Cave ants! A whole group of them! Damn itâdid I attract them with all that noise?
Wang Lei had been making quite a racket while mining the gold, so it wasnât a surprise that something had heard him.
Three cave ants stood before him, staring at him intently. At first, their eyes held a glimmer of curiosityâbut something changed. That curiosity quickly vanished, replaced by a sudden and unmistakable bloodlust.
KRIIIIIEEEKK!!
The ant in the middle let out a piercing screech.
As if responding to a command, the two on either side suddenly split off, dashing toward opposite walls. They skittered up the rock surfaces, circling himâeyes locked onto Wang Lei with murderous intent.
Iâm surrounded. This is badâ¦
Drops of cold sweat rolled down his face. His only source of lightâhis helmet flashlightâcould only illuminate what was directly in front of him. The two ants had already moved out of sight.
If they attacked from the shadows, he wouldnât even see it coming. Heâd be finished before he had a chance to react.
He couldnât afford to turn his back to keep the other two in sight. With how intelligent they seemed, the one in frontâclearly the commanderâwould seize that moment to attack from behind.
There was only one way to get out of this.
Outmaneuver them⦠and strike first!
Wang Lei didnât hesitateâhe charged forward, gripping his pickaxe tightly in both hands.
His target: the ant directly in front of himâthe one that appeared to be the commander.
KRIEEK!
The ant let out a screech that sounded almost like a sneer. It didnât even move, standing firm as it watched Wang Lei approach. With its eyes locked on him, it looked down with clear disdain, not expecting a mere human to break through its armored exoskeleton.
Honestly, Wang Lei might have hesitated beforeâintimidated by that incredibly hard exoskeleton. Even when he had used all his strength to strike its head back then, his pickaxe had simply bounced off without leaving a single scratch.
But that was before.
Back then, his Strength attribute was only about average. Now, with his power having increased significantly, he didnât believe the same thing would happen again.
Wang Lei was now within arm's reach, his pickaxe raised high above his head. Even then, the commander ant didnât budge an inch.
Well, thatâll be its dying regret.
He channeled all his strength into his arms. With the power of four average men combined, he brought the pickaxe down in a powerful arc.
Schk! Bang!
With a sickening crunch, the pickaxe drove straight through the antâs headâpiercing clean through and slamming into the ground on the other side with a heavy thud.
Wang Lei stood stunned by the damage he had just caused.
I knew I got stronger, but this isâ¦
He couldnât quite put his feelings into words. On one hand, he felt a surge of joy at his newfound strength. On the other, a creeping unease settled inâhe was beginning to fear what he might be capable of.
KRIIIEEEKK!!
An angry screech echoed from behind him.
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Crapâthere are still two left!
Wang Lei quickly spun aroundâbut all he saw was one ant crawling along the rock wall.
Whereâs... the other one?
KRIIEEEK!
Another screechâthis time from above.
Sh*t!
The moment he looked up at the ceiling, the ant was already diving toward him, its fangs wide open, ready to bite.
He swung his pickaxe in an attempt to strike, but then realized it was firmly stuck in the ground.
Damn it! The only thing I can do is...!
The ant was just inches away from sinking its fangs into him.
Munch!
"AAARRGGGHHHH!!!"
Wang Lei screamed in pain.
The ant had sunk its mandibles deep into his right arm.
So much for a simple ant biteâthis really hurts!
It had been a desperate move, and he was paying the price for it.
He couldnât let the ant sink its jaws into his headâat that rate, heâd be dead for sure.
Thatâs why he made a split-second decision: to sacrifice his right arm.
Fortunately, thanks to his already high Defense attribute, the damage wasnât as catastrophic as it couldâve been. The antâs mandibles bit deepâjust inches from the boneâbut miraculously, his arm hadnât been torn off.
And yet, it wasnât over.
The ant continued gnawing at his arm like it was a sweet lollipop, sending waves of pain through Wang Leiâs body. It was the first time heâd ever been hurt like thisâhis mind struggled to process what was even happening.
