Chapter 133: Sneaking into an Anthill
Jack and Brock peeked from behind a boulder. The anthill lay right before their eyes, a hundred-foot-tall mound of dirt smelling vaguely of metal. There were black ants running on the sides of the anthill, but far fewer than before. Jacks hunting had seriously lowered their numbers.
Besides the ants carrying food to the colony, leaving to go search, or adding more dirt to the mound, there were also guards. These were shaped exactly like the other antsargentine ants had no soldier castebut waited around the colony, antennas extended outward to detect any invaders.
Ready? Jack asked, gulping. Brock nodded. Lets go.
He dropped to all fours and started walking towards the colony. Brock followed right behind.
The moment they appeared, the nearest guard noticed them instantly. It turned its head towards them, staring intently. Its antennas flickered in hesitation. Jack and Brock kept walking on all fours like nothing was wrong.
The guard approached them to take a sniff. It tilted its head. Eventuallyit let them pass, watching as they went ahead.
Jack grinned widely. Success!
They were dressed as ants.
Ants communicated mainly through a system of pheromones. They trusted those smells even more than their eyes, which is how a conqueror queen could infiltrate and take over the anthill of another species, pretending to be their queen. Even though she was obviously different in appearance, she was covered in the right pheromones, which was enough to trick the other ants.
Jack thought they could use the same trick.
For the past half hour, they had traveled between groups of dead ants to find the right ones. When Jack had been hunting them before, hed made sure to ambush one or two in each group, killing them before they could know what was happening. That way, they didnt release the danger pheromones that would alert nearby ants.
He and Brock had rummaged through the corpses to scavenge the most intact partsbe they legs, carapaces, or antennas. Then, they used the last cloth strips remaining of Jacks shirt to tie those ant parts on them, basically dressing themselves as conqueror ants.
Each of them had two antennas sticking out of their head. Their back and ribs were covered in pieces of ant carapace, their limbs had ant legs attached to their outer side, and they had an extra pair of ant legs dangling between their arms and legs.
It was heavily ridiculous, to the degree that both of them couldnt stop laughing for five minutes. But it might work.
They resembled ants just enough for the guards to not attack immediately. Moreover, their disguise still carried the right ant pheromones. Since ants believed more in pheromones than their eyes, it might work.
If it didnt, they would just have to retreat and come up with a new plan. At worst, they could try fighting their way through.
The current idea was to infiltrate the anthill, then head directly downward, where the tunnel to the next floor should be. Gan Salin had been very clear that anything large, striking, and monster-infested hid an exit underneath. This anthill hit the mark perfectly. If there was no exit, Jack would be severely pissed.
If this plan worked, they could come and go from the colony as they wished.
And it was working so far! The ant guard stared a bit, but it eventually let them pass. If even the guards didnt stop them, there was no reason for the workers to do it.
Jack and Brock walked on all fours, slowly climbing the dirt mound toward the very top, where the hole leading downward lay. There werent many ants around. After all, they had already killed around five hundred of them, and there were also many scouts outside the colony.
When they brushed against the occasional ant, it ignored them, too focused on its own tasks.
They eventually made it to the top of the hill and looked down. Just as Jack suspected, the tunnel leading into the nest was slanted. It would have been vertical in a real anthill, but the dirt here couldnt support the gigantic ants.
Without a wordJack wasnt clear on the auditory senses of antsthey walked in. Darkness swallowed them.
There was little light in ant tunnels. The ants navigated using the senses of smell and touch. Jack and Brock werent as skilled in those, and they could only barely detect the pheromonesthey smelled like metal, lemon juice, ash, or dirt. Thankfully, though it was dark, the soil here was thin and porous, letting some light through. Coupled with their System-enhanced senses, they could see a bit after their eyes adjusted to the dark.
Jack considered simply lighting a torch. Ants were animals; they might be scared away and let them pass. However, he had the sneaky suspicion that whoever made Trial Planet wouldnt make things so easy. No one played fair in the System world. If he lit a fire, he suspected that the entire forest would suddenly want to murder him, including ants.
He did carry an unlit torch, though. Just in case.
The tunnel they were in was long and rough, extending deep down in a steep angle. It was also wide enough for Jack to stand, if needed, letting ants walk on the walls without colliding with the ones on the floor.
They followed the tunnel, with Brock ahead this time. He had the superior senses.
Chittering sounds came from all around. The darkness smelled vaguely of metal. Jack could see ants walk past them occasionally, sticking to the walls, and he could hear the little tapping sounds of their feet on dirt. He kept looking behind him, seeing the light grow smaller and smaller before they rounded a turn and it disappeared.
It was horrifying. If he died in here
He didnt even want to think about it.
Brock was brave, too. If he was afraid, he didnt show it. His eyes remained glued ahead, squinting to pierce the darkness as he led them through turns and twists, heading ever downward. When crossroads appeared, he chose the steepest path down. The exit would be at the bottom of the anthill.
I wonder how many people fail here, Jack thought. Come to think of it, everyone I saw with Trial Planet titles had made it past the third ring. Is this second ring really so easy?
Or is it just so deadly that people dont have time to escape?
It was a sobering realization. Gan Salin had mentioned that Trial Planet hid dangersbut hed never mentioned a survival rate, had he?
Jack gulped.
