Ants Build Pools

Although Lu Zhe had plans to search for a new campsite, it was not possible in the near future!

Although the rain had stopped, it would take a few more days for the rainwater absorbed by the mountain and on the ground surface to recede.

During this time, the slippery mountain terrain and muddy mountain roads made it extremely dangerous to walk through the jungle after the rain. It was simply impossible to climb up rock cracks and reach the highest point.

But without climbing to the highest point, how could they observe where a more suitable campsite was?

Therefore, while surface fresh water was still abundant, building a reservoir to store fresh water would be prudent preparation.

However, building a reservoir was easier said than done.

The biggest problem was waterproofing.

The permeability of the surface soil was extremely high. A reservoir built with this kind of material would neither hold water well nor be sturdy enough.

They had to choose better materials.

But what?

Lu Zhe decided to take a walk around the jungle to see if he could find suitable materials.

He carried a bamboo basket and a shovel, trudging through the mud towards the edge of the mountain ridge and jungle.

"Hey, where are you going!" Shen Bing felt uneasy and hurried to catch up with him.

"It's nothing. I'm just taking a look around."

"Let me go with you. It's better to have someone watching your back."

"Alright, bring a bamboo basket too."

The post-rain jungle was more dangerous than usual.

The loosened terrain, landslides, and shifting rainwater posed constant threats. It was easy to slip down and get impaled on thorns or broken trees, receiving an instant game over.

The dormant poisonous insects, snakes, and ants had also emerged seeking food. Shen Bing felt somewhat concerned.

"Hey, what are you looking for?"

"Ant nests."

"What do you need those for?" Shen Bing looked around. "Wouldn't they have been washed away by such heavy rain?"

"I'm looking precisely for the kind that did not get washed away."

"You can't be wanting to catch the ant queens to eat!"

"I heard they're quite tasty. We could try catching one to find out."

"Do you know how dangerous tropical ant nests are?"

Lu Zhe seemed unconvinced. "Are they that dangerous?"

Shen Bing pondered, "I remember during World War II, a German troop entered the tropical jungle, but they encountered army ants and the entire 1,800 men troop was eaten by them, leaving only 1,800 skeletons behind."

Lu Zhe nodded. "I've heard that story at campfire gatherings."

"You don't believe it?"

Lu Zhe shook his head. "Army ants are aggressive and some are venomous, but they are small in size and move slowly. When humans start running, they simply cannot catch up. Even if all the hundreds of millions of ants in a large nest worked together, they would only amount to 20-30 pounds in total. There's no need to worry about that kind of situation."

"So they're not as dangerous as you say?"

"They are dangerous, but not because they eat humans. Rather, it is because they can sneak into your clothes without you noticing and bite your skin, causing infections. Since effective treatments are hard to find, the skin swells and ulcerates, becoming life-threatening!"

Shen Bing shuddered involuntarily.

"But don't worry. The army ants on this island are not as aggressive, and they even have the benevolent heart to save lives! To suture your leg wound, they selflessly sacrificed their own lives."

"Yes, Guo'er did tell me about that..."

Just then, Lu Zhe discovered what he was looking for.

"There it is!"

Shen Bing squatted down and saw a tall earthen mound about 20 meters ahead, nestled among the bushes.

It was around 1 meter tall with a diameter of 2 meters.

"A grave?? No... This really is an ant nest??"

Shen Bing still felt some trepidation towards these things.

"Surprised? After such heavy rains, it remains perfectly intact. It's simply a miracle of life!"

"I am surprised, but not because it survived undamaged. I'm shocked that it's so close to our camp!"

"That's normal!"

"What's normal about it? It could crawl into our camp!" The thought of these things sneaking into her clothes gave Shen Bing chills.

"Don't worry, these aren't army ants, they are termites!"

"Termites? Don't they eat furniture?"

"Rest assured. With abundant food here, they generally won't go out of their way to chew up wood in homes."

"What are you going to do?"

Lu Zhe walked over to the ant nest and admired,

"With their own saliva and mud, these engineer ants built such a sturdy and beautiful nest that withstands even seven days of storm and torrential rain. It's truly a miracle of insect architecture worthy of respect!"

Saying so, he raised the iron shovel and shoveled away the ant nest.

The termites left homeless were washed away by the flowing water, about to embark on a new termite journey.

Lu Zhe shook off the nest fragments and threw them into the bamboo basket.

"What are you collecting those for?"

"These ant nests are excellent building materials with superb water resistance. I plan to use them to build a small reservoir when we get back!"

"I see!"

Shen Bing finally understood why Lu Zhe was looking for ant nests, and the importance of a reservoir for them.

But the termites probably wouldn't be too happy about it!

Who cares!

She also started gathering the nest fragments.

On their third trip, Lu Zhe finally discovered the queen!

The upper half looked like an ordinary ant, but the lower half was a 10 cm big worm-like body.

The pale, plump, fleshy body rippled in waves.

"This is the queen ant."

"It looks so gross. Are we really going to eat it..."

"Of course! It's rich in protein and can be eaten raw. Grilled over charcoal with salt and chili powder, it's simply a delicacy!"

And so, he took away their mother.

Outside the cave, Lu Zhe cleared a dry area and made a circle with rocks. He piled wood and dry grass underneath and laid the ant nest fragments on top.

Lighting a fire!

The remaining termites in the nest unfortunately experienced cremation.

Next, Lu Zhe ground the nest fragments into powder and mixed them with ashes from the burned grass and wood, adding water to make cement.

Lu Zhe measured out the amount of cement needed. 8 meters to the right of the cave entrance, he outlined a circular pit and started digging.

The pit had a diameter of 1.2 meters and was about 1.5 meters deep.

Then, he plastered the cement mix on the surrounding walls of the pit.

Plastering the sides was easy, but the bottom required some effort. He needed a thick stick propped over the pit with a rope tied in the middle to lower himself down.

As Lu Zhe wondered where to find such a thick stick, Tang Xiaoguo came running over. "Lu Zhe, we're building a barbecue grill. Come join us... Oh? What's this?"

"Guess what it is?"

Tang Xiaoguo thought for a bit and nodded. "Not only did you build us a shower and soap, you even built such a pretty bathtub for us! It seems you went through a lot of trouble just to watch us bathe!"

Lu Zhe smiled wryly, "If the tub is this deep, wouldn't that be unfriendly to you?"

"How so?"

"You'd have to jump up just to breathe, right?"

Seeing Tang Xiaoguo's annoyed expression, a simple idea came to Lu Zhe. "Xiaoguo, come help me plaster the bottom!"

"I won't help... Hey!"

"Be good!" Lu Zhe had already lifted her up by the ankles and held her upside down. Her skirt dropped down.

"What are you doing?"

Shen Bing laughed behind her palm. "Let me bring you the cement!"

Tang Xiaoguo yelled, "I'm a fairy. How can a fairy do menial labor like plastering? And you're seeing my underwear!"

While she said so, she secretly berated herself. She should not have worn granny panties. Compared to the class leader, she was clearly far less cunning.