It was common knowledge that monster quality was categorized into White, Green, Blue, Purple, Orange, and Gold in ascending order.
Silver Queen Ant was the first Blue pet that Lin Ke had synthesized. Although it was only of Light Blue quality, it represented a leap in quality.
After reading the introduction on the monster's attributes, Lin Ke took a deep breath.
It is simply too powerful! It can consume metals and even survive without food. It has amazing reproduction ability and is extremely savage. Although it only has one active skill and one passive skill, these two skills' effects are quite powerful.
In addition to Silver Queen Ant, the other army ants in the nest have also completed the 'glorious evolution,' becoming Silver Army Ants.
Lin Ke could clearly sense the army ants in the nest. They were just like the red blood cells in blood vessels, moving back and forth along the nest's highway-like structure.
Lin Ke could also feel a strong aura, different from the other Silver Army Ants, in the center of the silver ants' nest.
Lin Ke took a step closer. The army ants felt his intentions and retreated to the side.
The ant nest's original form was gradually revealed, and Lin Ke saw Silver Queen Ant in the deepest part of the nest. It had a thin torso and a plump abdomen that was obviously disproportionate to the size of its body.
Silver Queen Ant was about the size of a palm, and had a silver glow when under light. It looked like an exquisite silver artifact.
Lin Ke stepped forward and held out his palm.
The two antennas on Silver Queen Ant's head swung up and down. It then stretched out its forelimbs, twisted its body, and placed itself on Lin Ke's hand, dragging its fat body up little by little.
This sensation is strange and unfamiliar. Lin Ke could feel the subtle touch of the ant's forelimbs on his palm, as well as the cold texture of metal. It was hard to believe that Silver Queen Ant was a real creature, not a work of art.
Silver Queen Ant's pincer-like upper jaw was clearly visible as its two antennae lightly tapped Lin Ke's palm.
Silver Queen Ant seemed familiar with its master's scent and began to move around boldly on Lin Ke's hand.
Lin Ke could clearly feel the sensation of the queen ant's legs and exoskeleton as it moved around his palm. It was not spiny, just a little itchy.
Goosebumps started to appear on his arm.
The queen ant's movements were shaky, mainly because its abdomen was too big.
Lin Ke saw that the queen ant wanted to drag its body up his arm and immediately reached out to block it. "Oh my god, you have to be careful. I will suffer a great loss if you have a miscarriage."
Lin Ke picked up Silver Queen Ant and returned it to the center of the nest. As long as it had enough food, the queen could reproduce and grow the team.
The Silver Army Ants could survive without food.
Synthesis had changed the internal structure of their bodies. The role of food was only to provide energy to the queen so that it could reproduce.
This was simply a newly-created immortal army!
Lin Ke turned his gaze to the other army ants.
With just a thought, all the worker ants crawled out of the nest and gathered into a group, waiting for their master—Lin Ke's inspection.
"Connect and form a bridge!"
Once Lin Ke gave his order, all the worker ants began to move. They stacked up one by one, quickly forming a curved silver bridge.
Lin Ke stepped forward and tried to step on the ladder. He slowly raised his other foot and found that the worker ants' strength was enough to support him.
It may be a bridge formed by worker ants, but it felt like he was stepping on concrete.
Ordinary army ants could lift objects that were hundreds of times heavier than their bodies. The enhanced Silver Army Ants possessed greater potential.
The metal bridge made up of a bunch of army ants could actually support Lin Ke's weight.
Lin Ke got off the metal bridge and dismissed the worker ants.
"Forbes, get me a spare searchlight."
Forbes handed Lin Ke the spare searchlight he asked for.
Lin Ke placed the searchlight on the ground and ordered the soldier ants to attack the searchlight.
After a while, the soldier ants charged at the source of light valiantly, covering it like a silver curtain piece.
The next second, the searchlight's glass lens gave off a cracking sound. It was as though the entire searchlight was compressed by a pair of invisible hands, causing the glass to shatter. All the metal inside was eaten by the soldier ants, only leaving behind some rubber seals and plastic.
The silver wave retreated, leaving only an indigestible wreck.
Lin Ke did not say a word. Instead, Forbes—who was lying on the ground—gasped in shock.
The evolved army ants were too terrifying. They easily consumed the searchlight, leaving only minimal residue. Had it been an adult human, he was afraid it would become a skeleton in the blink of an eye.
He then moved on to the flying ants, which were fewer in number.
Under Lin Ke's control, they condensed into a silver sphere and flew around in the air. Whenever Lin Ke pointed, the flying ants would head towards that direction.
From time to time, the flying ants would spread out into a large silver net or condense into a sphere. They could even form a lethal arrow that was in accordance with Lin Ke's thoughts.
Finally, Lin Ke stretched out his hand and pointed at the opposite wall, wanting to test the lethality of the flying ants that were clustered together.
Boom!
An 'iron ball' struck the wall, and a huge explosion erupted. The wall was blasted open, and a hole more than 30 centimeters wide appeared. There was even yellow light coming through.
While looking at the hole in the wall, Lin Ke was a little stunned. How could the wall of this underground chamber be penetrated?
Also, why was there light?
With no further orders from Lin Ke, the flying ants quickly flew back from the other end of the hole and returned to the nest to guard Silver Queen Ant.
Although Lin Ke was surprised, he reacted quickly. The pump-action shotgun had moved from behind his back to his hands.
Before Lin Ke could speak, Treasure Hunter Rat seemed to have sensed something. Its little ears twitched constantly, and its eyes were staring straight at the hole that was giving off light.
