Chapter 1564: Vicious
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Brother Wolf and Firecracker lifted up the miner who was still not fully able to stand on his own legs and followed behind Li Du.
Li Du cautioned, “Careful, keep an eye out for these ants and make sure you stay away from them.”
Young Markelov asked, “Boss, what kind of ants are these? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Li Du shook his head. “I’m not sure, but they don’t look like the kind you should be playing around with.”
Li Du did not know what kind of ants these were but he was certain that they should stay away from them because these were the ants he saw when he turned back time on the tools in the mining hole. Back then, he did not pay close attention to those ants and what the deal with them was. However, now that they had appeared — and poisoned a worker with just one bite, no less — it dragged that memory to the surface and made him think that they could have possibly been what scared the people away from the mining hole.
Now that the group was gathered, he signaled for the men to roll up their pants. Some of the miners had taken their socks off in preparation for bed, but Li Du made them wear their socks because the miner who was bitten earlier had been barefoot.
They did not see any more of those ants after they were huddled together. Li Du wanted to understand the situation better, so he called for Brother Wolf and a few other people to cautiously scan out the area to try to figure out where the ants were coming from and how many there were.
The bodyguards split into teams and set off. After a search, Madman whistled and said, “There’s a whole bunch of them here. Be careful, guys!”
Li Du shone the beam of his flashlight around the area when he rushed over and saw a row of ants crawling on the ground. The ants were making their way towards something; not too far ahead were the pieces of the bronze stove and pot that Li Du had left behind. The stove and pot were basically broken beyond recognition. The ants crawled onto the pieces and a layer was quickly formed; more ants were crawling there yet, like a never-ending stream.
Da Mao sucked in his breath, watching as the ants crawled on and formed several layers. “F*ck, I’ve always been afraid of insects. I can’t do this. You guys have fun.”
“What ants are these? Does anyone know?”
Brother Wolf turned his flashlight onto the ants and said, “These look to be some type of army ants, but I can’t tell specifically what kind. I’ve never seen this species before.”
The other men shook their heads too. “Never seen something like that before.””Don’t know what you’re talking about, where did they come from?””Is it an undiscovered species?”
Ah Bai, Ah Meow, and Ah Ow were extremely fearful of these ants, and only Ah Meng was still fearless in the face of them. Seeing so many ants gathered in one area made it want to get closer and find out if they were edible. This scared Li Du, who hurriedly tucked Ah Meng into his backpack. “Don’t you stir up trouble now!”
The bodyguards combed the area meticulously and discovered that the ants were coming from several different places, but all of them were headed for the bronze stove and pot. They were not just crawling about mindlessly. To be safe, Li Du had the men pack up their stuff and leave the mountain for now. They could come back the next morning to puzzle things out.
The other people were uncertain about this, but Li Du had an excuse prepared. “I’m not scared of the ants, but my pets are. My pets have an uncanny sixth sense, so they must have realized something that made them this scared.
“Also, this man lost feeling in both his legs after being bitten by just one ant, so you can more or less guess how venomous they are. Are you still unafraid?”
He found several bottles of mineral water and had Brother Wolf catch some ants for further inspection. After the man cautiously plucked a few of them up and had them trapped in the bottle, thee trapped ants became aggressive and bit a hole in the tough plastic. It was not just that — the ants were very orderly when they were attacking. They were not biting randomly all at once; only one or two ants were looking for an area to tear through and after they did, they backed off for other ants to take over. The men were shocked by the discipline and order exhibited by the ants; this sort of cooperation was not something they had expected out of mere insects.
“Just what kind of ants are these? Aren’t they kind of impressive?” Da Mao could not help but call out.
Brother Wolf went off to find a gla.s.s bottle and said, “I refuse to believe they’ll be able to bite through gla.s.s!”
He caught about ten of the large ants and trapped them in the bottle. Then, the crew packed up and descended from the mountain under the cover of the darkness.
Li Du already knew that all of this was the work of Maung Kyaw Zin, but was not sure exactly what was going on. From the species of the ants to the mayor’s motive, to the origins and material of the bronze stove and pot, Li Du did not have the faintest idea of what was happening.
When he reached the base of the mountain, he headed straight for Maung Kyaw Zin. The mayor was the only one who could have answers for him. At this time, it was not that late yet, but there was no nightlife in the town so the majority of the doors were already shut.
Li Du raised his hand to knock on the mayor’s door. His wife opened. The two of them exchanged greetings before Li Du asked, “Is the mayor asleep yet?”
Maung Kyaw Zin’s wife shook her head and said, “No, but he’s in a daze. I can’t guarantee he’ll see you.”
Li Du responded, “He’ll meet me, just bring me to him, please.”
Li Du followed her into the building, crossing the backyard before they finally stopped in front of the house. The mayor’s wife knocked a few times on the door and Maung Kyaw Zin bellowed from where he was inside, “I told you not to disturb me!”
His wife looked indignant and was about to defend herself, but Li Du spoke before she could, “Mayor, it’s me who’s looking for you.”
Silence fell over the house. After some time, Maung Kyaw Zin spoke again. “I’m sorry, Boss Li, I’m not feeling too well. I don’t want to see anybody tonight.”
Li Du said, “I think you’ll want to see me. My men and I stumbled upon some rather strange ants when we were up on the mountain. They were large and none of us knew specifically what kind of ants they were. They seemed to be an undiscovered species.”
The moment Li Du finished speaking, the door to the house opened fully. Now that he was looking at Maung Kyaw Zin again, he was shocked. The mayor who had been vigorous and enthusiastic in the evening seemed like a completely different person now, just a few hours later. Now, the man’s hair was in a mess, his eyes were bloodshot, and his skin seemed lackl.u.s.ter. It was as if he had suffered a huge setback.
Li Du asked in concern, “What happened, mayor?”
Maung Kyaw Zin did not respond to Li Du’s question, opting to ask his own urgently. “Where are the ants you mentioned?”
Li Du held up the bottle and said, “I have a few in here. Would you like to take a look?”
Maung Kyaw Zin shook his head vigorously and shouted, “Take those back immediately, hurry and take them back to the mountain! Don’t bring them down here, they’re extremely vicious insects!”
Li Du put on a perplexed look. “Fishes? No, these are ants.”
Maung Kyaw Zin stomped his foot indignantly. “I really don’t have the time to jest with you like this, Boss Li. Hurry and take the ants back up the mountain!”
Li Du responded, “I’m serious, I’m not trying to joke or anything. You seem to be familiar with them, though. Fishes insects? Is that what they’re called?”
“Vicious! V-I-C-I-O-U-S!” Maung Kyaw Zin exclaimed in exasperation. “This species of ants is particularly vicious. Don’t you dare to bring them here!”
Li Du then said, “But I went through all that trouble to bring them here. Do you know what the deal with these ants is? If so, we should have a chat. One of my men told me that something was up with you. So, mayor, what’s going on?”