Shen Yi was completely unaware of this. After racing back to the temporary habitat, he regurgitated the Spirit Nectar stored in his honey stomach onto a leaf and had his little followers line up and drink the nectar, emphasizing specifically: “Each of you can only take a small sip, so everyone gets some.”

In reality, bumblebees usually insert their probosces directly into each other’s mandibles to suck nectar. When making honey as a colony, nectar needs to be passed among the bees. Often, a single drop of nectar must be passed through dozens of bees before it is fully processed, so mouth-to-mouth transfer is common in the colony.

However, Shen Yi, a human soul in a bumblebee’s body, was not accustomed to such intimate mouth-to-mouth exchanges.

As usual, Little Seven rushed to the front. Just as its mouthparts were about to dip into the nectar, Shen Yi suddenly stopped it: “Wait!”

After holding Little Seven back, Shen Yi patted his chest, still shaken. The moment Little Seven was about to drink the Spirit Nectar, his heart suddenly raced, filled with panic and restlessness. Now, he no longer dared to underestimate this premonition-like “superpower” of his.

He had already drunk the Spirit Nectar himself, and there was no issue.

If the little followers were to have problems after drinking it, it was likely due to differences in physical or mental tolerance?

As the old saying goes—the deficient cannot tolerate tonics.

So Shen Yi drank half of it, diluted the remaining Spirit Nectar with some honeydew secreted by aphids, stirred it well, and then let the little followers drink it. At the same time, he expanded his mental sea to closely monitor the changes in their mental states.

After drinking the Spirit Nectar, the little followers gradually fell into a slumber. Shen Yi checked again and again to make sure they were only asleep before he finally relaxed.

Shen Yi carried the little ones one by one back into the small nests made of rolled leaves.

Without the buzzing sound of a group of bumblebees flapping their wings, everything around seemed excessively quiet. As he carried them, Shen Yi mumbled to himself:

“Hmm, why, why are you so heavy? You need to lose weight, Little Two.”

“Never thought, one by one, you all look fluffy but are actually solid.”

“Little Seven, you really should eat more, you’re too light…”

…

Slumber better aids physical recovery and transformation, such as the pupae formed during the metamorphosis of certain insects. Shen Yi guessed that the little followers were evolving and looked forward to seeing what changes would occur when they woke up.

Would they become smarter? Would they—be able to communicate with him?

Shen Yi was already impatient.

The forest is never lacking in natural symphonies—beast roars, bird songs, the rustling of leaves rubbing together, and the wind passing through the valley… all continuous in the sensory world, but Shen Yi felt that the forest was deafeningly quiet at this moment.

He mechanically gathered the honeydew secreted by the aphids and stored it in his honey stomach.

Here, if one pays attention, there are curiosities all around.

On the giant tree where they resided, an oddly-shaped vine wrapped around a thick branch on the other end. Its leaves were broad and smooth, and hanging from the vine were “cages” shaped like toilets—not only resembling “toilets” but also having “toilet lids.”

A type of animal that looked very similar to a squirrel but was much smaller often visited. They would squat on the “toilet,” lick the honey secreted on the surface of the “toilet lid,” and incidentally leave their droppings in the “toilet” as fertilizer for the plant.

A mutually beneficial relationship, giving and taking.

A wonderful symbiotic relationship.

The little followers also often went to the toilet lid to lick the honey, but they had no droppings to offer as payment, so they could only mooch.

And mooching has its risks.

The little followers had fallen into the “toilet” more than once.

The inner wall of the “toilet” was smooth, and the bottom accumulated plant secretions or rainwater. Once their wings got wet, they couldn’t fly, so it was nearly impossible to escape once they fell in. Moreover, the “intelligent toilet” would sense when prey entered the trap and close the “toilet lid” above.

Plants also eat meat.

Shen Yi placed a small stick in every “toilet” nearby and strictly forbade the little followers from feeding on the “toilet lid.”

If one day they weren’t careful and got digested after the “toilet lid” closed, there would be no use crying. All eleven little followers were treasures, and losing any one would devastate him.

The microscopic world as perceived by tiny bumblebees is mysterious, fascinating, and dangerous.

Shen Yi usually loved observing these things, but now he found them profoundly boring.

The aphids on the branch suddenly became highly productive, secreting honeydew continuously without needing stimulation. If the little followers were awake, they would probably be excitedly bustling about in the aphid colony, reveling in the harvest.

