Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat point - Chapter 94
Chapter 94: Chapter 89 This is the Level i
Translator: 549690339 I
Qin Niu’s insect identification skills are now well beyond a one-star level, capable of identifying a considerable variety of species.
“Able to identify so many kinds? A one-star appraiser only needs to identify one kind. Just choose the one you’re best at!”
Upon hearing this, Master Hu was somewhat surprised.
“Is it possible to directly certify as a two-star appraiser?”
But Qin Niu wanted to bite off more than he could chew, aiming high in one go. “Even though I am on good terms with you, skill certification is a serious matter that must follow due process. First, the certification for a one-star appraiser must be completed, then proceed to the two-star certification.” Master Hu could provide special consideration regarding the queue, but the examination would not be watered down.
Public is public, private is private.
“Then I’ll choose bee!”
The only knowledge Qin Niu had systematically studied was bee cultivation, including bee identification.
“Wait a moment!”
Master Hu stood up, walked to the large cabinet behind him, climbed the ladder, and opened one of the higher drawers.
On this drawer was written the character for bee.
It felt a bit like the medicine drawers in a traditional Chinese medicine shop, with each drawer labeled with a category of insect.
What he took out was a thick booklet.
If one were tall enough, there would be no need for a ladder.
Upon opening the booklet, Master Hu revealed that the first page contained specimens of various bees, cleverly designed.
The bee specimens were flattened and made into samples, then treated with something akin to a wax seal.
“Write down its taxonomic information, the more detailed the better.”
It was as though Master Hu was setting the questions and Qin Niu was to answer.
But this method of questioning was quite special.
To Qin Niu, becoming an Insect Master seemed incredibly simple, yet he hadn’t expected the appraiser certification to be much more complicated.
In fact, the certification of an Insect Master was originally quite difficult.
Normally, it was necessary to command insects to perform a sequence of actions on the special white jade platform in Chairman Li’s office, including hole traversal, obstacle crossing, etc.
Many Insect Masters couldn’t level up their insect commanding skills to Qin Niu’s standard, needing repetitive training to make the insects understand their master’s intent and perform the corresponding actions.
Afterward, food rewards were generally given.
Not every Insect Master had the insect speech ability.
Even if they did, their level of insect speech was often low; it was not easy to communicate with insect pets as smoothly as Qin Niu could.
For most Insect Masters, being able to get insects to accept a few simple commands and actions was already quite impressive.
Like when Qin Niu’s insect speech skills were just at a beginning level, he could only communicate simply with other termites, but they might not necessarily understand.
Even if the insects understood their master’s meaning, they had no way to respond.
Chairman Li must have been of an exceedingly high level as an Insect Master, and with abundant examination experience, having seen countless individuals. Qin Niu made Fourth crawl out from the pot, and the whole process was incredibly smooth.
Out of so many termites, only Fourth emerged.
This demonstrated that Qin Niu had reached a high level of proficiency in interacting with insects. Thus, the sequence of commands on the white jade platform that followed was simply waived.
Qin Niu picked up the bee specimen and observed it closely.
He noted that its surface wasn’t sealed with wax but with a kind of transparent resin.
This allowed him to better observe some of the details of the bee.
Because the transparency of wax is less than that of resin.
This bee had a black head and abdomen, with a notably large thorax. The center of its thorax was yellow, and its body was covered in fluffy hair.
And its downy hair appeared long and soft.
Though he didn’t know how long it had been dead, its colors were still vibrant.
The mouthparts were highly developed, indicating it must’ve had a strong bite. The fur on the chest was dense and orderly.
The hindleg tibiae were broad and smooth, with long downy hair on the ends, constituting the pollen baskets.
The base of the hind foot was wide and flat, with neatly arranged bristles on the inner surface.
No external genitalia were seen.
This indicated it was a female bear bee.
Before it was made into a specimen, the bee must have been rather old, as evidenced by clear signs of aging on its wings, a slightly contracted body, antennae gently straightened out, and legs slightly drawn in.
This was somewhat akin to a natural death in humans.
The pose exuded a more natural demeanor.
After completing his assessment of the bee, Qin Niu wrote it down directly.
Hymenoptera Apidae Genus Bombus, a female Heavy Yellow Bumblebee with a lifespan of about 7 months, died of natural causes. No special abilities, but its antennae were longer than average, with finer tips, endowing it with a stronger sense of smell for floral scents compared to a typical bear bee.
With a flat abdomen and a smaller tail end, its reproductive capacity was rather poor.
Its mouthparts were exceptionally well developed, indicating strong nest-building abilities.
Qin Niu wrote down its basic characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses in detail.
“Good lad, no wonder you were bold enough to claim direct certification as a two-star appraiser. Your appraisal skills are indeed high.”
After looking through his answers, a look of pleasant surprise spread across Master Hu’s face.
This was the joy he showed upon seeing a highly talented individual.
“We don’t need to test you any further. The questions for a one-star appraiser are all very simple, and testing you further would be a waste of time. Congratulations, you have successfully passed the certification for a one-star insect appraiser.”
