Chapter 1563 Really Big Ants (2/2)

Li Du probed, ”Was it the shooting earlier on that scared you guys?”

The engineer broke down at the mention of the shooting. ”It was, it was just too scary! How could someone open fire on us like this? I saw a bullet fly right by me and smash into a boulder. It split the boulder and a chunk hit my head, it really hurt…”

Li Du patted the man's shoulder and consoled him, ”Rest assured, this is an isolated incident. Such a thing will never happen again.”

Li Du was sure of this. After all, he had been the one to orchestrate the entire shooting scene in order to generate enough chaos for him to destroy the bronze stove and pot. However, the engineer did not believe him. He shook his head vigorously. ”Boss Li, please spare us. You're the big boss, a huge figure, while we're just regular commoners who have families to feed. We can't afford to be involved in something like this!”

Li Du was torn between crying and laughing. ”What do you mean?”

Tears were pouring down the engineer's face at this point. He spoke through his sobs, ”I saw someone who was on duty just now, and he had a gun with him.”

Li Du assured the man, ”It's only for self-protection. Don't worry, this has nothing to do with you guys. All you have to do is focus on digging for another five days at most. I promise you, I will definitely let you off after five days. After five days, I'll give all of you a bonus, too, okay?”

The engineer was quite open to being persuaded so he could not bring himself to reject Li Du when the man was so active in trying to keep him and his team. He could only acquiesce. ”You don't have to give us a bonus, Boss Li, just promise to keep us safe if we run into trouble again!”

Li Du chuckled. ”Of course, I guarantee that all of you will leave this place alive…”

Just as he was still consoling the engineer, someone cried out in alarm. The engineer was spooked by the loud noise and so was Li Du. He stood up hurriedly to ask, ”What's going on?”

Brother Wolf rushed towards the person who screamed, who then pointed ahead of them. Brother Wolf turned to look at what the person was pointing at and saw a miner collapsed on the ground, so he hurried over to help the man up. Li Du and everyone else rushed up to surround the man. At this moment, the little white monkey perched on his shoulder suddenly started screeching, ”Chirp, chirp, chirp. Chirp chirp chirp chirp!”

The little white monkey chirped rapidly in succession, extending a foot out to point at the ground. With its other foot, it gripped tightly on to Li Du's collar and tugged with all its might. It seemed rather anxious.

Li Du immediately looked at the ground but saw nothing apart from boulders and weeds. He turned to look at the miner again and asked, ”What happened?”

One worker stuttered, ”I d-d-don't know, h-he said h-he was g-going to go to the, to the toilet, th-then I saw him jump one moment and faint the next—”

Brother Wolf had his dagger in his hand, and he used the sharp blade to make a long cut on the skin of the miner's leg, before squeezing out the blood with all his might. After he listened to the other miner's explanation, he spoke in a low tone, ”This guy was bitten by some kind of venomous bug. It's not a big issue, it's just that the toxin caused numbness in his legs.”

”What kind of bug is so powerful?” Li Du asked.

The miner stared blankly at the ground as he replied, ”I don't know. I think those were ants. I saw a really big ant when I was squatting in the toilet, so I took a blade of grass to poke at it since I had nothing better to do—”

Li Du's heart stopped for a brief moment. He asked the man, ”What did the ant look like?”

Da Mao chimed in, ”Did it look like this?”

He shone his torchlight on the ground. Under the glare of the bright light, several large ants were creeping out from the crevices in the boulders. These were huge ants that were about as long as a grown person's finger segment. Their bodies were a deep, dark black, save for the red streaks on their abdomen. These red streaks were almost transparent, going around the abdomen in rings. They made for quite a striking sight.

The miner nodded fervently. ”Yes, yes, these are the ants! But there weren't this many before.”

Li Du commanded immediately, ”We have to leave this place. Brother Wolf, grab a bottle to store a few of these ants. No, actually, forget it, let's leave this place first.”