Chapter 628 - 625: Becoming Scent

Chapter 628: Chapter 625: Becoming Scent

Fragrance Transformation. A Fragrance Bee is so named because it must transform into a fragrance.

Otherwise, it is just a meaningless, uncollapsed mass of scent molecules.

Larvae cannot control scents, cannot hunt, build, or reproduce, nor can they engage in other civilized activities. Before their scents solidify, they can only be protected in the care of the Guardians.

This is why the scent solidification is necessary...

The leader’s scent constantly fluctuated, and information about the solidification ceremony was transmitted through the fragrance into the mind of every newborn:

Periodically, the Fragrance Bees gather all the larvae who have reached the right age and developed self-awareness to participate in a solidification ceremony.

The adult Fragrance Bees prepare all sorts of scents: pure, mixed, fruit scents, floral scents, Grass and Wood Fragrances... for the larvae to choose for themselves.

The type of scent itself is not particularly significant. What’s important is for the larvae to collapse into a definite state of scent molecules.

Once a scent is fixed, it is very difficult to change. Only under special circumstances can fully collapsed scent molecules alter their state. Thus, the scent chosen for solidification will accompany a Fragrance Bee for its entire life.

Different scents also have different functions.

To control a natural scent, the best way is to become the same type of scent molecule.

"To control floral scents, you must become a floral scent. To control fruit scents, you must become a fruit scent."

The efficiency of mutual influence is higher among identical scent molecules.

Not only that, but the type of scent molecule also determines the living environment of an individual Fragrance Bee. Only in places with a high concentration of that scent can they hunt more effectively and grow stronger.

Therefore, most of the Fragrance Bees in the flowerbeds chose floral scents as their solidified fragrance. They only need to stay among the flowers to capture the floral scent molecules they desire and to better control the scents within the flowerbeds.

In contrast, those with scents like fruit or Grass and Wood Fragrance might need to "go out hunting" at times, and controlling the floral scents in the flowerbeds would be slightly more difficult for them than for their peers.

Of course, there is a deeper difference: the type of solidified scent also determines an individual Fragrance Bee’s personality.

This is the wisdom passed down through generations of Fragrance Bees after studying scents.

A creature’s instinct is to spontaneously "maintain its living environment."

Fragrance Bees who become floral scents place special importance on nurturing flowerbeds, while those who become fruit scents will consciously guard fruit trees.

As for the Fragrance Bees who become the scent of blood, they will perpetuate slaughter, trying by all means to keep wars going. But war, in turn, affects the living environments of other Fragrance Bees.

No one wants their own food source to dwindle.

The expansion of flowerbeds is expansion, and the expansion of war is also expansion. Choosing a different scent is equivalent to choosing a different faction. Therefore, the scents of other factions are not provided during the solidification ceremony.

The leader’s view on the scent factions was actually quite objective, not as extreme as that of the Grass and Wood Fragrance.

"Those Fragrance Bees from different factions are, in fact, our kin. Because our scents are different, the things we are fated to protect are also different. It is all merely to protect our own living space..."

At this point, the leader had said just about everything there was to say about the solidification ceremony. Next was to let the newborns choose their own scents.

"The scent you choose will be with you for your entire life. You will become it and perceive the world from its perspective. So..."

"Be cautious. You must be cautious. Choose the scent you love the most. Don’t just follow the crowd, but don’t try to be a maverick, either."

"This scent is what you will smell every day when you wake, and what you will fall asleep to every night. You will use it as your foundation to grow stronger, and you will use it to reproduce. You are its body, and it is your soul. Only then will you be complete."

"When you feel a scent and it seems to seep into your very soul, do not hesitate. That is the one..."

As the leader shared its experience with the newborns, it slowly released the scent barrier, allowing them to enter the various scent zones on their own.

After listening to the leader’s explanation, Mo Ling had a basic understanding of the solidification ceremony’s significance. The problem was, he couldn’t solidify.

’No wonder the other Fragrance Bees all looked at me with such pity.’

For some unknown reason, whenever Mo Ling came into contact with scent molecules, he wouldn’t collapse at all. He was clearly also a mass of indeterminate scent molecules, but this mass seemed to be stuck, constantly maintaining an unchanging, stable state.

Despite being exposed to so many scents, including many pungent ones, Mo Ling’s body had no reaction whatsoever.

At first, the Grass and Wood Fragrance had been very careful when letting Mo Ling out to play. But after discovering that he truly wouldn’t be affected by other scents, it no longer restrained him, letting him wander and play wherever he pleased.

The Grass and Wood Fragrance had limited energy. As the newborns gradually grew and became more boisterous, it no longer had the mind to care for this special larva that couldn’t solidify.

Compared to the other newborns who were carefully tended to and protected in their infancy, he was more like he’d been left to fend for himself.

But in any case, the Grass and Wood Fragrance hadn’t let any harm come to him, so it could be considered to have fulfilled its duty.

At this moment, Mo Ling was no longer rolling around. He curiously followed the other newborns into the scattered scent zones.

After entering a scent zone, the newborns would carefully sense the type of fragrance to determine if it suited them.

If it was suitable, they would open up their bodies, allowing the scent to seep into them and causing the uncollapsed scent molecules within to solidify into the corresponding form.

The process was very strange. The scent molecules would slowly diffuse throughout the newborns’ entire bodies, turning them into the same scent. They would then gradually merge into the scent zones, as if they had vanished.

Only after the solidification was complete, when they began to move, could their presence be felt again.

Mo Ling watched from the side, completely stunned. He didn’t know how they did it. He tried it himself, but the scents paid him no mind, simply flowing right past him.

"Do you want to solidify into an orange scent, too? Welcome!"

A newly solidified newborn circled Mo Ling happily, wanting him to solidify into an orange scent as well.

Mo Ling wanted to solidify, but he couldn’t. He could only drift aimlessly within the scent zone. Seeing that Mo Ling wasn’t solidifying, the other newborn grew bored and left.

’It’s no use. This scent doesn’t work. I’ll have to check out the others.’

So, Mo Ling slipped into another scent zone.

Floral scents.

There were a great many solidified newborns in this scent zone. Perhaps it was because the Guardians in the flowerbeds were themselves floral-scented, so the newborns had a particular fondness for that fragrance.

By the time Mo Ling arrived, many newborns had already completed their solidification. They were playing in the floral scent zone, and when they saw Mo Ling arrive, they immediately swarmed over.