185: ongoing conspiracy

Clang, clang... With the sound of rotating propellers, a helicopter belonging to the Bruno Institute took flight.

No one would have imagined the luxurious lineup aboard this seemingly ordinary helicopter.

Esper Rank 5, Hikaru!

Esper Rank 17, Hadali!

Esper Rank 18, Kurban!

...These Espers were all battle-hardened individuals.

It was almost the entire strength of the Bruno Institute.

To protect the crucial pheromone.

To complete this plan of driving ants to devour tigers, Ismail had poured in almost all her strength.

However, even with such a luxurious lineup, this helicopter dared not directly brave the Hellfire Forest and the Mad Forest.

It could only skim along their borders.

Gradually, it approached the junction of the Hellfire Forest and Tiger King Farm.

A close call!

Hikaru wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Although some Hellfire Ants had noticed them, thanks to the pilot's excellent flying skills, no accidents occurred.

They basically avoided all attacks.

Any stragglers were directly captured by them.

Just like the Hellfire Ant in Hikaru's hand.

Through Directed Modification, it not only possessed powerful physical qualities but also had complex and varied abilities.

Most importantly, it could fly.

Enough to attack a helicopter in the sky.

Because of this, Hikaru invited it back as an honored guest.

However, despite perfectly capturing this Hellfire Ant, Hikaru dared not do anything to it.

These Hellfire Ants contained a large amount of pheromones in their bodies.

Especially at the moment of death, there would be a massive explosion.

Like the most conspicuous signal flare, it could alert Hellfire Ants located far away.

At that time, this helicopter would have only one outcome: to be completely buried in the blood tide formed by the Hellfire Ants.

It was precisely this vengeful nature of the Hellfire Ants that gave Professor Arnos confidence.

As long as a bridge for "friendly communication" could be laid for the Hellfire Ants and Tiger King Farm.

There would inevitably be a battle between them.

A life-and-death battle!

Under Professor Arnos's remote command.

Hikaru carefully took out a palm-sized can of Hellfire Ant pheromone.

This was the only remaining can of Hellfire Ant pheromone.

It wasn't that this pheromone was difficult to extract.

It was just that the materials needed to extract it were too difficult to obtain.

It required juicing live Hellfire Ants.

Then, after repeated refining, extracting the essence from it.

And then adding a small amount of other substances to finally formulate this can of pheromone.

When the Queen still controlled the Hellfire Ant colony, Professor Si Te De could do whatever he wanted with the Hellfire Ants.

Naturally, he could easily extract the Hellfire Ant pheromone.

However, times had changed.

The roles of hunter and prey quickly swapped.

It was almost impossible to capture a large number of Hellfire Ants as materials to formulate pheromones.

It was precisely for this reason that Hikaru was extremely cautious.

Once he accidentally got this stuff on himself.

Death would be his ultimate destination.

Thinking of this, he performed a bungee jump, guided by a traction rope.

To minimize the error in pheromone deployment, Hikaru had to personally go down to the ground to deploy it.

Deploying from the helicopter was certainly convenient.

But once affected by wind and air, the dispersal of the pheromone would become uncontrollable.

This secret weapon, which could have restrained Lin Tianwei, would instead become their gravedigger.

That would truly be beyond tears.

Thump.

Hikaru landed easily on the ground.

Without hesitation, he directly opened the can's seal and began to run quickly.

Under Hikaru's precise control, this can of pheromone was evenly sprinkled on the ground.

Gradually forming a straight line.

A straight line connecting the Hellfire Forest and Tiger King Farm.

Hikaru's terrifying running speed was so fast that even the helicopter above him almost couldn't keep up.

Finally, as he was about to reach Tiger King Farm, he ran out of the last bit of Hellfire Ant pheromone.

But it didn't matter, the pheromone clinging to his body.

And this can that contained the pheromone, were the best Induction device.

Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated and directly took off his protective suit.

Wrapping the can, he threw it forcefully towards Tiger King Farm.

Clang.

With a sound, this simple Induction device was thrown into the rose bushes.

No one would have imagined that this small Induction device before their eyes would be enough to brew a terrifying disaster.

After doing all this, Hikaru also breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Pulled by his teammates, he returned to the sky.

At this point, their mission was only one step away from being completely finished.

Without hesitation, Kurban threw the struggling Hellfire Ant in his hand into the rose bushes.

This Hellfire Ant became excited the moment the pheromone appeared.

Its body began to struggle frantically.

It wanted to break free from everyone's restraints and go to the location of the pheromone to find delicious food.

It was precisely this behavior that made Ismail and the others, who were watching the show, breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Although the Hellfire Ants had undergone many upgrades and iterations.

They had not completely changed their communication methods.

