In Algeria.
"In spring, Thibasa was filled with deities who spoke among the scent of sunlight and wormwood, over the silver-armored sea, under the deep blue sky, upon the flower-covered ruins, amidst the sparkling light boiling within piles of rocks."
"Camus's 'The Wedding of Thibasa' depicts this seaside Roman ancient city in a way that fills one with reveries."
Bi Fang was riding on the back of a cal, his body swaying gently from side to side with the cal's movents.
From Burkina Faso to Mali, and now in Algeria, Bi Fang had crossed three countries in less than a month.
"This country in the northern part of Africa is indeed mysterious, inherently insulated from the internet, and aside from business and project-based visitors, the number of tourists who visit each year is rely a few thousand."
"Unlike the Instagram-famous neighbors Morocco and Egypt, Algeria keeps a low profile, and many areas even prohibit photography, making outsiders who have seen its true face even fewer."
"This is mainly due to cultural reasons; it's a very conservative country, especially in the southern regions; only with a man's permission can photos be taken."
"As for won, that's even more impossible, as won are considered private property locally, and only with approval from husbands or fathers can photos be taken."
"If you were caught while taking photographs, the police would require checking each photo, spending an hour revisiting the castles, ancient temples, Ottoman palaces, and the Carthaginian trading posts from the fourth century you captured."
"If your photos included residential areas with carved balconies adorned with fluttering clothes, walls decorated with colorful ceramics, vaguely seen gardens and fountains in the alleys, and shops at the low steps cluttered with felt, tea sets, and jewelry."
"Then the inspection would be extrely ticulous, afraid that you might have inadvertently captured the face of a married woman."
"Perhaps only in front of the uninhabited ancient Roman ruins of Thibasa can tourists freely take photos."
Among the broken walls, with a blue sea background, mixed with the odor of dried sweat, this is the most common tourist photograph in Algeria.
[Wowsers, is it that serious?]
[Isn't Master Fang live-streaming alright?]
[ Just avoid capturing people, Master Fang always goes where there are no people (Dog's head graphic)]
"Indeed, Algeria spans both the Sahara Desert and the diterranean cultural spheres, faces France across the sea with lingering connections, and is praised as North Africa's sunset haven and Europe's backyard garden. But regretfully, this ti we might not be able to see its more beautiful side,"
Bi Fang said, smiling.
Algeria actually has a bigger presence than it has online.
As the largest country in Africa and the tenth largest in the world, it is ten tis the size of the Central Country, and will be an important part of Bi Fang's journey.
"However, though we are not near any cities or rural areas, we can try venturing to densely vegetated border regions, where resources are richer and there's a chance we might encounter so large animals."
Bi Fang exerted force with his legs, urging Alpha to speed up.
In the evening, the sand dunes had completely disappeared, and the ground underfoot had returned to solidity, though still gravelly, it was vastly different from before.
Bi Fang dismounted from Alpha and stood on a hillside looking into the distance. Under the setting sun, he was surprised to find that there was an animal gazing back at him from afar.
It was a small animal, about the size of a forearm, with exceptionally large ears, staring quietly at Bi Fang, the strange visitor, from a hundred ters away, seemingly very curious.
The audience also noticed this mutual gaze, which felt particularly intriguing.
[What is that, a fox?]
[So cute!]
[It's staring at Master Fang!]
"It's a Fennec fox."
Due to facing the sun directly, the animal appeared almost as a black silhouette, yet Bi Fang recognized it based on that silhouette alone.
"The Fennec fox is the national animal of Algeria, and not including the tail, its body length is only 30 to 40 centiters, about the size of a dog, making it one of the smallest canid species in the world. However, its ears are quite long, averaging 15 centiters, which is likely its most easily recognizable trait."
"The extre climate of intense heat during the day and freezing cold at night is not uncommon in the North African desert, and the small stature of the Fennec fox is particularly well-suited to the harsh environnt of the North African desert."
"Their feet are covered with thick, soft fur for insulation, which also facilitates walking on the loose sandy soil. The two large, spread-out ears act like constantly working radiators, while also assisting in detecting prey."
