"Below, below! If you're still alive, make a sound!" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The noise from above made Luo Luo raise its antennae, while Blackhead beside it was already impatient, making indistinct "squeak squeak" sounds.

It squeaked more than once, clearly quite anxious...

It wasn't until the sound of digging above began that Luo Luo snapped back to reality, recalling the earth-shattering chaos, it couldn't help but shrink its head, trembling with fear.

The battlefield is a paradise for the powerful, hell for the weak, and a natural disaster for those even weaker!

And Luo Luo and the Ant Tribe around it undoubtedly belong to the weakest of the weak—they don't even count as soldiers. The moment the Demon Tribe launched their attack, these weak little guys could only shiver in the prepared Ground Caves, waiting for the outcome of the war. Live if victorious, die if defeated.

More pathetically, victory or defeat does not depend on them.

However, even without participating in the battle above, the aftermath of the war still found them—the fierce battle raged on above, with no one caring about the energy ripples scattering everywhere. The fight between Level 4 and Level 5 mutant beasts and Demon Fiends, even just the aftershocks, could crack the earth, and thousands of energy ripples were enough to whip up gales and trigger earthquakes.

Underground, it is not safe...

Although some burrowing Demon Fiends did not come for Luo Luo and its tribe, the surging energy still caused cave-ins, with fallen rubble and sand crashing down like an earth-shattering disaster in the eyes of the ant colony.

Death is inevitable...

But today, the Goddess of Luck has indeed blessed Luo Luo and its kin—the ant colony, vast in number, lost only a small portion, with the rest surviving in this pitch-dark hole until the battle ended.

Until now...

...

The light from above grew increasingly bright, until the entrance blocked by rubble was fully opened, and a huge armored scorpion poked its head in from above.

"Lucky little fellows."

Commander Soot Skin of the Insect Tribe muttered to himself, followed by the sound of wriggling above, and countless Demon Beast Corpses fell from the sky.

"Victory in war, more food than we can eat, today we have extra rations, hurry up and finish eating, then get back to work, keep digging downwards."

Soot Skin threw out a few simple words and then his massive figure gradually disappeared above.

As Soot Skin turned, Luo Luo noticed that a small section of Commander Soot Skin's tail was broken.

"Even the powerful Commander Soot Skin is injured, it must be dangerous up there... I wonder how Big Lion is doing."

Worrying for its friend in its heart, yet it did not affect Luo Luo's appetite at all—the simple logic of the little ant held not many complex thoughts—it was just a fleeting thought, as it couldn't actually climb up to check on Big Lion.

Just like Luo Luo never wondered why the commander wanted them, the ants, to keep digging downward...

"Time to eat, time to eat..."

The strongest Blackhead directly crawled towards a Demon Fiend corpse, seeing which, Luo Luo immediately commanded its kind to enjoy the meal together.

Soon, rustling sounds filled the air.

...

The massive ant colony continuously fell from above with what seemed like a rain of food, each eating to their heart's content.

Of course, ants are not like some creatures; they don't just eat and sleep—their simple thinking logic gives them an instinctive obedience to orders.

Once they've filled themselves with food and drink, it's time for hard work.

Under Luo Luo's command, the massive ant colony quickly mobilized, moving like clusters of dark clouds, tirelessly transporting rubble and earth, continuously expanding the space of the ground caves.

The tunnels became larger and deeper, with the excavated soil transported to the surface, used as raw materials for building city walls—although, these materials are practically irrelevant, and Wen Yu had them working just to keep them from overthinking, yet the command relayed layer by layer turned into a certain kind of mechanically exploitative labor.

Regarding this, the Insect Tribe itself had no complaints. In fact, having them lay dormant would have been another kind of hidden agony.

Several hours later, as the strongest ant Blackhead tore open a section of the wall with its powerful mandibles, it immediately discovered that the newly exposed soil was slightly damp...

"Moisture? Or a subterranean River?"

The question barely formed before Blackhead threw it aside.

Who cares... just dig somewhere else...

Simple logical thinking.

Blackhead quietly moved to a different spot, while ordinary ants, lacking Blackhead's cunning, swarmed towards that area as soon as Blackhead relocated, tirelessly developing the underground kingdom.

The humidity grew heavier, permeating the less spacious Ground Cave, making it rather stifling.

Queen Ant Luo Luo, responsible for overseeing the situation, was the first to notice the abnormality.

"You, stop digging, if you break through it here, the place will flood."

Luo Luo hurriedly dispersed the ant colony near that section of the wall, then climbed over itself.

The humidity intensified, and in some places, water droplets even began to seep out. Luckily, for the moment, the wall seemed sturdy enough—as long as they didn't continue to dig, they didn't have to worry about the catastrophic flooding.

Thinking of this, Luo Luo also spotted a "gigantic" scratch near the wall and then turned its head, glaring at Blackhead with round eyes.

This culprit...

Blackhead, grumbling, dared not meet its eyes and turned around to dig even further away.

Behind Luo Luo, the moist wall gradually seeped humidity, which condensed into small droplets, trickling down along the wall.

The amount was small and posed no threat, but under the faint firelight, the gradually accumulating little puddle shimmered with a dim green light.

"Has it degraded? Or?"

Observing this scene, Luo Luo lowered its head, studied it closely for a moment, and then gently licked a drop...

Instantly, Luo Luo's eyes sparkled starry, and its six ant legs shook rapidly as if in ecstatic frenzy.

A tremendous feeling of happiness filled Luo Luo's heart.

"So... so sweet... it's syrup..."

...

Some unknown kilometers away from New Hope Assembly Site, deep in a dark underground cavern.

The Third Generation Seed of Plague lay where the subterranean River surged, most of its body soaking in the icy river water, with threads of green body fluid spreading rapidly in all directions with the river's flow.

For an indeterminate number of days, the Third Generation Seed of Plague had been hiding in this place far removed from all conflict, silently completing its task.

Just moments ago, Zero had communicated—the strong attack plan had failed, and plan B had been automatically pushed to the agenda.

Meaning, it was time to complete its mission...