Chapter 129

Arno had been lying there for a long time and was freezing cold all over, but the ant seemed to have taken root, circling back and forth along the riverbank.

He dared not move a muscle. Even with his good temper, he was seething with anger. Besides, the longer he stared at that thing, the less afraid he was at first. He muttered under his breath, "Damn it, what is it doing?"

Beside it lay a mud-covered blob, its two large eyes wide open, clearly black and white.

The moon rose from the water, and Arno actually swore. Jiang Wenxing looked at him in surprise, making Arno feel uncomfortable.

The two guides were freezing cold, like cats that had fallen into a muddy ditch.

Everyone is waiting for that ant tribe member to make a move.

Arno sighed: "Jiang Wenxing, if there are sentries around, how quickly can you take it down, in a minute?"

Jiang Wenxing paused: "5 seconds."

Arno suddenly moved closer to Jiang Wenxing: "5 seconds!?"

Jiang Wenxing felt that Arno was like him when he had no practical experience. He didn't know how to deal with Arno, and in fact, he didn't like him much now.

However, as an experienced battlefield guide, he had a responsibility to protect the lives of the younger guides and an obligation to impart his knowledge to them.

Jiang Wenxing moved aside a little and explained, "In actual combat, the coordination between sentries and spiritual entities is much stronger than you think. These ant-like soldiers can be dealt with by sentries with bullets; there's no need for spiritual entities."

In fact, these large-bellied ant soldiers are very brittle. At least in the eyes of the sentries who can twist steel bars by hand, they are like a thin iron plate that can be torn apart with a little force.

Their speed, which they were so proud of, was nothing compared to the Sentinel Spirits.

Arno was somewhat tempted. After all, he was a young guide. Looking at the ant-like creature that was nearly two meters long when it stood up, he didn't find it so scary anymore.

"Can we solve it?"

Jiang Wenxing said it wouldn't be difficult to solve the problem, but his answer was somewhat conservative: "If you and I both hit his vital points, we have an 80% or higher chance of taking him down in a minute."

Arno didn't speak for a long time before saying in a somewhat disappointed tone, "The gap between us and the Sentinels is so big."

"They must be working very hard to protect this place."

This is a question that many guides don't consider. They have always been highly regarded and praised, and they believe that guides who can lead sentinels are of a higher rank than sentinels. They don't care about having a larger number of sentinels.

Since guides don't go to the front lines, qualities like physique, speed, and endurance are often overlooked.

Only when facing battlefield data can one clearly feel the stark difference, leading to the thought that the Guide is inferior to the Sentinel.

Jiang Wenxing had thought the same thing; if he had understood sooner, he wouldn't have been so disgusted with his spiritual body.

Arno's sympathy silenced him, but upon reflection, he remained unmoved. Perhaps some people are just capable of being both good and bad; when they're being sarcastic, a single smile can make them lose their appetite, yet when they're sad, there's not a trace of pretense.

Jiang Wenxing's memory of Arno was filled with a hypocritical, disgusting smile. Although he didn't have to be perfect in everything, everyone liked him so much.

Kind, enthusiastic, and cheerful, even if he waved goodbye to Kush, no one would say he was selfish or that he came here to gain prestige.

Zhu Ning and he left without hesitation, without even looking back.

Jiang Wenxing, on the other hand, is like the reverse side of this mirror, reflecting vanity, arrogance, and haughtiness. He put in a lot of effort but never received any gratitude in return. All the gratitude came from the changes he made at the end.

But Arno had all of this long ago, which is why he was able to defeat Jiang Wenxing, take the White Tower spot, and leave Kush with ease.

As his life drew to a close, he received much genuine care and concern. But as he left this world alone, Yu Xi Zheng also wanted to go to his flawed self, give him a hug, and tell him that his life hadn't been so unworthy after all.

squeak--

The little mouse in the bushes opened its eyes.

