Dramatic Changes on the Rooftop

After everyone climbed up, Tom reminded them to be quiet and slow down because there were many ants fighting outside.

"Chen Jianbin erupted immediately: Are you leading us into a trap?" Li Qiang quickly covered his mouth. "Do you want to die? If you alarm the ants, we're all finished."

Chen Jianbin was afraid of Li Qiang, but Tom had always been easy to talk to, so he felt more comfortable speaking up: "Then we might as well go back. There are so many ants outside."

"If you want to go back, go back yourself!" Luo Jun said, "I trust Tom's judgment."

"Exactly!" Liu Lian agreed, "If you don't have a brain, just follow others honestly. Don't add drama to yourself without reason. There's no profit in it."

Li Qiang warned him with a glare, "If you don't want to go, turn back now. I'll kick your ass. If you dare to cause trouble later, I'll eat you before the ants get me."

Terrified by Li Qiang's warning, Chen Jianbin didn't dare to argue. Seeing everyone following Tom, he didn't dare to return alone either, so he shut his mouth and reluctantly followed the others to squeeze through the door crack.

Although Chen Jianbin was mentally prepared, he was still startled by the scene in the distance. If he hadn't quickly covered his mouth, he would have almost shouted out.

On the other side of the rooftop, there was a dense swarm of ants tearing at each other. Some were large, some were small, and there were too many to count. The largest among them were the soldier ants, taller than ordinary worker ants, towering over the sea of ants.

While everyone was shocked and fearful, Liu Lian was more excited. His face flushed, and he stared at the distant sea of ants without blinking. He whispered excitedly, "Wow! This is just like the Zerg battlefield in StarCraft. I thought I could only see it in VR games in my life. I didn't expect to see it with my own eyes before I die. It's totally worth it!"

Tom paid no attention to his excitement and just held him firmly along the wall, whispering, "Keep quiet. Let's move in the opposite direction until the end. They haven't discovered us yet."

Now was not the time to consider the best parachute spot. Their only goal was to reach the cement railing on the rooftop as quickly as possible, climb up, and jump down. What dangers they would face below, whether they would survive, would be dealt with later. It was better than being bitten to death by ants now.

The group tiptoed nervously towards the cement railing. They dared not make a sound, hoping even their heartbeats would stop to avoid alerting the ants fighting fiercely.

The railing on the rooftop of this old-style house was usually a one-meter-high wall. For aesthetic reasons, the homeowner had later added a semicircular handrail at intervals along the railing. When they reached the cement railing, Tom targeted that semicircular handrail.

Their only reliance was Biscuit, but when they climbed the last two steps just now, Tom clearly felt that Biscuit was struggling. Tom wasn't the strongest among the group, but he was wearing the most armor, so naturally, he was the heaviest.

So he proposed that the lightest person ride Biscuit up with a thin cloth rope, tie the cloth rope to the semicircular handrail, and then everyone could climb up by holding onto the rope.

Chen Jianbin had some objections. He didn't want to climb the rope. He wished he could climb up first and then parachute out of this hell on earth. But he didn't dare to speak up because Tom was staring at him coldly, and he felt a little scared.

"The lightest person should be Zhang Jiaqi," Liu Lian, being a chubby one, naturally had no qualification to rush ahead, so he was more open-minded.

Everyone looked at Zhang Jiaqi. She hurriedly shook her head, "I... I can't. I... I'm afraid of heights. Tying that rope and leaning out, I'll fall. I can't do it."

Tom turned to Zhang Jiaqi's boyfriend, Luo Jun, believing him to be the most sincere among the group. He found Luo Jun to be the most proactive and reliable in carrying out his orders, making him the most trustworthy in Tom's eyes.

After hesitating for a moment, Luo Jun said, "Let Zhang Meng go. He's the smallest and used to climb trees in the village. He's very agile."

Time waits for no one. Tom saw that the number of ants on one side of the swarm was decreasing, and they would soon end the battle. At that time, they would definitely discover the group, so he asked Zhang Meng, "Are you okay with it?"

Unexpectedly chosen as the vanguard, Zhang Meng was stunned for a moment, then nodded heavily, "Okay! Leave it to me, but I have a condition."

Tom's face sank, displeased at being blackmailed. "What condition?" If it wasn't to reduce Biscuit's burden, he would have gone up himself. He didn't want to linger here.

"After I set up the rope, Zhang Jiaqi will be the first one to come up," Zhang Meng said.

Tom glanced at Luo Jun. The latter was a little embarrassed and was about to speak, but Tom waved his hand and said, "No problem. Ladies first, it's okay. Hurry up!"

"Alright!" Zhang Meng smiled and rode on Biscuit's back.

First, Tom removed everything hanging on Biscuit's back, from backpacks to weapons, leaving only its parachute bag. Then he touched Biscuit, feeling its reluctance, and immediately comforted it, "I'm just temporarily separating from you. Take him up, and when he puts down the rope, I'll climb up... No, I won't ride you. You're too tired. When you go up later, pay attention to him, watch out for any special actions." Biscuit, perhaps too tired, just gave him a dissatisfied look and turned to climb up the cement railing. Tom watched Zhang Meng, carrying the umbrella bag and firecrackers, and felt that something was wrong.

"Perhaps it's too tired, or maybe the burden on my shoulders is too heavy. I should trust my teammates more." Tom slapped his face to clear his mind. He had to maintain the morale and order on the scene and quickly ensure that everyone was sent up steadily.

Biscuit quickly climbed onto the railing, and Zhang Meng got down from it. Holding a cloth belt with a rope, Zhang Meng silently stood in front of the semicircular handrail without moving. This made Chen Jianbin below jump up and whisper, "Hurry up, Zhang Meng! The ants are almost done fighting!"

