The protagonist followed the police out of the cave where the secretary and the others were temporarily staying. The soldiers behind the police followed the two males in a cluster, as if they were both protecting and escorting. The ant squad quickly climbed out of the mound castle again and crawled back to the surface.

"The oldest king doesn't live in this mound?" The protagonist asks curiously. Why did I follow you and go around again?

"The oldest king lives in the deepest part of the main nest." The police explained.

"And where is the main nest?"

"The main nest is this mound."

The protagonist was suddenly stunned, "The mound is the main nest, and the oldest king is at the bottom of the main nest." Then we've all been in before, so why are we coming out again? ”

"To meet the oldest king, you need to take the most exalted sacred passage." The police replied.

The protagonist doesn't understand what the sacred passage is, so he has to follow the guide to continue walking. They climbed higher and higher along the outer slope of the mound, getting closer and closer to the hole with billowing black smoke at the very top.

The protagonist is cranky again, he won't want to enter through this big chimney, right? Then I'm not going to see the oldest king, I'm going to see the king of Hades.

Fortunately, the protagonist's conjecture did not come true, and in a relatively narrow hole second only to the height of the chimney, the police took the protagonist into it.

This opening is not as wide as the entrances and exits at the bottom of the mound castle, and the so-called sacred passage inside can probably only allow three ants to pass side by side. But the protagonist sees at a glance the unusualness of this passage. In addition to the very high position of the hole, second only to the chimney mouth, and higher than all the other holes for ants to enter, the most striking thing is that the edges of the walls of the hole are all white pebbles, which is obviously not naturally formed, nor is it as simple as digging a hole in the mound, this is a relatively mature way of building.

The white pebbles are very close in size, about the size of a male ant, and there are no signs of polishing on the pebbles, taking on a naturally occurring long oval shape, as if they were carried directly from the gravel flats of the river. The white pebbles are stacked on top of each other on top of each other on the outer walls of the cave and in the entryway, firmly glued to the soil with a kind of adhesive that the protagonist has never seen, like a wall made of concrete and gravel by humans.

The protagonist has never seen this kind of cobblestone passage in the secondary nest where they were born before, nor in the passage at the bottom of the main nest where the little secrets are housed, and the contrast between the two compartments is like the difference between a gravel road and a country dirt road. This is also a reflection of the degree of civilization, at least the ants have a binder comparable to cement, and a construction technique similar to that of a brick wall.

The white cobblestone protagonist of the wall feels very familiar, as if it is the same material as the cobblestone platform on the floor of the classroom where Lao Wang teaches.

Intrigued, the protagonist places his tentacles on the wall and feeds the signal in. Because he didn't know what to say, he casually said, "I'm here!" ”。 Sure enough, the news was passed out smoothly, although the protagonist didn't know where it was passed or how far it could be transmitted.

The police have been moving side by side with the protagonist, while keeping a close eye on the protagonist. Seeing the protagonist's behavior, he immediately ran over and warned the protagonist with his tentacles: "Stop, reckless king." The will of God can only be received by the oldest king, and no other king has the right to touch the stones of the sacred passage. ”

The protagonist doesn't want to commit a taboo with a casual behavior, so he quickly retreats. Then he asked the police without giving up: "What is the sacred passage?" ”

"It is a passage through heaven to receive the will of God."

"Oh, will God give you a will?"

"The Elder King will receive the decree of God."

"What will God give?"

"Many, many, any major matters are consulted by the eldest king."

Well, the protagonist roughly understands that this is still a society where religion is supreme, similar to the Yin Shang period, turtle shells or bones were used for divination before sacrifices or conquests.

"What will the other ants do if they touch the stones of the Sacred Passage?" The protagonist asks again.

"The king of the years of age will be punished by throwing himself into the fire." The cold words and emotions of the police came through the tentacles: "You are still unmarried, you don't know the ban, and you don't need to be punished." Now that you know the ban, you will face penalties for repeat offenses. ”

The protagonist was taken aback, isn't this the burning at the stake of heretics by the medieval Catholic Church, and the religion of ancient and modern Chinese and foreign ants is really a virtue. The protagonist asks unwillingly: "What if the queen ant, the soldier ant and the worker ant touch?" Isn't there a rule? ”

"After not being able to come here, the soldier ants and worker ants cannot receive the divine decree." The police patiently explained.

Well, although the male ants are the kings of the ants, they can't do whatever they want. After all, after anything is spread out in religion, the theocracy will strive to override the secular power, and even the ant society will not be spared.

The passage covered with white pebbles slopes almost vertically downward, but fortunately, the protagonist is used to the climbing way of the ants, and it doesn't feel awkward to climb down head and foot, and he can constantly chat with the police side by side. Probably due to the proximity to the flue, the protagonist feels that the pebbles under his feet are warm, not hot, but comfortable.

The passage is extremely long, and because it is covered with pebbles, fluorescent bacteria cannot grow. At first, the sunlight from the hole reflected by white pebbles provides illumination, but as the passage gets deeper and deeper, the light becomes dimmer and dimmer, and eventually even the protagonist's exceptional night vision after crossing becomes useless. The protagonist feels like he's been crawling headfirst for a long, long time, so long that he has lost his concrete perception of the passage of time. In the complete invisibility of the situation, the protagonist is forced to continue in the usual way of the ants in the way of antennae pathfinding units, in the dark, the teammates around him seem to have all disappeared, even if the tentacles can still hear the rustling vibrations produced by their crawling, but the heart has already believed that he is crawling alone in the dark, lonely and cold endless long road. The protagonist feels like he's about to fall into a dark syndrome.

Finally, a little yellow light appears at the end of the passage, and as the protagonist crawls mechanically, the yellow light gets closer and closer, and the passage finally comes to an end. After turning a 90-degree straight, the police lead the protagonist into a wide passage parallel to the ground. The floor of the passage is still made of numerous white pebbles, but the walls and ceiling have been restored to the usual soil.

The parallel passage did not extend far, and there was a nest chamber, which was unusually bright, shining with orange light, and illuminated this parallel passage unusually brightly.

"The oldest king is in front." The police turned around and told the protagonist: "The young king, who is not yet married, is forbidden to send messages after entering, and obeys my command." ”