Astral Cockroach

"Li Zhu, try these cliff cedar seeds from the Cliff Cedar Mountains."

Ban Bu tossed a cliff cedar seed towards Li Zhu.

Li Zhu's mind raced, and he immediately understood Ban Bu's meaning. He peeled open the seed, carefully pinched out the kernel with his toe, put it in his mouth, and smacked his lips dramatically, making a deliberate sound.

Ban Bu asked, "Is it good?" Li Zhu replied, "It tastes great!"

Li Zhu then took out a mountain walnut from his snakeskin pouch, tossed it to Ban Bu, and said, "Ban Bu, you try mine too."

Ban Bu heaved a rock, and with clangs and clatters, he cracked the walnut open. He used his toe to dig out the kernel, stuffed it in his mouth, and praised it endlessly, "Delicious, really delicious! Next growth cycle, I'll also nurture a mountain walnut as my life seed."

Li Zhu secretly glanced at Hei Sang, and sighed, "Cold wind and drizzle, terrible weather! Eating our fill, having a few Origin Power Fruits, and resting in a cave, tsk, tsk, comfortable!"

Ban Bu chimed in, "More than comfortable, it's practically a luxury."

Hei Sang silently turned around, stared at Li Zhu, then looked at Ban Bu, and said slowly, "You guys are trying to provoke me with this childish method, but I won't fall for it."

Li Zhu and Ban Bu choked up, and lowered their heads to eat.

After a moment of silence, Li Zhu asked, "Ban Bu, should we continue looking for Red Bamboo? Or look for Primal Stones?"

Ban Bu waved his antennae and said, "Searching for rare bamboo species is a long-term consideration. Even if we find it, it will take a long time to generate income. Finding Primal Stones, we can immediately make a fortune. Of course, we'll look for Primal Stones first."

Li Zhu agreed, "It should be nearby, not hard to find."

Hei Sang scoffed, "You're wasting your effort, you definitely won't find it."

Li Zhu and Ban Bu ignored Hei Sang and continued to discuss.

Ban Bu said, "If it's a new ore vein, there must be a lot of Primal Stones. If we find it, we can take a batch this time, and next year we can come back to mine again under the guise of searching for bamboo species. We can use them secretly in ordinary times, keep it a secret, and come back every year to collect a large pouch of Primal Stones to take back."

Li Zhu nodded his antennae seriously, then changed his tone and asked, "What if we can't find it?"

Ban Bu sighed, "Then we can only notify Mountain Lord Chui Rong, and mobilize all the warriors of the Sheep Hoof Mountains, and let them find it themselves. As long as it exists, they will definitely find it, and Mountain Lord Chui Rong will give us a batch of Primal Stones as a reward."

Li Zhu said, "Jade Stone Ridge was already completely mined out long ago. Even if there is a new ore vein, the scale won't be large, and the reward naturally won't be much."

Ban Bu said, "It's better than nothing."

"Let's rest first." Li Zhu said unintentionally, "Ban Bu, have you noticed? There are a lot of Jade Stone Ridge bamboo rats, so many that they're likely to form a disaster."

The speaker didn't mean much, but the listener took it to heart.

A flash of inspiration struck Ban Bu's mind, and he secretly paid attention to Hei Sang: he saw Hei Sang's two antennae standing upright, nervously scanning back and forth between Li Zhu and himself, looking hesitant and wanting to say something but stopping.

Judging by his appearance, Hei Sang became nervous at the mention of bamboo rats.

Bamboo rats?

The number of Jade Stone Ridge bamboo rats has indeed reached the point of becoming a disaster.

The mountain range, once rich in Primal Stones, is full of places rich in Origin Power.

In an environment with abundant Origin Power, even tiny insects like Big-Headed Harvest Ants can evolve into Origin Power creatures, and bamboo rats certainly can too.

Ban Bu asked, "Li Zhu, do you think it's possible that there are bamboo rat warriors in the mountains?"

Li Zhu's heart stirred, and he said, "It's possible!"

