Natural Disasters Strikes: I stockpiled like crazy!-Chapter 193: Subterranean Tunnels

In front of one of the many entrances to the ants' subterranean tunnels.

"I brought 75% of our forces—21 awakeners and 45 non-awakeners."

"Split up. Any group that finds the lair first will receive rewards—food, weapons, and the 'medicine.'"

"Send a message via satellite phone the moment you find it."

"Yes, Boss!"

Inside the tunnels.

Nanzhi held the small glass vial between her fingers, the flashlight's beam made the last amber drop inside shimmer.

After killing Big Fang, she looted his corpse for anything useful—and stumbled upon this.

Tilting the vial slightly, she watched the viscous liquid cling sluggishly to the glass before settling at the bottom.

Nanzhi thought of Big Fang's abnormal physique. She assumed it was due to his awakening power. But her instincts told her otherwise.

She brought the vial closer and took a soft inhale. The scent carried the familiar tang of alien beast ant blood, mixed with a faint metallic decay.

Her gaze flickered to Big Fang's corpse.

How could he have had the courage to drink something like this?

Huh?

To her bafflement, his body was already decaying—unnaturally fast. His skin had taken on a grayish, brittle texture, like something had hollowed him out from the inside.

She rubbed her chin before activating her appraisal skill.

Ding—

[A Drop of Power Boost Serum (Incomplete)]

[Temporarily enhances abilities by 100% for 10 minutes.]

[Side Effects: Unstable formula detected. Possible risks include: severe energy depletion, temporary muscle paralysis, increased aggression, and long-term energy contamination.]

Her eyes narrowed.

A serum?

A 100% power boost?

Incomplete?

With severe side effects?

She reread the prompt, growing increasingly suspicious.

Someone else is making serums?

Could there be another player behind Big Fang?

Nanzhi recalled what Lao Gong once said about the Nether Bone Gang's leader—Mingsi. A cunning man with abilities.

She couldn't eliminate the possibility.

Big Fang's confession had been suspicious too.

"Hah… Stop! Stop! Argh! I'll talk! I'll talk! Argh!"

"Apart from the ants, this city had another alien beast nest. Those creatures lost the fight. It was my boss! He was the one who gave the order! We were just following orders, intercepting a group of ants transporting an egg back to their nest!"

"The boss promised us food, weapons, supplies—and even a way to awaken and improve our powers—if we managed to get the egg."

"I don't know what kind of creature is inside. We never dared venture too far from our territory… there are too many alien beasts."

"Your boss must be no weaker than you. If this mission was so important, why didn't he come himself?"

"I don't know! But our boss is always elusive. He disappears for days at a time. The only one close to him is that rat-faced Gun! Hah… Spare me! I already told you everyth—AHHH!"

His name was Mingsi, huh?

Nanzhi's gaze darkened.

It looked like she needed to pay the Nether Bone Gang's hideout a visit soon.

She carefully stored the vial in her inventory space.

"I need to find out where this came from… and if a player is behind it."

But first, she needed to find the others.

With one last glance at Big Fang's decaying corpse, she turned to the three tunnel mouths ahead. A quick scan of her mental exploration revealed incoming ants in the first and third passages.

As much as she wanted the EXP, alerting the ant queen would put everyone in danger.

She turned on her heel and vanished into the middle tunnel.

Five minutes later. More than a dozen lesser mutant ants, led by two soldier ants, arrived at the spot where Nanzhi had been. They were investigating the explosion.

Upon spotting Big Fang's corpse, one of the ants dragged Big Fang's remains. It followed the pheromone trail to the food storage chamber.

Suddenly, a white spike—dagger-length—shot out, piercing one of the lesser ants' abdomens.

The ant screeched, its exoskeleton cracking upon impact. It dropped Big Fang's remains, its mandibles clicking frantically in distress.

From a side passage, seven men emerged. Each bore a skull tattoo on their exposed wrists.

Leading them was a man in his late twenties.

He stood with lazy confidence, his frame slightly thin yet deceptively strong, muscles wiry beneath his fitted combat gear. His sharp cheekbones and angular jawline gave him a fox-like cunning, an impression only heightened by the perpetual smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

His beady eyes gleamed with cold amusement.

Everything around him seemed beneath him.

The man sneered at the struggling ant before striking it with another spike attack. The ant let out a final shriek before collapsing in death.

"As expected of our Boss!"

The men behind him clapped in admiration.

"Shut up."

"Sorry, Boss! Sorry, Boss!"

The man ignored them and walked toward the corpse.

One glance—and his smile faded.

Big Fang's face was barely recognizable. Swollen and distorted, his features were brutalized beyond recognition.

Deep bruises darkened his face with a mottled mix of purples, blacks, and sickly yellows. His jaw was broken, cheeks sunken.

One eye socket had caved in. His nose—twisted at an unnatural angle—was caked with dried blood. More blood pooled at the crevice of his mouth.

But the most disturbing thing?

Even in death, his expression was frozen in an eerie mix of agony and emptiness.

"Gasp! Isn't that Big Fang? How did he end up here?"

"Eh? What happened to him? Why isn't he moving? Wait—don't tell me he's dead?!"

"Who did this?!"

The man's smirk faded completely.

Big Fang had his serum. Even a soldier ant shouldn't have been able to kill him.

Could there be a stronger ant warrior lurking in the tunnels?

His crimson pupils contracted, snake-like.

…No.

His instincts told him otherwise.

What could it be?

His mind swirled with questions. But unlike his past, weaker self—he wasn't afraid.

His hand curled around the obsidian stone hanging from his neck.

Memories surfaced.

He clenched his fist.

I won't let anyone trample me again.

Ten minutes later.

A commotion echoed from up ahead.

"Hei Qian! I see light! Let's run ahead!"

The man turned toward the tunnel entrance—

Two people in camouflage uniforms emerged from the darkness.

Huh?

Bingwen and Hei Qian stopped in their tracks—

Their eyes locked onto the approaching group.

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