27: Chapter 27 The Ant Army

"Damn! They're coming after me, run!" Chen Ze didn't hesitate for a single second, instantly making his decision!

Those dense dots of light were all Mutated Beasts, and once caught, let alone bones, probably even dust wouldn't be left behind. Only a fool wouldn't run!

He violently gripped his backpack, tightly securing the pack filled with E-grade tomatoes onto his back, steadied the arisaka type 38 rifle with one hand, exerted force under his feet, and charged wildly toward the outer fringes of the forest without looking back.

He could no longer care about hiding his tracks; the heavy footsteps crushed the withered branches and rotting leaves all over the ground, producing a harsh, cracking sound.

The wind howled through the forest, and his ears were filled with the rustling crawling sounds constantly approaching from behind.

The mysterious beast hide was gripped tightly in his palm. Lowering his head for a hurried glance, he saw dense yellow warning lights like a tide, clinging tightly behind him as the distance continued to close—dense and overwhelming, covering the sky and earth.

"What on earth is this thing?!"

Chen Ze cursed softly under his breath, turning his head back for a panicked glance.

Just this single look shocked him so much that he almost tumbled headlong to the ground.

Forty to fifty meters behind him, it was an ocean of dense, profound blackness,

rolling toward him like moving ink.

Those were actually countless Mutant Ants!

These ants had long since surpassed ordinary sizes; the smallest were the size of a thumb, while the large ones were actually comparable to fists. Their dark, pitch-black carapaces gleamed with a metallic cold light, refracting a ferocious luster under the forest's light and shadow.

Their compound eyes were a turbid dark red, densely packed on their heads and exuding a heart-palpitating ferocity, while their six thick limbs churned rapidly, moving at lightning speed!

"Oh mother!"

Chen Ze let out a loud howl, almost letting the arisaka type 38 rifle slip from his hands.

With this many Mutant Ants covering the sky and earth in a continuous sheet, even if an adult elephant blundered into the Ant Swarm, it would be gnawed clean in no time, without a single scrap left behind.

He knew his own limits well. Even though his three dimensions had been enhanced and his physique far surpassed ordinary survivors, his personal level hadn't even reached E-grade.

Any random soldier ant among this group of Mutant Ants possessed decent lethality, let alone thousands upon thousands in the fearless Ant Swarm tide.

Go toe-to-toe with them? That's pure courting death.

No wonder the system said this was a high-risk area!

The strong, pungent smell of formic acid rushed toward him along with the violent wind, corroding his throat and making it sting slightly.

The ground trembled continuously as countless black ants crawled over tree trunks, grass patches, and chaotic rocks, blocking his escape routes on both sides. A large batch of winged flying ants even soared into the air, circling and maneuvering overhead as they were about to complete an encirclement.

Chen Ze was frightened out of his wits, no longer daring to hold back a single bit. His legs desperately erupted with all their strength, boosting his sprinting speed by another notch.

On the mysterious beast hide, the entire area behind him was filled with yellow light. The Ant Swarm was like maggots on a rotting bone, locking onto his aura firmly and pressing closer step by step.

The rustling crawling sound behind him drew closer and closer; the giant soldier ants in the very front were already less than thirty meters away from him.

He couldn't stop, couldn't look back, and could only run!

Only by rushing out of this dense ancient tree forest and reaching the Light Barrier would there be any hope of survival!

"Light Barrier, Light Barrier, why aren't we there yet?! Ah!"

Chen Ze clenched his teeth tightly, enduring the soreness in his legs and the burning sensation in his lungs, desperately fleeing frantically toward the forest boundary.

Dense bushes constantly scraped against his arms and cheeks, sharp branches tearing through his clothing and leaving behind streaks of burning bloody marks, but Chen Ze had no time to care at all.

His ears were filled with the dense crawling sounds of the Ant Swarm, like the whispers of the Grim Reaper, tightly tangling behind him.

Thirty meters, twenty meters, fifteen meters...

Just as Chen Ze was about to despair and his legs were on the verge of complete exhaustion and collapse, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the air slightly twisting and fluctuating not far ahead. A faint, pearly-white halo loomed vaguely, isolating the fierce aura inside and outside the forest.

"The Light Barrier! It's the Light Barrier!"

Ultimate despair was instantly replaced by monstrous ecstasy. Chen Ze's eyes lit up abruptly, and his near-exhausted body suddenly burst forth with a final surge of brute force.

Yet almost simultaneously, the rustling sound behind him magnified sharply—it was those most powerful giant soldier ants arriving!

"Damn it!"

Chen Ze roared angrily, swinging the muzzle sideways, raising the arisaka type 38 rifle, and pulling the trigger without hesitation.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Rapid gunshots suddenly exploded within the dense forest.

Scorching bullets whistled out one after another, accurately striking the fist-sized mutant soldier ants charging at the very front.