The darkness grew heavier as they walked. The ants were more numerous. Jack spotted smaller tunnels branching off from the main ones, but Brock wisely chose not to follow any of them.
It occurred to Jack that his life was in Brocks hands. He felt proud.
They briefly stepped into a large room. Jack felt the air open up around them, but he couldnt see well enough to distinguish where exactly they were. Brock paused for a moment, then turned left and entered another tunnel heading even lower. As Jack followed, he caught a glimpse of dark, oblong shapes stuck to the walls, with ants tending to them.
The brood.
By now, the ants were so numerous that Brock couldnt give them a wide margin. One of them came too close. It stopped and stared at Brock, wiggling its antennas. This was how ants recognized each other. They smelled each others antennas to detect the colonys specific pheromone.
Brocks antennas had it, since hed taken them from ants of this colony, but it was weakened. They also had the death pheromone that was released when an ant died. However, Brock was clearly alive. The ant would hopefully be more confused than wary.
Brock lowered his head, touching his antennas to the ants. They stayed there for a second. Jack held his breath.
Then, the ant went on its way. So did they.
Soon after, the tunnel opened up into a chamber again. Jack still couldnt make out the far walls, but Brock paused for longer this time. He paced to a corner. Jack followed.
It was tough to make out Brock in the darkness, but he mimed some things. Jack frowned in contemplation. The exit is here? he whispered as low as he could. He barely heard himself, but it was enough.
Yes.
And let me guess. So is the queen.
Yes.
Jack nodded. This was within expectations. At least, they had confirmed that the exit to the next ring really was herethough Jack couldnt help but wonder how Brock knew.
Now that they stood still, Jack could tell there were many ants in this room. He could see patches of slightly deeper darkness move in the distance. The soft tapping of feet against dirt came from all around, echoing on the walls. Mandibles chittered calmly.
And the sound of ripping was dominant.
Something was tearing into something else. Jack assumed it was the queen feasting.
There were also oblong shapes stuck to the walls. A couple were close to their current corner, so Jack could make out that they really were ant brood. Transparent, pulsing sacks containing killers. They sent a chill down his spine.
Okay, Jack whispered again. Lets head to the exit?
However, Brock wasnt done miming. There was something else he wanted to say, but Jack couldnt understand it.
Bro! Brock whispered in exasperation. He then mimed for Jack to follow.
They stuck to the walls, passing right by the brood sacks. Jack felt the urge to reach out and break them, but held himself still. As they advanced through the chamberwhich was larger than he expectedhe began to make out a large shape lumbering in the darkness. He had seen a queen outside the colony, when the conqueror ants attacked some other ants, but this one was larger still. It was far bigger than the other ants, reaching at about Jacks height, and its mouth moved a lot. That must have been the source of the ripping sounds.
He was glad he couldnt see the details.
They circled far around the queen, eventually coming to a stop near an oddly flat section of the walls. Jack touched it. It was stone, and though its surface was slightly uneven, it was too flat to be natural.
It was a door.
Jack felt excitement flood him. They had made it! Nothing had detected them! The plan had worked!
So why was Brock still hesitating? What was he trying to say?
The brorilla touched Jacks shoulder and pulled lightly. They kept walking past the door. They circled around the walls until they began approaching the queen. Brock didnt stop. They were close now. Her shape was clear in Jacks eyes through the darkness. She was stuck against a wall, leaning her behind against it. They came very close.
Jack wondered if Brock was too brave.
Finally, they stopped. They were so close to the queen that Jack could touch her if he took another two steps. Thankfully, she was too preoccupied eating to notice them.
He didnt dare ask Brock what was happening. However, the brorilla pointed down. Jack followed his finger.
Something stuck out in the darkness. He couldnt see it clearly. Brock held Jacks hand and pushed it against the thing, letting him feel cloth. The shape suddenly registered in Jacks eyes.
A corpse! he realized. The head was missing, but the rest was still there. The ants got someone But why did Brock come here? Does he want to loot it? I guess it has a credit card, probably, but
Before he could think further, Brock took another short step towards the queen and pointed somewhere under her. Jack cursedinwardlybefore even looking.
Something was on the ground next to the queen, partially buried under her foot. It was long enough that Jack could feel its tip without approaching within three feet of the queen.
The item was surprisingly warm to the touch. It also felt hard, like stone, and it must have been engraved with something because Jack felt slight grooves under his fingers. He felt tempted to touch down its sides, but he didnt dare go further. If he moved it even a bit, the queen might notice. It was under her leg, after all.
Is that a staff? Jack wondered. Its shapelong, straight, and somewhat thinmatched. Come on, Brock If you want a weapon, well find you one. We dont have to take the one that is right under an ant queen.
Brock didnt move. His intention was clear now. He waited for his big bro to decide.
Jack mulled it over. He couldnt understand Brocks obsession with this particular staff, but there had to be a reason. He trusted his little bro. Maybe there was something Jack couldnt see yet.
We could take it and run to the door, he thought. Get past it and shut it in their face, or use it as a choke point to hold them back. Or just run. Were faster than F-Grade ants.
Getting surrounded inside the colony was dangerous, but they had an easy way out right behind them. How badly could it go?
Jack looked at Brock. He nodded. The brorilla gave a slow nod back.
Jack grabbed his unlit torch and passed it to Brock. He then raised three fingers. He took them down one by one, grabbed the edge of the staff, and yanked it out.
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