Ban Bu speculated, "The bamboo rat warriors protect tens of thousands of their kind, and when digging caves, they accidentally dug into a Primal Stone ore vein."

Li Zhu turned his head, looked at Hei Sang, and asked sternly, "Hei Sang, tell me, where did your Primal Stones come from?"

Hei Sang hesitated, lowered his antennae, struggled for a while, and said, "I encountered bamboo rat warriors..."

"How many bamboo rat warriors are there?!" Li Zhu became serious, stood up, and said, "The bamboo rat warriors are becoming a disaster, and are likely to threaten the territorial security of our clan in the Sheep Hoof Mountains."

"This matter is no child's play, we can't ignore the safety of our clan for a few Primal Stones. Ban Bu, you stay here and guard, I'm going to the Sheep Hoof Mountains now to report the situation to Mountain Lord Chui Rong."

"Li Zhu, stop!" Hei Sang was anxious and explained incoherently, "The bamboo rat warriors are good... they're cute, very kind... they won't attack the territory..."

"Li Zhu, don't be anxious!" Ban Bu also shouted anxiously.

Li Zhu stopped and asked, "Ban Bu, what is it?"

Ban Bu said, "Bamboo rats are small animals. After growing into bamboo rat warriors, they should be equivalent to mid-level warriors in our Red Sclerite tribe. Moreover, these animals eat plants and are relatively gentle, so the possibility of them attacking the territory is not high."

"Right! What Ban Bu said is right!" Hei Sang nodded his antennae and said happily, "The bamboo rat warriors are small, very fat, very cute, don't fight, and are not a threat."

Ban Bu asked, "Hei Sang, did the bamboo rat warriors dig out your Primal Stones?"

"Yes." Hei Sang said, "I traded with them, exchanging Origin Power food for Primal Stones."

Hei Sang's Origin Power food was carefully prepared for him by Mountain Lord Iron Saber before he left, more than half a pouch. Along the way, he ate nearly half, leaving only a small half pouch.

A small half pouch of Origin Power food was exchanged for about 300 Primal Stones. The profit from this transaction is dozens of times!

Ban Bu asked, "Hei Sang, how many bamboo rat warriors are there?"

Hei Sang replied, "I only saw six."

"Six!" Li Zhu heard this, became very nervous, and whispered, "These beasts are becoming a force to be reckoned with. If their numbers increase, they will become a threat."

“Li Zhu, don't worry.” Banbu soothed Li Zhu, then continued to ask Hei Sang, “How big are they?”

“They vary in size.” Hei Sang used its claws to draw an outline on the ground, saying, “The smallest are about this big… the largest are about this big…”

The smallest should have just evolved into bamboo rat warriors, with a body length of only a little over 100.

Beast warriors absorb Origin Power and evolve repeatedly, but each evolution doesn't increase their size as much as it does for insects.

The largest bamboo rat warrior is only about 200 in body length.

In terms of size, they are indeed comparable to L4 and L5 intermediate warriors.

Without the strengthening effect of Origin Power food, their overall combat power is far inferior to the L4 intermediate warriors of the Red Cockroach Tribe.

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Banbu continued to ask, “Hei Sang, can they command ordinary bamboo rats?”

Hei Sang said, “I don't think so.”

Banbu tapped its antennae.

Ordinary bamboo rats have almost no intelligence. The reason why they exist in large numbers in Bishiling should be for two reasons: one is that the bamboo rat warriors drove away predators; the other is that the abandoned mine tunnels are suitable for bamboo rats to hide and survive.

Banbu then asked, “Do they have many Origin Stones?”

Hei Sang said, “I asked them, and they said they have very few, which they dug up from deep underground below the mountains. I've seen them, and most are low-quality Origin Stones. They traded me the best few they had.”

The Bishiling ore vein has been mined countless times by the ancestors of the Fire Cockroach Tribe and the Red Cockroach Tribe, and even the low-quality ore in the corners has been scraped away. It must be that these bamboo rat warriors were lucky enough to occasionally find a few high-quality Origin Stones among the low-quality ones.

