That's right, Jing Shu assigned her pets by number, ranking them according to their usefulness. The smaller the number, the more valuable they were. Based on strength, utility, and overall contribution, the Sulfuric Acid Ant Queen—whose life was already nearing its end—was placed at No. 3.
That meant from now on, Jing Shu would feed her No. 3 pet with Spirit Spring water every day to cultivate the Sulfuric Acid Ant Queen.
Everyone knew Jing Shu didn't judge her pets by looks or raw power. What mattered to her was what they could produce and how much value they could bring her.
Even if she somehow tamed a tiger, it probably wouldn't make it into her top nine. Tiger meat tasted bad, they couldn't lay eggs, and other than using the whip for soaking wine, the rest of the animal was practically useless. More importantly, a tiger was a huge waste of food in the apocalypse.
Take her No. 4 pet, the Five-Step Snake. Its value was tremendous. The snakes bred easily, their meat was delicious, their gallbladders and skins had medicinal use, and even their venom could be extracted for killing. They could act as scouts—Jing Shu's eyes in the wild—and in emergencies, they were decent backup fighters too.
So why was a dying Sulfuric Acid Ant Queen ranked above the Five-Step Snake?
Jing Shu hesitated for a long time. Was it really worth raising this queen when she was already at the end of her life? What if she died halfway through and all that Spirit Spring went to waste?
But after a series of experiments, she made her decision.
First of all, from a purely industrial standpoint, the Sulfuric Acid Ant Queen's species had immense potential. The sulfuric acid her colonies could mass-produce daily was invaluable in the apocalypse. It could be used in nuclear energy, new energy production, fertilizers, and soil treatment. And in a world where everything was scarce, sulfuric acid was gold.
Second, the ants themselves, once their acid was extracted, had powerful medicinal properties. They could fight inflammation, relieve pain, detoxify, reduce swelling, and even replenish energy and vitality. In this era, that made them a precious pharmaceutical ingredient.
Third, they were incredibly nutritious, rich in protein and essential amino acids. In the apocalypse, they were bound to become a luxury food source.
And last but not least, their combat ability was ridiculous. Sulfuric Acid Ants were particularly effective against zombies and Darklife creatures infected with the virus. In Jing Shu's long-term plan, they might even take on the terrifyingly evolved creatures that appeared five or six years after the apocalypse began. Outside of firearms, Sulfuric Acid Ants stood at the very top of the food chain.
The best part was, they didn't waste food. They could grow by feeding on corpses instead of special feed. Though Jing Shu still planned to give them red nematodes as a supplement.
The queen could lay dozens of eggs every day. With No. 3 Spirit Spring water and some extra protein, that output could multiply tenfold—or even more. America
But what finally convinced Jing Shu was that even though the queen was old, she'd already gained sentience. Jing Shu wasn't sure if she was like the little snake spirit Tai Spot, but the queen could communicate with her. She also wanted to test what effect Spirit Spring had on creatures at the brink of death.
Of course, the Ant Queen wasn't speaking Chinese; after all, this was the America. Instead, it was that miraculous form of conscious communication. Jing Shu could sense the queen's emotions through her movements.
When she placed the restless queen inside the Cube Space, the queen stiffened, then stretched out in pure bliss. Jing Shu could almost feel her thoughts: "Oh my god, what is this place? It feels divine! I could die here and not even care. I love it. This is heaven!"
When Jing Shu offered her a mouthful of Spirit Spring, the queen convulsed as if struck by lightning, twisting and trembling. Jing Shu could practically hear her shrieking, "Don't stop! Keep going! I love this feeling! Don't stop!"
Even a while later, the queen still twitched now and then, practically purring with satisfaction, as if saying, "That was amazing. I want more."
That was basically the gist of it. When Jing Shu mentally told her, "If you become my pet and obey me, you can enjoy this every day," the queen didn't hesitate for a second. She surrendered completely without a shred of pride. Within minutes, she'd fully accepted her new role as a pet ant.
Jing Shu tried to question her about the surroundings and potential dangers, but the queen's mind was mush. Her daily life was just laying eggs and letting worker ants feed her. The only useful bit she shared was that she'd lived here for forty years, moved several times, and fought other Sulfuric Acid Ant colonies in brutal life-or-death battles—but she'd survived them all.
Apparently, this part of the mountain had appeared out of nowhere not long ago. Even the local creatures had no idea what happened—they'd been relocated without realizing it.
Which meant, if Jing Shu wanted to get out of these mountains, she'd have to do it the hard way.
Late at night, the Rubik's Cube spun faster and faster in her hands. Just when she was about to finish, Monkey's terrified scream came from outside the tent. Jing Shu dropped the cube and dashed out immediately.
Everyone woke up at once.
The dying campfire flickered weakly, casting a dim light on the area beyond the Sulfuric Acid Ant circle. The ground was crawling with dense black shapes, each half-buried in soil. Their abdomens pulsed up and down, pincers snapping in the air. Jing Shu recognized them instantly.
Snake Spirit's face went pale. "Earwigs! Why the hell are there so many of them here? They must've smelled blood and came swarming in!"
For Jing Shu, this was the stuff of nightmares.
Tank scratched his head. "They're just bugs, right? I'll stomp a few."
Snake Spirit gave him a look. "Earwigs love to crawl into people's ears at night, lay eggs in your skull, and eat your brain. If they don't kill you, they'll drive you insane. Once these things show up, you can forget about sleeping ever again."
Jing Shu remembered hearing stories from her past life. People would go to sleep during migrations, only to wake up screaming, smashing their heads against walls, begging for the pain to stop. They'd die horribly, and because nobody took it seriously at first, their corpses were left by the roadside. Later, when those corpses burst open, waves of tiny earwigs would crawl out and attack the next group of survivors.
That nightmare was now unfolding again—but this time, the Sulfuric Acid Ants went berserk.
Even though the earwigs were bigger, the ants' acid melted through half their bodies in seconds. The night filled with crackling and hissing sounds.
Before long, the ground was covered in earwig and ant corpses, but not a single one had breached the ant circle.
Jing Shu yawned. "Let's catch a few more hours of sleep before we move. Don't worry, they won't come inside."
And just like that, the apocalypse had one less nightmare crawling around in the dark.
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Next I will call the ant queen as Yi Hou. 蚁后 (yǐ hòu) it literally how 'Ant Queen' in Chinese.