Chapter 166: Chapter 152: The Academy’s New Atmosphere

By the time Han Ning and Lü Xiuning returned to the academy, the sky had already started to darken.

The students at the academy were still bustling with activity.

Han Ning remembered that when they had left in the morning, the greenbelt near the dormitory area had been a patch of overgrown weeds.

Now, upon their evening return, all the weeds had been pulled up. In their place, rows of pale blue grass blades were planted in the dark brown soil.

This was Blue Ginseng Grass, a fairly common plant on the Insect Continent that contained a certain amount of Wood Type Energy. It was a favorite food for some insects.

Wild Three-eyed Worms generally lived in areas where Blue Ginseng Grass grew densely. If you found one, the other wouldn’t be far off.

Evidently, the team responsible for finding Three-eyed Worms had already captured a number of mother worms, following the notes of the Taman Insect Masters.

As the bottom of the food chain, the importance of the Three-eyed Worm was self-evident. Both the Blue Jade Spider Bees and the Silver Thorn Damselflies required large quantities of them to provide an abundant supply of Energy.

As dusk was about to fall, the newly returned Han Ning and Lü Xiuning stood side by side with Dean Wu, watching the industrious scene before them.

The original asphalt road had been smashed apart by the Silver Lotus Wood’s Vine Whips and dug up piece by piece, revealing the bare earth underneath.

The collected debris was piled to the side, forming a small "hill."

Teacher Fang stood beside a simple enclosure woven from sheet metal, mesh screens, and wood. With a serious expression, he held a thermometer and examined it carefully.

"The place where insects are cultivated is called an Insect Nest. Different types of insects require different living environments. Take the Three-eyed Worm, for example. They like to live in places rich with the Wood Element and with high soil moisture. Only in such an environment will the cultivated Three-eyed Worms grow plump."

Dean Wu remarked with a sigh,

"Back then, the students complained that these greenbelts were a nuisance, that dangerous Soul Beasts might be hiding inside. Now, everyone wishes the academy was full of unmodified greenbelts. It would have saved a ton of work."

Asphalt roads were certainly not suitable for raising insects. Some insects liked to stay in the soil, while others would build their own nests to rest. In any case, it was unlikely that insects were in the habit of living on asphalt.

Beyond the network of intersecting asphalt roads, the academy’s grounds consisted mostly of greenbelts and various sprawling buildings.

The outer perimeter was a damp swamp. Certain insects enjoyed living in swampy environments, but the few species everyone had chosen were not among them.

"Electric Fire Cannon Insects prefer to nest inside mountains or in spaces more than 20 meters underground. They are highly sensitive to electricity. During thunderstorms, they will emerge from the ground, fly into the sky, and feed on the free-floating electrons in the air..."

"They require relatively dry soil, with humidity at or below 40%, and an optimal temperature of 25°C. Each mother insect has an activity range of about three square meters. With sufficient Energy and a suitable environment, it takes ten days for a larva to mature into an Electric Fire Cannon Insect capable of laying eggs."

"While Electric Fire Cannon Insects don’t have the rigid social structure of bees, they are still a gregarious species. They live in small family groups of 20 to 30, and a family’s territory is at least 200 square meters."

Lü Xiuning held a sheet of A4 paper, murmuring the contents he was reading while surveying his surroundings. He then said,

"Twenty meters underground... The eight mother insects and eight Insect Eggs we captured definitely don’t have the ability to build their own nests. We’ll have to help them."

"Where else in the academy is suitable for the Electric Fire Cannon Insects to nest?"

Unlike some insects on Blue Star, the insects from the Insect Continent were generally tough-skinned and relatively easy to raise. While some had strict environmental requirements, they weren’t so fragile as to drop dead at the slightest provocation.

This was good news for everyone.

"Does it have to be underground? What benefit does being underground provide the Electric Fire Cannon Insects?" Han Ning frowned slightly. As far as he recalled, the Electric Fire Cannon Insect didn’t have an Earth Attribute. ’Why would it like to stay underground?’

Constructing a new home for the Electric Fire Cannon Insects 20 meters underground would be quite a strain on the academy’s current capabilities.

Lü Xiuning thought for a moment and said, "I don’t think it necessarily has to be underground. What they like is a relatively dry environment. If we put them indoors and used agricultural or laboratory-standard rooms with constant temperature and humidity to raise them, we could achieve the same great results—perhaps even better than the environment specified by the Insect Masters."

Han Ning nodded.

"Compared to the primitive technology of the Insect Master Tribes, our human advantage is undoubtedly our control over relatively advanced science, something the creatures of this world lack. We don’t need to mechanically replicate the insect-rearing environment required by the Insect Masters and expend so much effort."

Greenhouses modified with modern technology to maintain constant temperature and humidity year-round were one example.

Highly modernized farms and ranches were also good points of reference.

The academy had many laboratories, and some instruments for controlling air humidity and temperature could still be salvaged. Aside from the difficulty of filtering out the white mist, this method should be better than the Insect Masters’ way of using the natural environment to raise insects.

"The teachers from the biology-related departments have considered your ideas," Dean Wu said. "But to be safe and for research purposes, the first cultivation must simulate the environment provided by the Insect Masters so we can collect data."

He paused, pondering for a few seconds before continuing, "I’ll have Teacher Fang’s team personally handle the Electric Fire Cannon Insects. We’ll need Da Yan and Egg Pancake to help excavate the underground nest. I’ve already decided on a location. We’ll clear out the area around dormitory Building J to make it convenient for our cultivation staff to perform daily observations."

"Their main food sources are electricity, some other insects, and plants. We still have about 7,000 liters of diesel left, which should be enough for the first batch of Electric Fire Cannon Insects to mature."

So far, no one knew how much electricity was needed to raise a single Extraordinary Level Electric Fire Cannon Insect. They were all proceeding by trial and error.

Powering a high-speed train consumes over 9,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per hour. ’Surely raising a single Electric Fire Cannon Insect wouldn’t consume more power than that.’

Han Ning was responsible for helping the academy gather resources for the researchers to study. His main focus was on making his own Soul Beasts stronger. A person’s energy is limited, and he couldn’t manage everything. He planned to just learn the finished insect cultivation techniques later on.

After handing over the Electric Fire Cannon Insect Eggs and young mother insects to Teacher Fang’s team, Han Ning said goodbye to Dean Wu and Lü Xiuning. He then went to greet Da Yan before returning to his dormitory.

He placed the injured Shadow Mantis in the fish tank where Egg Pancake used to live.

The bottom of the tank was covered with a layer of soft, dry grass, making it a perfectly acceptable temporary home.

He sat on his bed, a serious expression on his face as he examined Egg Pancake’s panel. Staring at its contents, he became conflicted.

’Egg Pancake... it’s time to prepare for its evolution.’