Although moving to a new island above was troublesome, it wasn't all bad.
Every time Lord Lantern devoured something, it would be a brand-new island, a brand-new environment, and brand-new resources.
This brought new opportunities to the citizens,
and the benefits of fully digesting an island were immense.
"Brilliant! The King is wise!"
"Absolutely brilliant! Devouring new islands! How did we not think of that before?"
"As expected of the King! What extraordinary vision!"
Inside the conference room, praises erupted one after another.
Everyone was impressed by Abyss's imaginative yet perfectly reasonable idea, and they sincerely flattered him.
Why wouldn't they?
Lord Lantern already had the habit of devouring islands—so what was the big deal if it ate a few more?
It was a minor issue!
"Oh my goodness, with the King here, what difficulty could possibly trouble us?"
"I think everyone should just stop thinking and follow the King's orders."
"Yes, that's right!"
In a corner, several burly men slapped their foreheads in amazement.
They were the high-ranking military leaders of the World in the Stomach:
the Air Force — Winged Dragon Knight Commander, the Navy — Water Lizard Knight Commander, and the Army — Tyrannosaurus Knight Commander.
When it came to fighting, they were formidable,
but they couldn't get a word in during this kind of meeting! They could only watch enviously as the scientists consulted with the King.
"Quiet!"
Abyss waved his hand, and the conference room immediately fell silent.
He looked at Dr. Buck.
"Calculate—how long can one new island sustain us after being devoured?"
Dr. Buck immediately began furiously tapping on his data pad, while the other scientists joined in the discussion.
The atmosphere was fervent,
and after a moment, the results were in.
"Your Majesty!"
Buck looked up, eyes flashing with the light of data streams.
"Based on a standard small island, it will lose 10% of its volume in Stomach 1, 15% in Stomach 2, and after reaching Stomach 3, it will be gradually digested within 50 years."
"In other words,"
another scientist chimed in,
"we need to set a cycle of fifty years for Lord Lantern to devour a new island, in order to maintain the ecological balance within the three stomachs."
"But the good news is,"
another added,
"we can continue developing corrosion-resistant materials to reinforce the island's structure and extend this cycle."
"Ideally, in the future, it could be extended to once every hundred years!"
Devour an island every fifty years?
A hundred years?
Abyss quietly pondered.
For them, as immortal beings, that frequency was completely acceptable.
But a new problem immediately arose—
how to make Lord Lantern obediently devour the designated island?
The conference room erupted into a clamor again.
"We can create a giant pure-gold light source to lure it over!"
"No, that risks exposing our existence!"
"Then let's create a tsunami to push the island into its path!"
"The engineering workload would be enormous! We don't have enough manpower!"
"Perhaps we could research a pheromone that simulates its favorite food scent..."
"How long would that take? And how would we deploy it accurately to the outer islands? No, no!"
The scientists argued, faces red and necks straining.
Even the knights at the side couldn't help but interject:
"Why don't we go out to the island ourselves and use pure gold to attract Lord Lantern to eat it?"
"No!"
It was actually a good idea—
the knights' loyalty wasn't in question—but their strength was too limited. If they were captured by a powerful enemy, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The arguments grew louder and louder,
and the proposals increasingly outrageous.
Abyss listened to the market-like noise, his brow furrowing deeper.
"Enough!"
He suddenly shouted. His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced everyone.
All eyes turned toward him.
Abyss slowly stood, his nearly four-meter-tall figure exuding immense pressure across the room.
He scanned the faces before him and uttered two words:
"Bloating."
Everyone: "???"
Bloating?
"Bloating?"
They looked at one another, confused.
Make Lord Lantern's stomach bloated? What kind of plan was that?
Abyss looked at his subordinates, trapped in their fixed mindset, and sighed.
"I ask you,"
he began slowly,
"if a chicken eats too much hard food and suffers from indigestion, what does it do?"
A biology doctor subconsciously replied, "It swallows small pebbles to help grind the food in its stomach..."
"Exactly!"
Abyss nodded. "So what about a dinosaur? If it feels bloated and has indigestion?"
Another scientist's eyes lit up.
"It also swallows stones or coarse fibers to help with friction and digestion! It's an instinct for many animals!"
"Then,"
Abyss raised his voice slightly, looking around the room,
"what about Lord Lantern? This giant beast that has lived for countless years and has the habit of devouring islands?"
"Whoosh—"
A collective gasp rippled through the conference room.
Everyone understood instantly.
Brilliant!
Absolutely brilliant!
If Lord Lantern felt bloated and suffered from indigestion, it would instinctively seek out "pebbles" to aid digestion—
and for it, the best "pebbles" were islands!
"The King is wise!"
"This line of thinking is so clear!"
"How did we not think of it before!"
The scientists were flushed with excitement, their admiration for Abyss reaching a new level.
Though the warriors only half-understood, they joined in the praises all the same.
"But,"
a scientist raised a crucial question,
"with the help of beneficial insects, Lord Lantern's digestive ability is extremely strong—it's almost impossible for it to feel bloated, isn't it? It only ever feels hungry..."
That was precisely the difficulty.
The beneficial insects were like a full-time digestive team for Lord Lantern. To make it feel bloated—that was as hard as climbing to the heavens.
At that moment,
Elder Yi, who had been silent all this time, slowly raised his hand.
"Your Majesty,"
he said cautiously,
"perhaps... this old man has a method."
All eyes immediately focused on the fruit-wielder.
"Speak."
Abyss nodded.
"This old man can attempt to cultivate a special 'probiotic queen insect'."
Elder Yi explained, "This queen insect isn't responsible for digestion, but for control.
It can periodically release special pheromones, causing all beneficial insects to temporarily stop secreting digestive bacterial colonies, and... and make them release some gas."
Elder Yi grew more animated as he spoke.
"As long as the timing and scale are controlled, we can simulate the effect of 'bloating'!"
"Making Lord Lantern feel uncomfortable—forcing it to actively seek out islands to devour!"
Brilliant!
It was equivalent to installing a 'master switch' and a 'gas release valve' in the probiotic system!
Abyss's eyes lit up, and he immediately pressed,
"How long will it take to cultivate it?"
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