The ant king's final order echoed through the colony.
> "Find the black ant."
> "Bring him to me."
The Level 7 guards struck the ground with their forelegs.
"Yes, my King."
Within seconds, the organized colony sprang into action.
Soldiers split into squads.
Scouts disappeared into branching tunnels.
Workers hurried to seal entrances with packed earth.
No panic.
No confusion.
Just discipline.
Ethan watched in silence.
"...He's locking the colony down."
[Correct.]
[Estimated probability of escaping undetected has decreased to 34%.]
"...Thirty-four?"
[Correction.]
[Thirty-two.]
"...Could you stop updating me?"
[No.]
Pip slowly sank onto the ground.
"...We're trapped."
The worker ant remained motionless.
Her compound eyes never left the crimson king.
Every emotion flowing through Ant Instinct screamed the same thing.
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
Enemy.
Enemy.
Enemy.
Ethan forced himself to stay calm.
Panic solved nothing.
Observation solved everything.
He scanned the underground city.
There had to be a weakness.
There always was.
Hundreds of workers moved through the colony.
Food storage.
Egg chambers.
Nurseries.
Soldier barracks.
Everything had a purpose.
Then...
He noticed something odd.
Every food caravan entering the inner chambers...
Passed through one tunnel.
One.
No alternatives.
"..."
His eyes narrowed.
"...That's a bottleneck."
Iris answered immediately.
[Confirmed.]
[Disrupting that passage would temporarily interrupt food distribution.]
"I'm not planning to starve them."
[Noted.]
"...Yet."
Pip tugged on Ethan's foreleg.
"...Can we please leave before somebody notices us?"
Ethan was about to answer...
When Stone Sense pulsed.
Someone...
Was coming.
He immediately flattened himself against the wall.
The others copied him.
Two soldier ants walked past the crack.
"...The King is furious."
"As he should be."
"Five scouts."
"Gone."
"I heard it was a trap."
"I heard it was a monster."
"I heard it was a spirit."
"..."
"...They're already making rumors."
Ethan almost laughed.
"...A spirit?"
The second soldier snorted.
"I don't care what it is."
"If the King wants it alive..."
"It'll be alive."
"If possible."
The first soldier chuckled.
"If not..."
"...He'll settle for answers from whoever survives."
The patrol disappeared.
Pip finally breathed again.
"I hate this place."
"So do I."
Ethan looked back through the crack.
The king had returned to the raised platform.
Several elite guards surrounded him.
A large mound of pale eggs rested nearby.
The nursery.
Workers constantly entered and left, carefully tending them.
Ethan's eyes widened.
"..."
"...The eggs are completely unguarded."
Pip stared.
"...You're not thinking..."
"I absolutely am."
"...That's insane."
"I'm not going to hurt them."
Pip blinked.
"...You're... not?"
Ethan shook his head.
"If I wanted revenge..."
"I'd attack soldiers."
"The eggs haven't done anything."
The worker ant looked at him.
Warm approval flowed through Ant Instinct.
Instead...
A different idea formed.
"What does every colony protect above all else?"
"The nursery."
"If something threatens it..."
"...Everyone runs there."
Iris was silent for a full second.
Then...
[Tactical assessment.]
[Your probability of survival has increased by 18%.]
Ethan grinned.
"I'll take that as approval."
[It is merely mathematics.]
Pip scratched his head.
"So..."
"...What's the plan?"
Ethan drew another map in the dirt.
Just like before.
Pip smiled.
"...The drawings are back."
He marked three tunnels.
"The food passage."
"The nursery."
"The King's platform."
Then another line.
"Our exit."
Pip leaned closer.
"...You want to split them up."
"Exactly."
"They're strongest together."
"So..."
"...We'll make them choose."
The worker ant tapped the map.
Then herself.
Then the king.
"...No."
Ethan immediately understood.
"You are not fighting him alone."
She clicked her mandibles stubbornly.
"No."
"Absolutely not."
She crossed her forelegs.
Pip blinked.
"..."
"...Did..."
"...Did she just argue with you?"
Ethan sighed.
"...Yes."
"...She's becoming difficult."
The worker ant looked strangely pleased with herself.
Suddenly...
Stone Sense flared violently.
Not one.
Not two.
Ten.
No...
More.
Heavy footsteps approached from multiple tunnels.
Search parties.
They were spreading out much faster than Ethan expected.
One squad stopped directly outside the crack.
A soldier lowered its antennae.
"..."
"...I smell..."
Silence.
The antennae twitched again.
"...Carpenter ants."
Ethan's heart stopped.
The soldier slowly turned toward the crack.
"...Over here."