Chapter 2015 - 2008: A Few Odds and Ends
Zhang Menglong squatted down, and saw that the egg had a crack just like a broken eggshell, the whole egg started to shake violently as if the little creature inside was struggling.
A few minutes later, the egg finally broke open a tiny hole, and a small golden head poked out, its curious eyes surveying this unfamiliar world. Then, a pair of dark purple eyes landed on Zhang Menglong, as if pondering why its father looked so completely different from itself?
It’s almost a universal instinct among oviparous animals to regard the first thing they see as their parents, especially since Zhang Menglong had implanted a Soul Seal on this Blood Demon Ant, which made it have no resistance or rejection towards him, instinctively treating him as its closest person.
Soon enough, the little Blood Demon Ant’s entire body emerged from the egg, a pair of tiny wings spread open behind it, fluttering as it perched itself on top of Zhang Menglong’s head.
"Well, there’s a cute little attachment!" This adorable Blood Demon Ant had none of the ferocity or terror of other Blood Demon Ants, it even resembled a small pet, making it hard not to like.
Zhang Menglong took out a bottle of royal ant jelly, poured a little into his palm, and then brought it to the little Blood Demon Ant’s mouth. It cautiously sniffed it with its nose and then started licking it; Zhang Menglong didn’t expect that a tongue would emerge from what looked like sharp mandibles!
"Born as an Ultimate Lifeform, this potential is truly terrifying!" Until now, Zhang Menglong had never seen anything with such a Life Level at birth, even the royal-level Blood Demon Ants, hatched from eggs by the Blood Demon Ant Mother Nest, were merely Super Life Forms, requiring a long time to truly grow to royal level.
"Here, try this as well," Zhang Menglong took out a bottle of Earth Emperor’s Milk, the little fellow accepted it eagerly; who knows how much that little stomach can hold.
"Let’s give you a name!" Zhang Menglong patted the little fellow’s head, which affectionately nuzzled his palm, like a small kitten, "Since you’re all golden, let’s call you Jin Kela, sounds quite regal!"
The little Blood Demon Ant, through the soul connection it had with Zhang Menglong, understood his words. Even though the name sounded strange, it etched "Jin Kela" deeply into its memory.
"Someone’s coming!" Zhang Menglong sensed multiple presences approaching, one of them unmistakably Lumos.
Jin Kela, like a startled kitten, quickly burrowed into Zhang Menglong’s clothes, and he could even feel its body trembling slightly.
"Scaredy cat," Zhang Menglong rolled his eyes, one has to wonder whether this creature can truly become a king among the Insect Clan; it doesn’t seem that way at all!
"Brother Zhang!" Lumos spotted Zhang Menglong in the pit, "How are you? Are you hurt?"
"Do I look hurt to you?" Zhang Menglong chuckled, "Why haven’t you left yet?"
"I’m worried about you," Lumos replied, "You saved my life, I couldn’t just leave you here and go back."
He glanced around, "But who would’ve thought, this damned place would be flattened, I wonder what exactly happened."
Saying this, he couldn’t help but sneak glances at Zhang Menglong; the answer seemed obvious to him, who else could have done something like this?
"You already know the answer, why ask me?" Zhang Menglong didn’t bother to lie or find excuses, "This Demon Ant Nest was indeed bombed by me, all the Blood Demon Ants, including the Mother Nest, have been cleared by me."
"Hiss!" Even though everyone was mentally prepared, they couldn’t help but gasp.
"Your Life Level is actually already..." Lumos realized that Zhang Menglong’s Life Level had experienced a significant leap since the first time they met!
How long has it been? Not even a whole day yet!
However, when he recalled Zhang Menglong’s seemingly bottomless body, it somehow made sense. Killing so many Blood Demon Ants must have produced vast amounts of royal ant jelly, elevating Zhang Menglong to this level seemed reasonable!
"Wait... You all aren’t here to cause me trouble, are you?" Zhang Menglong suddenly asked.
"Hahaha, Brother Zhang, you are joking. Not to mention the fact that you saved my life, even if we wanted to cause you trouble, we’d first have to assess whether we have the capability. Even if our entire survival base mobilized, we wouldn’t have been able to handle the Demon Ant Nest. You leveled the entire mountain by yourself, no way am I that foolish!"
"So you guys..."
"We came to see who did it, and to check if Brother Zhang is safe. Seeing you like this, I’m relieved."
Zhang Menglong found this Lumos quite likable, at least he seemed to be a person who knows gratitude. Moreover, he didn’t feel any dangerous aura from these people.
"Brother Zhang, are you on your own? If you don’t have any survival base, why not join us?" Lumos sincerely admired Zhang Menglong’s strength and offered him an olive branch right away.
"I already have a survival base," Zhang Menglong smiled, "There’s a place called Yan Huang City. If you’re interested, you can visit; it was built by a friend and me, and the conditions are quite decent."
"What a pity," Lumos shook his head; if they could recruit Zhang Menglong, it would be great news for their survival base’s development, "Brother Zhang, are you planning to return now?"
"No, I plan to make a trip to the Great City of Aiville first," Zhang Menglong said, "I accepted a damn mission to steal the Mother Flower of the Ice Demon Flower from the Ice Demon Race, so I need to prepare well."
"The Ice Demon Race!"
Lumos and his companions exchanged glances; this mission wasn’t just about being damned, it was a suicide mission! While he knew Zhang Menglong was strong, he never thought he could pull off a heist from the Ice Demon Race.
The importance of the Ice Demon Flower to the Ice Demon Race is something anyone with a slight understanding of them would know, it is even more crucial than their entire species!
"Are you really going to do this mission?"
"What else?" Zhang Menglong rolled his eyes, "Save up some money and see what’s available in the Great City of Aiville; maybe I can find something useful."
"Brother Zhang, this is a small token of our appreciation," At that moment, a person named Bai Dao stepped forward, "Our survival base remembers acts of gratitude. You saved Lumos, and now that you need help, while we can’t assist much, we hope these items can help you!"
Bai Dao had five Supreme Crystals in hand, likely all they could gather from this group; Supreme Coins can’t be gifted, but Supreme Crystals can.
"This..." Zhang Menglong hadn’t expected Bai Dao to be willing to offer him such precious items.
"Bai Dao, you..." Lumos started to say something but was interrupted.
"Lumos, this is everyone’s small token of gratitude."
"What I wanted to say wasn’t this, I wasn’t planning to stop you," Lumos said speechlessly, "With our tiny contributions, it’s embarrassing in front of Brother Zhang!"