It leaped off Lin Ke's shoulder, scurried over to the wall, and jumped into the hole.
Just as Lin Ke was about to say that Little Treasure was a little too reckless, he immediately heard its report from the other side of the hole.
Squeak, squeak.
Lin Ke's spirit was roused.
Treasure Hunter Rat revealed that it had found treasure and that there were no living people around!
As he put away the shotgun, Lin Ke walked to the hole. He made it bigger with a few kicks before bending over to enter the newly found area.
The current environment was cold enough, and Lin Ke did not want to breathe in the cold air anymore.
After going through the hole, everything in front of him looked very different.
There was no end to the corridor. The domed ceiling looked to be professionally polished. On it was a row of electric lights emitting soft, yellow light.
The corridor's floor was covered with bluestone slabs. It looked flat at first glance. As there was no thick layer of dust covering it, it led people into thinking that this was newly built.
On the left side of the bluestone slab pathway was an underground river with gurgling water. The current was noisy but not rapid.
The entire corridor revealed two words—'upper class.'
After seeing the chosen materials and the craftsmen's meticulous handiwork, Lin Ke knew that this underground corridor was costly to build.
"Why is there a corridor here?" At least, Lin Ke could explain the reason for the underground tunnel. It was an escape route for the prince back then, in case anything bad happened.
However, Lin Ke could not understand the reason for this expensive narrow passageway with an underground river. Although he was already three levels underground, his thoughts were still stuck at the first level. Perhaps Howling Ancient Castle had a fifth level.
Forbes also poked his head through the hole. He looked around and excitedly said, "Boss, you actually know that there is a corridor here!"
Just as Lin Ke wanted to speak, he thought of how skillfully he had broken through the wall. Even if Lin Ke were to explain it to Forbes, he would not be able to convince him. Forbes might think that he was just being modest instead.
Upon looking back at the hole, Lin Ke frowned as he noticed a problem.
When he was with the army ant nest, he could not see anything strange about the hole. However, when viewed from the corridor, the color around the hole was obviously different from the rest of the wall.
Although it had been a long time and the wall was already old, there were still obvious differences between the two colors.
Lin Ke leaned closer and carefully examined the two colors on the wall. The color around the hole was very distinct when compared to the rest of the wall. It was obvious that the hole was filled up at a later stage.
"Boss, what are you looking at?" Forbes's head was still in the hole while he watched Boss pace back and forth in front of him as if he were studying the wall.
Lin Ke had a swift reaction. He reached out and pushed Forbes's head out of the hole. He then picked up a polished stone on the ground and muttered to himself. "No, if this hole is newly filled, there is no need to fill it up so nicely and detailed. Even the workmanship is almost the same as the original wall."
Just as Lin Ke was thinking it over, an excited cry came from Treasure Hunter Rat, who was not far away.
Squeak, squeak! Squeak, squeak!
Lin Ke put down the stone and walked towards Treasure Hunter Rat.
Forbes looked back at the unmanned ant nest and the densely packed Silver Army Ants on the ground. Goosebumps then formed on his body.
Although he knew that these creatures took orders from Boss, he was still afraid of being left alone with these terrifying creatures.
Forbes's head went into the hole again as he tried to squeeze through to keep up with Lin Ke. However, his fat body was stuck, unable to move forward or backward.
Forbes pushed against the wall with both hands, trying to push himself out. He was not successful despite trying for a long time. He was unable to advance or retreat.
Forbes panicked. He began to shout, "Boss, save me…"
The bleak cry for help floated in the corridor, traveling for a long distance. However, there was no response from Lin Ke.
This was because he had arrived at Treasure Hunter Rat's location at that particular moment and saw a luxuriously-dressed skeleton in the corridor.
Treasure Hunter Rat used its two small paws to pull the fingers out of the expensive clothes forcefully.
It gave its all to lift the skeleton's… middle finger, high above its head.
What a nice hand gesture!
Lin Ke's eyes lit up. He squatted down and took off the extravagant ring from the skeleton's middle finger.
[You obtained a Royal Ring.]
Lin Ke took the extravagant ring in his hand and examined it carefully. In the center of the ring were five gemstones, namely diamond, amethyst, sapphire, ruby, and emerald. They were evenly distributed like unique individuals.
Overall, the five kinds of gems were concentrated in the center, forming a pentagon. The carving techniques were of superb workmanship.
In the system, the description for the Royal Ring only consisted of one line: [The Royal Ring is so dazzling that it is impossible to look at it directly. The brilliance of many jewels is comparable to the stars in the sky.]
Lin Ke took the extravagant ring, glanced at the noble attire on the skeleton's body, and his brain worked rapidly.
After a while, Lin Ke slowly relaxed his brows and smiled. He rubbed Treasure Hunter Rat's tiny head and said, "Little treasure, you have found a treasure!"
With this Royal Ring and the noble attire, Lin Ke had already guessed the identity of the skeleton in front of him. Not surprisingly, the skeleton in front of him was the true owner of Howling Ancient Castle—Desert Prince.
Enemy detection? No, this is actually the correct way to utilize Treasure Hunter Rat! (Lin Ke bragged.)
Treasure Hunter Rat worked even harder after being praised. It buried its head into the skeleton's clothes again.
"Another treasure?" Lin Ke waited with bated breath.
After a few seconds, Treasure Hunter Rat dragged a black, stick-like object from the skeleton's clothes using its two small claws.
Upon seeing the stick's information and the holes, the joy on Lin Ke's face gradually faded.
This does not look like a treasure, but a… recorder?