40: Chapter 40 The Terrifying Ant Swarm!

In the basement.

Under Lin Yuan's operation, the generator emitted a "rumbling" sound.

The dim light bulbs flickered on, illuminating the nervous faces of The Ye Sisters.

Ye Qingxue and Ye Qingyue tremblingly took out their mobile phones and plugged them into the chargers.

Lin Yuan stood to the side, watching them silently.

Bai Xingli had also followed them down, quietly leaning against the wall.

The charging indicator lights turned on.

One minute...

Two minutes...

Three minutes...

"It's on!"

Ye Qingyue said excitedly, her fingers sliding across the screen.

There was no signal.

But there were a large number of offline messages.

WeChat, text messages, missed calls...

Countless notifications were popping up on the screen.

Ye Qingyue opened WeChat—

The latest message was sent by Dad.

Time: Fifth day of the Apocalypse, three in the morning.

【Dad might not be able to hold on... I'm coughing up blood... I don't know where Mom went... You must survive... Dad loves you...】

The moment Ye Qingyue saw this message, the phone slipped from her hand.

"Clatter—"

The phone fell to the ground, the screen still lit.

"No... no... Dad..."

Ye Qingyue's tears instantly gushed out, and she collapsed on the ground.

Ye Qingxue picked up the phone, trembling as she continued to scroll through the messages.

A message from their neighbor, Uncle Zhang: 【There are bloodstains at your door... Your dad might have...】

A notification from the villa community owners' group: 【The resident of Villa 18, Maple Forest Villa District, has been confirmed dead, and the body has been frozen...】

There was also the last message sent by Mom, dated the seventh day of the Apocalypse:

【I went to the northern shelter; The Authorities' rescue team is there. Don't come looking for me, it's too dangerous. Live well. — Mom】

After that, there were no more messages.

Ye Qingxue finished reading all the messages, biting her lip, trying hard to hold back her tears.

But the tears could not stop flowing.

"Dad... is dead..."

Her voice trembled, filled with despair.

"Mom... went to the northern shelter... but I don't know if she is still alive..."

Ye Qingyue had completely broken down, lying on the ground and weeping bitterly:

"We didn't even get to see you for the last time... We still wanted to save you..."

The two sisters hugged each other, crying heart-wrenchingly.

Lin Yuan stood to the side, watching this scene silently.

He was not a person without emotions.

But in the Apocalypse, he had seen too many partings.

Compared to those who were torn alive by Evolved Beast, or tortured to death by snow poison, the father of The Ye Sisters had at least died at home, with dignity.

This could already be considered lucky.

Bai Xingli walked over to the two sisters and gently hugged them:

"My condolences..."

Her eyes were also red.

She also had family, and she did not know if they were dead or alive.

The Apocalypse was just that cruel.

The sound of crying echoed in the basement, lingering for a long time.

...

Half an hour later.

The sisters' emotions had calmed down a little.

Qingyue, with red eyes, knelt in front of Lin Yuan and choked out:

"Brother Lin Yuan... I beg you... take us to find Mom... I beg you..."

Her forehead was pressed against the floor, and her voice was filled with pleading.

Qingxue also knelt down, keeping her head low, tears dripping onto the floor:

"Lin Yuan, I know this is very dangerous... but please... Mom is our only family left..."

She had always been proud.

But at this moment, for the sake of her mother, she was willing to put down all her dignity.

Lin Yuan looked at the two sisters kneeling in front of him, his eyes complex.

The northern shelter...

It was at least twenty kilometers away from here, and the road must be full of dangers.

With his strength, going alone was not a problem.

But bringing the two sisters...

However...

If they had a mental breakdown, their affinity might drop.

And...

Lin Yuan looked at the sisters' desperate eyes, and a trace of reluctance actually welled up in his heart.

Having spent so long with them, he was not completely devoid of emotion.

Although he had initially treated them only as tools for the system space, but now...

"Where is the address?" Lin Yuan asked.

Qingyue suddenly raised her head, hope flashing in her eyes: "No. 18, Maple Forest Villa District, Jiangcheng City North District!"

Lin Yuan calculated in his heart: Twenty kilometers, at his speed, he could arrive in two hours of full-speed running.

But with them, it would take at least four hours.

They would definitely encounter Evolved Beast on the road, and might even encounter other survivors.

The risk was very high.

But...

"I promise you."

Lin Yuan said, "But I have conditions—follow my orders on the road, and don't run around. Otherwise, I won't care if you live or die."

"We promise!" The two sisters nodded frantically.

Lin Yuan turned to Bai Xingli and said:

"You stay in the villa, and I will leave you enough supplies."

He took a large amount of D-grade water, E-grade water, and food from the system space, filling a corner of the entire basement.

There were thousands of bottles of water and hundreds of cans of food.

Bai Xingli looked at this terrifying amount of supplies and was once again shocked by Lin Yuan's system space.

"This is enough for you to use for a month. Lock the doors and windows, and don't go out. If I don't return within three days..."

