Ants Behind, Tigers Ahead

The outcome of that argument was Tom's surrender. Arguing with someone who had no form about the settings of a virtual world was a foolish act, and Tom paid the price by losing fifty bucks.

Ouyang Haotian was obviously a rich second-generation, but he had a keen interest in digging money out of other people's pockets. However, whenever he got the money, he would spend it casually. For example, right after winning Tom's fifty bucks, he dragged him to a fancy restaurant and spent five hundred bucks treating him to a meal.

Finally, he dragged him to a model store and bought two newly released models, threw them to Tom to do for him, then said, "If you don't finish it within a year, don't give it to me. I don't want shoddy work."

It wasn't charity; this guy genuinely liked models but didn't have the knack for making them himself. He often eagerly bought them, tinkered with them for days, but ended up with junk that he then handed over to Tom to fix with his skilled hands.

Shaking his head, Tom let go of the past. What he wanted most now that he had become small was to find Ouyang Haotian. If he could call Haotian and explain the situation, he believed that guy would come flying over. Of course, if it were Haotian who had become small, Tom would do the same.

Redirecting his focus to the stairs, Tom took a deep breath and jumped directly down the steps.

Great, incredibly easy, just as simple as jumping off a chair. In that case, why bother with the stairs? He could just jump out of the window and be downstairs, couldn't he?

"No, that won't work!" Tom dared not jump from such a height; he might not end up unscathed like an ant would. Ants were small, and their body structures were simple, unlike humans. Even if he became small, his bodily organs were still too complex. Any injury would be enough trouble for Tom in this world full of monsters.

And most importantly... below the window was the courtyard of a rich man who kept several big dogs for security. He couldn't guarantee he wouldn't fall in. Even before today, he dared not venture in; now that he was small, he wouldn't even be big enough to get stuck in those dogs' teeth.

Not thinking much, Tom jumped down the stairs step by step, jumping ten steps, turning a corner, and then jumping ten more steps, finally arriving at the second floor.

He had just arrived at the second floor when he heard shouting to his left. He hesitated for a moment, then felt immense joy; after encountering so many horrifying things in the morning, he finally heard the voice of a living person.

Tom hurriedly ran to the left and reached the staircase leading to the first floor. He saw many ants struggling to carry two people, naked and writhing, under the stairs. The ants were small but numerous, making it impossible for the people to break free.

Finally encountering living people, and now they were being carried away by ants. Should he save them or not? Since the ants were small and he could help, Tom immediately jumped down the steps to rush to their rescue.

The two people were soon carried around the corner by the swarm of ants, and Tom stopped after jumping down two steps. More ants were coming around the corner, including five or six large ones.

He couldn't go down there. Dealing with three ants was tough enough; a group like that was impossible to handle. If he rushed in, he might not save the people and could get himself in trouble.

Run? Tom looked around anxiously. Ants were behind him, and there was a high wall ahead. He could jump down from the stairs, but how could he climb up? The stairs were almost twice his height, equivalent to over three meters in his previous size. How could he climb that?

Watching the swarm of ants climbing up aggressively, Tom felt like an ant on a hot pan. He even thought about pulling out his big knife and fighting the ants.

"Calm down, calm down, I need to stay calm!" Tom knew he had no chance of escaping with so many ants around.

High? He looked up at the tall stairs, then took two steps back and sprinted forward.

Unexpectedly, he almost reached it. Being smaller and lighter, with reduced gravitational force due to his reduced weight, his body's explosive power was less affected by gravity. It was like how people could jump higher on the moon due to its lower gravity.

However, the increase in height wasn't significant, but it was enough. Tom estimated, took another step back, sprinted, and finally reached the edge of the stairs. He quickly climbed up using his feet to push himself up.

Thanks to his previously well-built physique, Tom didn't struggle much to climb back up two steps. It was even more efficient than the ants climbing the stairs.

Finally reaching the second floor, Tom decided to continue climbing to the third floor. But just as he turned the corner, he exclaimed, "Oh, hell!"

Several ants of different sizes were crawling down the stairs from the third floor.

With ants ahead and behind him, what should he do? Tom looked left and right and could only run back to the second floor corridor.

After running a few tens of steps, he saw several ants ahead.

"I've never seen so many ants in this corridor before!" Tom felt like he was surrounded. But those ants ahead seemed less threatening.

One big, two medium-sized, and four small ones—they seemed to be attacking a lizard?

Tom ran closer to get a better look. It turned out to be a large gecko, almost as big as the crocodiles he saw at the zoo.

Poor gecko, now it was on its back, struggling with its short legs unable to turn itself over. Its longest tail had long been broken and was also flailing helplessly.

Four small ants noticed Tom running over and immediately turned to charge at him.

Tom gritted his teeth, pulled out his cap needle, and met them head-on. He kicked away the one in front, skewered two together with the needle, then jumped up and flattened the last one.

The two medium-sized ants were fiercely biting the gecko, but its skin was surprisingly tough. No matter how hard they bit, they couldn't tear it open. Now was a critical moment, and they were too focused to deal with Tom.

Passing the ants was easy, but escaping the pursuers behind was hard, especially if there was a big guy attracting their hatred. Tom made a quick decision, ran up to the gecko, put away his needle, grabbed the gecko's body, and pushed hard.

Couldn't move? This big guy was heavier than he looked.

The big ant noticed Tom's intention and crawled over immediately, while the gecko also realized the situation. It even understood and bit the leg of the big ant, holding it back. The big ant struggled to break free, while the other two medium-sized ants continued biting the gecko.

Seeing the gecko being so cooperative, Tom became more determined. He pushed again, barely tilting its body. The angle made the gecko's two short legs touch the ground. With a powerful kick, it finally managed to flip over.

The big ant freed itself, lunged at Tom, and

its large pincers aimed at his neck.

Tom, who had lost his balance due to the gecko's forceful flip, fell to the ground. He couldn't dodge in time, only watched as the pincers came down towards him.

But the next second, the big ant was knocked away by the gecko's broken tail section.

As Tom struggled to get up, the two medium-sized ants that were stubbornly biting the gecko had been swallowed whole by it.

The gecko's combat power was too strong. Tom regretted releasing this big guy. It might have been easier to escape if he had just run earlier.

Tom turned his head and saw the ants and the gecko fighting fiercely behind him. This would buy him some time to escape.

The long corridor felt even longer after shrinking. Tom ran desperately, trying every door he passed, but they were all locked. The gaps under the doors were too small for him to enter but big enough for the large ants.

Running and running, he began to feel hopeless. This was a dead end. No matter who won the fight behind him, they would eventually come for him. Without the ability to climb walls, he had no chance of escape.

He pushed another door, but it wouldn't budge. Seeing two doors left at the end of the corridor, Tom knew it was his last chance. He even started thinking about what to do when facing the ants and how to fight the gecko.

Arriving at another large door, Tom looked back at the ants and the gecko fighting fiercely. He took a deep breath, looked up at the towering door, swallowed hard, and then reached out with both hands to push.

The door moved slightly. Tom was overjoyed; the door wasn't closed!

He pushed harder, and the door was indeed pushed open. But being smaller now, Tom's strength was also weaker. It took all his effort to barely open a gap wide enough for him to squeeze through. He quickly... took off his backpack, stuffed it in, and then squeezed in.

Once inside, he quickly tried to close the door with all his might. But with his current strength, he couldn't push the door to the locked position. What should he do?