"In water-scarce environnts, they can survive long-term by foraging for easily accessible vegetation near their dwellings, adopting water-saving asures such as staying in burrows during the hot days and only going out at night."
"The sun is about to set now, it's nearly their active ti. It might be because it has seldom seen humans, it's quite curious about , hey, look, it's even coming closer."
Bi Fang stared at the Fennec fox, reached down to touch the ground, and found a rock, no, it was actually a clod of dirt which started to crumble when lightly squeezed.
Molding the clod of dirt into a suitable shape, Bi Fang quietly awaited the other's approach.
[Others see cute animals and go up to pet them, holding food; Old Fang sees cute animals and goes up to hit them, holding a rock (facepalm)]
[Master Fang's Specialty]
[Is this thing also a protected animal?]
"Yes, and no," Bi Fang replied.
"Normally, Fennec foxes are just controlled, their population numbers fall under 'Least Concern' on the global list of protected species, they can even be kept as pets. But, well, we are currently in Algeria..."
Bi Fang didn't need to explain any further, the audience understood.
Bi Fang had just ntioned that the Fennec fox was Algeria's national animal, naturally, it was protected within the country.
However, the situation seed a bit different from what Bi Fang anticipated. When the distance was about fifty ters or so, he heard the sharp cries of the Fennec fox, sounding urgent, with a hint of fierce timidity.
Bi Fang stroked his chin, sowhat unsure.
"Through frequent vocal changes, adult and young foxes emit various sounds such as squeaks, whines, or screams. The deep, loud cries which are short and repetitive are usually used for conveying ssages among their own kind."
As he spoke, several other Fennec foxes erged from different directions, hurried towards the first one, and together they started barking at Bi Fang as if they were about to launch an attack.
At this mont, Bi Fang dropped the clod of dirt and, scratching the back of his head, laughed loudly.
"It seems I was getting ahead of myself. We've intruded into their territory, so they have co out to drive us away. It looks like their burrow is just around here."
Bi Fang looked down and, sure enough, saw a fairly concealed burrow about ten ters away.
Through the burrow, he could vaguely see so creatures moving inside.
"Fennec foxes are highly socialized species, with family groups consisting of parents and offspring, numbering no more than ten. Each family unit marks their territory with urine and feces."
"Most importantly, they have a strong instinct to defend their territory and protect their young, not shying away from any threats when their cubs are in danger."
"Let's just leave."
[It's over, Master Fang is disliked]
[Hahahaha, I laughed so hard, Master Fang also has a day when he is disliked]
[First ti for everything, worth celebrating]
Bi Fang had no interest in lingering to tease the Fennec Fox, and mounted Alpha to continue his journey. By then, the sun had completely set, and it was ti to find a suitable shelter to rest.
Almost every night, Bi Fang constructed a sand pit.
It was only for one night's sleep, so there was no need to construct the shelter too perfectly. The better the shelter, the more investnt required, and for Bi Fang, building a shelter too well was not worthwhile.
The sand pit was convenient and quick, and also soft to sleep in. There was nothing better than a sand pit, and this ti was no exception. However, the digging tools did not seem to work as smoothly as they had the previous month.
As he threw out the sand, Bi Fang's fingers suddenly felt a sharp pain, followed by a slight tingling in the base of his thumb. It was only when he looked up that he saw what had bitten him.
There were two ants, completely silvery in appearance, each about a centiter long, one biting the tip of his index finger, the other his thumb, firmly clamping onto his flesh.
Bi Fang quickly jumped out of the pit, plucking off the two ants, and couldn't help but smirk, "It seems we're really having an unlucky day today, getting chased away by animals every ti we stop."
Under the moonlight, the ants' backs flickered with a brilliance that was truly dazzling, almost like creatures out of myth.
For a mont, everyone forgot about Bi Fang's bite, their attention captivated by these tiny ants.
"Whoa, silver ants!!!"
"So cool!"
"What kind of ants are these, aren't they a bit too big?"
"These are Sahara Silver Ants."
Bi Fang regretfully looked at the deep pit below.
