Assault of the Soldier Ants

"Luo Jun and I hope to go out with An Ge," said Tom.

Tom understood Luo Jun's intention. He feared that Li Qiang might retaliate against the two of them after he left, or even harm Zhang Jiaqi. But as Zhang Meng pointed out, others couldn't keep up with Biscuit's pace and might even drag Tom down.

"I promise, Luo Jun and I won't slow you down, An Ge," Luo Jun also understood this point, so he emphasized, "When we get to the police station, you go in, and Luo Jun and I will wait here."

Tom looked at the others and then nodded, "Okay, you two can come with me."

With that settled, they needed to figure out where to jump from.

Tom and Liu Lian looked at the map, then ran to the window to check the situation outside before reaching a conclusion.

"Our building is too short. To reach the police station quickly and safely, we need to float as far as possible," Liu Lian gestured at the map on the screen, "We have to jump from the rooftop, and this spot, right through the middle of the alley, would be perfect. Otherwise, make a glider?"

Tom nodded, agreeing with part of his suggestion, "Other positions are not ideal. It's too easy to hit buildings and fall down. The location you mentioned is very suitable. But a glider is meaningless. Don't forget, we are all too small. A large glider won't fly far, and if it's poorly made, it might crash down right after takeoff. A parachute would be more secure."

Liu Lian chuckled, "True, but An Ge, aren't you afraid of heights?"

"I don't have acrophobia, but I've never tried jumping from such a height before. It's risky. But we've all shrunk. Whether we go or stay, there's always a risk."

Now that it was dark, they could only make parachutes the next day.

Since they had reached a consensus, they began chatting to pass the time. Of course, at Tom's request, they had to take turns to stand guard and watch out for potential threats, especially ants.

Tom hesitated as he held the gems brought out by Zhang Jiaqi. Since he could communicate with Biscuit using the emerald, could others possibly do the same? Even if not with the emerald, maybe with a ruby or a yellow gem?

He wanted to suggest it but refrained from doing so, considering stability. Since Liu Lian had the idea, any variable that arose next would require his full attention, without psychological burdens.

Tom both hoped someone else would gain special abilities to provide security for their survival and felt that maintaining stability was preferable.

This conflicting thought was soon ended. Everyone tried touching the gems, including Li Qiang with Tom's permission, but no one could trigger anything with any gem or crystal.

Disappointed, they returned to their original topic. Tom discussed with them what to do if they encountered ants, how to divide defense duties, and strategies involving kerosene, among other things.

After the discussion and clarifying their respective roles, they let each other go back to sleep.

During the night shifts, Tom was uneasy. After a round, he got up again and changed the guards twice more. As he expected, these guys didn't take the crisis seriously and dozed off while on watch, which was very dangerous.

It was a peaceful night, seemingly without signs of ant invasion. At least, when Tom asked, the guards said they hadn't seen any ants.

After another peaceful night, they seemed to feel it was peaceful staying there. Even Zhang Jiaqi was considering staying rather than going out with Tom for an adventure, but under Luo Jun's stern gaze, she kept her mouth shut.

Making a makeshift parachute was simple: a large piece of fabric sewn with eight strings around the edges, with the ends of the strings tied together to form backpack-style straps to wear over the shoulders.

Tom had experience folding parachute fabric, so he taught them quickly. He made a larger one considering Biscuit's weight.

Tom liked to be prepared. At his request, he made nine parachutes, although the plan involved only him and Biscuit, and Luo Jun and Zhang Jiaqi, totaling three people and one gecko. But just in case, everyone had one, to handle unexpected situations.

Of course, this preparedness also included makeshift armor. Tom collected some plastic materials for them to make armor using needles and threads.

As it involved their lives, everyone worked diligently and cooperatively to make the makeshift armor.

Based on this, they made other arrangements on the table to prevent ant attacks.

For this purpose, Tom even went to Liu Lian's bed, cut several pieces of mosquito netting, and brought them back to make trap nets.

In the morning, they worked fervently, while Tom rode Biscuit to the ground to get the reserve food that Liu Lian had prepared.

Surprisingly, he even had compressed biscuits ready, which was very suitable for their current situation.

However, Tom noticed that Biscuit wasn't feeling right today. It seemed lethargic, and when it climbed up, two of its feet didn't stick properly, almost causing both it and Tom to fall.

"Is it running a fever?" Zhang Jiaqi asked curiously as she touched Biscuit's forehead. "Oh, it's so cold. Its forehead is so cold."

Liu Lian laughed beside her, "You are so cute, Biscuit is a cold-blooded animal, of course, it's cold."