At least this feeding pheromone was very effective on them.

The moment Kurban let go, this Hellfire Ant flew up.

Flying towards the location of the rose bushes.

That was where the feeding pheromone was most concentrated, and also where the Hellfire Ants were most attracted.

However, facing the terrifying rose bushes, it alone, as a single Hellfire Ant, was no match at all.

Before long, it was completely buried in the rose bushes.

Only the bloody Carapace, buried in the soil and not yet fully digested, proved its former existence.

This situation undoubtedly caused everyone to be overjoyed.

Hikaru shouted excitedly, "Mission accomplished, let's return quickly."

"Soon this place will become a living hell!"

The pilot was also very decisive, going full throttle and flying the helicopter towards Old Gold City.

However, they were still a little too naive.

Believing they had the Hellfire Ants under their control, they were bound to suffer the backlash of the Hellfire Ants.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

The dense sound of wings vibrating made their scalps tingle.

Especially as the vibrating sound got closer and closer to them, their terror reached its peak.

Looking at the approaching bloody tide, Hikaru said in annoyance, "How is this possible?"

"Why are the Hellfire Ants not going to Tiger King Farm, where the pheromone is dense, but instead chasing us?"

"I was clearly extremely careful."

"It's impossible for me to have gotten any pheromone on me."

"Could it be..."

Hikaru suddenly realized a possibility.

It wasn't that he wasn't careful enough, but that he had overlooked a possibility.

It was that Hellfire Ant they had captured.

Although it became the best bait.

But it also left pheromones on the helicopter without their knowledge.

This was also why they were being chased by the Hellfire Ants.

Thinking of this, a fierce glint flashed in Hikaru's eyes, and he said:

"Don't be afraid, everyone, fight hard, we still have a glimmer of hope!"

"At our speed, it's impossible to be faster than the Hellfire Ants' flying speed."

"We must protect this helicopter; it is our only hope for escape."

"This helicopter can also be considered to have many experts on board."

"If we give it our all, we might not be without hope of survival."

Facing Hikaru's pre-battle mobilization, Hadali was the first to express support, saying:

"Hikaru is right."

"In such a desperate situation, we only have a way out if we work together."

"Pheromone, we still have pheromone."

"Since the feeding pheromone is so effective, then the ant-repelling pheromone must also be very useful."

Thinking of this, Hadali unhesitatingly picked up the Fire Extinguisher No. 1 nearby.

She punched it directly, allowing the ant-repelling pheromone contained within to freely diffuse.

Hadali's idea was not wrong.

But she wasn't smart enough; she didn't realize that this seemingly effective action was completely self-destructive.

Ant-repelling pheromone?

This naturally simulated the Queen's pheromone.

After all, only the Queen Ant possessed such high authority.

But using it at this time was undoubtedly a provocation to Hellfire.

The battle of old and new authorities was destined to devour countless lives as its sacrifices.

Under Hellfire's command, those Hellfire Ants became even more frantic.

Their already terrifying speed increased by another three points.

They charged madly towards the helicopter.

Facing such a situation, Hadali's face instantly changed.

She realized that she seemed to have done something wrong.

However, it was too late to regret now.

She could only pull out the pre-prepared flamethrower and spray it at the Hellfire Ants chasing the helicopter.

As is well known, ants are afraid of fire!

Perhaps they still had hope.

However, this was just their wishful thinking.

How could Hellfire Ants truly be afraid of fire?

They had long developed antibodies to flames after countless evolutions.

After all, it was fire that had made them so miserable in the past.

Forcing Hellfire to directly upgrade all Hellfire Ants.

Upgrading their resistance to flames.

However, since Hellfire Ants are not afraid of fire.

Nor are they afraid of repellents, and may even become enraged by them.

Then this helicopter's tragic fate was sealed.

Thump.

Like a suicide squad, countless Hellfire Ants crashed into the helicopter.

The first to bear the brunt was the helicopter's propeller.

This part was exposed outside the fuselage and was also the most important power system.

The helicopter's main body, on the other hand, had been upgraded to perform this special mission.

It could temporarily withstand the Hellfire Ants' impact.

They couldn't just sit there and wait for death any longer!

Although in the air, having lost the protection of the ground, their combat power would be greatly affected.

They even had to worry that too much movement would affect the helicopter's balance.

But this was already their last resort.

Hikaru took the lead, using his Fire Control ability.

The originally small flames from the flamethrower blazed fiercely once again.

With the enhancement of his ability, it finally had some effect.

At least a few Hellfire Ants' bloody Carapaces had changed, being roasted with crackling sounds.

However, this was futile.

Because more Hellfire Ants were still on their way.

Under the command of Hellfire, they bravely charged without fear of death, their eyes fixed only on the helicopter as their enemy.

