Chapter 86 (1/2)
translator: xiin
editor: juurensha
“It's ants! ” The psychic ability user cried out. They didn't know what he had seen, but his expression turned extremely ugly.
“My son is still in there.” This cry came out from someone's heart and lungs as they looked towards Zhang Qiucheng like an angry beast, gaze full of resentment. They waited for him to speak, so that they would know how to react.
“I'm going to save my eldest brother.” A teenager cried out in horror and rushed into the tunnel, disregarding everything else.
The person next to him quickly pulled him back. ”Don't go in. It's dangerous! You have to be able to save your own life before you talk about doing anything else. Otherwise, your eldest brother won't rest a.s.sured.”
There were noisy voices everywhere; deep brotherly feelings and loyal friends, but it was a pity that n.o.body took action. No matter how much their mouths moved as they shouted, regardless of how much they pointed at Zhang Qiucheng, or how much fear they held in their hearts, their spirits had tightened to the critical point. Their eyes darted everywhere, and their bodies filled with vigilance as they all stepped backwards as though retreat was the only way for them to escape from the scope of danger.
Bai Jing curved his lips coldly as he looked around at everything that was happening around them. His heart was silent. The bonds of sentiment were so weak during the end of the world; family and friends.h.i.+p were never as important as their own lives. However, it was funny that people always liked to bluff. They were all clearly scared to death and were obviously stepping backwards, but their mouths never ceased in looking for excuses for themselves. It seemed that as long as they could pin all the crimes onto Zhang Qiucheng, they would be able to safely hide behind him, and have Zhang Qiucheng take responsibility for them. After all, didn't their relatives die while opening up a tunnel for them?
“What's the situation inside?” Zhang Qiucheng's expression did not change as he turned a deaf ear to the screams around him. He simply had the psychic ability users report on the situation. His trusted men and subordinates were ready to make a move beside him, standing there neatly well-trained, in sharp contrast to the messy crowd around them.
“It's an ant colony with ants the size of a baby. There is a large number of them, their movements are very quick, their bodies hard. Only the head and joints are weak. They are afraid of fire.” The concise answer was like a balm of rea.s.surance, quickly reducing the clamour of voices around them.
After Zhang Qiucheng heard this, his cold eyes flashed before he quickly returned to normal, his tone cold and emotionless as he asked, “What's the situation in the tunnel?”
“There is a lot of soil. They have dug through less than half.”
“Collect firewood and ignite it. Fire ability users stand by, ready to attack.” The cold, vaguely mechanical voice issued a command, and everyone acted quickly. As for the people who were still stuck in the tunnel, everyone tacitly refrained from mentioning them. Compared to the spineless fear from just now, there was now a commander, and they knew the enemy's weakness. Sacrificing the people in the tunnel became a matter of course, and n.o.body dared to raise any objections.
Bai Jing's gaze darted around. He understood Zhang Qiucheng's plan - he wanted to use fire to attack and force the ants to dig the tunnels for them Instead of using time-consuming human labour, he might as well use the local resources. It was really an intelligent method, but they didn't know if it would cause any backlash on themselves.
Very quickly, the fire ability users had lined up at the entrance of the tunnel and piled up firewood taken from the surrounding mountains and forests.
“Save… Save me…” Someone escaped from the tunnel. His figure was awkward, his voice trembling, clearly displaying his fear.
Zhang Qiucheng nodded slightly, and the ability users at the entrance of the tunnel quickly rescued the man. The ants waved their claws from behind him, their black bodies covered with a hard armor like sh.e.l.l. Their slender antennae glittered in the dark with sharp lights as the b.l.o.o.d.y smell from the person who had just escaped drew them forward towards delicious food. They could not wait to rush forward.
It was a tidal wave of black insects; Zhang Qiucheng sucked in a cool breath under the light cast by the flashlight, and the crowd that had just settled down began to panic once again.
“Quick! Start the fire.” They didn't know who it was, but someone roared instructions from the crowd.
“Boom!” The fire ability users launched attacks, and the heap of firewood caught fire. The light from the flames lit up the darkness of the night sky.
People who had still been frightened just now started to act quickly. They desperately threw more firewood at the fire as the ants' sensitive antennae flickered everywhere. It became obvious that there was a type of dark red ants who seemed to be smarter. The heat from the fire forced them into retreat; even though food was near, their survival instincts made them unwilling to take such a risk, and they quietly hid where they could. Advance or retreat was dependant on opportunity. These ants were just like a cheetah looking for food, dangerous and unpredictable.
Another type of black ant whose body looked stiff with sharp, bloodstained claws and teeth seemed to subconsciously charge through the fire barrier as though it didn't exist. Its six legs were hard and metal-like, and it crawled rapidly towards the scent of fresh blood. Even though it was on fire, its arms and legs broken, and its body skewed to one side, it still crawled forward constantly until it was thoroughly dead and unable to move any further.