The sounds of checking firearms, the clinking of ammunition being tallied, and the low voices of squad leaders reporting their numbers rose and fell in succession.
Cold Wind stood beside the Command Vehicle, his stern face devoid of any expression, betraying no emotion whatsoever.
Behind him, Su Wan had already closed her eyes.
Her mental power spread outward like a tide, silently probing into this strange and eerie green world.
Everything within a thousand-meter radius was under her perception.
Soon, Su Wan’s brow furrowed.
In such a vast area, there were surprisingly no large Aberrants.
There weren't even any Aberrants with the slightest bit of offensive capability.
She delved deeper, her mental power penetrating the thick layer of humus and into the ground.
Nothing.
There was absolutely nothing.
No Rot-Walkers, no mutated beasts, no snakes, insects, rats, or ants—she couldn't even find a single flying bug.
This area was unnaturally clean.
Su Wan’s mental power continued to spread, extending even deeper.
Right at the edge of her mental range, her perception caught an area of exceptionally active energy accumulation.
It wasn't the energy fluctuation of a single creature, but a “tide” formed by the convergence of tens of thousands of weak energies.
Su Wan concentrated her mental power, looking closely at that energy gathering point.
The next moment, her pupils suddenly contracted.
That wasn't an energy tide.
It was actually—
Ants!
Tens of thousands of ants!
Each one was about the size of a person's pinky finger, their entire bodies an unnatural blood-red. Their six legs were long and powerful, and their mandibles were like two curved sickles, shimmering with a black-red luster.
They were huddled together, dense and layered, looking like a river of flowing blood.
Su Wan’s mental power swept across that underground space, roughly estimating the numbers—
At least tens of thousands.
No, more than that.
One hundred thousand.
Two hundred thousand.
Her mental power couldn't cover the entire area, but judging solely from the small section she perceived, the number of this colony likely far exceeded her imagination.
Su Wan was startled, but then realization dawned on her.
No wonder there were no living things in this area.
They had all been devoured by these ants.
It wasn't that large Aberrants didn't exist; they had either been eaten or had fled the area long ago.
The remaining small bugs and animals weren't even enough to fill the gaps between the ants' teeth.
Su Wan carefully withdrew her mental power, a smile touching her lips.
She had been worrying about how to deal with this City Defense Force unit, and now the heavens had sent her a ready-made “weapon.”
Through the contract link, Su Wan issued instructions to the four of them.
“Cold Wind, lead the team toward the southeast.”
“Understood!”
“Iron Bone, you’ll coordinate a play with me in a moment.”
“When the time is right, I will ambush you and then jump from the vehicle to escape. You pretend to be enraged and lead a squad to chase after me.”
The corners of Iron Bone’s mouth curled slightly, revealing a cruel smile. “Understood, Master.”
“Zhou Hu, Shadow Blade, stay with the main group and act as you see fit.”
“Understood,” the two replied simultaneously.
The convoy began to move, heading exactly southeast.
The soldiers all believed that Cold Wind was leading them back to the Safe Zone.
Their panicked hearts finally began to settle.
As they moved forward, the surrounding vegetation became increasingly dense.
Gradually, some soldiers noticed something was wrong.
“This... what kind of hellish place is this...”
“Are we... are we really moving away from the Non-Safe Zone?”
“Did we take a wrong turn?”
Whispers broke out among the ranks, fear rippling through the crowd like an undercurrent.
Inside the Command Vehicle, Su Wan’s mental power had long since spread out silently.
The underground space where the ants gathered was less than half a kilometer ahead.
She issued an order to Iron Bone through the contract: “Prepare to move.”
Iron Bone’s hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel.
After traveling another few hundred meters, Su Wan kicked the back of the driver’s seat. Iron Bone’s body jerked forward, and the steering wheel wobbled violently, causing the Command Vehicle to swerve in a jagged arc through the ruins.
“Someone’s escaped—!”
A communications soldier’s startled cry rang out from the cabin.
Su Wan pushed open the side door of the vehicle, her form like a flash of grey lightning as she leapt from the speeding truck. She rolled upon landing to dissipate the momentum, then sprinted toward the depths of the dense forest to the southeast without looking back.
Iron Bone slammed his hands on the wheel to steady it, his rugged face instantly turning flushed as veins bulged on his neck.
“Damn it—!”
He punched the dashboard, sending shards flying. His roar erupted from the window, making the nearby soldiers shrink back.
“That woman ran! Pursue! Get after her!”
Iron Bone leapt out of the vehicle and waved at the nearest squad. “Squad Two, with me! The rest of you, stay put and wait for orders!”
Thirty elite soldiers shouted their assent in unison, following Iron Bone as they charged after Su Wan.
Their figures quickly vanished into the thick vegetation.
Su Wan sprinted ahead at a moderate pace, just fast enough for the pursuers to see her back, yet always keeping her out of reach.
Her mental power locked onto the area where the ants gathered underground; it was less than two hundred meters ahead.
As she ran, Su Wan counted down in her mind, “One hundred and fifty meters... one hundred meters...”
Iron Bone’s voice came from behind, carrying a deliberately manufactured fury: “Don’t let her get away! Fire! Fire!”
Gunshots exploded behind her, bullets whistling past Su Wan. Some hit the nearby vines, splashing strings of dark green sap.
But not a single one hit her.
Su Wan’s figure suddenly paused before she sharply pivoted, rushing toward a relatively open clearing.
Directly beneath that clearing was the ant nest.
Fifty meters.
Thirty meters.
Ten meters.
Su Wan’s footsteps came to a sudden halt, and her form instantly blurred—
【Shadow-Hide】 activated.
Her figure vanished into thin air before the pursuers' eyes, as if she had never existed.
Iron Bone skidded to a stop, and the thirty soldiers followed suit, aimlessly raising their guns and looking around in confusion.
“Where is she?!”
“She’s gone! She vanished into thin air!”
“Did she crawl into some hole?!”
The soldiers' voices were disorganized, filled with confusion and unease.
Iron Bone stood where he was, his gaze sweeping over the clearing, his mouth twitching slightly.
He knew his Master wouldn't actually disappear; she had simply used some kind of concealment method.
But the soldiers behind him didn't know that.
“Search! She must be hiding nearby. Dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but find her!” Iron Bone ordered harshly.
The soldiers scattered, beginning to search among the vegetation and rubble.
Meanwhile, Su Wan was currently standing at the edge of the clearing, less than five meters from the entrance of the ant nest.
She had exited the Shadow-Hide state, but she had not deactivated her mental cloaking.
Under the interference of her Level 3 Late Stage mental power, the ordinary soldiers' eyes would automatically overlook her presence.
Su Wan looked down at the soft humus beneath her feet.
The entrance to the ant nest was right below, covered by a thick layer of fallen leaves and rotted soil.
She lifted her foot and lightly stepped on the ground.
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