Sizzle.

The vast water transformed into powerful water cannons, beginning to sweep away the Hellfire Ants.

Amidst the intertwining of water and fire, some Hellfire Ants immediately couldn't withstand it and plummeted to the ground.

Their Carapace might be incredibly sturdy.

But their wings were their greatest weakness.

After enduring the dual baptism of fierce fire and water cannons, they finally shattered, losing their ability to fly.

However, this was not Hadali's main objective.

What was the difference between confronting the ant swarm and seeking death?

Hadali's primary goal was actually to use the recoil of the water cannons to propel the helicopter.

It was equivalent to providing an additional engine for the helicopter.

On the other side, Kurban was not idle either.

The moment countless Hellfire Ants directly crashed into the propeller, an invisible wall blocked them.

This was Kurban's ability.

Mental Power Materialization.

However, just by looking at his forehead, which was covered in cold sweat, one could tell that he did not use this ability as easily as Lin Tianwei.

In other words, he couldn't withstand many more impacts from the Hellfire Ants.

But it didn't matter, he still had teammates!

An invisible light flashed, instantly infusing a large amount of Mental Power into Kurban's body.

This allowed Kurban to fully sustain the protective shield when the Hellfire Ants' next attack arrived.

The others also displayed their unique abilities, each doing their best.

They wanted to work together to overcome the difficulties.

—

Interesting, truly interesting.

Lin Tianwei discovered a Talent that could replenish Mental Power for the first time.

If Talents could be granted, he would definitely be willing to cultivate a Clone Tiger to serve as his Mental Power reserve.

It was a pity.

The Talents he extracted could only be used by himself.

But it didn't matter.

Having more Talents never hurt!

Thinking of this, Lin Tianwei launched a Mental Power attack without hesitation.

His nearly one thousand points of Mental Power didn't even give the opponent time to react before instantly killing him.

“Ding, congratulations to the host for killing a new target.”

“Ding, Talent extraction successful, host has obtained Talent: Mental Infusion (Advanced).”

“Ding, please confirm whether the host wishes to use this Talent.”

“Mental Infusion (Advanced): Advanced Talent, consumes one's own Mental Power to replenish the target's Mental Power.”

“Note: There will be significant loss during the Mental Power replenishment process, please use with caution.”

A decent Talent.

Thinking of this, Lin Tianwei attacked Kurban again.

“Ding, congratulations to the host for killing a new target.”

“Ding, Talent extraction failed, host obtained eleven thousand Talent Shards.”

Instant kill.

Still an instant kill!

These seemingly powerful Espers were simply no match for Lin Tianwei's vast, ocean-like Mental Power.

The joy of having his Mental Power just replenished hadn't even faded from his face when Kurban's eyes completely lost their luster.

The people on this helicopter probably never expected that they would not only face tangible attacks from the Hellfire Ants.

But also a more terrifying invisible attack.

Lin Tianwei's invisible attack.

The hope of survival that they had so painstakingly achieved together was instantly shattered by Lin Tianwei.

Since they intended to sow discord between Lin Tianwei and the Hellfire Ants, they naturally had to be prepared for retaliation from both sides.

Lin Tianwei was only asleep, he wasn't dead!

His perception range was infinitely vast, far wider than anyone could imagine.

The Hellfire Ants were an old opponent.

How could Lin Tianwei forget their pheromones?

Moreover, Lin Tianwei himself possessed a similar ability, so he was naturally extremely sensitive to the Hellfire Ants' presence.

Therefore, these people's seemingly covert actions were completely seen by Lin Tianwei.

It was perfectly fine to say they were openly doing bad things.

The reason he didn't act, didn't stop Hikaru's actions, was simply to wait for the right time.

To wait for these Hellfire Ants to gather a bit more, to get a bit closer.

That way, he could catch them all in one go!

Lin Tianwei felt that these people were truly good people.

They knew he had just eaten a lot of rare treasures and needed some post-meal exercise.

So they lured these Hellfire Ants over to become his practice tools.

It was even possible that Lin Tianwei could take the opportunity to kill Hellfire.

This powerful Hellfire Ant hidden in the Hellfire Forest.

Hellfire was an existence capable of becoming the Lord of the Forbidden Zone, ranking third among the Forbidden Zones.

The powerful Talents it possessed made Lin Tianwei drool just thinking about them.

If he had to directly charge into the Hellfire Forest, he wasn't confident he could kill Hellfire while surrounded by an endless swarm of Hellfire Ants.

But now it was different.

Since the Hellfire Ants had come out in full force, their nest would become incredibly empty.

It was perfect for Lin Tianwei to hunt.

He also had to thank Professor Yanos for the assist.