Each ti he sought out a shelter, he was careful to check for poisonous insects and ants. Sadly, this ti was an exception.
Originally, the hill made by the Fennec Fox for its den had been Bi Fang's chosen spot, but he was driven away. By the ti he found another suitable spot, the sun had already set, and he couldn't clearly see if there were any creatures there.
"They are truly beautiful, the most beautiful ants I've ever seen."
Despite being bitten, Bi Fang wasn't angry but instead placed the ants in his palm, using the moonlight to inspect them closely.
They were truly pure silver, shimring with a soft gleam under the moonlight, unimaginable how they would sparkle under the sun.
"These ants are really beautiful."
"Never seen a creature so beautiful."
"So majestic."
"The relentless scorching sun throughout the year, along with an annual rainfall barely reaching 80mm, turn the Sahara Desert into a no-man's land for life. If it wasn't for the sounds of the wind, only a deadly silence could describe its desolation."
"But miracles always appear in unexpected ways, even in such terrible conditions life blooms with an unyielding posture and trendous stubbornness."
"If cals represent mammals, then the Sahara Silver Ant represents the pride of the insect class."
"In the Sahara Desert, one of the most lethal factors affecting survival is undoubtedly the high temperature. The bare environnt allows the temperatures to easily soar to levels that virtually cause life to vanish from the surface."
"After all, 50°C is far beyond the 'suitable' range."
"But for the Sahara Silver Ants, this offers a perfect opportunity to venture out. In their survival philosophy, the most dangerous tis are often the safest. The idea of 'thinking what others dare not think, doing what others dare not do' earns them a slim chance of life."
"And it's not just fifty degrees; these little creatures can even move about in the searing heat of seventy degrees in the desert, truly a miracle."
The surface temperature and air temperature are two different concepts.
A fifty-degree air temperature in the Sahara is not uncommon, but it's certainly not as high as seventy degrees.
Seventy degrees can only be reached at the surface.
Nature has heat-resistant bacteria that can withstand temperatures of a hundred degrees, but these are simple microorganisms, not animals.
In a hundred-degree environnt, animals would simply turn into cooked at.
But for ants living right on the ground, the surface temperature is their survival temperature.
"The silver ants are covered with orderly arranged fine hairs. These aren't cylindrical like human hair, but more like a series of prisms."
"Thus, each facet can effectively reflect both visible light and near-infrared light from different angles."
"Moreover, these fine hairs can radiate mid-infrared light outward to emit heat, continuously cooling down."
"Besides reflecting and dissipating heat, their speed is also incredibly fast, reaching up to 0.7 ters per second. If converted to human proportion, that's equivalent to an ultra-high speed of 450 kiloters per hour."
"This high speed helps them to fight quick battles, reducing their risk of being sunbaked to death."
"Damn!"
"Strange new knowledge gained."
"Once again witnessing nature's miracle."
"A few days ago, I was watching 'Penguins of Madagascar,' where a line struck deeply,"
"Try to keep the details."
"It's over for us 95% of the ti."
"What about the other 5%?"
"That's the adventure and endless glory that no other penguins have."
"I choose that path."
"Cool!"
"Master Fang is the penguin of that five percent!"
"Although I don't have much money, following Old Fang really broadens my view, otherwise I might never see silver ants in my life."
"I really want to keep a whole nest."
"Deep-sea fish's eyes help them hunt in the pitch darkness of the deep sea, bees can perceive ultraviolet light, many beetles and butterflies can change colors by altering microstructures on their wings, and fireflies communicate through bioluminescence…"
"There are always so creatures whose abilities surprise and amaze us, compelling us to admire the tenacity and robustness of life."
Though there was no material gain today, having encountered and co into close contact with two creatures he had never dealt with still filled Bi Fang with delight.
Bi Fang carefully placed the ants back on the ground and watched as they sped off in a certain direction.
Following their trail, Bi Fang saw more Sahara Silver Ants, like rcury exposed to air, all converging in the sa direction.
"It looks like we'll have to find another spot."
Reviews
All reviews (0)