"We didn't know before why we needed the Queen's blessing to conceive. Later, the gods told us that our bodies naturally contain something that enables fertility, but the Queen's scent suppresses the maturation of this organ. Only that blue liquid can break this blockage."
This person spoke of events from decades ago, before the divine descent, which were passed down to her by even older people.
They are not foolish; they do not believe everything the gods say.
However, by locking the Queen away, preventing her from touching the newborn to 'bless' them, and also preventing her from contacting other people, the workers and soldiers were indeed able to conceive freely afterward.
People, angered by being deceived, decided to offer the queen as a sacrifice to the gods.
If we were to move to the animal kingdom, this would simply be a survival strategy that has evolved. For example, the cuckoo's "cuckoo taking over a magpie's nest" would be seen by humans as emotional deception, murder for money, and an irreconcilable feud.
But from a bird's perspective, this is simply a way for me to survive; this is how I evolved. What are you saying? I don't understand.
But what if animals developed human emotions?
The anthill's answer was to fight back. The queen once used them to raise her children; now it was their turn to use the queen to acquire resources.
Thus came the cone-shaped anthill, and the queen who was imprisoned for eighteen years and almost degenerated into an animal.
The reason they pampered the nobles in this way was partly because the natural birth rate of the common people and soldiers was too low, and they were prone to difficult childbirth. They still needed the blue fluid secreted by the queen.
On the other hand, they need to use the 'Queen' to exchange for supplies from the gods.
Finally, the evolutionary direction of the nobility is pheromones; their pheromones can influence others, so it is more appropriate for them to be separated from others.
Moreover, nobles are too fragile and can easily die if they are not properly cared for.
The method of supporting the nobles was decided by a group of soldiers and civilians decades ago. They placed the nobles on the fifth floor, sealed the windows, taught them entertainment, and let them enjoy the best treatment.
In addition, they should be taught things like "their status is noble and they cannot mingle with others," thus completely cutting off the social circles of the nobles.
The only time these nobles could go out into the outside world was during their wedding procession.
Nobles mature naturally at the age of eighteen, but to speed up this process, one can use a little of the blue liquid secreted by the Queen.
The maturity of one nobleman will naturally inspire others to follow suit, eventually forming a grand spectacle of wedding flights.
During the wedding procession, nobles who were not physically strong or had physical defects would die naturally for various reasons.
Hmm, that kind of death would make the news in modern times.
The rest are the outstanding gene inheritors selected by nature. After male nobles and female nobles mate, most of the male nobles will die, while a small number will survive and become one of the useless 'royal consorts'.
Since the marriage flight alone was enough to satisfy the Queen's fertility needs afterward, saying that the royal husband was useless is not wrong.
If multiple queens are spawned at once, they will naturally split into separate nests, and the two nests will be far apart, never interacting with each other. However, most of the time, a clan will only produce one 'queen'.
The Queen will give birth to the next generation of nobles within the following year, after which she will begin secreting the blue liquid. This will incentivize laborers and soldiers to have children to support the nobles.
This is a very common biological behavior in nature; it's all for the purpose of perpetuating one's genes.
The ant colony still respects the custom of aristocratic wedding flights, but they will manually remove any surviving 'royal husbands' to prevent them from wasting food.
This shows that the queen and nobles were completely transformed from rulers into tools.
Furthermore, male nobles may emerge from among the common people and soldiers, but female nobles will never arise. The Queen's genes are primarily inherited through women, and she certainly won't be used to benefit others.
Male nobles were created to increase the population; a male-to-female ratio of at least five to one was needed to ensure a high conception rate. After all, they were disposable reproductive products, so the more the merrier.
After the older soldiers finished speaking, the younger soldiers stared in disbelief. Their upbringing had taught them to respect and cherish nobles; so this was what respect meant?
Many of them were resentful, wondering why these useless nobles could rise above them and enjoy such a good life. Was it simply because they were some kind of 'descendants of gods'?
They've calmed down now.
