Chapter 447 [(*^▽^*)]

Roman suppressed his disgust. "When we came here, we didn't see a single bug. But since we've been resting here, these bugs have gradually appeared, and now their numbers seem to be increasing."

Lin Leyou's eyes flickered slightly when he heard her say that. This might not be a bad opportunity. However, they didn't know how powerful the insect was, so they decided to wait and see.

He and Xue Rui exchanged a knowing glance, both understanding each other's thoughts: to wait and see how things unfolded.

There's absolutely nothing useless in this dungeon. These bugs must have a purpose, and they'll definitely have some effect. They're probably poisonous, right?

Xue Rui suddenly moved to the side. "The bugs have all crawled here. There are probably even more over by the pile of rocks."

Lin Leyou and Luo Man both looked in that direction, and sure enough, they saw even more black insects than before, densely packed under the rocks and in some crevices.

They were standing at a distance to the side, so they could see it, but the people who were still sitting there resting couldn't see these insects at such tricky angles because of their blind spots.

Lin Leyou and his companion certainly wouldn't warn them. To them, the more of these people described as bandits in the mission, the better; it would be even better if they didn't have to do it themselves.

Roman was different from them. First, her stance was different, and second, she had a strong aversion to insects. Seeing so many insects at once filled her with fear, and she screamed in distress, "Insects!"

The people sitting on the pile of stones weren't stupid either. After noticing Roman's expression, the quick-witted and agile ones immediately jumped up and quickly left the area.

Those who are slow to react and move around are a little confused when they see their behavior. They stand up and want to ask what's going on, but they don't need to ask anymore, because they have already seen the black worms that seem to have emerged from the cracks under the stone in an instant!

It really was like flowing black water, flowing out from the pile of rocks. Although their reactions were a little slow, people can unleash a certain potential in times of crisis.

They successfully escaped the swarming insects and fled to the area around the pile of stones. Only then did they realize that the pile of stones was densely covered with black insects.

"This is... this is actually an insect nest! We were resting on the nest just now, no wonder these insects attacked us. We'd better leave quickly, I don't know if these insects will chase us relentlessly."

Jiang Changdong casually brushed the bugs off his body. These bugs didn't hurt when they bit him, but something felt off. Were they poisonous? But he didn't feel like he was poisoned.

"We need to hurry and find a safe place to rest before dark, otherwise we'll get swarmed by these bugs..."

"Are you kidding me? Getting swarmed by black bugs in the middle of the night? That would be the end of you! If you're not careful, you might become their meal."

"Let's go, let's not waste time. These insects seem to be spreading, or they seem to be coming towards us. Are they really targeting us?"

"Hurry, hurry, they're here, they're really here!"

Sure enough, the number of insects is increasing. Just a moment ago, it was a relatively large pile of exposed rocks, but now it is full of black insects, densely packed and layered.

Even Lin Leyou and Xue Rui felt a chill run down their spines. These insects were attacking the people here, and they probably wouldn't distinguish between the two of them and the others. They were all treated equally, right?

Without a word, everyone ran very fast, making rapid progress through the pathless mountain forest before it got completely dark, until they finally shook off the swarms of insects behind them and breathed a sigh of relief. And now, where they were...

Everyone carefully observed their surroundings and found nothing. Moreover, the place happened to be a flat area with relatively smooth dirt ground under their feet.

Suddenly, everyone realized that resting here for the night didn't seem so bad. Although it was in the woods, there was nowhere else to go. They couldn't very well walk along the mountain path at night, could they? If they accidentally slipped and fell, they would most likely lose their lives.

"Did the bugs follow us? They bit me several times, and I swatted them all dead."

"Is it okay to swat them? I've heard that the sap left behind after some insects are swatted can corrode the skin."

"It's fine. It's been perfectly fine since I killed it. There's no problem at all, and the bite site isn't red, swollen, or blackened. It's just a little itchy. It's supposed to be poisonous, but the toxicity is very low."

Many of the people who were bitten said the same thing, and everyone gradually felt relieved.

