Seeing the special talent displayed by the Chameleon bug, Luo Wen’s eyes lit up with excitement. He quickly jumped down from the tree trunk as well.
The bug dove into the grass and disappeared. If Luo Wen hadn’t kept his eyes fixed on it without blinking since the start, it might have truly escaped.
His massive physique was now an advantage. Luo Wen charged after the bug like a tank, ignoring and crushing all obstacles in his path.
The bug’s body changed color as it scurried rapidly, blending seamlessly with its surroundings and making it nearly impossible to spot.
Unfortunately for it, unlike grasshoppers, it didn’t have powerful hind legs. Already locked onto its trail, Luo Wen quickly caught up after it wriggled through a few patches of grass.
A long foreleg shot out like lightning, grabbing the bug by its carapace and dragging it to Luo Wen.
Two burrower legs descended from above, pinning the bug down. Though it struggled fiercely, the power difference was insurmountable.
A pair of giant fangs clamped onto the bug. With one bite, its struggles gradually ceased.
Fresh ingredients often needed to be consumed promptly. Luo Wen didn’t bother to move elsewhere and enjoyed a hearty meal on the spot before returning to his chamber to rest.
The surface of Luo Wen’s exoskeletal armor was now covered with a layer of extremely fine, densely packed scales.
These scales contained nano-sized crystalline structures within their epidermal cells, forming a unique type of chromatophore. By controlling the spacing between the crystals, the cells could reflect light of different wavelengths.
This adaptation allowed the scales to adjust rapidly according to their surroundings, reflecting the same light as nearby objects to deceive observers and achieve concealment.
This newfound ability was particularly effective against individuals like Luo Wen with keen vision.
Eyes are a highly complex and sensitive optical system, serving as crucial observation tools. They work by detecting light, projecting it onto light-sensitive retinas to form images, which are then converted into signals and transmitted to the brain.
Light consists of numerous colors. The number of colors a creature can perceive depends on the types of photoreceptors in its eyes. Humans, for instance, have three types of color-sensitive receptors, allowing them to see three primary colors, whereas dogs only have two.
Luo Wen’s eyes were far more advanced, capable of perceiving a broader spectrum of primary colors. Exactly how many he could see, he wasn’t sure. By mixing primary colors in varying proportions, countless new colors could emerge, but these weren’t primary colors.
Comparing with his former self, Luo Wen noticed his current vision was far richer. For example, he could see a unique type of light that allowed him to determine the positions of the sun and moon on this planet, even without directly seeing them, and use it for navigation.
Since transforming into an insect, this special light had cured his sense of direction. Navigation became second nature.
Even so, the new camouflage ability could counteract this advantage.
The ability worked by perfectly mimicking the reflective light of the surroundings. No matter how many wavelengths an observer could detect, they would find no differences.
Previously, Luo Wen could only discern a bug-shaped patch on the bark by observing the spatial depth. Relying on his eyes alone, he couldn’t distinguish it from the bark.
But through cognitive analysis, he could deduce it was a bug.
However, all of this depended on knowing beforehand that something was amiss. Without the worker ants alerting him to the anomaly, he could have stared at it all day and discovered nothing.
Despite its exceptional focus, the ability had an obvious weakness. Creatures like ants, which don’t primarily rely on sight, were unaffected, making it akin to “dancing for the blind.”
The Chameleon bug had been overly confident in its ability, even when surrounded. This led it to unwittingly gift Luo Wen its extraordinary talent.
Though flawed in some respects, the ability was undeniably a remarkable form of biological black technology. Luo Wen had seen similar inventions online in his past life, such as special armors that used electronic screens to mimic and project the surrounding environment for optical deception.
Yet, such devices were no match for the innate abilities of this evolved organism.
Currently, this ability’s greatest use for Luo Wen was making him less conspicuous when clinging to tree trunks, no longer resembling a glaring adhesive patch.
With this little adventure behind him, life returned to normal.
Days passed steadily, and the hive continued its orderly development. Within the radiation zone, the vegetation began to show subtle differences from the surrounding areas.
Luo Wen implemented a new aphid management policy: aphids were only permitted to consume older leaves when new ones had sprouted.
If aphids overbred and consumed unpermitted leaves, worker ants would cull their numbers and recycle them as protein.
Under this strict control, the vegetation within the territory flourished with the help of biological fertilizer.
Abundant food led to a surge in the hive’s population. When the numbers reached a threshold, a new wave of expansion began.
Under Luo Wen’s command, and while ensuring normal hive operations, all available bugs surged outward.
With prior experience in territorial expansion, the bugs efficiently dismantled neighboring ant nests that previously served as food sources.
This was not a contest between equals. Armed with superior tactical thinking and overwhelming numbers, the ants’ resistance was easily crushed.
After extending their territory by 100 meters in a fan-shaped arc, the hive army halted and began another period of consolidation.
With the hive’s growth on track, its development resembled a snowball rolling downhill.
Experienced worker ants migrated en masse to the newly conquered areas to establish new aphid pastures. Correspondingly, the vegetation in these new territories received biological fertilizer treatment.
The void left by their departure was quickly filled by newly emerged adults from the pupae.
The hive’s exact population had become unquantifiable to Luo Wen, given the daily attrition from various mishaps.
These included casualties from skirmishes with Black Beetles, losses during exploration, and ambushes by unknown insects.
For instance, underground, there was a type of creature resembling a foul-smelling earthworm that ambushed from below. It dug funnel-shaped pits on the surface, causing worker ants to slip in.
At the bottom of the pit, the creature waited patiently. When prey fell in, it would spring up, using its massive pincers to capture and drag them underground for consumption.
Most of these ambushers were concentrated in newly expanded territories.
Though many were cleared after the hive took over, some managed to escape the sweeps, claiming unlucky victims daily.