The sky was blue with white clouds, the sea sparkling with light.
The bobbing black figure had a buoy-like tail extending from its back, resembling an enlarged insect chrysalis, seemingly providing buoyancy to keep the figure from sinking.
Judging by its full appearance, that chrysalis-like tail was likely its abdomen, or... it might be more appropriate to refer to it as 'her'.
This figure was the Chimera Ant Queen that Law had been waiting for.
Chimera Ants belong to the ant family. In terms of external morphology, they are also divided into three parts: head, thorax, and abdomen, with six legs, largely similar to ordinary ants.
However, due to the Chimera Ant Queen's unique egg-laying method of [Phagogenesis], the endless cycle of eating and laying eggs results in each generation's Queen having a different form.
The so-called [Phagogenesis] is the Chimera Ant Queen eating other creatures to incorporate their characteristics into the next generation.
Once a Chimera Ant sets its sights on a species, it will continuously eat that species until it is extinct.
Therefore, Chimera Ants are extremely greedy creatures, no different from the Damo insects Law had seen. However, the former are born with the mission to continue the race, while the latter simply eat insanely.
It's worth mentioning that Chimera Ants born through [Phagogenesis], even within the same generation, are considered the same race based on different external characteristics, but are no longer the same species.
Bobbing among the waves, one could see the Queen's body.
Apart from the chrysalis-shaped abdomen on her back, both the overall structure and length were similar to a human's.
However, the head, thorax, pelvis, hands, and feet were purely ant-like features.
Based on the characteristics of Chimera Ants, this indicates the Queen's body contained a small amount of human genes, so she only retained the general human structure, while the specific appearance remained ant-like.
That small amount of human genes not only made the Queen's physique close to human but also made her a bipedal creature.
At this moment, the deer-antler-shaped antennae on the Queen's head only had one left… the other was broken off, its whereabouts unknown.
Judging by the break, it didn't look like a cut but more like being broken off by brute force.
Overall, only one antenna was damaged, and there were no other injuries.
The waves gently pushed the Queen's body, making it drift in a certain direction.
Looking around, there was nothing but the vast sea, no land or ships in sight.
In the clear blue sky, seagulls occasionally flew by.
The Queen's large compound eyes stared straight ahead, unmoving.
[The sea is too dangerous, can't stop for a moment...]
[Need to find a way to reach land as soon as possible.]
[Must find suitable food at the fastest speed.]
[Until then, I must protect myself as much as possible.]
[Luck won't last forever!]
Suddenly, the Queen's body, floating on the sea, plunged into the water, charging into a passing school of fish.
The over-two-meter-tall body swept past the fish, then surfaced, breaking through the water. Her opened mandibles had already caught a palm-sized white fish.
Crunch.
Her jaw easily bit the white fish into two pieces, then placed it into the smaller teeth formation in her oral cavity for further chewing.
In less than a moment, one white fish was in her stomach.
The Queen raised her arms from the water… her claws were skewering several white fish, which she placed into her mouth one by one.
This current eating wasn't for laying eggs but for increasing physical stamina.
In the vast sea, unable to tell direction, not knowing when land would appear.
And so, she tenaciously floated on the sea, like a piece of duckweed favored by fate, drifting with the waves, letting fate decide the destination.
The Queen... was lucky.
It couldn't be considered coincidence. She was indeed favored by Lady Luck twice.
Just three days ago, she encountered a group of sharks moving together and was treated as an inconsequential prey.
In that desperate situation, an utterly unexpected tsunami scattered both the shark school and her.
The turbulent currents pushed a shark that smashed off her antenna.
But she also escaped, carried who knows how many nautical miles away by the currents in the blink of an eye.
When she regained her senses, the surroundings were calm, with no sharks in sight.
That was the second time she safely escaped disaster.
However, she didn't know where the end point was, so she could only stare ahead, hoping the outline of land would appear within her sight.
The mission she was born with was to must give birth to the [King]!
Holding onto this thought, an intangible aura naturally arose.
Like a hungry wolf eyeing its prey.
Like an angry bear slapping a tree trunk.
Like a cheetah pouncing on an antelope.
That unique aura, different from a human's emotional aura, was an almost tangible pure instinct.
Such an aura could ward off some potentially threatening marine life.
[Can't die! Must survive!]
[Must... ensure my own safety!]
No one knew that here, there was a terrifying creature from the Dark Continent.
The sky gradually darkened, and large patches of dark clouds gathered in the night sky at some point.
The moon hid behind the clouds… sea and sky fell into darkness.
Suddenly, a light appeared in the darkness, cutting through the waves.
It was a luxury cruise ship, carrying affluent and distinguished guests, sailing the seas, traveling from one end of the world to the other.
The Queen looked at the light in the darkness as if looking at a guiding beacon.
...
Midnight, World Tree sapling.
Law sat cross-legged in the bird's nest atop the World Tree.
The giant bird was resting with its eyes closed, while Law watched the impending storm in the sky.
Looking back, the giant bird was behind him, showing no reaction to the approaching storm.
Having built its nest here, it naturally had no fear of wind and rain.
Even if fierce winds and heavy rain came, when it was time to sleep, it would remain unmoved like a mountain.
"Hoo."
Law let out a breath and shook his head slightly.
"Sometimes, you really can't completely trust the weather forecast."
Law stood up and went to the edge of the nest.
A single glance down would be enough to frighten to death anyone with acrophobia.
Beep beep.
Amidst the wind, his phone rang twice.
Law took his phone from his pocket. It was a message from Feng Xiaoyu.
[Preparing to search for goods. Big Boss, want some?]
[Naturally, as usual.]
[Alright, wait for my news. This time's destination is quite something.]
[Where?]
[Not telling you. Just have the money ready.]
Looking at the last message, Law chuckled softly and put away his phone.
Nowadays, Feng Xiaoyu was practically a professional Treasure Hunter. Since getting her Hunter License, she had been searching for undiscovered ancient sites everywhere.
Not every trip yielded goods, but once goods were found, the harvest was substantial.
Law was her regular customer, responsible for taking her goods off her hands, providing her with profit.
This time, Feng Xiaoyu specifically sent a message, suggesting it was indeed as she said… quite something. There was a chance to get a lot of good stuff.
Any goods carrying Nen were what Law needed. Even if they didn't carry Nen, they could be sold on the Lawlin Museum's website.
"Time to head back."
Law looked up at the sky crowded with dark clouds, then stepped forward, descending through the wind towards the ground.
Just like that, he jumped directly from the nearly two-thousand-meter-tall World Tree.