Chapter Twenty-Three: The Strange Golden Ant

Jiang Ran scanned the area, yet could not discern where the ant had emerged from.

However, if she did not stop it, it might genuinely chew a hole through her safe house. While she possessed other safe houses, such large-scale "equipment" could not be replaced in a short time. If one were to be ruined, it would break her heart.

The ant resembled a fire ant, yet it lacked the disgusting insect eggs on its back, and its size was dozens of times smaller. Had the situation been different, Jiang Ran might even have thought the little creature looked quite exquisite.

Seeing that it had already gnawed a small, arched notch into the corner of the house, Jiang Ran could no longer remain seated. She was unsure of the creature’s lethality and did not wish to risk it—if the thing were extremely fast, its small size would make it very difficult for her to defend against.

Ants should like sweet things, right?

She pulled a candied hawthorn skewer from her inventory, keeping her eyes on the monitor as she pushed it through a small hole in the door toward the ant, then quickly shut the aperture.

The temperature outside was so high that the candy coating began to melt before the skewer even hit the ground. By the time it landed, it had already dissolved into a puddle of sugar syrup and hawthorn.

However, the commotion did indeed startle the ant. Its antennae twitched, and it darted straight for the skewer.

Jiang Ran felt a surge of relief that she had not rashly confronted this strange ant—even with her current heightened dynamic vision, she had nearly lost track of it. And that was with the advantage of knowing where it would land. Its speed was astonishing; if an ant capable of chewing through a safe house were to get close…

Jiang Ran’s expression darkened, and she prepared for the worst.

But what followed was beyond her expectations. Perhaps such sweet, sticky food was virtually non-existent in the environment of the Flaming Mountains, so the ant was indeed immediately captivated by the sugar on the ground.

However, as previously noted, the ant was tiny, and its wings were overly delicate, causing it to become instantly stuck the moment it landed in the puddle of melted sugar.

Jiang Ran watched as the ant struggled in vain in the sugary liquid, only to sink its wings deeper into the syrupy swamp, and her expression turned peculiar. Should she go out? Just as she hesitated over whether to step out and finish it off, a tiny voice suddenly drifted through the monitor.

"What is this! Let me go! But this is really so sweet… lick, lick, lick… damn it, my wings are stuck too!! Forget it, I should be able to get out once I finish licking it… so sweet, hehehe."

Jiang Ran: ...

Was she hallucinating? She felt as though she had heard an ant speaking.

But the ant truly seemed to give up on struggling, contentedly beginning to enjoy the sweetness of the sugar. The syrup on the ground was diminishing at a visible rate—not just the syrup, but the sugar water along with the very stones coated in it were being swallowed whole!

"What is this red thing? It’s fragrant, crunch, crunch, crunch. Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, it doesn't taste good! But the surface is sweet..."

Thus, Jiang Ran watched with a numb expression as the ant devoured the sugar water and the skins of the hawthorns like a locust.

Seeing the ant’s head swiveling about, seemingly still unsatisfied, Jiang Ran made a bold decision. She pulled a small jar of honey from her inventory, opened the lid, and tossed it out through the hole.

"Eat up, you should like this too."

As the honey jar hit the ground with a thud, Jiang Ran’s voice echoed through the monitor. The ant vanished from the screen instantly, only to reappear a second later, sprawled atop the heap of honey.

"What is this!!! It’s so fragrant, so fragrant, so fragrant, so sweet, so sweet, so sweet! Why do you have so many delicious things!"

Jiang Ran said, "I have plenty of such delicious things here. If you answer my questions, I can give them all to you."

The ant buried its entire head into the honey, inhaling it ravenously, deaf to Jiang Ran’s words. Watching the ant’s obsession with sweets, Jiang Ran tempted it: "Do you want to eat cake? The sweet cream is fragrant and smooth, melting in your mouth. It has fruit and delicate cake inside; one bite is much better than honey!"

As she spoke, the ant had already finished the honey, jar and all. Hearing Jiang Ran’s words, its antennae twitched: "What is that? Is it tastier than this?"

Jiang Ran looked at the pit in the ground, then at the ant’s unchanged body, and couldn't help but click her tongue. She was very skeptical about whether she could kill this thing if she tried. But if she could tame it, it would be the perfect tool for assassination...

Jiang Ran was shamefully tempted. But temptation was one thing; she would never rashly go outside until she was certain of her safety.

Taking a small piece of cream cake from her inventory and tossing it out, Jiang Ran spoke to the ant through the monitor: "Here, treat yourself."

The ant was not in the least bit reserved. Almost as soon as the cake was tossed through the hole, it had already rushed over, gnawing on it while it was still in mid-air. By the time the small piece of cake hit the ground, only a tiny bit remained.

"This is delicious!!" The ant’s voice turned exceptionally shrill with excitement. "Is there more, is there more?"

Jiang Ran replied calmly, "There is more, indeed... but you know our current situation. It’s too dangerous outside, and I don't dare go out easily. I... am worried you might hurt me."

She had originally only meant to fish for information. A talking ant that looked so different from the rest must have a special identity.

But the ant’s reaction exceeded her expectations. It seemed to sigh, its voice becoming slightly more steady: "Weak Star-Blue person, no wonder..."

Jiang Ran froze. No wonder what? Did it know why all of this was happening?

The ant continued: "Don't worry, I have no interest in you Star-Blue people. I just came to join the fun."

Jiang Ran’s heart suddenly accelerated. She tried to keep her voice steady: "You aren't a creature of Star-Blue. Where do you come from?"

Actually, what she wanted to ask was: Why did Star-Blue become like this, and is there any way to return to reality? But she had a gut feeling that if she asked that, the ant would not answer.

Hearing Jiang Ran’s question, the ant shook its head: "You shouldn't know these things. Say, do you have any more of that stuff from earlier?"

Although Jiang Ran felt a twinge of disappointment, she pulled out another slightly larger piece of cake, passed it through the hole, and asked directly: "Then, is there any way to end all of this?"

The ant landed directly on the cake, devouring it without looking up.

Once it finished the entire piece of cake, it cleaned the cream off its body, and then its antennae began to vibrate at a strange frequency. A moment later, a faint, rustling gnawing sound came from the hole.

Beneath the tightly sealed opening, the fire ant had hollowed out a square hole. Then, it pushed a diamond treasure chest up to the front of Jiang Ran’s safe house.