# 344
Chapter 344 – Worker Ant
As the crimson giant ant was about to slam into Baili Pangpang, [Jade Radiance] snapped open, condensing into a heavy shield in front of him.
Boom—!!
The ant’s body smashed into the golden shield like a cannonball; the terrifying force sent Baili Pangpang flying shield and all for more than ten meters, snapping several trees before he finally stopped.
Baili Pangpang lay in the dark undergrowth, rubbing his back and groaning as he slowly stood up.
If [Jade Radiance] hadn’t cushioned the blow, that impact would’ve broken several bones. This thing’s strength was insane.
Not far away, flashlight beams danced in the darkness as several figures were already fighting the ant.
Lin Qiye vanished in a flash of sorcery light, reappearing on the Straight Blade he’d earlier hurled skyward; the blade had pierced the ant’s back dead-on, but the creature had been too fast for a vital hit.
Another reason: Lin Qiye had no idea where its vitals were.
He materialized behind the ant, night-dye seeping into his second Straight Blade as he hacked off two of its legs. Green blood gushed from the stumps.
Losing two limbs, the ant shrieked again, its center of gravity skewing. It spun and lunged at Lin Qiye.
“Cut the groove between its antennae.”
An Qingyu’s eyes flashed gray and he spoke suddenly.
Lin Qiye hesitated, then ghosted sideways through the night, dodging the crippled ant’s bite.
“Where’s the groove?” he couldn’t help asking.
“The depression just behind the two antennae on top of its head.”
Lin Qiye steadied himself, twin blades ready, but the maimed ant shot past him into the gloom, vanishing between the trees in a blink.
The flashlights lost it.
“Running?”
Darkness surfaced in Lin Qiye’s eyes. Both Straight Blades whipped out and streaked after it.
The ant scuttled fast, but under the erosion of utter darkness the blades were faster.
The instant they caught up, Lin Qiye reverse-summoned himself above the creature. Mid-air, he closed his hand.
Absolute darkness merged with the night, flooding the ant’s body. As his fist clenched, the ant’s slender joints twisted as if seized by an invisible giant.
Crack!!
A crisp snap echoed through the dead woods, followed by another shrill shriek. The ant’s body was wrung into several segments, still alive but completely immobilized.
Lin Qiye gripped both blades, spun a half-circle in the air, and drove the pale-blue edge in a perfect arc straight into the ant’s antenna groove.
Thud—
The blade sank halfway, punching out through the lower jaw. The shrieking stopped; the ant collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Lin Qiye calmly withdrew the blade, flicked off the green blood, and sheathed it.
Three flashlight beams hurried over.
Cao Yuan led, sheathed Straight Blade in hand. Seeing the ant dead, he relaxed.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to help—once he unleashed [Black King’s Annihilation Slash] in this forest, the backlash could only cause trouble.
“Hurt?” he asked Lin Qiye.
Lin Qiye shook his head. “Just a River-realm ant. If it hadn’t ambushed us in this wilderness, I’d have killed it outright.”
Baili Pangpang rubbed his butt, indignant. “So I’m the only casualty…”
An Qingyu crouched beside the carcass, flashlight beam playing over it. He glanced up at Lin Qiye; Lin Qiye nodded.
An Qingyu opened a black case from his backpack. Inside, a dozen differently shaped blades lay neatly. He selected one and began dissecting.
Baili Pangpang stared, bewildered, then looked at Lin Qiye as if to say: What’s he doing?
Lin Qiye raised a finger to his lips.
Ten minutes later, An Qingyu pinched the blade’s edge; frost crept over the steel. A flick sent frost, blood, and tissue to the ground. He packed the blade away, stood, and adjusted his glasses.
“It’s not catalogued in modern biology—definitely a Mystery. Judging by standard ant morphology, this is a worker, and newly hatched.”
“That size and it’s newborn?” Baili Pangpang’s mouth twitched at the sliced corpse.
“Don’t apply common sense to Mysteries,” Cao Yuan shrugged. “So this time the Mystery is colonial?”
“Seems so,” Lin Qiye said. “Intel says more giant ants roam this forest. When identical Mysteries appear in groups, there’s always a leader…”
An Qingyu pondered. “Like the Nanda serpent?”
“No. The Nanda serpent splits seeds to possess hosts—more like avatars. This is closer to the Ghost-Faced Man and Ghost-Faced King back in Cangnan.”
“Got it.” An Qingyu nodded. “So besides these workers, there should be… a queen?”
Lin Qiye nodded.
“If workers are River realm, the queen’s at least Sea realm,” Baili Pangpang grimaced.
“Facing a Sea-realm Mystery was always on the table,” Cao Yuan said.
“One more thing.” An Qingyu frowned. “Its stomach was empty. That ambush was a starving hunt.”