Its black, beady eyes were deep and cold. The ant tribe in front of it seemed to have finally found its direction and began to move north.

The little mouse hopped and skipped after it without making a sound.

Hundreds of meters behind the ant tribe, the two mud blobs slowed down and followed. The ant tribe's antennae swayed from side to side, stopping from time to time to circle in place.

He took increasingly detours, but the traces around him made Jiang Wenxing's heart grow heavier and heavier.

It's too quiet.

In the autumn forest, there were no cicadas chirping or birds singing, but the sounds of insects crawling through the leaves, owls soaring high, wild boars hunting for food, and wolverines howling were all gone.

The dense foliage, like a net, blocked out the moonlight. The snow leopard's paws trod across the decaying leaves without making a sound, but its expression was extremely tense, clearly indicating that this place made it very uncomfortable.

Along the way, there were scattered bone fragments, broken trees, and countless tiny footprints, forming several winding paths.

Jiang Wenxing's forehead was covered in sweat. He knew there was definitely more than one Ant Tribe member here, and it was extremely dangerous. But the more dangerous it was, the more he needed to find out what was going on.

Ants don't stay in one place for long; sometimes they even move their nests many times in one night to ensure the safety of their eggs.

This ant that went out to forage wandered around for a long time, and it's highly likely that the ants in the nest will move after it returns.

Jiang Wenxing didn't know if they could be considered intelligent life forms, but most of the time, their instincts were already annoying and troublesome enough.

Realizing the danger, Jiang Wenxing wanted to leave Yano behind to wait for reinforcements, but Yano firmly disagreed.

Arno: "We came together, so we should go back together."

Jiang Wenxing's face was covered in mud, but you could still see the impatience on his face. When it came to his life, his attitude became very domineering.

"I said, no."

Arno felt that this person was like he was when they first met—unwilling to communicate or discuss. He tried to defend himself: "I brought the snow leopard with me."

Jiang Wenxing frowned, about to retort, but was interrupted by Yano's unpleasant expression: "I won't be a burden to you, Jiang Wenxing. I know you don't like me, but at least for now, you have to put aside your prejudices and treat me as your teammate."

Jiang Wenxing's face darkened: "Is this prejudice? I'm responsible for your life and your family!"

Arno gritted his teeth: "Your life isn't life, your family isn't family!"

Upon hearing this, not only Jiang Wenxing paused, but Yano was also stunned. He suddenly remembered that Zhu Ning had said that Jiang Wenxing's mother had run away with someone and his father had died of drinking in the street in the winter.

There was no one at his home. Arno didn't know this at first because during the guide training, many trainees' families would send them food and supplies.

People inevitably compare whose family cares about them more and sends them better things.

Jiang Wenxing had also taken out some things back then, but he never used them. Later, Zhu Ning told Yano that no one had sent anything at all, and his family members had long since passed away.

Zhu Ning said, "That idiot can even sew clothes. He sewed all my vests."

He finished speaking with a slight smile, which quickly turned into a cold weariness as he turned to read his book.

Arno felt that Jiang Wenxing treated his friend Zhu Ning very badly, so just because Jiang Wenxing was nicer to Zhu Ning, Zhu Ning stopped hanging out with Jiang Wenxing.

He didn't feel guilty at all back then; on the contrary, he looked down on Jiang Wenxing. He felt no guilt for bullying bad people and had always felt at ease with himself. Now, he feels that's not the case.

Arno stammered, "I'm sorry."

Jiang Wenxing's face was covered in mud, but his expression was calm. He glanced elsewhere, then looked back at Yano seriously for the first time: "I am annoyed with you, and also annoyed with Zhu Ning. But not so annoyed that I would send you to your death. Listen to me, it's too dangerous inside, not suitable for a guide with no experience. Wait for me outside, I will be very careful."

Arno lowered his head, feeling a pang of sadness and fear in his heart for some reason: "What if you don't come back?"

Jiang Wenxing said expressionlessly, "Can't you say something nice?"