Zhang Jiaqi glared angrily at him and said nothing more.

Tom quietly communicated with Biscuit and found that it wasn't hungry but just felt weak. So he forced it to eat two yellow gems, even if it didn't want to, and fed it some water, letting it rest.

Tom originally wanted to take advantage of the time when everyone was making parachutes to ride Biscuit to the rooftop to scout the situation and determine the jumping position, but now it seemed he had to put it on hold for the time being.

Lunchtime arrived, and the fast food from the day before was still available, but some of it had gone bad, with an unpleasant taste. Everyone opted to munch on wafer biscuits to stave off hunger. Tom also felt it best not to eat. No one knew if eating something bad while being shrunken would lead to more severe consequences.

As they nibbled on their lunch, Xu Dong, standing by the table, suddenly shouted, "Ants! Quick, look, ants are crawling out from the corner!"

Everyone dropped their food and rushed over to see. Indeed, they spotted a dozen ants marching in a neat line towards them.

"Oh no, they've actually come knocking at our door!" Xu Dong anxiously looked around, seeking a place to hide. "What do we do? What do we do?"

"These are just small ones; dealing with them is simple. Luo Jun, Zhang Meng, come with me!" Tom immediately woke up Biscuit and hopped on.

Luo Jun and Zhang Meng each held onto the handles attached to Biscuit from the previous night, allowing them to go together.

Once on the ground, Tom set them down and rode Biscuit into action. Clad in armor, he swiftly exterminated the small ants and then called over the two to help block the holes in the wall corner to prevent further intrusion.

He had to make sure none of the ants returned alive to report back. Although the cracks were sealed, larger ants might find other ways to circumvent them.

Returning to the table, Tom inquired, "Did any of you notice ants last night?" He wasn't sure if these ants had stumbled upon them by accident or had been drawn by their presence.

"Does it really matter?" Chen Jianbin said indifferently.

"Of course, it matters. We can't overlook any small details," Tom approached him. "You were supposed to be on duty last night but were sleeping. I took over your shift once. Honestly, did you see any ants last night? This relates to our survival!"

Pressed by Tom's interrogation, Chen Jianbin hesitated. He murmured, "Last night... I think I saw two ants at the corner, but they disappeared quickly. I... I thought it was..."

"An illusion?" Tom pushed him aside and quickly returned to Biscuit, riding it towards the window.

After being scolded by Tom, Chen Jianbin felt a bit resentful. He turned to the others and said, "Is this guy too sensitive? It's just a few ants! Maybe they were just out foraging. Ants need to eat too."

Luo Jun, with a dark expression, ran back without wanting to engage with him. However, Liu Lian chuckled and followed suit, saying, "Don't forget, ants now love to eat us. The ants last night were probably scouting for our scent and then went back to call for reinforcements! You idiot!"

Chen Jianbin nonchalantly remarked, "Bah, just a few ants. I could squash them with one foot! Making a big deal out of nothing. Right, Zhang Meng?"

Zhang Meng ignored him and left as well.

Besides making parachutes in the morning, on Tom's suggestion, they also made some makeshift armor from materials they had. Three large knives were also assigned to Xu Dong, Luo Jun, and Li Qiang.

While Chen Jianbin was strolling leisurely, Tom rushed back on Biscuit and announced, "Get ready, soldier ants are coming!"

Chen Jianbin turned pale at the news and hurried back to his corner, scrambling to put on the makeshift armor.

"How many?" Luo Jun's expression also turned grim. He still remembered the battle with the soldier ants Tom had told them about. If there were many, they might end up as ant food.

"Three, and there are a few larger worker ants behind them. Get ready!"

Learning that there were soldier ants and even three of them, everyone became nervous. Even Liu Lian, who had been nonchalant, dropped the fine needles he was holding onto the table. Seeing this, Tom could only briefly encourage them. In critical moments like this, they couldn't afford to make mistakes. Any slip-up could result in casualties or even all of them dying here.

The soldier ants were the largest and fastest. The first to reach the window, they opened and closed their massive pincers a couple of times before charging towards the table where they were positioned.

"Oh my, they're huge!" Chen Jianbin trembled in fear, his grip on the needle almost faltering.

Seeing the first one climbing up, Tom immediately slapped Biscuit into action, gripping the heavy file firmly in both hands. With a powerful rush, he swatted the ant off the window ledge.

Ordering Biscuit to ignore the second ant that had just climbed up, he circled back, increasing the distance between them.

At this moment, two soldier ants, with their large pincers raised and heads lowered, their tails swaying like scythes, charged towards Tom from behind.