"Another reason you obey the nobles' orders is that their scent can influence you," the old man added as a final point.
After telling the story, Saman finally understood where the sense of incongruity among this group of people in the instance came from.
To put it another way, before the gods descended, the people here lived in a very ordinary community-based system. The queen controlled the tribe through childbirth, and the nobles had real power.
After the gods descended, the people here lived like ants, the queen became a sacrifice, the nobles became mascots, and the soldiers and civilians gained real power.
However, regardless of the method, the rights of the largest number of workers have not been realized, and now it is the turn of the long-oppressed workers to show their discontent.
It's unclear how many workers and civilians participated in this action.
Based on what he had learned in recent days, there wouldn't be many workers who would actually choose to rise up in rebellion, and the number of people the other side could muster was very limited.
This is good news. Soldiers and civilians are naturally physically stronger than workers, but their numbers are only one-tenth of those of workers. If the two classes were to clash, this level of military strength would probably not be enough to bridge the gap in numbers.
The card in his pocket felt slightly warm; it was already eleven o'clock. Saman's fingers tightened and then loosened.
The Queen's 'disappearance' and the destruction of the Black Cube machine did not harm him as a player, nor did it affect his main quest. It was easier to rebuild from the ashes than to make corrections on the original basis.
He just really dislikes the feeling of things slipping out of his control.
This is actually a good point: old ideas and systems can no longer keep up with new developments, and for ants to survive, they must change.
Perhaps he can take this opportunity to complete his role.
Players entering the instance have no fixed stance; the character's stance is their stance.
"Gentlemen, have you ever considered what would happen if one day the gods stopped bestowing their blessings, or reduced them? Would our fate be any better?"
Saman turned to look at the crowd: "Those who stand here are all intelligent people. Have you ever had a moment when you suddenly realized that we are no different from those nobles, our lives and deaths are in the hands of others?"
Those selected for the laboratory were all the best among the soldiers and civilians, how could they not know? But even if they knew, it wouldn't be of any use, their divine power was too great to resist.
"I know what you're thinking, but the situation is different now. We… no longer have any bargaining chips to make with the gods. So what will we face next?"
The old queen is missing and most likely dead; a new queen will have to wait eighteen years, and even then, it's uncertain. However, in a few days, it will be the time for God to collect His blessings, and then…
Thinking of the possible consequences, their faces turned grim: "What do you suggest we do?"
Saman had been observing their reactions, and he was quite satisfied with most of them: "Now we have two choices: one, continue to obey and live on until the day when we, like these nobles, walk onto the altar."
"What other option is there? Do we have to go back to the time when we were under the Queen's control?" the older man who had given the explanation asked rhetorically.
"Why must we go back to the past? We can forge a new path. Now that we know the Queen's influence on fertility, why should we allow her to once again reign supreme?"
"So what do you want to do?" the older woman asked, but she wasn't alone; she represented many people who had doubts.
"Things must be dealt with one at a time. First, notify all soldiers and civilians to assemble. This is not an attack on the nobles, but... a completely new reform."
Saman slammed his fist on the table, his gaze sharp as a sword. "Protect the remaining three nobles. The rest of you, take your weapons and come with me..."
"Suppress the rebellion?" the deputy asked anxiously.
"No, recall your comrades."
He needs to turn enemies into friends, and have many friends, so he can feel at ease to 'slay the gods'. The workers and nobles are not the enemies; the hand hidden in the shadows is.
[The Third Night: The Restorers.]
Two players have died, and two-eighths of the 'Demon' seal has been unlocked.
"Another player died tonight?" Players who hadn't slept all night were holding cards with the latest update message on them.
The death notice came along with the message; the person died before 11 PM, so it wasn't the work of a 'ghost'.
"The one who died was that noble player. It's said that he was completely out of control due to pheromones during his wedding flight, and was eventually taken away by a hail of arrows, without even having time to leave a last word." Someone laughed gleefully.
