bee' in the Twisted Jungle, but without wings.

Let's call them 'Black Bees.'

A large number of Black Bees crawled out of the cave, attacking the fallen dragonflies nearby. They tore them apart with sharp mandibles and dragged them back into the cave.

Lin noticed that these black-shelled Black Bees appeared on all the steps of the pit, doing the same work—tearing apart the dragonflies and dragging them back into the caves.

The Black Bees seemed not to notice the large Leviathan. Lin found that these creatures had no eyes and relied on their antennae to navigate.

Could these creatures be the ones responsible for sticking the threads to the dragonflies? Or...

Suddenly, Lin noticed a strange creature emerging from a cave. Its body was a fleshy ball over half a meter long, swollen and silvery, quite conspicuous.

This creature also had a large eyeball. When it saw Leviathan, it immediately emitted a strange sound.

Indeed... these creatures, like the Aztec Bugs, have clear division and cooperation.

The fleshy ball emitted a 'tapping' sound, and another type of creature emerged from the cave. They were fat, oval-shaped worms, carried by the Black Bees, with no ability to move on their own.

These fat worms opened their mouths and aimed at Leviathan in the air, then suddenly shot out a sticky thread, hitting Leviathan's shell.

Lin noticed that many more of these fat worms, carried by Black Bees, appeared in the cave. They all shot out threads at Leviathan, sticking to his shell, wings, and various parts. The Black Bees then pulled the fat worms back, trying to drag Leviathan down.

So, this is how it works. Now I understand this pit and what happened to the dragonflies.

Although I don't know if the creatures built this pit, they clearly live here. They are responsible for cleaning the sand and dust from the pit and using it to store water. It also attracts prey, allowing them to capture a large number of dragonflies at once.

The threads were likely stuck on during the night, as dragonflies have poor night vision.

The worm eggs in the water are probably related to them, used as 'bait.'

These creatures have been living here for a long time, but they clearly know how to use the environment to obtain food and water.

These creatures are truly remarkable... They clearly have intelligence beyond common creatures. Lin believed they were highly valuable for research.

Lin named them 'Inca Bugs.' For some particularly interesting creatures, Lin's mind would come up with equally interesting names.

However, Lin still had many questions about these 'Inca Bugs.' Why don't they go to the Twisted Jungle and instead live in this desert pit, living a life of feast and famine?

It's strange; they can't possibly not know about the Twisted Jungle. The Aztec Bugs are too far away, and they have their own spire forests, but heavy rains in the desert should be rare. Otherwise, the entire desert would have been covered by the jungle. This means that the Inca Bugs' food supply is entirely dependent on random rainfall?

Thinking about this, Lin suddenly felt a strong force pulling Leviathan to the right and down. Lin noticed that more and more Black Bees were joining the pulling. The fat worms were only responsible for the threads, and the Black Bees were doing most of the work.

The strength is really great, considering they are just a group of five-centimeter creatures...

The strength of arthropods lies in their hydraulic systems, but Lin recently discovered that their energy conversion efficiency is also very high. Generally, reptiles or salamanders can only use about 30% of their muscle strength. Overuse can lead to muscle damage due to insufficient repair and nutrient supply. However, arthropods have a 10% higher conversion efficiency, allowing them to use 90% of their muscle strength, making their strength far greater than their body weight.

However, Leviathan's weight is dozens of times that of a dragonfly, so it's not easy to pull him down.

Lin aimed the cannon at the dense group of Black Bees and fired a burst shell.

This new type of burst shell contains explosives. When it hits the target, the explosive system is activated, and it also contains compressed dissolving liquid.

'Boom!'

The high-temperature dissolving liquid spread with the explosion, creating a small shockwave. Countless Black Bees were scattered, and once they came into contact with the dissolving liquid, their armor instantly corroded and rotted.

The Black Bee force pulling Leviathan disintegrated in an instant. Leviathan took the opportunity to flap its wings and fly high into the sky. The threads were torn apart, with only a few broken threads still stuck to Leviathan.

The remaining Inca Bugs, carrying the silk-spitting fat worms, retreated into the caves on the steps, seemingly giving up on Leviathan. The other groups of bugs also stopped moving the dragonflies and ran into the caves.

A moment later, the entire pit was as quiet as when Lin first arrived, except for the struggling dragonflies.

Leviathan flew above the pit's mouth, looking down at the entire pit.

The spiral steps in the pit had a large number of caves, over a thousand in total. Lin speculated that these caves might hide the secrets of the Inca Bugs, perhaps even their nests.

I should go in and study them.

'Hum...' Lin suddenly heard a strange sound from below the pit.

Hum? This sound is...

Suddenly, a large number of small bugs flew out of the caves on the steps, rushing straight at Leviathan!

...

Thank you to ~godmorgan~ and ~han nai~ for the support! PS: It's so hot...

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