Chapter 20: Getting Started

The marching ants had loosened a lot of the surrounding walls, and with a little effort, Link knocked down the pieces of earth and stones and walked straight in.

"Help me pry open the case of the recorder."

Link put the recorder on the ground, and then a group of silver worker ants rushed up and instantly surrounded the recorder.

Link squatted beside him and watched closely, for fear that one of these worker ants would accidentally damage something hidden in the recorder.

"Hey, be careful lads."

Link supported his head and stared with wide eyes.

The worker ants started gnawing without coming up, but surrounded the recording pens, like a construction foreman surveying a construction site, and turned around several times before determining the construction direction.

The worker ants stretched out their jaws like pliers, and then kept rubbing on the tape recorder, buckling down the metal shards bit by bit.

After the first team was dismantled, they formed a neat queue and walked towards the ant nest with metal fragments in their mouths.

Then the second team in the back immediately made up...

Link saw with naked eyes that a white trace appeared around the recorder from light to dark.

There is a degree of command, and orders are prohibited.

Although Link has long known that the marching ants have always carried out their thoughts and firm will, he watched hundreds of worker ants complete their tasks in an orderly manner.

The shock is far stronger than seeing some kind of prehistoric beast.

Soon the metal around the recorder was bitten by the worker ants, and the worker ants returned to the ant nest neatly.

Link opened the recorder with ease, and found another one under the circuit board...

Why say it again?

Because the circuit board was opened, a black metal rod lay quietly inside the semi-circular recorder shell.

"What is this?"

Link took the black metal rod in his hand and looked carefully.

This metal rod is about ten centimeters long and is black throughout.

Link soon discovered the first distinctive point. The blackness of this metal rod is very deep, and in professional terms, the reflectivity is extremely low.

Secondly, the outline of the black metal rod is a regular hexagon, and the lines are tough and slightly thinner than pencils.

If there was a curved handle on the top, it would be a complete hexagonal screwdriver.

Link subconsciously pinched the black metal rod, and then pushed it out with his thumb to test the hardness of the metal rod.

In the end, the thumbs were all stretched to the red, and the metal rod did not move at all and did not bend at all.

Link is also an old player who has played for six years. Re-examining this metal rod with the eyes of someone who has come before does not seem to be something that can be made by nuclear technology such as Saturn.

As for the description of the system.

[Black Metal Rod: Hmm... kind of mysterious]

Also quite perfunctory.

I? Don't know this thing is mysterious?

Link was speechless, so he had to install the black metal rod first.

"You bring the body outside and bury it!"

Link took the hidden main quest from the prince, and also inherited the name of Mandala, so it was not easy to let his body continue to lie in the secret passage.

This ant nest was where the prince Xinshan stayed in the past. After more than 40 years, let these army ants be buried in person to repay the 'nurture' of the year.

The industrious worker ants received the order and, without saying a word, lined up, slipped out of the hole with uniform steps, walked all the way to the skeleton, and even put their clothes on racks and brought them back from the outside.

Ah Fu slowed down for a while and finally woke up a bit. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a gorgeously dressed skeleton 'drifting' on the ground. The whites of his eyes rolled over and he fainted again.

The worker ants moved the skeleton to the designated location, and then began to scrape the walls and the ground.

The prince's bones were visibly covered by earth, and finally formed a compacted small earthen bag.

Link looked at the ant nest, and then at the royal ring on his ring finger.

If the ant nest had not been discovered before, and the A-level commission had not been received, Wind Howl Castle was a transit station for Link to rest before entering Sandu.

But now he has to think about it...

Now that he has taken the A-level mission, some major forces in Sandu have naturally become Link's enemies.

There are many forces in Shadu, and the situation is complicated and turbulent.

At that time, when Link takes a shot, he pulls a hair and moves his whole body, and Shadu will be in chaos.

This requires him to have a base that can be attacked and defended.

Although Whistling Castle is dilapidated, it has three layers of secret passages. Link is also very familiar with the environment here. The most important thing is that there are secret passages that allow him to travel to and from the desert without knowing it.

Weeping Valley, sandwiched between the Mechanic Sect and Sandu, can be said to be an independent land.

It is still half a year before the player officially enters the game. The main quest of the planet [Mandala's Revenge] makes it clear that it is to fight against the major forces, and Link must pull up one of his own forces. After players enter the game, they use their NPC identity to contact some players, and issue tasks to guide players to do things for themselves.

"Okay, then set the base at Wind Howl Castle!"

He became famous here in his previous life, and now he has obtained the main quest here, which can be regarded as a treasure for Link.

Just as Link was thinking, Ah Fu staggered and ran in from outside.

"Boss is bad, I saw a moving skeleton just now!"

Link looked up at Ah Fu, and said lightly, "I didn't see any skeletons? Did you get stuck for too long just now, and you haven't fully woken up and have hallucinations?"

Ah Fu glanced at the secret room and saw no skeletons.

Can't help scratching his head: "Am I really dazzled?"

"Okay, it's been a busy night, now take a good rest."

