When William heard the staff member mention the Fountain of Life again, he realized he was still at work, and the person in front of him was just a customer shopping in the mall.

  "Haha... sorry, I’ve been chatting with you for so long. We seem to get along so well. How about this: if you trust me, just transfer 1000 points of divine power to me, and I’ll go to the Ministry of Education’s exchange center to help you get the Fountain of Life," the staff member suggested.

  "You haven’t reached senior year yet, so you aren’t registered at the Ministry of Education. You can’t exchange it yourself," he continued, seeing that the relationship between them had indeed grown closer.

  "Thank you so much, senior. You’ve really helped me a lot." William immediately extended his light beam and transferred the 1000 points of divine power to the staff member. Since this was the official human civilization mall, William wasn’t worried about being scammed.

  "Haha, no problem, it’s just a small favor. Stay here and don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back. The Fountain of Life doesn’t come with a special container, so its effects dissipate quickly. I’ll get it to you as soon as possible," the staff member reminded him before disappearing behind the counter.

  William watched the person vanish and knew that they were likely teleporting to the Ministry of Education’s exchange center. He patiently waited.

  Less than five minutes later, the staff member returned and handed William a card.

  "This is the Fountain of Life. It’s been exchanged, and I got you a small disposable wooden bottle that will slow down the dissipation of its effects by half within a minute. You should use it quickly," the staff member said as he handed the card to William’s outstretched light beam.

  "Thanks, senior. I’ll definitely chat with you again next time." William didn’t waste any time and took the sealed card, immediately teleporting back to his divine realm.

  Upon arrival, he stood before the Ant Queen and used divine power to input the card. A small wooden bottle with a faint green glow appeared in his hand.

  The bottle was small, and William estimated it contained only about 30 grams of the Fountain of Life. Without hesitation, he unscrewed the lid. The glow around the bottle vanished, revealing a clear and emerald green liquid inside.

  At the same time, William sent an order to the Ant Queen: "I’ve brought you something good. Open your mouth and drink it all."

  Upon receiving the command, the Ant Queen raised her head slightly and opened her mandibles, ready to be fed.

  William used his divine power to gently lift the bottle, pouring the entire contents into her mouth without wasting a drop.

  "It’s so delicious, thank you, Master!" The Ant Queen was ecstatic after drinking the Fountain of Life for the first time.

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  William didn’t have time to chat with her. He immediately released his divine consciousness to observe the Ant Queen’s physical condition.

  He could feel the effects of the Fountain of Life working inside her body, nurturing her in a very gentle manner.

  With a sense of relief, William was confident and no longer hesitant. He retrieved the optimized octopus shrimp reproductive organ gene from the Ant Queen’s genetic library and began integrating it into her original genetic sequence.

  The entire process required William to stay extremely focused, fearing any possible mishaps. However, his preparations were thorough, and everything went according to plan. Three hours later, he successfully completed the Ant Queen's genetic adjustment without any issues.

  At this point, the Ant Queen was lying on the ground, asleep. Her abdomen had stopped producing eggs, and her body was beginning a transformation due to the genetic changes.

  This would take some time, and William estimated the Ant Queen’s transformation would take between one to two months. With the Fountain of Life as a foundation, her life was no longer in danger, and now it was just a matter of waiting to see the results of this genetic fusion.

  Another month passed, and during this time, William’s daily routine was to check on the Ant Queen’s condition and observe the later development of the mature jumping insects from the previous batch of 2000 larvae.

  The jumping insects, which had been incubating for two months, were finally ready to break out of their cocoons. This batch of 2000 insects was the last generation laid by the Ant Queen before her transformation began.

  Compared to the previous main combat units that had a seven-day growth cycle, this batch grew much slower. However, their combat power made up for the slow development. All 2000 jumping insects grew strong and healthy without any deaths.

  Now, William was just waiting for the Ant Queen’s transformation to complete. Once that happened, he planned to focus all future production efforts on these jumping insects as the primary combat unit.

  When the Ant Queen’s antennae slightly twitched, William immediately directed his divine consciousness toward her. Noticing that her bodily functions were slowly beginning to revive, he knew she was about to awaken.

  He immediately activated the faith line and instructed the logistics spider ants to prepare food, ensuring the Ant Queen could eat immediately after waking to replenish the energy lost during her transformation.

  The twitching of her antennae grew more frequent, and after five minutes, the Ant Queen finally awoke.

  The spider ants, who had already prepared the food, immediately served her a feast of plump aphids. After such a lengthy transformation, the Ant Queen was starving and eagerly began to consume the food.

  Through his divine consciousness, William closely examined the genetic state inside the Ant Queen's body. The results confirmed that the genetic fusion had been very successful. Her genes were stable, with no significant changes except for the growth of new organs around her abdomen.

  William understood that these new organs were key to improving the colony’s reproductive efficiency. Whether they would function properly could only be determined through practical testing.

  Finally, after finishing her first meal, the Ant Queen was resting and awaiting the second batch of food, which was still on the way.

  “How do you feel now that you’ve woken up?” William sent her a telepathic message with a concerned tone.

  “Master, I feel great! Although I’m a bit hungry, my abdomen feels different now,” the Ant Queen replied. She then tried to move, using her legs to push herself up.

  With a slight crack, the connection between her abdomen and body broke, and the Ant Queen was able to stand up for the first time in over 20 years.

  "Eh… Master, I can really move now! I can walk!" After some initial doubt, the Ant Queen confirmed it herself, taking a few steps forward.

  Her massive abdomen and body had separated, now only connected by a two-centimeter thick tubular organ. Finally, after all this time, the Ant Queen could move freely. She was overjoyed—previously, even turning her body required the help of many spider ants.