Lin Yuan paused, "Do what you think is best."

Bai Xingli bit her lip and nodded: "I understand. You... be careful."

She knew that this mission was very dangerous.

But she was not qualified to ask to go along.

Lin Yuan looked at her and said rare words: "Wait for me to return."

Bai Xingli's eyes turned red, and she nodded forcefully: "Mm!"

...

The next morning, the three of them set off.

Lin Yuan carried nothing and walked at the very front.

Qingxue and Qingyue followed closely behind, each holding a bottle of E-grade water and an antidote, fully armed.

The villa door slowly closed.

Bai Xingli stood in front of the window, watching their backs fade away, silently praying in her heart.

The first five kilometers went smoothly.

They only encountered a few Evolved Beast cats, which were easily dealt with by Lin Yuan.

But when they entered the North District of Jiangcheng City—

The air suddenly changed.

The originally white snow actually appeared a faint purple in this area!

And the air was filled with a pungent, corrosive odor, like sulfuric acid mixed with the stench of corpses.

Lin Yuan stopped abruptly, his brow furrowed tightly:

"Something is wrong... The concentration of snow poison here is abnormally high!"

He could clearly feel that even with his 330 constitution, his skin felt a faint stinging sensation when exposed to the air.

It was like countless fine needles pricking his skin!

Qingxue and Qingyue were even paler, struggling to breathe, and their lips began to turn purple.

"So uncomfortable... I can't breathe..."

Qingyue clutched her throat and said painfully.

"Drink the E-grade water quickly!" Lin Yuan ordered immediately.

The three of them each drank a bottle of E-grade water, and the symptoms eased.

It seemed that this strange odor would cause humans to fall into hunger and thirst!

"What happened here?" Qingxue looked around in horror.

Lin Yuan looked at the increasingly dense purple snow fog in front, his eyes solemn:

"It might be that for some reason the snow poison has gathered and concentrated here... We must pass through quickly!"

"Can... can we take a detour?" Qingyue asked tremblingly.

Lin Yuan shook his head: "A detour would take at least ten more kilometers, and it is not certain whether other places are safe."

He took a deep breath: "Follow me closely, and pass through this area quickly!"

The three of them cautiously entered the purple snow fog area.

Visibility was extremely low, and they could only see scenes within five meters.

The surrounding buildings were shrouded in purple snow fog, looking strange and terrifying.

There were rotting corpses everywhere on the ground, some human and some Evolved Beast.

Qingyue saw a corpse and screamed in fright.

"Don't make a sound!" Lin Yuan shouted in a low voice.

But it was already too late.

Just at this moment—

"Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz—"

A strange sound came from all directions!

Lin Yuan turned around abruptly—

Dense black dots emerged from the fog!

That was... insects!

Thousands of Evolved Beast ants the size of fists!

Their shells had a metallic luster, reflecting a cold gleam under the purple light.

Their mouthparts were as sharp as knives, making a "clacking" friction sound.

They crawled out densely from the ground, walls, and buildings, forming a terrifying swarm of insects!

"Damn it!"

Lin Yuan's expression changed, "Run!"

The three of them ran frantically!

The swarm of insects was faster, like a black tsunami, surging from behind!

Lin Yuan threw a punch, blasting more than a dozen Evolved Beast ants—

But hundreds and thousands more were surging from behind!

A single Evolved Beast ant was very weak, but the number was too terrifying!

And their mouthparts could bite through steel; once surrounded, even Lin Yuan would be gnawed into a skeleton!

"Brother Lin Yuan!" Qingyue screamed.

A few Evolved Beast ants had already crawled onto her leg!

Lin Yuan struck like lightning, grabbing the ants and throwing them away, but more ants surged up!

Just as the three of them were running for their lives—

"Buzz—"

A strange mental wave swept across the entire field!

Lin Yuan felt a wave of dizziness in his brain, and the scene in front of him began to twist and deform!

Qingxue and Qingyue lost their balance instantly and fell to the ground.

"This is... a mental attack?!"

Lin Yuan gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay awake.

Through his distorted vision, he saw deep within the swarm—

A giant Queen Ant, the size of a car, with its whole body emitting purple-black light.

There was a basketball-sized luminous organ on its abdomen, which was releasing mental waves!

That mental wave was released from it!

"Damn... this is a Bug Mother!"

Lin Yuan realized that this was not an ordinary swarm of insects, but a hunt with intelligence and organization!

The Bug Mother was using mental attacks to control prey, and then letting the swarm devour them!

"Brother Lin Yuan... save me..."

Qingyue lay on the ground, weakly reaching out her hand.

Qingxue gritted her teeth, wanting to stand up, but the mental wave was too strong, and she could not focus her consciousness at all.

Lin Yuan looked at the swarm of insects surging like a tide behind him, and then looked at the Bug Mother deep in the swarm.

He bit the tip of his tongue, using the sharp pain to force himself to stay awake.