"That's fine too. It's more dignified than collapsing from exhaustion halfway through mating."
It seems that everyone dislikes this 'lucky one'.
"All the adult male ants have died out. Will the next queen have to wait another eighteen years? Is the person behind this doing it for a role-playing mission, or to force out an advanced civilization?" Players had their own guesses, and they all felt that the person who could do such a thing must be a player.
After all, the players are all incredibly cunning.
"They're almost halfway through the dungeon and haven't found a trace of the ghost yet. They're getting anxious."
Beginner-level players farm dungeons, intermediate-level players search for "ghosts," and advanced-level players tackle "hidden routes."
Players have already become aware of the element of 'interference by advanced civilizations' and have intuitively discovered the hidden side quest in this dungeon—fighting against advanced civilizations.
Just like Ren Yifei unlocking the monster's restrictions and obtaining the hidden achievement in 'Nobody Knows', high-end dungeons generally have these extremely difficult hidden side quests.
This is the secret to wealth that sets players apart.
Saman is still trying to play his role and not easily using his skills and tools, all for the sake of the seventh day when the advanced civilization will come to the scene, and he will have to compete with them.
Other players probably had the same plan; everyone was holding back their cards, waiting to snatch kills at the last minute.
On the walls of the anthill.
Ren Yifei also sensed the change in the card's temperature, but he didn't have time to look at it.
He hid in a recess in the wall, remaining motionless for a long time until his body went numb. His back itched terribly, as if something was about to grow out.
The most terrifying thing was that he discovered his skin glowed in the moonlight.
"curse?"
Just kidding. He probably knows what's going on; he's even touched the wings—thin and fragile. Besides nobles, who else in this dungeon has wings?
Unexpectedly, Jiang Zemin's class struggle activities also uncovered his hidden identity.
"Male Ant," "Thinker," Ren Yifei forced a bitter smile: Had he transmigrated into the body of a "ghost" again?
He wiped his face in anguish. If that were the case, would he kill himself at the last second?
Ren Yifei began to wonder if it was permissible to commit suicide after obtaining the Ghost Card.
This secluded corner, a place where people could hide, was provided by a pregnant woman; it had a small area where one could stand. It's said her husband once hid here, just to spend one more night with his wife.
"Knowing I was coming here, he secretly cried by himself. He had no choice but to resort to this method." The pregnant woman complained, but her eyes were full of happiness.
At first, Ren Yifei didn't really trust the NPCs. Even if one of them didn't say anything, would everyone choose to remain silent? But no one betrayed him, and he had been holding his crossbow for half the night for nothing.
My hands are sore, but I'm happy.
When the moon disappeared into the clouds, it was still not dark. He tore his clothes, wrapped them around his waist, and then flew out from the recess in the wall, his high-frequency vibrating wings scattering starlight across the ground.
For the first time, Ren Yifei experienced what it felt like to fly freely with wings. It was like running with the wind, chasing the sun, moon and stars, overcoming the fear of free fall, and relaxing completely.
There is nowhere in this world you can't go.
"Is this what it feels like to have wings?" He paused in mid-air for a moment.
The anthill was right behind him; the windows emitted a cool light, and he could see shadowy figures moving inside. The nests of the soldiers and civilians on the second level were particularly noticeable.
"There will be a storm tonight." Ren Yifei changed direction and flew towards the big tree.
"Boss, what are you looking at?" The second-in-command looked out the window. The sky was gray and gloomy, the moon was hidden, and there was nothing outside except the sacred tree next to their nest.
"Watching for any fish that slipped through the net." Saman adjusted his glasses.
"A fish that slipped through the net?" The second-in-command searched for a long time but couldn't find any. However, he remembered something else. "Boss, you're amazing! I thought you were overthinking it when you mentioned splitting the nest, but I didn't expect..."
"Shh," Saman interrupted him, "be careful, the walls may be listening."
Author's Note: Saman: Since things have come to this, why not... go for something big?
Afei: Young people these days always want to make a big show of things.