Banbu was slightly disappointed and somewhat unwilling, asking, “Just these few?”

Hei Sang said, “I don't know, they said they gave me the best ones.”

“Are there no more?” Li Zhu said, “Then I'll notify the Lord of Hanging Banyan Mountain and have them come and solve this trouble, to avoid future problems.”

“Squeak, squeak!” Hei Sang became nervous, its wing veins vibrating violently, and shouted, “Li Zhu, they are not a threat! Don't hurt them.”

Li Zhu kindly persuaded, “Hei Sang, don't underestimate them because they are small and weak. If there are too many, they can still be a threat. We manage our territory and cannot allow any threats to exist.”

“Do you remember the Ramie of Iron Blade Mountain? Its territory was attacked by beast warriors, and its lifeblood was destroyed by beast warriors…”

“Hei Sang, you are now an intermediate warrior in your third instar, not young anymore, and should know better. Look at Banbu, it's much smarter and more sensible than you…”

“That…” Banbu said quietly, “Li Zhu, I think the bamboo rat warriors are not much of a threat, and there's no need to exterminate them.”

“Ah?!” Li Zhu was stunned, became stern, and scolded, “Banbu, you are also an intermediate warrior in your third instar, how can you be like Hei Sang… You must not have any pity for beast warriors! Ramie is your direct elder, you should remember Ramie's lesson even more.”

“Li Zhu, don't worry.” Banbu carefully considered its words and said, “We can first contact those bamboo rat warriors, and through communication, we can roughly judge their nature.”

“Under normal circumstances, herbivores are not very aggressive and can cooperate.”

“Cooperate?” Li Zhu asked, “How to cooperate? Cooperate in what? Mining? The Bishiling ore vein has long been mined clean, they are just lucky to have picked up some leftovers.”

Banbu said, “Bishiling has been riddled with holes from mining for a long time, and I also think there's no hope for mining. Hehe, I mean looking for bamboo species.”

“Looking for bamboo species?” Li Zhu wasn't stupid, and with just a hint, she immediately understood, tapping her antennae and saying, “That's right, we can let them help find bamboo species! The bamboo sea is so big, there are many, many bamboo species. If we teach them how to identify them, they can find them one by one.”

Seeing this, Hei Sang rejoiced and praised, “Banbu, you are so smart!”

Li Zhu thought for a while, reluctantly tapped her antennae, and said embarrassedly, “Banbu, this idea is pretty good… But first, we must determine that they will not threaten the territory of the warriors of Ram's Hoof Mountain.”

“They are hiding and not coming out, probably because they are afraid of your aura as a high-level warrior.” Banbu said, “I'll go and contact them to confirm, I won't be mistaken.”

Li Zhu thought for a moment and said, “Banbu, go and try to contact them.”

Mentioning bamboo, Li Zhu immediately changed her temperament, throwing all racial hatred and territorial crisis to the back of her mind, her attitude quickly reversed, becoming enthusiastic, and asked Hei Sang with a bit of flattery, “Hei Sang, can you communicate with the bamboo rat warriors and ask them to help find bamboo species?”

Hei Sang said, “They want to eat Origin Power fruits. If you give them food, they will definitely be willing to help.”

“No problem!” Li Zhu agreed readily, handing her snakeskin pouch to Hei Sang and saying, “First, they must guarantee not to attack the territory of Ram's Hoof Mountain, and second, agree to help us find bamboo species. I can offer a batch of Origin Power food as a reward.”

Banbu added, “Give a little at first, and then offer a batch of Origin Power food as a reward for each new bamboo species found. This way, they will be motivated to work. In the long run, we only need to pay a small price to obtain all kinds of rare bamboo species.”

Hearing this, Li Zhu was overjoyed and sincerely praised, “Banbu, you are so smart!”

PS: Three thousand word chapter, there may be no update tonight.