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 traveled further out several times, and on the last trip, they finally hunted down a new prey.
It was a creature similar to a tapir, but smaller in size, only a little bigger than the small yellow pig they had before.
Its movements were relatively slow, and when the Weak Ants discovered it, this "tapir" was drinking water by a small pond in the forest. The Weak Ants approached slowly and then overwhelmed it easily.
Lin Yu remembered the location of the small pond.
She had the Weak Ants quickly clean the blood off themselves by the pond, and then two Weak Ants carried the "tapir" to prepare for the return journey.
Catching the "tapir" and cleaning off the blood took the Weak Ants some time, and 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, and then they locked eyes with a tall monster on the other side of the hill.
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 told 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 more so. Even if they didn’t drop it, they would still be caught by the grizzly bear.
However, the grizzly bear was only momentarily distracted, then it continued to chase them without hesitation.
Everyone, run!
Don’t let it catch us!
It might be because Lin Yu was cheering them on, but the Weak Ants did run 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 knocked away by the bear’s paw, flying like a bullet and crashing into the stone wall, blood splattering on the wall.
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!
This is the first time Lin Yu has seen an emotion in the Weak Ants besides "hunger."
Then, the three Weak Ants stopped struggling, and their Health Value 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 quickly chasing after the other Weak Ants.
The bright red blood of the Weak Ants spilled and dripped down its mouth.
While the saber-toothed bear killed the three Weak Ants, the other Weak Ants managed to get some distance away from it.
However, this distance started to close again as the saber-toothed bear continued its chase.
Until the Weak Ants reached the area near the anthill, a shadow fell from the sky!
The five Weak Ants, unable to dodge, were suddenly crushed beneath the enormous body of the grizzly bear.
With a "thud," blood burst forth from beneath the grizzly bear’s body.
This time, because there was no struggle, Lin Yu did not feel the Weak Ants’ pain messages, but the uncomfortable feeling in her heart grew stronger.
While the grizzly bear got up, the remaining Weak Ants began to enter the anthill one by one.
However, at this moment, the grizzly bear had also arrived at the entrance of the anthill.
Again, there was a loud "bang."
The two Weak Ants, already halfway into the anthill entrance, were suddenly crushed under the bear’s paw, and blood splattered all over the Weak Ants that were running ahead.
"Roar!!!"
In the roar of the long-toothed brown bear, the remaining Weak Ants of the exploration team hid inside the ant hole.
It angrily clawed at the entrance of the ant hole, but the length of the tunnel was too much for it to dig all the way through at once, and it was not good at digging.
After digging a hole about the size of half its body, the long-toothed brown bear found its digging actions hindered as its body was stuck in the hole.
…
Listening to the sound of the bear digging and the occasional roar, Lin Yu surprisingly did not feel afraid.
No, it was more like a strong feeling pushed the fear down 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 red eyes became crimson as well.
It had been almost a month since she arrived in this strange world, and during this time, the only companions by her side were her loneliness and these Weak Ants.
With them around, I can keep going.
With them here, I don’t have to be afraid.
With them by my side, I won’t go crazy from loneliness and a harsh environment.
Although she had prepared herself for the possibility of Weak Ants dying in this situation, when the moment came, she realized she was not as strong as she thought.
She could only watch as the Weak Ants were slaughtered.
She knew there was nothing she could do, only to let them desperately escape into the ant hole.
Her heart was filled with extreme anger.
But when the anger cooled down, a deep sense of helplessness followed.
Right now, the Weak Ants are too weak to fight against the strong enemy in front of them.
…
The bear should not be able to dig its way to the anthill.
But it already knows the entrance to the anthill and the presence of the ant colony. Can the Weak Ants go outside anymore?
If they can’t go outside, they won’t be able to find food, and that will bring them back to the very beginning.
They would starve to death.
Let alone thinking about revenge.
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 stop digging?
Go up and see what’s happening, but be careful not to get caught.
After giving the order, two Weak Ants walked down the tunnel to the entrance of the ant nest.
At that moment, the entrance had become a deep pit; it had been widened from only 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 and was not inside the stone cave.
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, there were two Weak Ants that had been flattened like pancakes by the bear’s paw. Further away were five more Weak Ants that 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 Weak Ant bodies were gone, the long-toothed brown bear understood what had happened; it tossed the "tapir" into the cave, let out an angry roar, and ran back to 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 body that 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.