Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Sudden Attack

“That beautiful, enchanting blue ore… is completely edible!” He declared with a face of unwavering seriousness, completely at odds with the absurdity of what he had just said.

“Th-That’s not the only thing I noticed, okay?! It’s definitely not because I’m curious about what it tastes like!” Wang Lei blurted out in a flustered tone—to no one in particular. But somehow, he could feel judgmental stares bearing down on him from all directions, though there wasn’t a soul in sight.

“A-Anyway, putting that aside…” Wang Lei stood up abruptly, grabbing his pickaxe with purpose.

“I should start gathering my things. After all, today’s the day I break through that toxic zone once and for all!” he declared, his voice brimming with confidence.

.

…

….

Before long, Wang Lei had packed everything up and stuffed it all into his bag. It wasn’t much—just the essentials—so it sat light on his shoulders.

He set the bag down on the table with a satisfied nod. “There were actually a lot of useful items left in the storage room,” he said, a bit surprised. “Those things will definitely come in handy if I ever get cornered.”

Bang!

Just as Wang Lei reached for his bag to sling it over his shoulder, a sudden, sharp bang echoed through the mining house, making him jump in surprise.

“What was that…?” he muttered, eyes narrowing.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound came again, this time relentless and heavy. The wooden door shuddered under the force, and thin cracks began to spiderweb across its surface.

Wang Lei, cautious and alert, snatched the pickaxe leaning by the wall and took several steps back, putting distance between himself and the door. His eyes stayed locked on the cracking wood, every muscle in his body tense.

“That direction... it leads to where those ants were supposed to be...” he muttered, uncertainty creeping into his voice. “Don’t tell me they’ve found this place?!”

He glanced toward his bag, weighing the option of grabbing it and making a run for it.

Bang!

Another thunderous crash—louder than the rest.

The door couldn’t withstand it any longer. With a final, cracking groan, it shattered—fragments of wood bursting inward.

And finally, the culprit was revealed.

A massive ant—easily the size of a small car—stood menacingly in the doorway. Its metallic-white exoskeleton shimmered ominously under the flickering glow of the lamp. Its compound red eyes locked onto Wang Lei, gleaming with unrestrained bloodlust.

Wang Lei’s grip on the pickaxe tightened involuntarily.

“W-What kind of monster is this…?” he muttered, voice trembling.

This was unlike any of the ants he had encountered so far. Until now, he had only faced worker ants—basic scroungers, dangerous in swarms but lacking any real combat prowess.

But this… this creature radiated menace.

It wasn’t a mere gatherer.

It was a warrior.

A soldier of the Queen.

The white ant stared Wang Lei down for a moment, unblinking and eerily still—as if confirming something.

Then it raised its head.

Even that small motion was terrifying. The creature was so massive, it nearly scraped the ceiling with its horned forehead.

And then—

KRRRIIIIIEEEK!!

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A piercing screech burst from its mandibles, the sound so shrill and violent it rattled the walls and echoed through the mining house like a war cry. Dust fell from the ceiling. The broken remains of the door trembled at the intensity.

“…Damn it! It’s too loud!”

Wang Lei winced, instinctively covering one ear with his shoulder, the other hand still clenched around the pickaxe.

Just then, a sudden chill crept down Wang Lei’s spine.

“…What is this?” he muttered, still clutching one ear in a futile attempt to muffle the white ant’s piercing screech.

For a few unsettling seconds, the icy sensation washed over him, as if an invisible wave had surged through the air.

And just as abruptly as it came, it vanished.

And yet, Wang Lei couldn’t shake the lingering sensation from his mind. He stood frozen, caught in a trance—completely oblivious to the towering white ant before him, ready to make him its next meal.

“What—! Snap out of it!” Wang Lei shook his head violently, snapping himself back to reality.

“I can’t believe I spaced out in a situation like this…”

With a tinge of self-loathing, he forced himself to refocus on the white ant, pushing that strange, chilling sensation to the back of his mind—for now.

Perhaps due to the tense situation, Wang Lei didn’t notice the soft chime that echoed in his mind—a floating screen appearing faintly at the edge of his vision.

“...Uh…” Wang Lei’s mouth twitched as he took in the scene before him. “…Seriously?”