The two escaped from the Gale Desert and the barren Gobi all the way here, only to curl up under the Gobi boulder for the night.

In Whistling Castle, Link dealt with five Mechanicum fanatics, and after that, he discovered so many secrets one after another, and his spirit has been in a state of high excitement. Ah Fu glanced at the tree-like ant nest and the dense silver marching ants, his skin got goosebumps, and finally he ran to the secret passage outside the wall and lay down. After a while, there was a rhythmic snoring.

"All the army ants obeyed the order, and now immediately explore the Whistling Castle, spread out the team, and dig out all the secrets!"

After Link's order, the worker ants, soldier ants, and flying ants all dispatched and scattered around the castle.

Since he was going to use Whistling Castle as his base, Link had to have a clearer understanding of Whistling Castle.

A few hours ago, Link dared to pat his shoulders and say that he knew all about Wind Howl Castle, but now he had to send the army ant army to explore the Wind Howl Castle completely, making sure not to miss anything.

And the only ones who can do this are the 'pervasive' army ants.

The army ants were scattered everywhere, and Link saw the silver queen in the center of the nest at a glance.

Before the army ants bit the metal, they brought back some metal scraps to the silver queen.

At this moment, the silver queen ant's forelimbs grabbed metal scraps and stuffed it into her mouth to chew. The huge abdomen below began to vibrate, and then a metal egg the size of a silver rice grain was squeezed out and fell into the ant nest.

The silver queen's forelimbs picked up another piece of metal debris as fine as dust, and continued to eat.

After eating several, a metal egg was squeezed out of the abdomen.

Link leaned forward and observed it carefully. The surface of the metal egg the size of a grain of rice was as smooth as water droplets.

Immediately afterwards, patterns appeared on the metal eggs, like the wrapped water droplets gradually sublimating, revealing more embryonic forms of marching ants.

The antennae, front and rear limbs were stripped from the 'water droplets', and the appearance of the silver army ants became more and more complete.

In the few minutes that Link was observing, the silver ant queen had laid three or four metal eggs.

The army ants were scattered all over the castle, and Link could clearly perceive the location of each army ant through the special blood connection.

These army ants formed a line in Link's mind, and the lines merged into a plane, outlining the secret passages and layout of the castle.

The perception of army ants is much stronger than that of treasure hunters and humans, and even if there is a thick wall, they can dig a way.

Later, the shape of the castle became clearer and clearer, but Link fell into a drowsy sleep because of fatigue...

dreaming.

Link dreamed that it was pouring rain in the sky, and the rain slapped on his face.

The rain was like thin needles, and it hurt a little when pierced in the face, and in the end, the wind and rain were suffocating.

"call!"

Link suddenly opened his eyes and found that the Treasure Rat was licking his face and hair, and his whole body was just in front of his nose, which made him unable to breathe.

Link glanced at the system, it was already ten thirty in the morning.

Six hours of peace and comfort, no need to worry about an enemy attack, and no need to worry about tomorrow.

Link rubbed his face and forced himself to wake up. Then he looked at the stump ant nest, and the marching ants had all returned to their places.

Link communicated with the army ants, and these little guys were chattering and scrambling.

During the communication with the army ants, Link learned that there was indeed something he hadn't discovered in the Whistling Castle.

He stood up neatly and let the flying ants take him there.

The flying ants flew in front, and a group gathered together to form an arrow to guide Link.

After the fusion, these flying ants can also understand Link's thinking because of their connection with Link's blood.

Soon, Link found a new hole in the dark passage.

Last night, when the army ants discovered this place, they dug the hole directly, and made the extra soil into the stairs to go down the hole.

After that, the flying ants took Link to another place.

There are two secret rooms, one is a dungeon and the other is a wine cellar.

The contents inside have been emptied, and the entrance has been blocked by craftsmen. If it weren't for the army ants, these two places would not have been discovered.

Link returned to the tunnel and walked to the snoring Fu.

"Afu, get up!"

Link shouted, but Ah Fu didn't respond.

The Treasure Rat jumped off his shoulders, jumped onto Ah Fu, patted his chest, and said, "My little treasure is all about getting people up", and then he greeted him with a fistful of fists.

(￣ε(#￣)

Ah Fu opened his eyes in a daze, and rubbed his flushed face: "Boss, you're up too!"

"Today I'm going to Shadu, but this trip is very difficult, I may encounter many enemies, and my life may be in danger. What are your plans? Do you want to stay in the castle to help me look at the base, or do you want to go with me? Sandu rushing in?"

When Ah Fu heard that his life was in danger, he suddenly woke up.

"The boss, if I stay in the castle, am I alone?"

Link shook his head: "No, you keep it with the army ants, rebuild the castle, and wait for me to come back."

"Boss, Shadu is so dangerous, how can you be without my help! What's more, I can take care of your daily life. As the most reliable right-hand man of the boss, how can Chuangdangshadu be without my position!"

P.S: It's time to enter the Sand Capital next. All power lines will appear, and more exciting stories are being staged. Don't forget to vote for the recommendation. The recommendation for the new book issue is very important!