Shen Yi only collected for a while before he lost interest. He leisurely flew back to his leaf nest, chose a comfortable position to lie on his back, all six legs sticking up, and attempted to meditate.

The Spirit Nectar he drank this time seemed far less effective than the last.

In the mental sea, the mental energy signatures of the little followers were surrounded by a shimmering haze, contracting and expanding as if breathing, gathering strength to break free from constraints.

Shen Yi did not rashly interfere and instead studied his own mental energy.

Thanks to the various fantasy novels he read in his previous life, Shen Yi had countless imaginative ideas about developing the uses of mental energy.

Since he could thread his mental energy into fine threads in the mental sea to form bonds, theoretically, he should also be able to manifest mental energy in reality. Besides mental threads, could he form surfaces? Or freely shape them into tentacles, with the dexterity of his own limbs.

Shen Yi devoted all his attention to controlling his mental energy. Unknowingly, several days passed, and he actually made progress.

As his mental energy spread, the scene within a meter around him appeared in his mind in a 3D bird’s-eye view. Actually, he had experienced this perspective when he first crossed over—the scene he saw as a larva in the nest cell.

But back then, he could only see a small nest cell, whereas now he could see farther.

He saw the rough texture of the branches, the veins of the leaves, and the traces left by insects crawling past. The little followers curled up, hiding in the leaves, their slender legs and antennae twitching occasionally, as if they were having sweet dreams.

He condensed his mental energy into antennae and poked the leaf standing above his head. The leaf suddenly swayed without any wind.

He then poked the tender buds on the branch and the aphids on them. Watching the aphids wave their antennae in panic, Shen Yi became hooked on the game, constantly changing the shape of his mental tentacles—long, round, octopus, bumblebee, bird…

Finally, on impulse, he transformed his mental energy into a “little blanket” and covered himself with it.

The moment he completely covered himself, he felt an inexpressible feeling of safety.

Just then, the antennae of the sleeping bumblebees twitched more and more vigorously. Little Seven was the first to wake up. It crawled out of the small nest made of rolled leaves and moved toward Shen Yi. When it got close to Shen Yi, it suddenly stopped.

Its antennae occasionally waved, collecting information from the air. It tilted its head, as if searching or confused.

“—Boss?”

Shen Yi, who was still focused on studying the “little blanket,” suddenly froze.

—What did he hear?

The little followers had truly evolved.

Shen Yi couldn’t believe it. It seemed the favor fate had shown him since his rebirth was exceptional.

He quickly flipped over and crawled to Little Seven’s side, excitedly circling around it, carefully confirming: “Little Seven? You can talk to me? You can really talk?”

He was almost impatient: “Quick, say something else to me.”

Little Seven twitched its antennae, and after a long moment, managed to call out again, “Boss.”

“Yeah, that’s me, I’m here.”

No one could understand Shen Yi’s excitement at that moment—it was like a lonely beast trapped in an enormous cage finally hearing the call of its kind. Though distant, it at least let him know he wasn’t alone.

Shen Yi was on the verge of tears, but soon he realized something was off.

Little Seven could only say the same phrase, “Boss,” over and over.

A flicker of disappointment passed through him, but Shen Yi quickly steadied himself.

At the very least, this proved that his little followers could evolve. As long as they continued to evolve, they would eventually develop intelligence.

Hardship and adversity weren’t frightening—what was truly terrifying was having no hope, no way out, and blindly stumbling in the dark. But now, he had direction. He had an exit.

One by one, the other little followers woke up. The followers from the older generation didn’t show as obvious changes as Little Seven; none could clearly call out “Boss.” Shen Yi felt a bit disappointed at first, but after a few more days, he slowly began to notice the differences.

Unlike before, when they only passively followed his commands, the little ones had started to think for themselves. For example, they began to pick up on subtle shifts in his attitude and respond accordingly. Knowing he enjoyed stroking soft fur, they would line up every day before leaving to let him stroke their bellies. After returning, they would also stop by Shen Yi first, letting him count them.

Many subtle changes could only be appreciated over time through long-term interaction. Perhaps there were even more details he hadn’t yet noticed.

It was these small changes that kept Shen Yi excited for several days in a row, unable to calm down. And even greater surprises were yet to come.