Lin Qiye and the other three looked at each other, "So what?"

"For an ant colony, worker ants will carry all the food they have collected back to the nest. They will eat the remaining food after the queen ant has finished eating it. Since this worker ant came out to hunt with an empty stomach, it means... their food may have run out."

Lin Qiye seemed to realize something and frowned slightly.

Baili Pangpang on the side was still confused, "Then what?"

"If the food in the nest is eaten up, then these worker ants will frantically search for food around. Otherwise, once the queen ant starves to death, the entire colony will be finished." Lin Qiye spoke slowly.

"And here, there is a primeval forest with no human habitation. If these worker ants want to obtain enough food to feed the entire tribe, they can only continue to explore the periphery and expand the scope of hunting...

"That's why we encountered worker ants not long after we entered the forest. You have to know that it's still two hours away from the place where we first saw the mysterious creature."

Cao Yuan frowned and asked, "You mean, these worker ants will go in the direction of the town?"

"Not necessarily." An Qingyu shook his head. "Expanding the search range does not mean that all of them will move towards the town. Their nests should be deep in the vast primeval forest. Even if they expand outward in a large circular area, they may not necessarily go in the direction of the town."

"But it's still possible, and the probability is not small." Lin Qiye glanced at the dead worker ants on the ground. "After all, we just randomly chose a route and happened to run into one. Excluding the possibility that we were extremely lucky... it can only mean that the base number of worker ants in this giant ant colony is very large."

"Wouldn't those families living on the edge of the town be in danger?" Baili Pangpang's face changed slightly.

"The good news is that there are very few people living near the primeval forest on the edge of Anta County, and it is at least dozens of kilometers away from the nearest city center, so it shouldn't cause much impact in the short term."

Lin Qiye took a deep breath, "Of course, the premise is that we can find their nest as soon as possible and kill the queen ant. If we delay any further, the situation will become really serious."

Baili Pangpang looked around and sighed helplessly, "This forest is so big, I don't know how long it will take for us to find their nest..."

Everyone suddenly fell silent.

The biggest challenge now is to find the ant nest in this vast forest. According to the plan of Lin Qiye and his team, they have to explore the forest for at least half a month before they can find the location of the ant nest, but judging from the current situation, they do not have so much time.

At this moment, Lin Qiye seemed to remember something, and a glimmer appeared in his eyes.

"Next time, if we encounter a worker ant again, let it live..."

"Why?" Baili Pangpang asked puzzledly.

Lin Qiye looked up at the black sky above his head, not knowing what he was thinking, "I have an idea that I want to verify."

…

Outside the primeval forest.

In the darkness, a few old houses were scattered in the empty wilderness, with lights shining through the windows, slightly dispelling the night darkness around them.

On the muddy path in front of the old house, the old man wrapped in thick clothes, curled up his body, holding the little girl's hand and walking forward against the cold wind, finally stopped in front of an old house at the edge.

The pale light shone through the glass of the old metal sliding door, and four large characters were pasted on the surface of the glass using red paper-cuts.

——Happy Hotel.

The color of the paper-cut has almost faded to white due to aging, and the corner in front of the door is covered with cobwebs, which makes it look very old.

The old man took the little girl to the metal sliding door, grabbed the handle, and pushed the door to one side with difficulty, leaving a gap large enough for one person to pass through.

The aged metal rubbed against the track, making a harsh squeak, and as the sliding door was pushed open, a gust of warm air rushed towards us.

The old man stepped aside and let the little girl go in first, then he went in himself and pushed the door shut.

The old lady sitting behind a broken wooden table looked up at them and said slowly, "Check out before 12 o'clock tomorrow morning. If you are late, you will be charged extra."

"Yes, yes."

The old man nodded, and took the little girl up the dusty stairs to the second floor.

Although it is called a hotel, there are actually only three rooms on the two floors. The small room on the first floor is the residence of the old lady at the "front desk".

Although the facilities are a bit simple, the old man doesn't seem to care. As long as there is heating, they can sleep anywhere.

The two walked into the room, the girl took off her coat, and threw herself directly into the bed. After running around all day, she was already exhausted.

The old man took off his gloves and hat, looked around the room, and said, "Tingting, take a rest first. Grandpa will go downstairs to get you some hot water."

The little girl hummed.

The old man closed the door and went downstairs. Just as he was about to ask the old lady at the front desk for a pot of hot water, the sound of shattering windows suddenly came from the second floor.

Bang--!!

The next moment, the little girl's shrill scream came from upstairs.

The old man and the old woman were both stunned. The former reacted quickly and ran up the stairs quickly.

"Tingting! What's wrong, Tingting!!"

He pushed the door open violently and froze in place.

The cold night wind blew in from the broken windows, the yellow curtains on both sides fluttered, the floor of the room was covered with broken glass, the entire bed was smashed into several pieces, and the little girl who was originally lying on the bed had long disappeared.

The old man rushed into the house, ran to the window and looked out. He saw a giant blood-red ant carrying an unconscious little girl on its back, crawling rapidly towards the forest at the edge of the dim light not far away.

"Tingting!!" the old man yelled and jumped out of the window desperately.

Fortunately, the window on the second floor was not high, and the old man was strong. He rolled on the ground for a while and then struggled to get up. However, when he raised his head, the giant ant and the little girl had disappeared without a trace.

He opened his eyes wide and shouted the little girl's name loudly, but the only response he got was the sound of the sobbing wind...

This fifty-year-old man stood in the cold wind, his mouth wide open, his gray hair flying, and blood dripping from the back of his hand cut by glass shards...

He gritted his teeth, turned around quickly, and ran towards the darkness on the other side against the biting cold wind.

…

Twenty minutes later.

Anta County Forestry Bureau.

A series of rapid and heavy knocks on the door woke Li Deyang from his sleep.

,