Having said that, Master Hu called in a female staff member.
It must be said that all the female staff members of the Insect Master Association were tall and beautiful, with outstanding temperament and appearance.
“Yu Xue, please assist Qin Niu with the filing work for the one-star insect appraiser certification. Here is his answer sheet. And then, bring in an application form for a two-star appraiser.”
Master Hu, despite not being tall, held a high position within the Insect Master Association.
She instructed the female workers in an indifferent tone.
They all bowed their heads subserviently.
“Wow, he only answered one question and passed!”
After looking over the answer sheet, her face was filled with shock.
“The value of answering is in precision, not in quantity. Just based on the answer to this one question, he has surpassed many who answered ten or even twenty questions,”
Master Hu stated indifferently.
The poorer the level, the more questions need answering.
Because it’s not possible for the examiner to determine if the candidate’s appraisal level meets the standard with just one or two questions.
“There are many one-star appraisers, but far fewer two-star appraisers. If Young Master Qin really manages to pass the appraisal, he may become the youngest two-star appraiser in our Insect Master Association!”
Yu Xue’s beautiful eyes looked at Qin Niu, her face bearing a smile.
In her eyes, Qin Niu’s poor attire was not at all important.
The youngest two-star insect identifier, if he moved up one more level, he could become an esteemed figure like Master Hu. If he then joined the Insect Master Association, he would definitely become an executive.
She began to ponder in her heart.
To marry a man with such potential would be far better than marrying an ordinary wealthy young master from the city.
“Miss Yu Xue, you flatter me too much!”
Qin Niu was a bit embarrassed by the pretty female worker’s gaze.
These city girls are so bold, what young lady stares at a man like that?
“I never flatter people carelessly. I really admire you! If you ever need to handle anything at the Insect Master Association, you can look for me. I handle most of the archival affairs.”
Yu Xue smiled, greeted him, and left with Qin Niu’s information.
Before long, she was back.
She now had a two-star appraiser application form in hand.
“Here, just fill it out according to the form. If you have any questions, you can ask me over there in the archives room.”
She placed the form in front of Qin Niu and, intentionally or unintentionally, leaned down slightly, pointing at the items on the form that needed to be filled out.
The faint feminine fragrance wafted into Qin Niu’s nose.
Her hair hung down and touched Qin Niu’s face, tickling and fragrant.
Master Hu watched everything and didn’t say much.
Although his status was higher than that of the female worker, their relationship was not one of servant and master, but rather that of superior and subordinate colleagues.
As a leader, he naturally wouldn’t obstruct his female subordinate’s pursuit of personal happiness.
Yu Xue had her sights set on Qin Niu, which, in Master Hu’s view, was actually a good thing.
If the two really became a couple, it would make dealing with Qin Niu much easier in the future.
Such an outstanding young appraiser, if he could be attracted to the Insect Master Association and personally guided by him, with careful cultivation, he could become one of Black Tiger City’s top insect identification masters in just a few years.
It’s even likely that he could exceed his teacher and surpass him as a three-star appraiser.
Then, Black Tiger City would welcome its first four-star appraiser.
The thought was exciting.
“Thank you!”
Qin Niu didn’t seem very moved by Yu Xue.
If they knew that Qin Niu’s neighbor had a super beautiful young girl, they would understand why Qin Niu, when faced with the pursuit of a beautiful woman, can remain so calm.
“Young Master Qin, don’t be so polite with me! I’ll go process your one-star appraiser’s filing now.”
She wasn’t gone long when she returned.
She looked at Qin Niu and saw he was filling out the application form with his head down.
“Master Hu, this needs your seal!”
After receiving it, Master Hu took out his seal and stamped the document.
She took it and left.
The certification process for a one-star insect identifier might seem simple, but it’s actually extremely strict.
It requires the seal of an examiner and the chairman.
And an archive entry clerk must sign and verify it.
That way, there is a trail to follow.
After Qin Niu filled out the form, Master Hu asked him to hand it directly to the female worker at window three, and then come back for the exam.
Outside, people were still queuing in a long line.
Seeing Qin Niu coming out so quickly, some of them showed expressions of schadenfreude.
Anybody could guess that, with the one-star appraiser exam being so difficult, Qin Niu coming out so quickly must mean he failed.
“Please help me process the two-star appraiser certification procedures!”
Qin Niu did not queue up.
He just handed the form to the female worker inside the window.
“Ah… You completed the one-star appraiser certification so quickly?”
The female worker’s face changed with surprise as she looked at Qin Niu.
“Luckily, I passed,”
Qin Niu replied casually.
“Alright, alright, I’ll process it for you right away. Please wait a moment, Master Qin,”
The female worker’s addressing of him switched to Master Qin.
If he could pass the two-star insect identifier, he really deserved to be called a master.
But that master title might be a bit premature.
At three stars and above, that’s when one truly becomes a recognized master appraiser.
“He actually passed the one-star exam? Cheating, he must have cheated!”
Some envious people wildly speculated..