Arno awkwardly wiped the mud off his face: "Alright then, I'll wait for you here."

The snow leopard circled Jiang Wenxing restlessly, finally nudging the back of his hand. Jiang Wenxing explained the method of concealment and, without wasting any more time, followed the ant-like creature deeper into the forest.

Deep in the woods was a collapsed ditch.

The number of footprints around increased, and a layer of light blue webs hung on the trees—a protective layer woven by spiders and ants to protect their nests.

The little mouse skillfully judged the location, scouting out the next place for its owner to stay.

Therefore, even in the increasingly dense depths of the poisonous web, it was not discovered by the ant that led the way.

Finally, Jiang Wenxing hid behind a poplar tree, surrounded by dense thorns. The little mouse finally returned to its owner's side, fearfully rubbing against Jiang Wenxing's thumb and squeaking twice.

Jiang Wenxing patted its belly and took out a piece of candy from his pocket.

Having already grown into a ping-pong ball, Jiang Wenxing no longer cared about his physique, finding amusement in his predicament, and rebuilt a spiritual bridge with it.

The little mouse received the instruction, hid under the leaves, and stealthily crawled towards the ditch.

The ditch was covered by a thick net of poison and dead trees, and the ant colony disappeared at the entrance of the hole, so the situation inside could not be seen from the outside.

The little mouse crawled to the entrance of the hole, closed its eyes, and when it opened them again, its black bean eyes gleamed with wisdom and ruthlessness.

Looking down, it saw a deep trench seventy or eighty meters long, filled with countless basketball-sized, dark red eggs. They grew in clusters and rolls on the stones piled up like a pyramid.

There were seven or eight spider ants, each four or five meters long, tending to the unhatched eggs.

A humanoid queen ant, with an abdomen over four meters long and a tiny head, sits atop a pyramid. Her four pairs of legs twitch weakly as the spider ants tending to her force food into her mouth. The queen ant emits a painful buzzing sound.

Ant colonies are bizarre hermaphroditic creatures. When they need to incubate their eggs, they force the weakest member of the colony to transform into a queen.

After the ant with the broken antenna burrowed into the hole, the surrounding ants quickly gathered together, touched each other's antennae, and then quickly dispersed.

Jiang Wenxing felt a chill run down his spine, and his head was buzzing.

After its master withdrew his spiritual power, the little mouse plopped down on the ground and covered its face with its paws.

【return】

Upon receiving the order, the little mouse hurriedly ran back.

Squeak—

The little mouse buried its head in Jiang Wenxing's arms, trembling.

The shadow of the past life still lingers; the little mouse is stuck in the spider web, haunted by the shadow of its owner's attempt to forcibly separate it from the web.

A wave of guilt washed over Jiang Wenxing. He nuzzled the little mouse's fur with the tip of his nose and coaxed it, "Don't be afraid."

The little mouse squeaked and hugged Jiang Wenxing's thumb.

Jiang Wenxing didn't have the courage to take on so many ants by himself, so he planned to follow them until they reached their next stop.

But the low growl of the snow leopard in his ear made Jiang Wenxing's expression change drastically, and he almost stood up. The little mouse darted out and looked towards the cave entrance.

Arno was covered in blue poisonous webs and was caught by an ant. The spider ant's special toxins left his spiritual body on the verge of death.

Jiang Wenxing gritted his teeth, pulled out his gun, and released the safety.

Spiders and ants don't have many complicated concepts; the unusual appearance of their newly caught prey attracts the attention of their companions.

These newly hatched spider ants here have never seen humans before, but a tall, robust old spider ant has suffered at the hands of a sentinel.

Upon seeing the snow leopard, it emitted a strange, unpleasant growl from its mouth and moved its limbs rapidly, charging towards Zhu Ning.

The spider-ant, gripping Zhu Ning, twitched its antennae and curiously bit his leg, tearing at it as if trying to rip off his limbs.

