Back in Yggdrasil, there was a 'scavenger' mechanic that certain classes of creatures, including ants, took advantage of. Being a game, there was no such thing as 'waste material', but within the scavenger aura of a scavenger creature, whenever 'food' was prepared or consumed, 'food scraps' would be left behind that scavengers could take for experience, health, or energy. Hivehill used this principal to function as a bioreactor, and as long as there were ants in the vicinity of the Gorging Trough or the dining hall, they could collect food scraps to power Hivehill's organic engine.

But this wasn't a game world anymore, and waste was an inevitable fact of life, one might even say a fundamental, inescapable aspect of reality. Ants no longer needed to be present, yet the Gorging Trough, now operating at full force, was outputting food waste at an unprecedented volume. This sudden, rapid influx of biomatter into Hivehill allowed it to quickly replenish an impressive legion of ant and wasp soldiers. Still, due to some other restrictions, the production of the higher evolution units was still not possible, but at least Infactorium wasn't completely defenseless anymore. And one ingenious thing about ant and wasp fighters was their ability to double up as workers during peacetime, so it wasn't long before the bauxite mines were dug out, as well as the shaft to the base of the mountain.

During this time, Gammaton's host body had deteriorated to the point that Gammaton had determined that it was time to hatch and enter her next stage. Having found a secluded spot within Hivehill, the host body's spine split apart as Gammaton Infatilis wormed her way out. In this form, it would be significantly more difficult to infiltrate human society as Gammaton would need to maintain an illusion at all times, but this form was not only stronger than Gammaton Zero, it was actually the form with the highest magical ability. In this form, Gammaton would need to consume food or food scraps to build up a pool of evolution points before she could move on to her next stage, but given the Gorging Troughs recent level of activity, this would not be an issue. And it might be better to stay in this form for a while; having a dedicated spellcaster was always handy. Gammaton hoped that it would be a long time yet before she needed her final form, which was meant for warfare. Still, hatching from her egg-like state and being able to spread her legs was a very liberating sensation which she savored every time.

With her transformation process complete for now, Gammaton headed into the mines to refresh the pheromone instructions she had left to direct the mining ants with. She would also inspect the secret door Faetalis had asked her to install at the base of the mountain.