Luo Wen resolved to suppress his curiosity this time, no matter what, and firmly resisted the urge to investigate. Last time, his curiosity had already landed him in a situation of “off you go, a thousand miles away.” This time, with the sense of danger so intense, who knew what kind of trouble might arise if he went out again?
Five minutes later, Luo Wen cautiously began crawling toward the surface.
He had no intention of explaining his actions. He could only attribute them to an overpowering curiosity that he had failed to overcome.
However, just as he reached the transit station near the upper levels, he discovered it had been invaded. Dense, unknown creatures crawling through the passageway were detected by the sensory hairs on his body.
Could it be an ant nest invasion? He considered the possibility but dismissed it. He infiltrated the black ants’ nest daily to transport food, and if there had been any major mobilization, he wouldn’t have missed it. Furthermore, given the intelligence of the black ants, it seemed unlikely they could pull off an act so elaborate as to deceive and lull him into complacency.
This pointed to an external species. Luo Wen was suddenly reminded of the yellow earth ants he had encountered earlier this evening, and his heart tightened.
He had to take a peek. Otherwise, remaining ignorant of the enemy would leave him at too great a disadvantage.
Carefully, Luo Wen made a small opening in the passage leading to the transit station and looked inside. Sure enough, the area was teeming with yellow earth ants. Could they be here for revenge?
That seemed unlikely. Eliminating seven scout worker ants shouldn’t have warranted a full-scale invasion, unless one of those scouts had been someone significant—a prince or princess of a grand ant empire. If that were the case, it would be absurdly melodramatic. Luo Wen still thought it more likely to be a coincidence.
Luo Wen estimated that at least tens of thousands of yellow earth ants were on the surface to create such strong vibrations. A mere few hundred would not have been enough for him to sense from deep underground.
Without attracting the yellow earth ants’ attention, Luo Wen cautiously retracted his head.
Fortunately, the transit station had always been designed as a decoy—a fake nest.
Directly connecting to the brood nest was inherently risky. If the nest were discovered and pursued through the passageway, a direct connection would place them in constant danger. As such, the transit station above the brood nest served as a decoy and a midpoint for food storage, with the added benefit of being misleading.
Each evening, after the transport teams and excavation crews returned, all traces of the connecting passage between the brood nest and the transit station would be destroyed and buried.
If any ant nest attempted to launch a surprise attack by following the passage, they would never find the brood nest’s location. In fact, they might even end up attacking another ant nest instead.
This strategy was known as “diverting disaster eastward.” While the roles of potential disaster-bearers had now shifted, the diversion tactic remained effective. Luo Wen could only hope the black ants would withstand the yellow earth ants’ invasion; otherwise, he would have to find a new food supply.
Returning to the brood nest, Luo Wen couldn’t bring himself to sleep. He focused all his senses on the activity above. Fortunately, the vibrations remained far away. The yellow earth ants had not discovered the brood nest hidden below.
The vibrations from above persisted for a long time, to the point where Luo Wen began to grow numb.
If the yellow earth ants were not feigning activity—merely rubbing back and forth above the brood nest—then it meant their numbers were immense, in the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands.
Luo Wen doubted they were feigning anything. Firstly, it was unnecessary. Secondly, he could sense that the vibrations moved continuously from one end to the other, indicating the yellow earth ants were progressing in a single direction without doubling back.
He realized he had underestimated them. Even though he could effortlessly dispatch seven yellow earth ants at once, if he appeared on the surface now, he would be instantly overwhelmed by the army, unable to stir up even a ripple.
Thus, Luo Wen pragmatically instructed all the insects in the brood nest to halt work and rest in place, forbidding any noise.
In the dark tunnels, the insects became as silent as powered-down machines. The absence of sound made the vibrations and friction from above all the more distinct.
Luo Wen couldn’t fathom the scale of the colony or the abundance of resources required to sustain such a massive ant legion. He was somewhat relieved that the insects in the brood nest lacked fear. Otherwise, their minds might have already collapsed.
Time passed, and the vibrations above gradually ceased. The ant army had finally moved on. But Luo Wen maintained his silence, waiting for them to get even farther away.
A long time later, Luo Wen finally stirred. The yellow earth ant legion seemed to have truly moved on. His tiny brood nest wasn’t worth the effort of a counterattack.
Although he had his suspicions, Luo Wen cautiously moved upward. He first reached the area near the transit station, where some faint movement remained—likely yellow earth ants that had fallen behind the main army.
Instead of investigating the transit station, Luo Wen bypassed it and continued upward, quietly emerging onto the surface.
The temperature in this region did not fluctuate as drastically as in the desert. There was no frost at night, but the temperature was still quite low. Two pale light sources in the sky bathed the earth in a hazy glow.
The land before him seemed as though it had been plowed. The yellow earth ant legion had perfectly illustrated the meaning of “an army marches through, leaving no blade of grass behind.” The vegetation that had once thrived here, apart from a few sturdy trees, had vanished.
At a glance, it felt as though the sky had risen by three feet.
The desolation almost made Luo Wen feel like he had returned to the desert.
A few yellow earth ants lingered in the distance, seemingly searching for something. Their poor vision prevented them from noticing Luo Wen. Even if they did, their numbers posed no threat to him now.
After a quick survey of the surroundings, Luo Wen didn’t linger on the surface. He turned back to the transit station and eliminated the yellow earth ants trapped there before heading toward Brood Nest One.
The scattered yellow earth ants along the way posed no trouble, not even slowing him down.
Although their individual strength was insignificant to Luo Wen at this point, their sheer numbers, if exceeding a certain threshold, left him with no choice but to flee.
This experience made Luo Wen truly understand the power of a swarm, though he regarded it with disdain. Such reliance on sheer numbers lacked any tactical sophistication.
From a technical standpoint, it was far inferior to his Luo-style insect combat technique.
As he thought this, his mouth inexplicably began to secrete more ant acid. Could it be because he had eaten too many ants recently?