Now Lin Tianwei faced two choices.

Kill these dispersed Hellfire Ants, then go kill Hellfire.

Or take the opportunity to ambush and kill Hellfire, then return to defend the farm.

The difference between the two choices was that by choosing the second option, Lin Tianwei's hunt for Hellfire would be slightly simpler.

The farm's losses would also be greater.

However, looking at Lin Tianwei's determined gaze, it was clear that he had already made his choice!

—

Bang.

That was the sound of Hellfire Ants crashing into the propeller.

Hikaru roared angrily, “Kurban, what are you doing?!”

“Everyone is trying their best to defend, but you let the Hellfire Ants hit the propeller?!”

How could Hikaru not be angry?

Everyone was doing their utmost to protect this helicopter, which represented their hope of survival.

Yet someone had dropped the ball at a critical moment, trying to bury their hope.

In the air, they were at a disadvantage.

But the Hellfire Ants were in the same situation.

After all, only a minority of Hellfire Ants could fly.

Once they fell to the ground, they would face even more Hellfire Ants!

Thinking of this, Hikaru was incredibly furious and glared fiercely at Kurban.

But he discovered a horrifying scene.

Kurban, who had been alive just a moment ago, now had wide, vacant eyes, as if he had seen something incredibly terrifying.

His eyes were lifeless, and he was clearly dead.

He was actually dead?

He had been silently killed right next to everyone.

How was that possible?

How could someone silently kill Kurban right under their noses?

This was completely impossible.

Although Hikaru was not a perception-type Esper.

But as a powerful Esper, his perception was also incredibly keen.

Yet he had been completely unaware of Kurban's death.

Who was it?

Who could do such a terrifying thing?

Hikaru's brain raced, and he quickly looked towards Lin Tianwei's location.

The Hellfire Ants clearly didn't have such an ability.

They primarily relied on their numerical advantage and couldn't do such an exaggerated thing.

So, the most likely creature with such an ability was the peerless Tiger King hidden in the farm.

Hikaru instantly realized the truth.

It turned out that their every move was completely seen by the Tiger King.

Their perfectly planned scheme, which they believed no one had noticed.

In reality, it had been completely seen by the Tiger King; it was perfectly fine to say they were acting under his gaze.

That's why he had unleashed an invisible attack at this most crucial moment, completely destroying their hope of survival.

Why?

Why did he clearly know they were using a stratagem to sow discord, yet he showed no intention of stopping them?

With such terrifying lethality, he could clearly nip the danger in the bud and didn't need to conflict with the Hellfire Ants at all.

Could it be that the Tiger King had other plans?

Although difficult to understand, this was the best explanation.

Their actions were completely carried out with the Tiger King's tacit approval.

In other words, their actions and the goals they wanted to achieve were consistent with Lin Tianwei's interests.

After realizing this, Hikaru's pupils instantly dilated.

This was undoubtedly something terrifying to ponder.

Hikaru suddenly realized that he and the others were like clowns.

Doing things they thought were amazing, but in the Tiger King's eyes, they were just laughable ants.

Every word and action was under the other party's gaze.

Even killing them was just a thought away.

Thinking of this, Hikaru felt as if an invisible pair of giant eyes had appeared in the sky.

They were looking at him mockingly.

Silently ridiculing his foolish actions.

Fear began to engulf Hikaru.

He trembled all over.

He even lost the courage to resist.

Frantically searching for communication equipment, trying to transmit this terrible news.

Even though the Hellfire Ants had already started hitting the propeller, he had no intention of fighting back.

Warning future generations was what he should do.

The terror of the Tiger King far exceeded everyone's imagination!

“Be careful…”

“There is great terror here!”

Hikaru's extremely panicked voice instantly reached Ismail's ears through the communication device.

However, before he could explain properly, he no longer had a chance to speak.

Because the Hellfire Ants' attack had already arrived!

Under the relentless assault of countless Hellfire Ants, the helicopter carrying Hikaru and the others finally couldn't hold on.

It swayed precariously and began to fall towards the ground.

The helicopter, without Kurban's protection, had no power to resist against the massive swarm of Hellfire Ants.

It was directly knocked away by the Hellfire Ants with great force, teetering and plummeting towards the ground.

However, this was not the most terrifying thing.

The helicopter itself was the sturdiest shelter.

Built from the strongest superalloy.

Under normal circumstances, even if this helicopter lost power and crashed, it would be able to protect them for a very long time.

Given enough time, perhaps these Hellfire Ants would retreat on their own.

However, just as the helicopter crashed and heavily impacted the ground, something terrifying happened.

The seemingly sturdy protective glass deformed under the violent impact.

With several sharp cracks, it shattered directly.

Along with it, their hope of survival shattered as well.