Under the action of the wind, the black plume of smoke continued to tumble and shake, gradually rising and spreading, until finally completely disappeared into the air.

The protagonist looks at this scene excitedly. Fireworks, fireworks that I have only seen in my previous life. Black smoke of all kinds used to be common next to earthen stoves in the countryside, on meat skewers at barbecue stalls on the streets, and in the huge towering chimneys of factories. At that time, the protagonist would also complain about the air pollution, and the smog with the smell of fireworks was so annoying. But now, the protagonist looks at this thin black smoke, but he is extremely excited - this is the fireworks that belong to civilization. Although in the excitement, a lot of surprise gradually emerged.

The protagonist is motionless, as if on a pilgrimage, staring closely at the smoke that keeps gushing out, for fear that this is a fantasy in his mind, and it will disappear after his distraction.

Seeing that the protagonist was silent, the other ants had to wait in place, and kept accepting the verification of the passing main nest ants. The little secretary couldn't wait for the first time, and pushed the protagonist with her head.

The protagonist is immersed in inner activity at this time, and at this time, the scenery in the protagonist's eyes seems to turn completely black, and all consciousness is deprived of all external perception.

He wondered why ants had mastered fire, the most powerful force in nature. When he heard that there was a fire in the main nest, he had only heard about it, and even if he came here full of curiosity, he never thought that he would actually see the fire. Maybe the ants have only seen flames, after all, fires in nature are not uncommon, a thunderstorm or a volcanic eruption can cause a wildfire. Do the ants have fire, or is there an active volcano right next to the main nest? Or is it simply the beautiful mistake of the ants' pathetic language to spread falsehood?

The protagonist can't imagine what a tribe of ants with fire would be like, even if it's just an ant nest that can use natural fire but can't make it artificially. Why were our ancestors able to stand out from the crowd and dominate the planet? Whatever the answer, the role of fire in it will not be overlooked.

The understanding, use and mastery of fire by human beings is the first practice of human beings to understand nature and use it to improve production and life. The application of fire is of great significance in the history of the development of human civilization. From the Yuanmou people more than 1 million years ago to the Beijing people 500,000 years ago, they all left traces of using fire. Human beings initially used natural fire, but after the invention of artificial fire, primitive human beings finally mastered a powerful natural force, which promoted the development of human institutions and society, and finally separated humans from animals.

Controlling fire to provide heat and light was one of the greatest achievements of early mankind. Early humans kept fire from the sources of fire produced in nature. Later, he learned to use the method of drilling wood for fire or striking flint to obtain fire. Learning to use fire enabled humans to settle in colder climates. Fire is used to cook more digestible cooked foods, to illuminate, to provide warmth, to drive away wild animals, to heat treat materials, and more. It was only when fire was used that pottery and metal smelting were possible.

Now, this technology, which was previously only mastered by humans, has been mastered by other species. Although the protagonist is now an ant, he is also deeply concerned about humans. What kind of world is this, or is it the earth? What about the humans of this world? I've seen bugs for so many days, but where have humans and animals gone? If it were humans, where would they be? What stage have they reached? Do they have what it takes to take on the challenge of ants? Haven't they noticed that ants have evolved? Could it be that the world will eventually be ruled by ants defeating humans? What should I do, am I an ant or a human?

The protagonist can't imagine that although he is an ant, if there are ants and humans at the same time, he will still be inclined to humans from the bottom of his heart.

What reassures the protagonist a little is that what he sees and hears on the road shows that these ants are not strong enough, the civilization is not advanced enough, and the disadvantage of their size is not enough to defeat even primitive humans. But this is just a nest of ants, where in the world will there be a more powerful ant empire?

At this time, the protagonist was finally pulled out of his cranky thoughts by Xiao Mi, and he turned his head and asked Xiao Mi and Mulan: "Did you see those smokes?" ”

Mulan shakes her head blankly, and the protagonist guesses that her eyesight is not enough to see such a distance.

However, Xiao Mi replied that she saw it, and it seemed that she not only had superior intelligence, but also had far more eyesight than other worker ants.

"You said you had seen fire, what do these fires look like?" The protagonist can't even wait to crawl over to the scene to see, he is anxious to know how well the ants have mastered fire, and the little secret who has seen fire is the only one who can answer his doubts. Even Mulan is not qualified, she is too stupid and often can't understand the meaning of the protagonist.

"It's a fire that burns all the time, and it never goes out." The little secretary replied.

It seems that these ants are still using natural fire, so they need to keep the flame burning, otherwise once the fire is extinguished, it will basically lose the fire permanently, after all, the natural fire that can be retrieved smoothly is not available. Only by keeping the flames burning constantly, as the Pekingese did in the past, they would even leave a layer of ashes for several meters in place.

"What do you do with fire in the main nest?" The protagonist asks that the answer in his heart is nothing more than cooking food, keeping warm, making pottery, or something. Of course, if the ants even point out the technology of pottery, then the protagonist will be surprised again.

As a result, the little secretary's reply made the protagonist very stunned: "Of course, it is used to sacrifice to the gods, and to burn the king or queen." ”

Sacrifice to the gods? Do ants have a religion? Religion is an activity that can only be found in a very advanced civilization! And the burning of male ants and queens, aren't the ants very peaceful inside? Why do you want to burn your own people? Is this an ant martyrdom similar to human martyrdom or a punishment after judgment? Or a prisoner obtained in battle with the enemy? Didn't the documentary say that ants would eat the corpses of their enemies?

In any case, there is a lot of information in the secretary's answer. The secret of this main nest is not comparable to the secondary nest with a sparse ant mouth and a simple society born to the protagonist.

"Let's move on!" The protagonist is now curious about everything about the main nest. So he led the team and continued to march towards the castle of the main nest, which was not far away.

When walking a few meters away from the castle, which is also a human unit. The protagonist is stopped by a patrol of twenty or thirty soldier ants, and even if their identity is verified, the patrol does not let the protagonist pass.

They will only reply mechanically to the protagonist: "The king of the alien, the king of the main nest will dare to come and receive you." ”