Nan Yue's attitude became much more serious. "A pleasure working with you."
Shang Xi did not ask why she had not contacted Sharp Blade. She simply nodded, and the two of them split up, racing toward the mound.
Nan Yue moved with light, swift steps, never staying in one spot for long.
The terrain became steeper and more difficult to traverse the higher she climbed. If it were anyone other than Nan Yue—a top student who had worked harder than anyone else in combat and movement classes to earn straight A's—they likely would not have been able to make the climb.
However, the further Nan Yue climbed, the colder her heart felt. The hole she had discovered earlier only had a few traces, suggesting occasional entry and exit.
But the holes higher up were surrounded by those fishy, slimy marks on the surface. There was no telling how many things had crawled over them.
Indeed, Nan Yue observed closely. The creature was definitely crawling or slithering. A bipedal animal could not have left such marks.
Nan Yue stopped near the summit. Looking from the base of the mound earlier, the ant nest had appeared to be a trapezoidal hill with a flat top rather than a pointed peak.
Now that she was up here, she realized it was not a flat area at all, but a pit as large as a stone house.
The hole was bottomless, and the fishy stench was so pungent it made Nan Yue's head throb.
She did not want to imagine how large a creature would have to be to use this summit entrance.
Earlier, it was said that the villagers had caught a queen the size of a young calf to survive the famine. This opening...
Nan Yue felt it was large enough for ten young calves to enter or exit at once.
Moreover, if she thought about it carefully, although Antswamp Village was sparsely populated, there were still several hundred people.
If the queen had only been the size of a calf... could it really have sustained them through a famine?
Rustle.
Rustle, rustle.
As Nan Yue was thinking, a strange rustling sound suddenly came from the hole at the top.
The noise was the same as what she had heard before, but much louder.
Perhaps due to the echo, the rustling seemed to resonate directly inside Nan Yue's head.
A strange association suddenly formed in her mind.
She felt as if the sound was produced by a massive insect with countless articulated limbs.
Slimy, hard, and dense insect legs scraped against the soil of the cave.
Rustle.
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle.
She was not sure if it was her imagination, but amidst the overlapping rustling, she also heard a clicking sound.
She could almost see the massive, inexplicable insect twisting its numerous body segments, its hard outer shells constantly clashing together.
Click, clack.
Click, click, clack, clack, click, click, clack, clack.
Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle.
No!
There was also the faint sound of liquid.
Squelch, slop.
With every click, a slimy, wet sound echoed.
Squelch, slop.
It was the mucus on the insect's shell, squeezed out as it wriggled and pressed against the tunnel, spreading everywhere inside the ant nest.
Nausea welled up in Nan Yue's chest. She felt dizzy and disoriented, unable to even see where she was standing.
She was entirely enveloped by that eerie, slimy sound, unable to hear the wind or any other noise.
It was as if she were already underground, with that disgusting insect coiled around her.
It wriggled around her with a clicking sound, its mucus rubbing off on her. It was a slimy, humid sensation that made her want to scrub her skin off.
The stench of fish filled her nose and mouth. She felt as if she were being encased in mucus by the insect...
Nan Yue bit the tip of her tongue hard. Blood and sharp pain erupted, and she snapped back to her senses instantly.
Without a moment's hesitation, she reached back and pressed down hard on her Zhongquan point. She was ruthless with herself, but the effect was significant.
The previous hallucinations and dizziness vanished. Looking coldly, she saw that she had walked right to the edge of the pit at the summit. Two or three more steps and she would have fallen in.
There would have been no turning back.
Nan Yue cast a cold glance at the opening. The cave was silent now, as if everything before had been a hallucination.
Nan Yue did not linger. She turned and ran, only regaining her composure once she reached the base of the mound.
She let out a long breath, only then realizing she was drenched in a cold sweat that made her clothes stick to her body in the humid environment.
That was close.
Nan Yue looked back at the massive, towering ant nest, the alarm bells in her mind ringing louder.
This mission was extremely dangerous.
Initially, Nan Yue thought that whatever had taken over such a large nest would be highly aggressive.
But now it seemed the creature did not necessarily rely on physical violence; it might be a mental attack type.
Those were even more troublesome.
Nan Yue's heart tightened as she ran toward the front of the mound. She only felt relieved when she saw Wen Xiang Yuan and Zhu Xi Ning standing a short distance away from the ant nest.
"A-Nan, are you okay?"
Zhu Xi Ning saw Nan Yue's pale face from a distance and was startled. She thought Nan Yue had used her ability.
Nan Yue waved her off, signaling she was fine, and the two waited for her to approach.
Naturally, the others noticed Nan Yue's complexion as well. Luo Liu was the first to rush over with concerned questions.
"What happened? Why do you look so pale?"
He looked behind her, his expression turning even more surprised. "Why are you like this too? How did you get hurt?"
Nan Yue turned to see Shang Xi staggering, a deep, bloody gash on her arm.
Shang Xi lowered her eyes. "It is nothing. I just tripped and got cut by a rock."
Luo Liu scratched his head and prepared to crush some Ant-red Flowers to apply to Shang Xi's hand.
"No need. It is not very deep."
Shang Xi would never let that suspicious substance touch her wound. After refusing, she looked at Nan Yue. "Can you help me?"
Luo Liu was confused but was coaxed away by Wen Xiang Yuan. Shang Xi lifted her clothes, revealing bandages wrapped around her abdomen.
Nan Yue removed the bandages and dressed the wound for her.
"This method is quite effective."
Shang Xi's brow was furrowed, her face pale as a sheet. "Injuries are inevitable in missions."
Nan Yue looked at the wound. It was clearly caused by a sharp blade. Recalling her own experience, she realized Shang Xi must have done it to herself.
Sure enough, Shang Xi whispered, "There is something wrong with that ant nest."
Nan Yue hummed in agreement and said, "A simple bandage will not do. It is too deep; I am afraid of infection."
With a grim expression, Shang Xi took a small brown pill from her pocket and swallowed it. The wound began to heal at a visible rate.
Nan Yue watched in surprise, realizing it must be a healing tool.
Judging by Shang Xi's expression, the item was likely very expensive.
However, to avoid raising Luo Liu's suspicions, Nan Yue still wrapped her arm properly.
"We cannot stay here any longer."
Even they had nearly succumbed, let alone the other scavengers.
Wen Xiang Yuan was clever as well. She pulled Luo Liu along, saying that since someone was injured, they should head back and rest, as they had already picked plenty of Ant-red Flowers.
Rate on N.U.