Zhang Meng turned back and smiled at them, then started climbing up the handrail and tied one end of the rope to it. After confirming it was secure, he dropped the other end down.

"Quick, Zhang Jiaqi, go up!" Tom immediately commanded.

Luo Jun kissed Zhang Jiaqi gently, encouraging her, and then lifted her by her hips to send her up. Zhang Jiaqi, being a woman, was clumsy and slow to climb up, so Zhang Meng above pulled the rope, helping her up.

Though the person was pulled up, the rope wasn't let down.

Just as Chen Jianbin was about to explode, Zhang Meng suddenly took out some biscuit crumbs from his backpack and handed them to the gecko "Biscuit." The gecko "Biscuit," with its eyes half-closed, immediately smelled the biscuit crumbs and leaned over. Zhang Meng threw the crumbs, then pushed the gecko "Biscuit" forcefully.

The gecko "Biscuit," originally standing at the edge of the railing, was pushed and failed to grip the ground with its four legs, and it fell straight down.

"Biscuit!" Tom, seeing this, immediately became furious. He drew out the large knife from his back, "Zhang Meng, you bastard!"

"Hahaha!" Zhang Meng turned around and laughed, then hugged Zhang Jiaqi, "Jiaqi, they are doomed now. Will you fly away with me?"

"No! Zhang Meng, I don't like you. I've told you before, I just see you as a friend!" Zhang Jiaqi struggled hard, and Zhang Meng, being weaker, was pushed away.

"Why? Just because I'm small? We grew up together. I did so much for you. When you wanted to work, I followed you. I watched you live with this scumbag, and I had to rent next to you and endure your intimacy with him!"

Apart from the angry Tom, Luo Jun was equally furious. He shouted loudly, "Let her go! You scum!"

"Drop the rope, Zhang Meng!" Chen Jianbin also yelled, "Don't leave us here with them. You don't want to be called a liar, do you?"

"How about it, Jiaqi, come with me. I know a good place, even if..."

Zhang Jiaqi pushed him away, "I don't want to be with you!" and jumped down directly.

Her sudden jump caught everyone off guard. Tom could have caught her, but with Biscuit being pushed down, he was overwhelmed with anger and grief. His reaction was a bit slow. By the time he tried to catch her, Zhang Jiaqi had already fallen to the ground.

The cement railing was one meter high, which meant it was about 24 meters, nearly seven floors. After becoming smaller, the weight became lighter, and the resistance increased. Falling down shouldn't have been too serious, but unfortunately, Zhang Jiaqi hit her head first.

As a result, she immediately suffered a blow to her head, and blood flowed out.

Luo Jun was heartbroken and rushed to hold Zhang Jiaqi, but the poor girl had already lost consciousness.

"No, Jiaqi, no!" Luo Jun held her and cried loudly.

At this moment, everyone below was filled with indignation. Zhang Meng, without a word, suddenly played this trick, intending to kill everyone.

"Zhang Meng, I swear... I'll crush you and feed you to the ants!" Since separating from his sister, Tom rarely felt so angry.

In just two days, he fought side by side with Biscuit, communicated through the emerald, and built a deep bond with it. Now, seeing Zhang Meng push Biscuit down, he felt more pain for Biscuit than the impending tide of ants. He hated Zhang Meng and wished to see him torn apart.

"Hahaha!" Zhang Meng laughed wildly, "If you have the guts, come up here! Jiaqi, you stupid woman, you'd rather die with this scum than be with me. It doesn't matter, the end of the world has come, and everyone has shrunk! Haha, everyone! I will rise to the top and crush everyone underfoot!"

"Zhang Meng, drop the rope!" Li Qiang yelled angrily.

Zhang Meng laughed and pulled out a firecracker from his backpack, lit it, and threw it down.

Everyone hurriedly avoided, and the firecracker exploded, making a loud noise and smell. This caught the attention of the ants fighting in the distance.

"I thought this thing could be used to kill you, Tom, but it turned out to kill all of you! Hahaha!" Zhang Meng laughed loudly, turned around, and jumped off the building.

Everyone turned around and saw a large number of ants, led by the soldier ants, rushing towards them.

"We're done, we're done!" Chen Jianbin sat down on the ground, "We're going to be the ants' dinner!"

Tom picked up his backpack, took out a gem, and threw one to each person, "Quick, hold onto the gems, concentrate, and see if you can evoke any power. I can communicate with Biscuit through the emerald."

"Oh my god, brother, you really have the Midas touch!" Liu Lian held the ruby and closed his eyes quickly, but there was no response.

Tom held the large green crystal, still with no response. He immediately threw away the crystal and picked up the kerosene can.

"Quick, light it up!"

Now they could only hope to use fire to stop the ants' attack.

The fire was quickly lit, forming a brief sea of flames.

However, the soldier ants charged into the flames without fear, lowering their heads and holding up their large pincers as they charged into the fire.

Tom gripped the big knife tightly, preparing to counterattack. However, the soldier ants charged out of the flames, knocking him flying onto the railing wall.

With a massive shock to his brain, Tom's mind went blank. He only saw Xu Dong being cut in half by another soldier ant that surged up.

He turned his head and saw Chen Jianbin sitting on the ground trembling, Li Qiang lifting the big knife and fiercely hacking at the soldier ant's head, which had no effect, and then being thrown by the soldier ant.

He also saw Luo Jun sitting on the ground holding the girl in his arms, with no sign of life in his eyes.

Finally, Tom saw a huge soldier ant approaching, and then everything went black, with only the thought in his mind: "This soldier ant is huge!"