Chapter 17

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Chapter 17: If You Don’t Get Stronger, You Will Die

Food is getting less and less.

The exploration team ventured further out several times, and on their final trip, they finally hunted down a new prey.

It was a creature similar to a tapir, but smaller in size, only slightly larger than the small yellow pig they had before.

Its movements were relatively slow, and when the Weak Ants found it, the “tapir” was drinking water by a small pond in the forest. The Weak Ants approached cautiously and then overwhelmed it with ease.

Lin Yu remembered the location of the small pond.

She had the Weak Ants quickly wash the blood off themselves by the pond, and then two of them carried the “tapir” to prepare for the journey back.

Catching the “tapir” and cleaning off the blood took the Weak Ants some time, and by now, it was almost dusk.

After passing through the woods and avoiding some fierce-looking carnivores, night had fallen.

The Weak Ants finally reached the small hill where the stone cave was located, only to lock eyes with a towering monster on the other side.

Lin Yu’s breath caught for a moment, and her heart felt like it was suddenly gripped tightly by a hand.

It’s a big bear!!

Is it because the sky has darkened? And why is it coming from that direction this time? How frustrating, the Weak Ant on watch did not notice in time!

The moment it spotted the ant group, the grizzly bear charged at them with terrifying speed!

Lin Yu quickly urged the Exploration Team Ants to rush into the stone cave, while the Weak Ants guarding the home temporarily widened the entrance of the ant nest.

But the grizzly bear was clearly much faster than the ant group.

Lin Yu gritted her teeth and ordered the two lagging Weak Ants to drop the “tapir” they were carrying, hoping to distract the grizzly bear.

Although it pained her, there was no other choice. The Weak Ants were already slower than the grizzly bear, and the two carrying the prey were even slower. Even if they held on, they would still be caught by the bear.

However, the grizzly bear was briefly distracted before it immediately resumed chasing them without hesitation.

Everyone, run!

Don’t let it catch us!

It might have been because Lin Yu was cheering them on, but the Weak Ants did pick up their pace, moving a little faster on their six legs.

They made it into the cave before the long-toothed brown bear.

Then, they saw a huge shadow cover them.

Crack!

The last two Weak Ants were caught by a big, gaping mouth.

Bang!

One Weak Ant was struck by the bear’s paw, flying like a bullet and slamming into the stone wall, blood splattering across the surface.

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

This was the first time Lin Yu had seen an emotion in the Weak Ants beyond “hunger.”

Then, the three Weak Ants stopped struggling, and their health values dropped to zero.

When they died, Lin Yu felt a little empty inside and a bit sad.

Crunch, crunch—

The saber-toothed bear chewed on two Weak Ants while swiftly chasing after the remaining ones.

The bright red blood of the Weak Ants spilled and dripped from its mouth.

While the saber-toothed bear killed the three Weak Ants, the remaining Weak Ants managed to put some distance between themselves and the saber-toothed bear.

However, the distance began to shrink again as the saber-toothed bear relentlessly continued its chase.

Just as the Weak Ants reached the area near the anthill, a shadow suddenly fell from the sky!

The five Weak Ants, unable to dodge, were suddenly crushed under the immense weight of the grizzly bear’s body.

With a “thud,” blood splattered from beneath the grizzly bear’s massive body.

This time, with no struggle, Lin Yu didn’t receive the Weak Ants’ pain messages, but the uncomfortable feeling in her heart grew even stronger.

As the grizzly bear got up, the remaining Weak Ants began to enter the anthill one by one.

However, at that moment, the grizzly bear also arrived at the entrance of the anthill.

Again, there was a loud “bang.”

The two Weak Ants, already halfway into the entrance of the anthill, were suddenly crushed under the bear’s paw, and blood splattered across the Weak Ants running ahead.

“Roar!!!”

In the roar of the long-toothed brown bear, the remaining Weak Ants from the exploration team hurriedly hid inside the ant hole.

It angrily clawed at the entrance of the ant hole, but the length of the tunnel made it impossible to break through in one attempt, and the bear was not skilled at digging.

After digging a hole about the size of half its body, the long-toothed brown bear found its movements hindered as its body got stuck in the hole.

…

Listening to the sound of the bear digging and its occasional roars, Lin Yu was surprisingly not afraid.

No, it was more like a strong feeling that pushed the fear deep inside.

The exploration team of 21 Weak Ants lost 10 Team Ants in an instant, and the remaining Weak Ants were stained with their blood.

Looking at the bright red blood, the white Queen Ant’s crimson eyes deepened even further.

It had been almost a month since she arrived in this strange world, and during that time, her only companions had been her loneliness and the Weak Ants.

With them around, I can keep moving forward.

With them here, I don’t have to fear.

With them by my side, I won’t lose myself to loneliness or the harsh environment.

Although she had braced herself for the possibility of Weak Ants dying in this situation, when the moment came, she realized she wasn’t as strong as she had once thought.

She could only stand by and watch as the Weak Ants were slaughtered.

She knew there was nothing she could do but watch as they desperately scrambled into the ant hole.

Her heart burned with intense anger.

But as the anger subsided, a profound sense of helplessness took its place.

Right now, the Weak Ants are too fragile to stand up to the powerful enemy before them.

…

The bear shouldn’t be able to dig its way into the anthill.

But it already knows the entrance to the anthill and the presence of the ant colony. Can the Weak Ants still venture outside safely?

If they can’t go outside, they won’t be able to find food, and that will leave them trapped in a cycle, back to square one.

They would slowly starve to death.

Let alone thinking about revenge, survival itself would be the hardest challenge.

What should I do, what should I do, what should I do…

Ah, this is so frustrating!!

Hmm?

Why is there no noise? Did that rascal finally stop digging?

Go up and see what’s happening, but be careful not to get caught.

After giving the order, two Weak Ants made their way down the tunnel toward the entrance of the ant nest.

At that moment, the entrance had transformed into a deep pit; it had been widened from just allowing two or three Weak Ants to pass through to enough space for seven or eight Weak Ants to enter and exit side by side.

The long-toothed brown bear was nowhere to be seen; it wasn’t inside the stone cave either.

Lin Yu guessed that it must have run outside to find the “tapir-like” prey it had left behind earlier.

Not far from the ant nest, two Weak Ants lay flattened like pancakes by the bear’s paw. Further away, five more Weak Ants had also been crushed. If you looked even further, you could see a Weak Ant that had been knocked into the wall.

…Quick, bring them back.

After receiving Lin Yu’s command, more than a dozen Weak Ants rushed out of the ant nest.

They first moved the two recent Weak Ant bodies away.

Then, it was the turn of the five Weak Ants.

When it was time to move the Weak Ant that had been knocked away, there was a noise outside the hole.

So, Lin Yu called all the Weak Ants back, and once they were inside the ant nest, the image of the long-toothed brown bear appeared at the cave’s entrance.

Just as Lin Yu guessed, it was holding the “tapir” in its mouth.

When it returned and found the bodies of the Weak Ants were gone, the long-toothed brown bear understood what had happened. It tossed the “tapir” into the cave, let out an angry roar, and charged back toward the entrance of the ant nest.

After it scratched and clawed at the entrance of the ant nest for a while, it came to a stop.

Then, sounds of gnawing came from outside.

Through the perspective of the Weak Ants, Lin Yu saw the long-toothed brown bear gnawing on the last Weak Ant’s body, which lay against the wall.

The weak are food for the strong…

Besides anger, another word suddenly appeared in my mind.

In this forest, no, in this world… if you don’t grow stronger, you will die.