Natural Disasters Strikes: I stockpiled like crazy! - Chapter 177

Chapter 177: The Ant Horde (1)
The sound of engines grew louder, accompanied by rapid clicking noises, followed by the eerie echoes like a thousands of knives scraping against metal and bone, interspersed with gunshots.

Everyone turned toward the back window, puzzled by the strange sounds.

In the passenger seat, Nanzhi’s eyes sharpened. She activated her mental exploration.

Thin strands of mental energy shot out, stretching to the right.

They slithered like snakes, moving swiftly before halting at 100 meters—just within the range of her mental exploration.

She detected hundreds of mental energy wavelengths, each at least Tier 1 in strength with mix of Tier 2.

These were definitely alien beasts.

Their numbers were no less than a hundred, and they appeared to be chasing something.

The Ashfall Street was narrow, barely wide enough for one car to pass through.

Fighting a horde in such a confined space would be troublesome.

Nanzhi’s task had been completed. She could no longer sense any humans in the area. Perhaps Si Hao’s relatives had already relocated to the base.

“Little Si, I don’t sense your aunt here. They might have left for the base. Something is approaching—it’s better we leave this place.”

Si Hao had already seen Nanzhi’s perceptive abilities in action earlier when they hunted down the last of the monster rats.

For reasons unknown to him, she could pinpoint their locations with unnerving accuracy.

He didn’t press the matter and nodded. “Okay, Sister.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll find them.”

Nanzhi instructed Weihao and the others to prepare.

“I sensed the same thing,” Weihao confirmed. His instincts urged him to leave quickly. Lin Weihao pressed the gas, and the Land Rover began reversing.

As the car moved out of the small neighborhood, they saw three other cars ahead of them. Behind these vehicles was a horde of black ants.

The smallest of the ants was the size of a watermelon, while the largest rivaled the size of a Tibetan Mastiff.

[Tier 1 Middle Stage – Lesser Mutant Ant]

[Attribute: Strength]

The Tier 1 ants had black exoskeletons adorned with faint bioluminescent green lines, similar to the spores of a wintergreen mushroom.

Their mandibles were razor-sharp, capable of crushing bones with ease.

[Tier 2 Early Stage – Soldier Mutant Ant]

The Soldier Mutant Ants had darker exoskeletons, with thicker plating that provided greater defense and longer, sharper mandibles.

Their attributes were a bit more troublesome.

[Attribute: Acid]

Nanzhi frowned. She had encountered these ants before.

These creatures could spray corrosive liquid at a range of two to three meters, capable of melting steel, aluminum panels, windows, windshields, tires, and more.

Through her mental focus, she detected at least ten Soldier Mutant Ants. She already saw acid marks on the vehicles ahead. These cars wouldn’t last much longer.

The people in those cars were unlucky to have stirred up the mutant ants.

Mutant ants were fiercely territorial. If another alien beast or human entered their territory, the intruders would be in grave danger.

“Holy crap! Am I dreaming? That’s a giant ant!” Feng Ran pinched his cheeks, as if to confirm that the sight before him was real.

Yu Baoyin had a different perspective. “At least it’s not a cockroach! Can you imagine facing a giant cockroach flying around? That would be absolutely disgusting!”

“Don’t talk anymore!”

“Anyway, should we help them?”

Nanzhi was ready to assist the people in the cars, but then little Si Hao spoke up.

As soon as Si Hao saw the cars, recognition crossed his face.

“It’s them! The ones who chased me and my father! If my father hadn’t been good at driving, we’d have been caught. I’ll never forget that blue car with the skull design! Those bad people also captured survivors and robbed them. Those that didn’t want to give their supplies were killed!”

Si Hao’s voice cracked as he recalled the event.

If it hadn’t been for those people, they wouldn’t have ended up in the private compound—they’d have made it to the base! And his father might still be alive.

Everyone’s expressions changed upon hearing his words.

Si Hao wept as he remembered the horrors.

Nanzhi decided against intervening. “Let’s leave.” She will not risk helping fiends wearing human skins. She had met all kinds of people in her life and she detected the raw and genuine emotions from the kid.

Lin Weihao drove away from the small neighborhood, keeping his eyes focused on the road.

Suddenly, Nanzhi’s eyes narrowed.

There was a blue prompt hovering above the middle car.

[Resource Point]

A resource point?

On the road leading from the supermarket to Ashfall Street, several cars were being pursued.

The people inside the middle car were clearly terrified.

One of the men, out of ammunition, turned to reload only to realize he had only four rounds left.

“Big Guo, we’re almost out of bullets! What do we do? I don’t want to die here!”

“They’re getting closer!”

The person in the passenger seat, called Big Guo, was frantically trying to contact someone over the walkie-talkie. On his lap was a black bag containing a large white egg.

“Damn it! Pick up the phone!”

A massive soldier ant caught up to one of the car and sprayed acid.

There was a sharp hissing sound as the acid struck the car’s bumper and left rear tire.

The tire burst with a loud pop, and the car swerved, crashing into a building with a deafening crash.

The ants’ sharp mandibles sliced through the car frame and grill as if cutting through butter.

“Shit!”

“Get out! Get out now!”

“Big Guo! Big Guo! Help us!”

But the other two cars didn’t stop. They kept driving, knowing that halting would only guarantee their doom.

The people inside the cars fought back with their guns, but the ants were too many.

“Ahhh!”

Big Guo could hear the bone-chilling screams of the other car’s occupants as they were overtaken by ants.

His hand trembled as he clutched the phone.

The others, equally terrified, shared his panic.

“Drive faster!” Big Guo shouted to the driver, whose face was pale with cold sweat.

Three minutes passed before someone finally answered the phone. “What is it?”

Big Guo was a mixture of impatience and anxiety. “We’ve got what the boss wanted, Big Brother, but we need help. There’s a horde of ants chasing us!”

Big Guo glanced at the egg. It had cost him all of his group’s ammunition and half his subordinates to obtain it.

He clenched his fists.

He would make them pay—triple the cost!