But there was no time to recover.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other ant crawling closer along the rock wall. Its mandibles opened and closed in a rhythmic twitch, as if gasping in anticipationâexcited at the thought of devouring him.
At this point, Wang Leiâs eyes were bloodshot. The pain, the fear, and the looming threat of death pressed down on him like a crushing weight.
For a moment, the thought crept in...
That he might actually die here.
That he could just give upâ
Let the ants tear his body apartâ
And fade away into the darkness.
No! Absolutely not! Why am I acting like this is the first time Iâve faced something like this?!
Wang Leiâs mind flashed back to the days when he hadnât eaten for what felt like foreverâhis food supplies dwindling until there was nothing left.
His body had started consuming itself, breaking down muscle just to keep his heart beating.
Surviving that was already a miracle.
Whatâs the difference this time? Back then, I survived because I was desperateâand now, I will stay alive for the same reason!
A faint light began to flicker in Wang Leiâs once-dimming green eyesâfueled not by hope, but by pure, unwavering will.
âAAAHHH! Donât underestimate me!!â
With every ounce of strength he had left, Wang Lei raised his right armâant still latched onâand swung it with full force.
Pain surged through him, making him wince, but he endured it. Survival was all that mattered now.
The sudden motion caught the gnawing ant off guard, forcing it to release its grip. Its body was flung through the airâcrashing directly into the other ant just as it was about to pounce.
The two ants crashed into each other and tumbled to the ground. Wang Lei didnât waste a second.
He rushed to grab his pickaxe, yanked it free from the stone floor, and sprinted toward the fallen enemies. Positioning the weapon like a golf club, he gripped it tightly with both handsâjust above his shouldersâbuilding up momentum with every step.
As soon as he was close enough, he swung with everything he had.
Schk! Bang! Crack!
The pickaxe tore through the first antâs head with a sickening crunchâso fast, barely a second passed before it burst out the other side.
Without losing momentum, it continued its deadly arc, piercing the second ant as well. Both fell limp in an instant.
The swing only ended when the pickaxe slammed into the rock wall, embedding itself deep and leaving behind a spiderweb of cracks across the stone.
Wang Lei didnât even get the chance to sit down and catch his breath before numerous screens popped up in front of his face.
[You have killed an Evolved Cave Ant LV. 5! Congratulations!]
[You have killed an Evolved Cave Ant LV. 4! Congratulations!]
[You have killed an Evolved Cave Ant LV. 8! Congratulations!]
[Experience threshold has been met. You have leveled up!]
[Experience threshold has been met. You have leveled up!]
[Experience threshold has been met. You haveâ¦]
â¦.
â¦â¦
[A part of its soul will merge with you.]
After a rapid series of pop-up screens, everything finally went still.
Then, with the last screen appearing before him, Wang Lei witnessed something unbelievable unfold right in front of his eyes.
Each ant corpse began to emit a soft white glow. Slowly, the light turned into a faint mist, seeping out from the bodies until there was nothing left of them.
The glowing mist gathered, swirling in the air before compressing into a small white orb.
Wang Leiâs eyes widened. The appearance was all too familiar.
Isnât that the same white thing that forced itself into my mouth and boosted my attribute stats?
Three white orbs floated above each of the corpses, glowing faintly in the darkness.
But it didnât stop there.
The orbs began to move, drifting toward one another. Then, with a sudden force, they collidedâmerging violently as if being fused by some unseen power.
Slowly, the three orbs continued to merge, their light pulsing with growing intensity.
And then, as they fully combined, the glow shiftedâno longer white, but a deep, ominous red.
A single orb now floated before Wang Lei, radiating with unfamiliar energy.
A new screen popped up in front of him:
[Parts of the souls have successfully fused.]
[Congratulations! You have obtained a Common Orb.]
[Do you wish to use or consume the orb?]