Their hard, pitch-black ant carapaces shattered instantly, and dark green, foul-smelling bodily fluids splashed everywhere. Several soldier ants flipped over onto the ground on the spot, unable to move ever again.

But this was merely a drop in the bucket.

The giant ants behind stepped on their companions' corpses, fearless of death and without a moment's pause, still closing in rapidly like madmen. Their saw-toothed mandibles continuously snapped shut, producing harsh, cracking sounds.

High up in the air, countless winged flying ants swooped down to cover the sky and earth, densely sealing off all space above him.

Fifteen meters, ten meters, eight meters! Life and death hung by a mere thread!

Chen Ze didn't dare to linger in the fight; the moment he fired those few rounds, he immediately retracted his gun and sprinted desperately with his head down.

"Ugh!"

Chen Ze only felt his ears filled with the flapping sounds of flying ants, followed immediately by a heart-piercing pain.

He didn't even need to think to know that those were flying ants frantically tearing into his flesh and blood.

The cold, sharp ant teeth pierced his skin, and the highly corrosive formic acid instantly seeped into the wound. A numb, burning pain spread through his blood vessels across his entire body, causing his muscles to spasm violently from the agony.

Right at this critical juncture, Chen Ze only felt the scene before his eyes blur violently,

and that pearly-white Light Barrier close at hand suddenly magnified.

The next second, his entire body plunged headfirst into the Light Barrier!

Hum!

A faint yet highly repulsive energy ripple suddenly rippled outward, instantly repelling all the mutant flying ants and giant soldier ants behind him like pieces of black snow, tumbling wretchedly and scattering all over the ground.

The entire boundless black ant tide came to an abrupt, screeching halt at the border of the Light Barrier.

They scuttled back and forth anxiously at the forest edge, their giant mandibles frantically gnawing on vegetation and soil amidst endless hissing.

Their dark red compound eyes locked onto Chen Ze inside the Light Barrier with full of fury and unwillingness, yet they never dared to touch that pearly-white barrier separating life and death.

All the strength in Chen Ze's body was instantly drained. His legs turned soft, and he stumbled and collapsed to the ground, supporting himself with both hands as he panted heavily.

"Hoo! Haa!"

The heavy panting sounded like a worn-out bellows pumping, echoing continuously at the edge of the empty safe zone.

His muscles were so sore they were numb, and his lungs felt fiery hot as if he had swallowed a ball of blazing fire, every breath carrying a tearing agony.

Panting for a full seven or eight minutes, Chen Ze finally felt a bit better, and he looked back with lingering fear.

Outside the Light Barrier, the dark, oppressive Mutated Ant Swarm still refused to leave, densely entrenched at the edge of the dense forest.

He believed that as long as this Light Barrier shattered, these beasts would charge out at the very first moment to tear him to pieces!

A chill ran down Chen Ze's back. Not daring to look at that terrifying Ant Swarm any longer, he quickly pulled back his gaze.

"Damn it! I was too reckless this time and almost lost my little life!"

He cursed in a low voice and slowly took off his shirt, preparing to inspect the injuries on his back.

The moment his shirt was abruptly yanked off, a pitch-black little thing slid down along the clothing and slammed heavily onto the ground.

Chen Ze's entire body stiffened as he hurriedly lowered his head to look closely—it was impressively that giant mutant flying ant that had been fiercely gnawing on the back of his neck!

"Holy crap!"

Startled, Chen Ze stumbled heavily and hastily retreated two steps, his scalp instantly going numb.

Disbelief covered his face, his pupils shrank sharply, and the arisaka type 38 rifle had already appeared in his hands.

"Da! Da! Da!"

Without waiting for the other party to make any unusual moves, the bullets had already cleared the chamber!

In an instant, it shredded the flying ant's body, splashing milky-white blood everywhere.

Throughout the whole process, the flying ant didn't budge an inch, making Chen Ze realize that perhaps the moment they emerged from the Light Barrier, this beast had already been killed by it, and he was merely beating a corpse.

"Ouch! ..."

Chen Ze let out a long sigh of relief as his tense heartstrings completely relaxed, a wave of exhaustion sweeping over his entire body.

This time, he had truly been traumatized by the endless Ant Swarm, growing suspicious of every bush and tree, where even the slightest disturbance could scare his entire body into a hairy-backed panic.

He lowered his head to glance at the battered flying ant carcass on the ground, suddenly noticing that at some point, a pitch-black bead had appeared nearby, with plenty of milky-white liquid still clinging to it.

"What is this?"

Chen Ze struggled to stand up and picked up that bead, whereupon the system immediately popped up the item information for this object.

E-grade Flying Ant beast core!

Item description: Contains terrifying energy that can help Mutated Beasts and survivors advance to a higher tier.