407: Chapter 404 Giant Insect

On the other side, Li Zhe was being dragged by his pant leg by Big Orange, all the way away from the riverbank.

He tried to turn back toward the river several times, but Big Orange would emit that low "rumble" sound, nudging his legs with its head, forcibly pushing him back.

Those reptilian vertical pupils stared at him, filled with a warning—do not go over there.

"Big Orange, what on earth is going on?" Li Zhe frowned, peering in the direction of the riverbank.

Just then, the ground shook once.

It wasn't a slight sensation, but a real vibration, as if something huge was moving deep underground.

A dull thud came from under Li Zhe's feet, followed immediately by a second and a third.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The vibration was getting closer and closer.

By the river, Ye Ouyang was panting while leaning on his net; the discomfort in his chest hadn't yet subsided when he was startled, looking up at the sudden vibration.

"What's going on?"

The middle-aged man fishing was also stunned, his net suspended in mid-air.

Thud—

The ground under their feet suddenly split open.

It wasn't an ordinary crack, but a fissure forcibly pushed open from the inside by something.

Soil churned, gravel splattered, and a huge, shiny black object poked out from the fissure.

It was a head.

An ant's head.

But it was absurdly huge—two sizes larger than a human head, its surface covered in pitch-black, armor-like exoskeletons, with hideous protrusions along the edges, and two compound eyes reflecting a dark red light in the sunlight.

Its mouthparts opened and closed, emitting a crisp clicking sound.

Then its body squeezed out from the ground.

It was a complete ant, but scaled up countless times in equal proportion.

It was three or four meters long, covered in armor-like exoskeletons, its six legs covered in barbs, and its abdomen segmented, gleaming with a metallic luster.

It crawled out of the fissure, its six legs stepping on the ground, leaving deep pits with every step.

But this was only the first one.

Following closely, a second, third, fourth, and fifth one crawled out of the fissure—a total of five huge, armored ants lined up, standing on the riverbank.

Their compound eyes turned simultaneously, all looking toward the bright green algae on the river surface.

Then they began to move toward the river.

Ye Ouyang's mind went blank for about two seconds.

Two seconds later, his only thought was: whatever they wanted to do, it certainly wasn't anything good.

Stopping them was the right thing to do.

He raised his hand and pressed it to his waist—at the center of the black and white interwoven belt, a golden gem suddenly lit up.

Golden fluid surged from the belt, instantly covering his entire body.

The warm golden armor flowed in the sunlight, with white and ice-blue energy veins glowing faintly.

Golden sharp claws protruded from his fingertips, their cicada-wing-thin edges gleaming with a cold light.

He kicked at the nearest ant!

Thud—!

The ant was kicked back half a meter, its six legs plowing deep furrows into the ground.

It steadied itself, turned its compound eyes toward Ye Ouyang, and its mouthparts clicked.

The middle-aged man stood there, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

"Mister!" Ye Ouyang shouted without turning his head, "You need to leave! It's dangerous here!"

The man was stunned for a second, then—

He dropped the net, grabbed the fishing rod nearby, picked up the empty fish bucket, and turned to run.

His movements were so fast that he didn't look like a middle-aged man who had just been coughing.

"Take care, young man—!" His shout came from afar, and he had already run more than ten meters away.

Ye Ouyang clenched his claws, staring at the five huge, armored ants in front of him.

Their gazes shifted away from him and back to the bright green algae on the river.

A few had already started moving toward the river, mouthparts opening and closing, as if looking for a place to start.

Ye Ouyang took a deep breath.

"Want to touch those algae?" He said in a low voice, "Get past me first."

"Truly uncomfortable."

A voice came from deep within the hole the ants had crawled out of, carrying a lazy, mocking tone.

"No, it should be... truly uncomfortable for an insect."

From the shadows of the cave, a huge mantis walked out.

Its size was about the same as those ants, but its posture was completely different—slender, lean, with its forelimbs folded across its chest like two scythes ready to be unsheathed at any moment.

Its body was flesh and blood, without the armor-like exoskeleton of the ants, but that streamlined body, born specifically for slaughter, was more dangerous than any armor.

It passed through the ant swarm, and those huge ants automatically made way.

It walked to the very front, its triangular head turned slightly, and its compound eyes locked onto Ye Ouyang.

Ye Ouyang was stunned.

"From the New Federation?"

The mantis did not deny it.

"Yes."

Ye Ouyang's mind raced.

He remembered Wei Ziqing saying—when facing a mantis, you just need to tell a cold joke to force them to crash.

What was it that Wei Ziqing told at the time? The one about potato chips and french fries?

He cleared his throat.

"Do you know why potato chips are afraid of french fries?"

The mantis's movements paused.

"...Why?"

"Because one is a potato chip, and the other is a potato strip."

The mantis was silent for two seconds.

Ye Ouyang waited for it to crash.

The mantis spoke: "You aren't trying to tell me a cold joke to make me crash like my companion, are you?"

Ye Ouyang blinked: "Hey, how did you know?"

A hint of helplessness seemed to flash in the mantis's compound eyes—if a mantis could have such an expression.

"This matter of yours has spread, did you know?" It said, "Ever since that person told that cold joke last time, the whole New Federation knows about it. It's useless; I won't be thinking about such things anymore."

Ye Ouyang scratched his head.

"Alright then."

He struck a combat pose, his golden claws gleaming with cold light in the sunlight.

"Then it looks like we have to fight."

He paused.

"By the way, what do you want these algae for?"

The mantis did not answer immediately.

The ants behind it had already begun to stir, their six legs gently pawing at the ground.

"These algae can produce massive amounts of pure oxygen," the mantis finally spoke, "just like in the ancient times. Our insect race will return to our Peak state."

Ye Ouyang was stunned.

"Wait, you mean—"

An ant had already lunged over.

Ye Ouyang dodged to the side, and his golden claws swept across the ant's flank—with a shhh sound, the claw blades left a few faint white marks on the pitch-black shell, but failed to pierce through.

The shells were too hard.

More ants surrounded him.

Ye Ouyang jumped, rolled, and counterattacked among them, his golden figure weaving between the giant black insects.

His claw strikes landed on those shells again and again, but each time they only left shallow scratches, unable to cause any real damage.

The mantis stood at the edge of the battle circle, watching this scene.

"Normally," it said unhurriedly, "given our body structure, after being scaled up in equal proportion, we would suffocate because we couldn't breathe. The exoskeleton would become a burden, not a weapon. But with these algae, it's different."

It raised a scythe-like forelimb, pointing to the bright green flocculent matter on the river surface.

"They can produce massive amounts of oxygen. We just need to collect some, modify them, and let them grow globally. By then—"

It retracted its forelimb and turned its compound eyes toward Ye Ouyang.

"Our insect race will be able to return to the Peak of the ancient times."

Ye Ouyang kicked an ant away and gasped for breath.

"In your dreams!"