Hunter of Mysterious Creature

Chapter 863 - 101: Flesh-Eating Ants’ Territory

"I’m afraid it’s not enough." A Hunter shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "Although I haven’t been here myself, I’ve heard from a survivor who dealt with carnivore ants that these transformed creepy bugs are much more fire-resistant. Your makeshift flamethrower is sufficient for ordinary ants, but to deal with carnivore ants, you’ll probably need incendiaries like napalm or white phosphorus."

"After all this talk, has anyone among you really seen carnivore ants?" A female Hunter with purple hair frowned and patted the car door, making a clang clang sound, "Why does everyone act like they are experts in dealing with carnivore ants?"

The group looked at each other, then shook their heads: "No... we’ve only heard others talk about it."

"I saw the report released by the Dragon City Hunter Management Department. I wonder if the description of carnivore ants in there is detailed?" Another Hunter mumbled.

"Detailed my ass! You think those management departments will be so kind as to provide you with intel? Unless you’re a Hunter working for them, like us Free Hunters, if you want the most detailed information, you’ll have to pay for it!" A bare-chested Hunter, his skin dotted with mineral crystals, scoffed, "I haven’t seen the carnivore ants research report, but I paid someone for another creepy creature’s research report before. Guess how much it differs from the publicly released free information?"

"How much?" The Hunter who had just mumbled asked.

"The free information was only two pages, but the paid intel was a whole folder of over 120 documents, detailing everything from whether the creature fears acid or alkali to which parts are edible!" The bare-chested male Hunter sneered.

"Edible?" A mercenary was stunned for a moment, "What are they researching for?"

"When supplies run out, the remnants of creepy creatures count as provisions." The bare-chested male Hunter coldly glanced at the somewhat naive young mercenary, "As for how they got this experimental data... anyway, those guys in lab coats definitely aren’t testing it themselves, so the answer is obvious. You don’t think these research institutions would freely release human experimental data to the public, do you?"

"All that damn theoretical talk!" The purple-haired female Hunter said impatiently, "With so many people in the convoy, has anyone actually been to this place?"

"There’s something I’m not sure I should say," the seasoned Hunter who first suggested using a flamethrower sighed, "I’m afraid it might ruin the morale a bit."

"We’re already in this deep, what morale could there be?" The bare-chested male Hunter immediately said, "Whatever you know, just say it... better than getting everyone blindly driving into a trap."

"I just contacted a friend who’s had a run-in with carnivore ants, asking him how to deal with them... His first words were, ’Are you crazy?’..." The seasoned Hunter continued, "He told me that if he were in the convoy, he’d rather wait for Giant Hill to calm down than choose to detour through the carnivore ant’s territory."

"Did he say how to deal with carnivore ants?"

The seasoned Hunter shook his head: "He said at the time he just blindly charged forward with closed eyes, flooring the accelerator non-stop, leaving life or death up to fate... At the time there were seventeen of them, only two survived the charge, and one lost two legs and an arm, his luck was better, only had an ear and half a hand bitten off by carnivore ants... Apart from that, he lost a layer of skin on his face and hands... To clear the carnivore ants crawling on him, he sprayed himself with a strong acid spray a few times..."

"Strong acid spray can kill carnivore ants?" A mercenary said delightedly, "I happen to have two cans here!"

"Save it, that thing is for cleaning up after you’re out of carnivore ant territory." The bare-chested male Hunter waved his hand, "To use that thing, you first need to charge out alive... during the escape, where do you intend to spray the strong acid? Directly spray the ant swarms emerging from underground, or spray the carnivore ants crawling on the vehicle? You’re not dissatisfied with the speed at which carnivore ants tear through metal car shells, so you’re using the strong acid to help speed it up? That thing isn’t even as useful as a plastic water bottle filled with gasoline..."

Just as the group was embroiled in endless debate, with some faint inclinations of giving up, Nagano Souta’s disguised voice line rang out in the communication channel: "Perhaps I can lead the way?"

"White Tiger’s driver?" The group immediately focused their gaze on White Tiger, "Does White Tiger Mecha have any means to deal with carnivore ants?"

"I can activate the energy shield upfront and directly burn away the carnivore ants that approach. As long as your vehicles closely follow the path I burn through, don’t fall behind, we should have a significant chance to charge out of carnivore ant territory." Nagano Souta said.

"Boss... are you sure?" The accountant sitting inside the heavy trailer couldn’t help but frown, "Although replacing energy blocks is much more convenient than refilling propulsion agent, we don’t have much stock left... The carnivore ant territory is more than twenty kilometers deep; keeping the energy shield on for the entire route... would use up at least a quarter of the energy blocks."

"Where do you think the energy blocks should be used? In combat?" Nagano Souta’s rhetorical question immediately silenced the accountant.

The reason they chose to take the risk and detour through the carnivore ant territory was that they didn’t want to fight with those awakened giants.

If they could avoid combat, paying some costs that would have been incurred during battle anyway, wouldn’t be unreasonable.

"I still feel... we don’t have to rush into this." The accountant muttered in a voice only he could hear.

"I think this plan works." The purple-haired female Hunter nodded, "But let’s be clear; if any vehicle falls behind or accidentally gets caught by carnivore ants, I won’t be going in for rescue."

"Whether it’s life or death, it’s all up to each one’s skills and luck." The group nodded, each returning to their vehicles.

White Tiger moved from the trailer to the front of the convoy.

Nagano Souta adjusted the mobility mode to cruise control—though with the thruster at full power, White Tiger could quickly traverse the carnivore ant territory, but these vehicles behind certainly wouldn’t be able to keep up.

"I will pave the way at a speed of 140 kilometers per hour. If someone doesn’t have the confidence to keep up with this speed, I suggest turning back to Yumen now or waiting for Giant Hill to calm down." Nagano Souta said, "I’ll give you a minute to consider."

Three vehicles immediately turned around and headed back the way they came, and after half a minute, two more vehicles quietly left the convoy.