Suddenly someone asked, "If they are really weak and small, how did they survive in this deep forest and build such a large nest? There are no other creatures around the nest, so they are obviously not as simple as we thought."

"But I don't feel like I've been poisoned. Could it be that the toxicity has a long incubation period?"

"Huh? So do we have to go back now? After all, the incubation period is long. If we go out now, we might be able to get to the hospital in time. But if we wait until it manifests, I guess..."

There's no signal in the mountains. If you wait until the poison takes effect before trying to find a solution, it's as if there's nothing you can do but leave them there to die. After all, once you've come this far, no one who's alright would want to go back the way they came to call for help, since their current behavior is somewhat similar to tomb raiding.

At the very least, they can't let more people know what they're doing.

"I still don't believe it. Aren't they just some small black bugs? Although I've never seen them before, these bugs must rely on sheer numbers to survive. There's no need to take it so seriously!"

Lin Leyou looked at the people arguing. He didn't recognize this kind of insect, or rather, he had never seen it before. It didn't seem to be very dangerous, but something felt off. Was it just a matter of driving them away from there?

As they argued, it got completely dark. Perhaps because they were in the middle of the woods, it was exceptionally dark, to the point that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Only then did they stop arguing. "Let's light a campfire, it's too dark here."

No one objected. After the campfire was lit, there was finally some light around. It was obviously impractical for thirty people to surround one campfire, so another one was lit nearby, and then it quieted down again.

Lin Leyou and Xue Rui huddled together, studying their map. The map had been updated; a small black insect pattern had appeared at the location where the insects had been found in the pile of rocks. That place was now marked as the Black Poison Ant Nest.

Black poisonous ants? Never heard of them, and never seen them before. In fact, this insect doesn't look like any of the ants they've ever seen in their lives, but it does resemble some other insects.

Just from the name, you can tell it's poisonous, and it looks quite toxic. So, will people bitten by it die? But so far, they haven't experienced any adverse reactions, so...

This virus should have an incubation period, but we don't know how long that incubation period is.

Xue Rui opened his backpack and rummaged through it for food to eat. Today was the third day, and they hadn't eaten anything hot or properly washed up for three days.

Even Lin Leyou, who used to be covered in dirt on construction sites in his past life, couldn't stand the smell on himself. If he had the chance, he would definitely find a place to take a shower, since he had some clothes in his backpack.

Xue Rui also subtly sniffed his own scent, then frowned slightly, revealing a hint of embarrassment, fortunately without Lin Leyou noticing.

As time went by, everyone became drowsy. In the middle of the night, someone woke up because they needed to urinate. They groggily got up and walked to the edge of the room. When they reached a place where no one could see them and were about to relieve themselves, they suddenly heard some very faint rustling sounds.

He was still a little dazed at the time and didn't know what the sound was. After he finished urinating and became more alert, he realized that there seemed to be something strange on his body.

Had some insect flown onto him? He patted his pants and clothes as he walked back. Only when he stepped into the campfire and saw the light did he get a clear view of his condition!

He was perfectly fine when he left, clean and spotless, but now his body is covered in countless tiny black insects!

And this person happened to be standing right next to Roman. After Roman saw it clearly, he screamed loudly on the spot, which woke everyone up. Some people opened their eyes suddenly, and even with their eyes bloodshot, they still noticed the insects on the person's body immediately!

"Holy crap, how come there are so many bugs?"

"Aren't these the same insects we saw before? Did they follow us here?"

"No way? What should we do now? Do you have any insecticide?"

Xue Rui and Lin Leyou looked grim. While others couldn't see their surroundings clearly because of the darkness, they saw a terrifying scene on the map.

Zooming in on their location on the map reveals that they are now mostly surrounded by these black insects!

There's only a small gap left to escape through, but that gap is disappearing too. Judging by the speed, there are probably only thirty seconds left. If I can't get out of here within thirty seconds, I'll inevitably get bitten by these insects.

Without a second thought, Lin Leyou shouted, "Run!"