Mikhailis leaned back in his chair, staring at the full-screen display on his computer, showing a live feed of the chimera ant nest. The screen was crowded with charts, numbers, and various graphs, courtesy of Rodion's constant monitoring and data processing. The nest was growing—quite literally—before his eyes. The feed showed ants of different sizes, some scurrying to and fro, expanding their underground domain.
He zoomed in on the queen's chamber, noticing something peculiar. The queen had grown larger, her shiny exoskeleton glistening under the dim bioluminescent light produced by some of the worker ants. Mikhailis could barely believe the change in her appearance. It wasn't just her size, but her posture, the way she carried herself—almost as if she had become more self-aware.
Rodion's voice chimed in his ear.
