Chapter 1284: Ants Devouring Men
Tiantian paused, then took the fountain pen from Chu Tianqiu's hand.
She carefully wiped the bloodstains off the pen, then touched the strange door with its nib.
Although it wasn't as clear as touching it directly with her hand, Tiantian could still roughly feel the hardness and material of the door.
It was similar to other wooden doors—made of wood as well—but the quality of the wood was better, and it was elaborately carved with patterns.
The complexity of its craftsmanship far exceeded the simple wooden doors on the "Cangjie Chessboard" and the "Train."
Back then, in the "Cangjie Chessboard" venue, in order to make that "door" seem real enough to fool others, Tiantian had even replicated all the wood grain and cracks on it.
By the same logic, this finely crafted door was no different. For the thing she created to truly lead to Tianlong's room, she would need to perfectly replicate the patterns, even the dust on it.
"Give me some time..." Tiantian said seriously. "This is a bit difficult for me."
Chu Tianqiu nodded and was about to speak when he suddenly began to hear a large number of footsteps.
The footsteps sounded like rolling thunder, causing the entire "Train" to tremble.
It seemed someone was coming... an unimaginably large number of them.
He quickly walked to the door and looked out. Though he saw no one, he could still hear the deafening footsteps.
Just as he was puzzled, Yan Zhichun's face suddenly flashed in the crack of the door.
Seeing Chu Tianqiu there, Yan Zhichun's expression changed. She quickly reached out and grabbed the door frame. "Damn... why are you here?"
"It's a long story... What's going on out there..."
"You need to hide, quickly." Yan Zhichun said seriously. "You have too many 'targets' on you. It's easy to mistake you for a 'Celestial-level.' It's too dangerous."
"What...?"
"'The Ants' have moved." Yan Zhichun said. "The 'Train' is about to change."
Chu Tianqiu's eyes widened. The next second, he saw a massive swarm of "Ants" surge out from behind Yan Zhichun. They moved like a tide, and several of them turned their heads to look in his direction.
He quickly reached out and closed the door. The few "Ants" slammed into the door panel right after.
Zhang Chenze and Yun Yao heard the commotion and turned around, listening to something frantically pounding on the door. The chaotic noise made it hard for them to concentrate.
Amidst the violent knocking, Chu Tianqiu, still shaken, took a moment to assess the situation. Then he looked up and said to Yun Yao, "Yun Yao, your 'Strong Luck' even saved me..."
"What's going on...?" Zhang Chenze asked.
"The situation is starting to change..." Chu Tianqiu murmured. "Someone has unsheathed a 'double-edged sword.' Now we need to seize the last bit of time we have."
Tiantian nodded upon hearing this and continued using the pen to explore the wooden door's outline.
In the corridor, a large number of "Ants" began to scatter, causing countless "Human-level" and "Earth-level" beings to feel even more chaotic. Fortunately, these "Zodiacs" didn't carry the targets the "Ants" were looking for, so for now, their lives were safe.
Almost half of the Ants immediately headed toward the fork leading to the "Celestial-level" rooms. Yan Zhichun and Jiang Ruoxue walked boldly among them, as if leading a bizarre army on a siege.
What puzzled the two of them was that the two doors closest to Qinglong's room had no "Ants" lingering. They passed by these doors and surged deeper into the corridor instead.
Yan Zhichun frowned, looking at the doors to her left and right. A bad feeling rose in her heart.
The sadness she had just managed to suppress seemed to resurface.
She looked at the door on her left. As if possessed, she slowly reached out and pushed it open. On the other side of the door was an endless darkness, rippling with the vast cosmos.
It seemed there was nothing here, yet it contained everything in the world.
Standing before the door, facing the entire universe, she felt an emptiness in her heart.
Jiang Ruoxue paused behind her and asked, "What's wrong, Zhichun?"
"I don't know..." Yan Zhichun stared blankly at the brilliant starry sky. "Shouldn't this be a 'Celestial-level' room...? Why is the outside..."
"Maybe not all doors lead to Celestial-level rooms..." Jiang Ruoxue said uncertainly. "The door across from this one also didn't have any 'Ants' stopping there. Maybe both of these doors lead to empty spaces...?"
Yan Zhichun thought about it and indeed found it strange. These two doors were so close to Qinglong's room—why did all the "Ants" choose to bypass them entirely?
If they weren't "Celestial-level," then who was inside?
To verify her guess, she walked to the door opposite and pushed it, only to find it locked.
After thinking for a few seconds, Yan Zhichun reached out and knocked on the door. She pressed her ear against it and heard sounds coming from inside, but the person inside didn't seem to want to open the door.
The numerous "Ants" beside her gave Yan Zhichun some courage. After a few seconds of consideration, she knocked again.
After a moment, the door opened a crack, revealing a chubby man's eye peeking through the gap.
Though the man was slightly plump, his face was pale, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
Seeing this, Yan Zhichun cautiously stepped back. She glanced at the "Ants" beside her, but none of them seemed to notice the chubby man. They rushed past the cracked door as if they sensed nothing.
"What is it?" the man asked.
"Who... are you?" Yan Zhichun asked.
The chubby man seemed unsure how to answer that question. He stared at Yan Zhichun for a long time before slowly replying, "I'm nobody."
Then he shook his head and closed the door.
Jiang Ruoxue tugged at Yan Zhichun. "That man looks weird... Are you okay?"
"I'm fine..." Yan Zhichun frowned. "He is indeed strange. He should be a 'Celestial-level.'"
"'Celestial-level'...?" Jiang Ruoxue frowned, looking at the "Ants" around them. "Are you sure?"
"Think about it—if a normal person opened their door and saw this horrifying scene... would they be as calm as he was?" Yan Zhichun said. "The corridor is crawling with bug-like monsters. There are even 'participants' here who shouldn't be. But he just asked me 'What is it?' with a blank expression. No matter how you look at it, that's not normal."
Jiang Ruoxue nodded. "If he's a 'Celestial-level,' how did he escape the 'Ants' detection...?"
"Only he knows the answer to that." Yan Zhichun shook her head and looked deeper into the corridor.
A large number of "Ants" began pounding on various doors. They banged frantically, the chaotic sounds rising and falling one after another.
Soon, the first door was broken open, and a flood of "Ants" surged inside.
Yan Zhichun and Jiang Ruoxue quickly stepped forward to see what was happening. Inside the room was covered in blood. An Earth Rabbit, whose life or death was uncertain, sat on the ground. Before it stood a middle-aged woman covered in wounds.
A group of "Ants" lunged at the middle-aged woman, tackling her to the ground as her face twisted in terror.