The rustling sound of termites crawling outside the door suddenly stopped.

Fang He walked to the door, carefully opened it a crack, peeked outside, closed it again, and then nodded to the crowd.

“Gone,” he said softly.

"So we at least have some time during the day to transition?" The second woman looked at the bloodied corpse on the ground. "But the daytime isn't necessarily safe, after all, we don't know when they met with this incident."

"Relax, there's no such thing as safety in a dungeon." Xiao Cheng sighed softly. "Besides, these are just corpses on display. Who can guarantee that those of us standing here are the real us?"

She glanced around at the various expressions on everyone's faces and suddenly chuckled, "Just kidding. Anyway, I can't possibly twist each and every one of their necks to confirm. Ants during the day or ants at night are essentially the same, so maybe there's a third way to pass the level."

What do you think of the idea of ​​"sharing a queen ant"?

"Can you guarantee it will work?" Number Three pondered seriously for a moment. "You need to know that ultimately, it's the lives of the four of us at stake. If we fail, there won't be a second chance."

"Four people?" Xiao Cheng shook his head. "You're wrong. From beginning to end, it was only my life that mattered."

With the termite threat outside temporarily gone, they couldn't stay hidden in the room indefinitely. Before leaving, at Xiao Cheng's suggestion, they packed several large bags of steamed buns.

"Is it necessary?" The second woman frowned. After all, the body was found in a pile of steamed buns, which was somewhat unsettling.

“The dungeon won’t drop anything unnecessary.” Xiao Cheng tightened the cloth bag. “The corpses are their food, and the steamed buns are our food. If even the granary is captured, then none of the three paths will work.”

As it turned out, Xiao Cheng was right.

The moment they stepped out of the room, they sensed something was wrong.

The second woman, who was the first to feel it, was overwhelmed by an indescribable hunger. Her stomach convulsed violently, and a burning pain shot through her.

The almost unbearable pain made her curl up and squat down, pressing her stomach tightly until Xiao Cheng took a steamed bun out of the bag and handed it to her.

The temptation of the food instantly outweighed everything else. She snatched the steamed bun and stuffed it into her mouth without thinking. She choked and gagged frequently, but still insisted on swallowing it.

But the hunger came and went quickly; after finishing a steamed bun, she regained her senses.

“I…” She wiped her mouth and stood up somewhat blankly.

Having learned from their previous experience, Xiao Cheng and the other two each grabbed two steamed buns and started eating. It's safe to say that, being placed alongside a corpse, each bite was filled with a strange, nauseatingly fishy smell.

"To make steamed buns this bad, one has to be a talent." Xiao Cheng frowned deeply, complaining as she ate. "No, we can't say that everyone who makes steamed buns is a person."

"Are you sure this stuff is edible?" Number Three felt nauseous, wishing he could eat one bite and vomit the next. "If this is also a trap in the dungeon..."

"Then go and eat the corpse raw." Xiao Cheng swallowed the last small piece in his hand and brushed the crumbs off his palm.

The hall was no different from before, and there were no signs of termite infestation.

They took a breather and sat down one by one at the table, with the cloth bag containing the steamed buns placed beside them for emergencies.

"Based on the analysis from Number Six, we now face three problems," Number Three said. "The queen ant, hunger, and the remaining two halves of the corpse."

"In summary, there's really only one problem," Xiao Cheng analyzed.

"Since that place is also a food source for those ants, the two missing halves of the corpse have most likely been fed to the queen ant. If we find the queen ant as soon as possible, everything can be over."

"So?" Player Number Three looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

"So you see, it's getting dark." Xiao Cheng pointed to the third bullet screen on the ceiling that was gradually fading away.

As soon as the words were spoken, through the heavy curtain, the sound of ants crawling densely could be heard in the passageway outside, but they seemed to be wary of something and only dared to linger outside the hall.

The familiar feeling of hunger crept back in, and without hesitation, the group pulled out steamed buns and started eating. In the blink of an eye, the cloth bags were half empty.

"Are you full? If you are, let's hurry up and get on the road." Xiao Cheng stood up, twisted his wrist, casually picked an entrance, and turned to walk in that direction.

The ant colony outside clearly sensed her approach and became increasingly restless.

"Where are you going?" the second woman called out to her, her voice urgent and loud.

“Of course, we’re going to find the queen ant.” Xiao Cheng paused, turned around to look at her, and answered matter-of-factly.

"Wait, it's too dangerous. I'll go with you." Fang He stood up immediately, but before he could take a step, he was stopped.

Xiao Cheng looked at his face, a gentle smile slowly appearing on her lips, but her tone was terrifyingly cold: "He's just a character in a book, so don't get too caught up in the role, okay? Or have you really taken yourself as Fang He after all this time I've been acting alongside you?"

The moment the words left his mouth, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly froze.

Fang He and the second woman's faces became increasingly blurry, the thick ink instantly engulfing them, eventually turning them into a human-shaped ink stain that silently flowed onto the ground.

Number Three raised an eyebrow, watching the scene with great interest, then said to Xiao Cheng with some surprise, "So you figured it out? You figured it out a long time ago?"

Xiao Cheng ignored him and continued walking towards the curtain on her own.

Player Three didn't care about any of that. He quickly caught up with her and continued his rambling: "So how did you find out? As far as I know, you didn't receive any hints. You're so sure you didn't..."

"Stop, don't move." Xiao Cheng turned around and pointed at him impatiently, warning him in a deep voice, "Don't follow me. Even if you really are... it doesn't mean I'm willing to act with you."

Player Three stared blankly as she flung open the curtain and walked towards the frenzied ant swarm without looking back.

The curtains fell silently, separating the hall from the passageway, as if they were two completely different worlds.

Number Three's expression gradually became distorted. He suddenly covered his face and burst into unrestrained laughter: "It's okay, it's okay... Anyway, we'll meet again sooner or later."