Rebirth: I Became a Maggot 2

We finally reached the crooked tree, but to my utter dismay, we had to climb it. How could I possibly climb such a tall tree?

Fortunately, the ants had something like an elevator for transporting goods, so we walked into the tree hole that served as the elevator.

To my surprise, there really was an elevator. We quickly climbed up and waited for it to take us up to find the Queen.

After we went up, we saw the ant that was leading us shouting loudly into the distance, "Begin takeoff!"

With that shout, the wooden plank actually began to slowly rise, gradually ascending upwards.

Holy crap, this is amazing! What's the principle behind it? How can there be an elevator? Who is this person? So clever to invent an elevator, then ants won't have to climb a tree to reach even a single grain of rice.

I looked around with great curiosity, wanting to see what the principle was. How could it be so high-tech?

I looked around, feeling quite annoyed. Just as I was wondering what was making the elevator go up, I saw a small pet basket in a slot next to the tree.

Inside the pet basket, I saw a little hamster, which was running around frantically. As the hamster ran, our elevator slowly rose.

You've probably all seen hamsters before, right? They're the kind sold on the street. They cost a certain amount each and come in a cage. Inside the cage, there's something like a wheel, so the hamster can run around and play.

The little hamster I'm looking at is running around in that cage, but that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that when the little hamster is running, the wheel is made of yarn.

As the wheel turned, our board slowly rose up. This is the simplest principle of a zipline.

I just can't imagine what kind of ant would come up with this idea, to use a hamster as the power source for the elevator. Even more unexpected is who would think of using yarn as the elevator's rope.

I was amazed to see that the little hamster had already done its job quite skillfully, running on the wheel on three legs while eating a peanut with one of its little paws as it ran.

When I looked at the little hamster, it clearly saw me, smiled at me, and continued eating its peanuts and running on the wheel.

“That’s Little Flower. He was on the verge of death when we found him,” the ant leading the group suddenly said.

"That little hamster?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, I don't know which family bought this pet. They got tired of it and threw it away. When we found it, it was already on its last legs. Later, our general assigned it this job, and people said it was actually quite suitable for it," the ant leader explained to me.

I watched the little hamster running on the wheel, and it really suited him. He was happy eating and happy running. This might be the first case of a pet surviving after leaving its owner.

This reminds me that cats have gradually become pets and have lost their ability to catch mice. I wonder what will happen to cats in the future when no one keeps them.

In the past, cats were kept to catch mice, but nowadays cats can live simply by being cute and adorable.

There is injustice everywhere. I suddenly feel that I am not even as good as a cat or a hamster. How pathetic.

I was still marveling at it when suddenly the wooden plank shook, and then a door opened beside us, clearly indicating that we had arrived.

As the wooden door opened, we slowly climbed inside. Inside was a place resembling a hall. It's surprising how animals nowadays like to live inside tree trunks; they've almost hollowed them out completely.

However, it must be said that it is no easy feat for those ants to build such a magnificent structure.

Once we got up there, the ant leader took us to a small, private room that resembled a tree hollow.

"Let's rest here for the night. We can talk about everything tomorrow," said the soldier ant who led us to a tree hollow.

"Thank you so much. We'll rest here tonight. The environment is nice. Thank you for your hospitality," the soldier said politely.

After all, it's their territory, so it's best to be polite no matter what.

After saying that, the ant that brought us there left, leaving the three of us in a small tree hole.

The tree hollow looked quite large, providing ample space for the three of us to spend the night.

I don't know if it's because human consciousness is too strong or what, but I always feel uncomfortable spending the night with a woman in the same place, even if that woman is a maggot, I still feel awkward.

Fortunately, there are ants living with us, so it won't be so awkward. At least if something happens in the middle of the night, we'll have someone to help us.

I was still secretly hoping that the soldier would keep me company tonight, but he actually said, "I'm going to see my partner tonight, so you two can have this room."

Hearing what that soldier said felt like a bolt from the blue. What was he trying to do? Was he playing me?

Did Dafu give the soldier a red envelope on the way? They've come all this way and they want to leave? That won't do!

So I quickly called out, "Wait a minute."

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?" the soldier asked, puzzled.

“You can’t leave. You have to stay with us tonight,” I said immediately.

"Why?" the soldier asked curiously.

Dafu, who was standing to the side, also looked over with a very curious gaze. "Yeah, why?"

"because……"

"because……"

I racked my brains for ages but couldn't come up with a good solution. Should I say it's because I'm afraid of being attacked in the middle of the night? If I said that, all the ants would laugh at me to death.

Facing their gazes, I racked my brains trying to come up with a reason.

"Because you have to protect us." I finally realized, why bother thinking of reasons? His presence is the best reason.

"We've arrived, what kind of protection do we still need?" the soldier asked, puzzled.

"How do you know it's safe here? What if something attacks us in the middle of the night? How will you explain to the Queen tomorrow? As long as you haven't seen the Queen, your duty isn't over." I quickly said. Actually, I just made up an excuse to keep the ant from leaving. I knew there shouldn't be any danger. Even if there were, what use would an ant be?

But my jinx really does come true, good things never come true. Just as I finished speaking, an ant suddenly crawled quickly toward me and cried out anxiously, "Emergency! The Queen wants to see you!"