He wasn’t sure when it had happened—maybe he did know, but simply refused to admit his mistake—but now, a swarm of cave ants had emerged from behind the towering white ant.

Because of the giant ant's sheer size, only a limited number of the smaller ones could squeeze through the broken doorway. But in Wang Lei’s eyes, it was already enough to be the stuff of nightmares.

They crawled across the ceiling, the walls, the ground—like something out of a horror movie, except this time, he was the main character.

Wang Lei's expression turned grim. “That gesture earlier… was it a call to the other ants? Either way, I need to get out of here—fast!”

Without wasting another second, he grabbed his bag and bolted in the opposite direction—toward the toxic zone.

KRRIIEEK!!

The white ant let out an enraged screech, its compound eyes locking onto Wang Lei’s fleeing back. Without hesitation, it charged forward, its six long, metallic legs moving with terrifying speed. In its wake, the swarm of cave ants followed, obeying their leader’s silent command to pursue.

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…

……

“Dammit! They’re too persistent!” Wang Lei grumbled, casting quick glances over his shoulder at the relentless swarm of cave ants chasing after him.

“Should I use that here…?” he muttered, his hand reaching back to touch the bag slung over his shoulder. A flicker of hesitation crossed his face.

No, it’s too risky. If I don’t handle it carefully, I could end up buried under a mountain of rock. Wang Lei immediately denied his thoughts.

Wang Lei glanced behind him once more. There was already a good distance between him and the cave ants—and it was growing by the second.

Just as I thought… he mused, eyes narrowing as the swarm began to fade from view. I don’t know if it’s because of their many legs or something else, but these ants... they seem to be too slow.

He recalled the first time he had encountered one. I noticed it even back then.

Back then, he had only just begun to recover from his hunger when he suddenly found himself face-to-face with a cave ant. Terrified at the thought of being devoured, Wang Lei hastily prepared an ambush, hoping to kill it swiftly and cleanly.

However, the ant’s inhuman senses betrayed his plan. The moment it sensed something off, it instinctively backed away, foiling his ambush. With his plan exposed, Wang Lei had no choice but to confront it head-on.

During that fight, although the ant was slightly faster than me, its movements were easy to read. Because of that, I had no trouble keeping up, even without any prior combat experience. It was also the reason why I was able to pull off that desperate move.

And seeing how the ants couldn’t keep up, Wang Lei felt confident in his conclusion.

“These ants are bona fide natural slowpokes!” he said out loud with a mocking grin.

However… Wang Lei’s expression turned serious. I’m not too sure about that giant white ant.

If my guess is right, its agility should be slightly lower than mine—or at least on par.

I have these treasure boots to thank for that. Wang Lei smiled as he remembered to give some credit to the treasure he had found.

Yet, that was all there was to it. His smile faded into a slight frown, tinged with helpless acceptance.

An ant’s specialty is its monstrous strength and hardened exoskeleton, he thought. I may be a little faster, but when it comes to raw strength and defense… it’s probably double—no, triple of my own!

“I can’t possibly hope to beat that monster…” Wang Lei muttered, feeling a chill run down his spine at the sheer hopelessness he felt in front of the white ant.

“But then again,” he continued, trying to push down the unease with reason, “I don’t have to fight it.”

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay focused. “All I need to do is reach the toxic zone. There’s no way those cave ants will follow me into a place filled with poisonous gas strong enough to nearly kill me, right?”

Meanwhile, just a few meters behind Wang Lei, the white ant crawled forward at a steady pace. Its face—if one could call it that—was twisted in fury. Yet, despite its prey slipping further out of reach, it didn’t rush. Instead, it moved with a disturbing calm, as if certain that no matter how far Wang Lei ran, there would be no escape.

***

Wang Lei stood within a thick haze of green poison. Just ahead, another mist loomed—this one was sky-blue, glittering faintly in the darkness like a starry night.

He glanced over his shoulder. Seeing no signs of pursuit, he finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Turning his gaze forward again, he took a deep breath and held it. Then, with a steady resolve, he stepped into the shimmering blue mist.

One thought echoed in his mind:

Finally… I can start eating that delicious-looking ore!