Arno let out a bloodcurdling scream, and the snow leopard howled. A wound quickly appeared on its left leg. It fought back with all its might, pounced on the ant tribe, and saved its master's leg.

Jiang Wenxing decided to break out as soon as Yano was captured.

Arno would have died if they had been a step later. The only concept the ant tribe had about hoarding food was that it would be eaten, let alone when they were migrating.

The old spider ant with its thick claws rushed in front of the snow leopard and raised its claws, but suddenly a gray fur ball jumped out from the fallen leaves, nimbly leaped onto its claws, squeaked a few times at it, and then hopped away in another direction.

Arno's eyes were bloodshot with rage; the instinct for survival and the last vestiges of reason struggled within him, and he cried out, "Help me!"

But just two seconds later, his face, contorted with tears and sweat, screamed, "Damn it, Jiang Wenxing, don't come out!"

The final feeding was delayed by a few seconds, and the prey was not torn apart.

The old spider ant touched its antennae with its companion, and the remaining spider ants immediately scattered, opening their mouthparts to search the surroundings.

Suddenly, a sharp buzzing sound rang out.

Thud—

After the gunshot, the spider ant's slender abdomen split open, its claws struggling but unable to stitch its broken body back together.

All the spiders and ants quickly approached the source of the sound. Arno almost stopped breathing. In excruciating pain, he saw a mud-covered figure swing out of the dense poisonous web, dragged by vines, and crash into the pyramid-shaped egg-shaped mountain, crushing countless eggs!

The old spider ant quickly crawled over. Jiang Wenxing had a large gash on his head, and blood was so thick that he couldn't open his eyes. He instinctively crawled towards the queen ant, touched the cold, soft flesh, and suddenly stood up and pulled out the gun in his hand.

Time was paused.

Jiang Wenxing wiped away the bloodstains and opened his eyes.

The old spider ant was less than two meters away from him. Its upper face, resembling a human brain, was covered with countless hairs and eyes, while its lower face had huge mouthparts that opened wide, dripping venom.

The other seven or eight spider ants stared at him without moving.

Jiang Wenxing leaned against the queen ant, a little mouse hopping onto his shoulder. He gripped his gun, his voice hoarse: "Hurry up!"

With six bloody holes in his legs, Arno desperately tore off the spider webs covering the snow leopard. The snow leopard supported him as he stood up, and seeing the scene before him, its face showed only despair: "Jiang Wenxing."

Sweat washed away the mud from Jiang Wenxing's face, leaving half of it smeared with blood, making him look terrifyingly frightening. Yet, his voice was unusually hoarse: "Don't look back, go out and find someone to save me."

Arno wiped away his tears, struggled for a moment, and limped away. He didn't dare to look back, knowing that Jiang Wenxing couldn't leave.

Jiang Wenxing felt very sad. He had done something stupid again, saving someone he didn't like. But if he died, and Arno stayed in Kush, Kush wouldn't suffer a great loss.

What caused the Kush to suffer heavy casualties in the past was simply the collective deterioration of the Kush's sentinel mentality.

If someone is willing to stay and do their best to help them, they will win the war.

Besides, when faced with life and death, there's no time to think too much. The old guide hadn't weighed whether his life or the sentry's was more important.

Perhaps being given a second chance at life doesn't mean he has to live a good life, but rather to fulfill a different mission.

Jiang Wenxing's hands and feet were ice cold. He saw Yano crawl out of the hole, and the little mouse quietly guarded him.

Jiang Wenxing rubbed its head with his other hand and said, "I'm sorry, I can't play with you anymore."

"I hope you survived."

Unfortunately, the spirit cannot exist apart from the body.

The little mouse seemed to know what was going to happen; it jumped onto his shoulder and kissed his cheek with affection and reluctance.

Jiang Wenxing waited and waited.

As the old spider-ant drew closer, he gripped his gun, ready to fire the last bullet.

