Chapter 357
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Chapter 357: Infiltrating the Enemy’s Ranks
Seeing Li Deyang so resolute, Lin Qiye was taken aback for a moment, then nodded after pondering for a while.
Once the group was ready, they used ropes to descend, moving slowly down the vertical wall.
Although they had various means to reach the bottom of the crack, such as Bai Li Pangpang’s “Yaoguang” or Lin Qiye’s verses, the situation at the bottom remained a mystery to them. Recklessly using the Forbidden Ruins could expose them and attract a swarm of ants.
From the beginning, Lin Qiye and his companions had only one target: the ant queen. The appearance of such a ‘mysterious’ group meant that if the core leader was killed, the other subordinates would naturally dissipate. Thus, avoiding combat with other giant ants was the best strategy.
To prevent exposure, Lin Qiye deliberately left the iron box containing soldier ants above. Otherwise, with it constantly communicating with its companions, it would be nearly impossible for Lin Qiye and the others to sneak in unnoticed.
After descending for a long time, Lin Qiye’s mental energy finally reached the bottom of the crack. His brow furrowed as he raised his hand to signal.
The others immediately halted their descent.
“What’s wrong?” Bai Li Pangpang whispered.
“There are worker ants below.”
“How many?”
“…The entire bottom of the crack is swarming with them.” Lin Qiye’s gaze swept across the deep bottom, his expression grave. He roughly estimated there were at least four hundred.
“Over four hundred?!”
The faces of the four turned pale simultaneously.
“How could there be so many?!” Cao Yuan exclaimed in confusion. Even if a ‘sea’ realm group mysteriously descended, the numbers shouldn’t be this terrifying!
“Initially, it wouldn’t be possible,” Lin Qiye sighed. “But don’t forget, this crack has been here for about two years…”
“You mean they arrived here two years ago and have been living in this crack?” Li Deyang’s face turned ashen.
“Unless something unexpected happened, that should be the case.” Lin Qiye nodded. “In these two years, the ant queen has been continuously breeding new offspring, so it’s not surprising that the numbers have accumulated to such a terrifying level.”
“And this is just what I can sense now; the actual number is likely even higher,” Lin Qiye added.
The group fell silent.
They could handle forty worker ants, but facing over four hundred from the river realm was beyond their capability. Moreover, this was an extremely narrow crack, making escape exceptionally difficult; being devoured by ants was almost a certain fate.
“If so many giant ants emerge from the forest and sweep through the city, several nearby major cities would likely fall immediately.” Li Deyang frowned tightly. “Unless a special team intervenes, no group could stop them.”
Li Deyang seemed to have thought of something and turned to Lin Qiye, saying, “With so many giant ants, even if you guys are powerful, you won’t be able to cope. We’ve already located the ant nest; we should retreat back to the city for now and wait for a special team to handle it.”
Li Deyang’s suggestion was very reasonable. From any angle, the current situation had completely exceeded the capabilities of Lin Qiye and his three companions. The best course of action was to record the location of the ant nest and retreat. If they were to be wiped out here, it would truly be a loss.
Lin Qiye and the others exchanged glances and forced a wry smile.
“Let a special team handle it?”
They themselves were a special team!
They couldn’t just retreat like this and tell Ye Fan that they couldn’t handle the situation here and needed a more reliable special team to come…
After all, this was their team’s first mission. If it ended in such a ridiculous manner, who would be satisfied?
“No, we won’t go back.” Lin Qiye shook his head. “As long as we avoid these worker ants and find the ant queen to carry out a decapitation strike, the chances of success are still quite high.”
Cao Yuan and the others nodded in agreement.
“But the problem is, how do we confirm the location of the ant queen?” An Qingyu pondered aloud. “The length of this crack is not short, and the visibility is poor. The terrain makes it inconvenient for us to search thoroughly, and any misstep could provoke the four hundred worker ants below…”
“I can transform into a worker ant and blend in with them to search for the ant queen’s location at the bottom of the crack,” Lin Qiye said slowly.
“Qiye, are you sure?” Bai Li Pangpang couldn’t help but speak up. “What if you’re discovered? You’ll be chased by hundreds of giant ants…”
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” Lin Qiye replied calmly. “You all wait here and don’t act rashly.”
He took off his backpack and removed the bulky cold-weather gear, handing everything to Bai Li Pangpang to store. He wore only a thin black shirt and strapped two straight knives to his back.
He unfastened his rappelling gear and gently leaped down one side of the rock wall, heading toward the deep bottom of the crack.
The other four watched him disappear into the darkness, their eyes filled with concern.
As Lin Qiye continued to descend, a magical glow flashed across him, and in the next moment, he transformed into a red worker ant.
Lin Qiye had fought against this group of giant ants several times, having killed at least seven worker ants, so he was relatively familiar with them. Now, transformed into a worker ant, he bore no flaws in appearance.
He quickly climbed along one side of the wall and soon saw the situation at the bottom.
At the narrow bottom of the crack, one red worker ant after another marched in neat lines, moving in two opposite directions, surging like a tide. Just a glance was enough to make one’s scalp tingle.
At that moment, as another worker ant climbed down from the side wall, several ants paused, seemingly confused. However, upon confirming it was a companion, they showed no suspicion and continued moving in the original direction.
Lin Qiye, now disguised as a worker ant, successfully blended into one of the lines, mimicking the actions of the other ants as he moved forward with the tide.
At this point, Lin Qiye himself didn’t know which direction the ant queen was in; he could only follow this path for now and, if necessary, turn back to search in the other direction.
After about five minutes of walking with the worker ant line, the distance between the rock walls narrowed further. Finally, at the end of the gorge, he vaguely spotted a massive white giant ant…
This white giant ant was larger than any he had seen before, standing nearly four meters tall, resembling a small white mountain, and was currently lying on the ground as if it were in a deep slumber.
