Chapter 345
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Chapter 345: The Hunting of Worker Ants
Lin Qiye and the other two exchanged glances. So what now?
For the ant colony, worker ants would transport all the food they collected back to the nest, and only after the queen had eaten would they consume the leftovers. Since this worker ant had come out hunting on an empty stomach, it meant… their food supply might have already run out.
Lin Qiye seemed to realize something, his brow slightly furrowing.
Beside him, Baili Pangpang still wore a confused expression. And then?
If the food in the nest was depleted, these worker ants would undoubtedly frantically search for food in the surroundings. Otherwise, if the queen starved to death, the entire colony would be doomed. Lin Qiye slowly spoke,
And here, in this desolate primeval forest, these worker ants would have to continuously explore the outskirts to find enough food to sustain the entire colony…
This is also why we encountered worker ants shortly after entering the forest. It’s important to note that we are still two hours away from the location where we first witnessed the ‘mysterious’ event.
Cao Yuan frowned and asked, Are you saying these worker ants will head towards the towns?
Not necessarily. An Qingyu shook her head. Expanding the search area doesn’t mean they are all moving towards the towns. Their nest should be deep within the vast primeval forest, and even if they expand outward in a circular pattern, it doesn’t guarantee they will head towards the towns.
But it’s still possible, and the probability isn’t small. Lin Qiye glanced at the corpse of the worker ant on the ground. After all, we just randomly chose a route and happened to encounter one. Excluding the possibility of us being extremely lucky… it only indicates that the population of worker ants in this giant ant colony is quite large.
Then the families living on the edge of the town will be in danger? Baili Pangpang’s expression changed slightly.
The good news is that there are very few families near the edge of Anta County, close to the primeval forest, and the nearest city center is at least several dozen kilometers away. In the short term, it shouldn’t cause too much impact.
Lin Qiye took a deep breath. Of course, the premise is that we can quickly find their nest, kill that queen ant, and if we delay any longer, the situation will become truly serious.
Baili Pangpang looked around helplessly and sighed. This forest is so vast; who knows how long it will take us to find their nest…
Everyone fell silent.
The biggest challenge now is to find that ant nest in this vast sea of trees. According to Lin Qiye’s plan, they would need at least half a month to explore this forest to possibly discover the location of the ant nest. But given the current situation, they didn’t have that much time.
At that moment, Lin Qiye seemed to remember something, a glimmer of light appearing in his eyes.
Next time, if we encounter another worker ant, we should spare its life…
Why? Baili Pangpang asked in confusion.
Lin Qiye looked up at the dark sky above, lost in thought. I have an idea that I want to verify.
…
Outside the primeval forest.
In the darkness, a few old houses were scattered across the empty wilderness, with faint lights shining through the windows, slightly dispelling the surrounding night.
On the muddy path in front of the old house, an old man wrapped in thick clothing huddled his body, holding a little girl’s hand as they braved the cold wind, finally stopping in front of an old house at the edge.
Pale light shone through the glass of the old metal sliding door, where red paper cutouts displayed four large characters.
— Happy Inn.
The color of the paper cutouts had nearly faded to white due to aging, and spider webs were everywhere in the corners of the walls, giving it a very old appearance.
The old man led the little girl to the metal sliding door, grasped the handle, and with great difficulty pushed the door to one side, creating a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.
The aged metal scraped against the track, producing a piercing screech. As the door opened, a wave of warmth rushed out to greet them.
The old man stepped aside, allowing the little girl to enter first, then followed her in and closed the door behind him.
An elderly woman sitting behind a rickety wooden table looked up at them and slowly spoke, Check out by twelve noon tomorrow. If you’re late, there will be extra charges.
Got it, got it.
The old man nodded, leading the little girl up the dusty stairs to the second floor.
Though it was called an inn, the two floors combined had only three rooms, and the small room on the first floor was the elderly woman’s residence.
Although the facilities were a bit rudimentary, the old man didn’t seem to mind; as long as there was heating, they could sleep anywhere.
The two entered the room, and the little girl took off her coat and immediately flopped onto the bed. After a day of traveling, she was already exhausted.
The old man removed his gloves, took off his hat, looked around the room, and said, Tingting, you rest for a bit. Grandpa will go downstairs to get you some hot water.
The little girl responded with an “mm.”
The old man closed the door and went downstairs, just as he was about to ask the elderly woman at the front desk for a pot of hot water, a sound of shattering glass suddenly came from the second floor.
Bang—!!
The next moment, the little girl’s piercing scream echoed from upstairs.
Both the old man and the elderly woman froze for a moment. The former quickly reacted and rushed up the stairs.
Tingting! What happened, Tingting!!
He forcefully pushed open the door, and his entire being froze in place.
The cold night wind rushed in through the broken window, the yellowed curtains fluttered, and the floor was covered in shards of glass. The bed had been smashed into several pieces, and the little girl who had been lying on the bed had vanished without a trace.
The old man dashed into the room, ran to the window, and looked outside. He saw a blood-red giant ant carrying the unconscious little girl, rapidly climbing towards the forest in the dim light nearby.
Tingting!! The old man shouted, recklessly jumping out of the window.
Fortunately, the second-floor window wasn’t very high, and the old man was still strong. He rolled on the ground and struggled to get up. However, when he raised his head, the giant ant and the little girl had already disappeared without a trace.
He widened his eyes, calling out the little girl’s name loudly, but all that responded to him was the howling wind…
This fifty-something-year-old man stood in the cold wind, mouth agape, his white hair blown wildly, and blood trickled down his hand, cut by the glass shards…
He gritted his teeth and quickly turned around, running into the darkness on the other side against the biting cold wind.
…
Twenty minutes later.
Anta County Forestry Bureau.
A series of urgent and heavy knocks on the door woke Li Deyang from his sleep.
