NOVPUBEventually, they decided to stand behind Kim Haru.
After all, they were here to act as his bodyguards.
The Ginseng Spirit had already been put back into Kim Haru's pocket during the journey here.
Knowing that there was no longer any role for it, it had closed its eyes and prepared to nap.
The queen ant touched the antenna of a nearby guardian ant, and the guardian, receiving the order, quickly brought in tray after tray of glimmering objects, placing them in front of Kim Haru.
Kim Haru looked at the queen.
She gestured for him to eat.
It seems that the queen ant is particularly knowledgeable about human things, even going so far as to offer food to entertain guests.
Kim Haru picked up one of the items from the plate and carefully examined it.
It was soft to the touch, with a thin membrane on the outside, and the inside seemed to contain a liquid-like substance.
He placed one in his system backpack, and noticed that the classification changed to "Sugar Syrup."
It was sugar!
What a pleasant surprise.
Since the system indicated that it was edible, Kim Haru had no hesitation and ate one.
The three people standing behind him were startled, all nervously watching Kim Haru, fearing that something unusual might happen.
The queen ant who is seated on the throne, seemed to become even more delighted at Kim Haru's willingness to eat it, and her antenna movements became more cheerful.
Kim Haru pointed to the sugar syrup on the plate and asked, "I'm curious, could you tell me how this is made?"
The queen nodded and didn't wait for Kim Haru to make a move.
She walked over to him, making a soft clicking sound, and shoved her antenna into his hand.
'It's made by our slaves. Do you want to see where it comes from? I can take you there.'
Kim Haru nodded. "Alright, thank you. I'm indeed quite curious about it. But before that, I'd like to know your thoughts on our purpose for coming here?"
'Oh, it's about that fat white guy talking about helping you build houses, right? Sure, sure, I'm fine with that. I've been getting bored here anyway.'
"It's a partnership," Kim Haru clarified a little more carefully.
Then, he transmitted the details of the partnership in his mind.
The main idea was that humans from the Pyeongseong Safe Zone could hire the Antharion Giant Ants to construct buildings, and in return, humans would protect the land around Gokmul County for the ants, preventing other creatures from disturbing the area.
Of course, there were more specifics to discuss, but those would be sorted out after the initial agreement was made.
The queen ant's voice sounded ethereal, but given her energetic behavior, it seemed like she had a lively personality.
As soon as Kim Haru finished explaining, she eagerly nodded and immediately agreed.
Kim Haru was surprised. "Aren't you worried that we might trick you?"
The queen ant proudly responded, 'There are many of us ants. If you try to trick us, we're not to be messed with.'
Kim Haru understood.
So this was confidence in their own strength.
'And I believe you won't deceive me,' the queen ant added.
What else could Kim Haru do?
Of course, he had to live up to this trust.
The partnership was quickly established.
The queen ant couldn't leave the anthill easily, but she would send her trusted assistants to accompany Kim Haru and the others to the Pyeongchang Safe Zone to discuss the specifics of their cooperation.
The queen and her assistants had a special mental connection, so even at a distance, they could communicate, and she wasn't concerned about her assistants being unable to make decisions.
Then, the queen ant happily led Kim Haru to the place where the slaves were held.
Although Chung Hwangeun, Shin Woncheon, and Yoon Jongju didn't know where Kim Haru was going next, they knew to follow his lead and simply stayed behind him.
When they saw the so-called "slaves" of the ants, Kim Haru was even more amazed.
If he wasn't mistaken, the creatures that the ants had enslaved were aphids!
Kim Haru remembered that before he transmigrated, he had read about aphids in a biological book.
He had been incredibly curious about these creatures that can produced honeydew.
He had even gone out of his way to research them and found out that aphids were actually pests, and humans couldn't consume the honeydew they produced.
At the time, Kim Haru had felt quite disappointed, imagining how wonderful it would be if humans could actually eat the honeydew produced by aphids.
To his surprise, a fantasy that never came true in his previous lofe had now become reality in this one.
At that moment, the aphids enslaved by the Antharion Giant Ants were large, even bigger than the queen ant herself.
However, each aphid was being ridden by a Antharion Giant Ants, working tirelessly under the ants' command.
Kim Haru didn't have a clear view of how the aphids operated, but he saw their forelegs waving in the air as if they were stuffing something.
Then, the wings on their backs unfolded, and a large clump of sugar syrup appeared.
Once the sugar syrup reached a certain amount, the aphid's wings folded again, and the syrup was severed before it could fall to the ground.
The ants were already waiting nearby to carry it away.
From the queen ant, Kim Haru learned that the sugar syrup produced by the aphids was incredibly thick and had a high concentration, making it unsuitable for direct consumption.
After being carried away by other ants, it would be transported to a processing room for refinement.
Only after that would it become the syrup presented to Kim Haru.
This saved him the step of extracting sugar from sugar beets.
Kim Haru immediately asked the queen ant, "Is the production of this syrup large? Do you have enough for yourselves? If you have excess, perhaps we can trade it with humans."