Time stretched out indefinitely, and in the drawn-out sound, he heard a low wolf howl, followed by responses from all directions.

Suddenly, a huge hole appeared in the sky, and countless mud droplets fell down.

The old spider-ant raised its claws, but its body was strangely split in two. It looked back and saw a large clump of mud with golden eyes, which swung out a blur and severed its claws.

Jiang Wenxing stood there blankly, surrounded by a large clump of mud. The mud could even talk, and it sounded a lot like Ilya.

Jiang Wenxing felt very dizzy. He moved his lips, then everything went black and he fainted.

I don't know how long I lay there in a daze, but slowly my consciousness returned.

I saw a high moon in my dream.

The giant wolf was perched on a tree, its hide concealed deep within the giant wolf's tail. Several sentries were talking beside it, and one of them whispered, "I heard that Arno fell ill as soon as he and Junin left."

"They all want to leave, so they'll pretend to be sick or act stupid. We've seen all sorts of tricks before. I doubt he'll stay long."

"Just wait and see."

"Shh, don't talk, the captain is here."

The giant wolf flicked its tail, tossed the little mouse onto its back, and jumped down from the tree.

The little mouse squeaked and saw the back of a tall sentry. The sentry was wearing a military uniform, and his profile under the brim of his hat was sharp and handsome. He waved and the giant wolf followed the sentry all the way to the deserted dormitory.

The lights were on inside, and the guide could be heard coughing intermittently.

The sentry stood outside the door, seemingly about to knock, but after a while, he lowered his hand, put his hands in his pockets, leaned against the poplar tree outside the door, and stared blankly into space.

The little mouse peeked out from the fur on the giant wolf's back. The sentry's cold expression softened slightly, and he reached out his hand to it. The little mouse jumped onto the back of the sentry's hand and had its ear scratched.

The sentry looked troubled. He was usually a very serious and proper person, but now he looked somewhat embarrassed: "Should I go in?"

He touched the little mouse's ear, and the little mouse squeaked twice, hugging his thumb. The sentry raised the corner of his mouth and said something in Thanatos, which the little mouse couldn't understand, blinking blankly.

Night receded quickly.

During the day, the little mice hide in various corners, around their owner, but dare not get too close.

The last remaining young guide at the outpost.

Its friend.

I hate staring at him.

But it kept following him with its gaze.

He was not likable and was all alone in the outpost. He worked hard, but his attitude was so bad that it was hard to be happy for him.

He didn't care at all; his face showed his disgust for this place.

He hates this place and looks down on it.

He is creating his own island.

He no longer cared about life's affairs, but he discovered that there was another pair of eyes that cared about him, even though he was a jerk, because his owner was building the island higher and higher.

Then he hid inside, where he couldn't see anyone.

The little mouse hid itself, closed its eyes, and went to sleep. It had a deep dream, and finally, a jumble of memories flashed by. In the end, the owner of those memories woke up in the night.

Jiang Wenxing opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Several bottles of saline solution had already been emptied. He smelled the aroma of burning firewood, a dry, warm fragrance that filled his lungs, bringing a comforting warmth. There was also a faint scent of cloves, subtly mingling with the aroma of the fire.

Jiang Wenxing turned his head slightly, the slight movement waking the sentry next to him. Jiang Wenxing looked at the sentry's suddenly widened eyes and trembling eyelashes.

Before he could speak, Jiang Wenxing hoarsely asked the question that had haunted his dream: "Captain, what does бйть vдлд mean?"

Ilya didn't react immediately, but instinctively answered the guide's question, shaking Jiang Wenxing's hand: "Yes, the moon, oh the moon."

Jiang Wenxing stared blankly: "You...do you really like the moon?"

"yes."

The sentry captain's eyes showed worry and confusion.

He seemed eager to ask other questions, but ultimately answered the guide lying in the hospital bed earnestly first: "I like it very much."

Author's Note: