“You…”
This was the most beautiful and regal ant Qin Sang had ever seen.
First of all, the ant was entirely golden—even its eyes were gold. Its golden pupils occasionally flickered with light, giving an immediate impression of cleverness.
Secondly, the ant was quite handsome. Its carapace even reflected light under the sun, with none of the ferociousness typical of other ants.
Thirdly, the ant was currently tilting its head and looking at her.
Even though Qin Sang considered herself a seasoned bug-killer, faced with such a cute and beautiful mutated ant, she couldn’t help but soften her tone.
“Little one, you can understand me, right?”
The mutated ant nodded, its two antennae twitching along with the motion—adorable.
Suppressing the fuzzy fondness rising in her heart, Qin Sang continued, “Are you willing to come with me?”
She had a feeling that coming to this world had been for the sole purpose of taking this golden ant away.
“Okay~”
A crisp, childlike voice suddenly echoed in her mind. Unlike Little Seed’s soft, milky tone, this one carried a subtle sharpness beneath its clarity.
Qin Sang was about to say more when she suddenly sensed a large group of people approaching from the distance. So, she released her parents from the space first, then called out to Grandpa Goose, who had been watching from the side, to go back in.
“Fine, fine.” Grandpa Goose’s two black bean-like eyes swept over the little golden ant. Qin Sang felt the little creature tremble slightly—then it waved its tiny fists at Grandpa Goose in defiance, as if to say, I’m not scared.
How adorable!
As soon as Qin’s parents emerged from the space and saw this, they couldn’t help but laugh.
“Stop laughing. This little one is coming into the space with me.”
Hearing this, the little golden ant suddenly opened its sharp mouthparts and bit down on the hand that was holding it.
The sting came quickly. Qin Sang instinctively wanted to fling the ant away—but then she felt herself and the little creature bound by some mysterious force. The sensation was similar to when the golden ant had absorbed all that energy crystal power earlier.
Something on the ground flashed briefly, and then the little golden ant and Grandpa Goose vanished into the space together.
Qin Sang: …
Why had the little golden ant bitten her? And where had the wound gone?
Also, she hadn’t consciously opened the space—so how did they both get in? And what had that thing on the ground been?
Qin’s parents stood nearby, eyes wide. They were about to speak when they heard the sound of running feet approaching.
They quickly composed their expressions.
Qin Sang immediately swept the area with her mental perception. Seeing that the place had reverted to barren loess—no energy crystals, not even a trace of residue—she breathed a sigh of relief. Farther away, the powerful mutated insects she’d encountered earlier had also vanished without a trace.
And running toward them were a large number of humans in terrible condition.
—
“What just happened here?”
“Where’s the treasure? Where is it? The golden light definitely came from here!”
“You three—yes, you three were here first. Did you take the treasure?”
This group, judging by their attire, were the missing villagers from the mountain. From afar, they spotted the Qin family and started shouting that they’d stolen the treasure.
Qin Sang: …
Setting aside whether or not there was a treasure—they’d arrived first, so any good fortune belonged to them. How did these people have the nerve to stand there and whine?
“There is no treasure.” Qin Sang coldly dropped those words, then called to her parents, preparing to walk through the area one more time.
After the little golden ant had bitten her, Qin Sang suddenly knew how to leave this independent loess world.
As for everything else? Feeling the strange new knowledge that had appeared in her mind, Qin Sang worked hard to keep her expression neutral.
All of that would have to wait until they got out.
Meanwhile, inside the space, Grandpa Goose was flapping his wings and smacking the little golden ant’s golden head repeatedly. The little creature wanted to fight back, but it couldn’t break free.
“Stay still. Your kind—the Golden Ants—are nothing but food in my presence. Now tell me: who told you to form that contract with the girl just now?”
Qin Sang had no idea what the two of them were saying. From her perspective, she couldn’t hear a word of the exchange between Grandpa Goose and the little golden ant—she only knew that Grandpa Goose was teaching the little fellow a lesson.
But she wasn’t particularly curious anymore. After that strange new knowledge had appeared in her mind, she vaguely guessed at some things. She’d wait until they got out and then confront Grandpa Goose directly.
—
“Hey, hey, hey—don’t you walk away! You took the treasure and now you’re trying to slip off without a word. Think we’re pushovers, do you? Treasure belongs to the capable. There are so many of us and only three of you. Do I really need to spell out how this should go?”
The speaker was a burly man with a sleazy look about him. Among the villagers following him, some agreed, while others didn’t—but those who disagreed just stood by with an air of indifference.
Qin Sang hadn’t expected to run into such brainless people even in a place like this.
Sure enough, sometimes life was more dramatic than fiction.
She couldn’t be bothered wasting words on this lowlife. Without a word, she took three quick steps, launched herself forward, and kicked the sleazy burly man so hard he flew backward five meters and crashed to the ground.
Then she stared at the other villagers, who had all recoiled in fear. “Any more questions?”
They all shook their heads frantically.
Qin Sang was about to turn and continue looking for the exit when she heard the sound of something cutting through the air behind her. This time, she didn’t hold back. She jumped straight up, dodging the incoming bullet, and at the same time pulled a small stone from her space and hurled it at the man who was still grinning viciously.
“Thump.”
It struck him right between the eyes. The burly man collapsed, his face frozen in utter disbelief.
Immediately followed a chorus of wailing. Qin Sang could tell at a glance these were the dead man’s family members. They clutched his body, howling and screeching, glaring at her with eyes full of hatred.
Qin Sang raised an eyebrow. If these people lunged at her, would she have to go on a killing spree? Today, she’d gained the little golden ant and learned some new things—she was in a good mood. She really didn’t want these people to ruin it.
Just then, several more groups arrived.
Spotting village cadres among the newcomers, the family immediately rushed over, shouting for the cadres to seek justice.
“Party Secretary, this woman killed my son! Arrest her right now!”
“Administration Bureau? You’re leaders from the Administration Bureau, right? Arrest that woman—she murdered my husband!”
Qin Sang rolled her eyes at being pointed at and walked straight toward the newly arrived groups.
The others quickly moved aside, afraid of provoking her.
Qin Sang was even more exasperated. They were the ones who’d used a gun first—she’d only acted in self-defense.
“Captain Qin…” Qin Sang walked straight up to the person she knew best.
Captain Qin knew Qin Sang’s character well and didn’t listen to the accusations. Instead, he asked her directly what had really happened.
The other Administration Bureau personnel who’d come with him also looked at Qin Sang. They trusted Captain Qin, so they wanted to hear her side of the story.
Qin Sang didn’t embellish or exaggerate. She calmly and plainly recounted everything that had just happened. When she finished, she turned to Captain Qin and spread her hands. “So tell me—if I hadn’t fought back, wouldn’t I be the one dead?”
“You dodged the bullet—so why did you still have to kill my son?!”
Qin Sang looked at the middle-aged woman wailing loudly, then flashed her a provocative smile.
Turning back to Captain Qin, she began talking about the golden light.
Captain Qin and the others had all rushed over after seeing that pillar of golden light shooting into the sky.
Now that Qin Sang was about to talk about the golden light, they all focused on her. As for the burly man’s death, they’d already stopped caring. In this apocalypse, if you didn’t have the strength but still dared to use lethal force, you had to be prepared to pay with your life.
“When the golden light appeared, our family happened to be nearby. We hurried over as fast as we could, but by the time we got here, the light had already faded.”
At this, everyone’s faces fell with disappointment.
But Qin Sang immediately added a “however” that made everyone’s hearts leap again.
“However, just as the golden light was fading away, I vaguely saw what looked like a stone doorway inside it.”
At the word “doorway,” the crowd erupted.
Heavens knew how they’d survived all these days in this place. Their limited supplies from their spaces were long gone, and they’d had to fight mutated insects tooth and nail. But the insects here were numerous and terrifyingly strong. Almost everyone was injured, and many had died.
Now that there was hope of getting out, how could they not be overjoyed?
“The doorway? Where is it?”
“Where’s the doorway?”
“Where’s the doorway?”
Countless questions buzzed in the air like a swarm of flies. Qin Sang simply spread her hands. “I’ve been looking for it, haven’t I? But then these people saw me and started yelling that I’d stolen their treasure.”
She pointed at the first group that had arrived, her expression one of pure helplessness.
Some of those she pointed at turned away, while others wore looks of utter shamelessness—like a dead pig that didn’t fear boiling water. A few even called Qin Sang a liar, insisting they’d seen no doorway when they arrived.
Qin Sang turned to Captain Qin. “I believe that doorway is still here, so I’m going to keep looking. There must be some condition that makes it appear.”
The officials present gathered together to discuss the matter. Then someone called Qin Sang over for more detailed questioning, and they also spoke with Qin’s parents. Finding their accounts consistent, they decided to split all survivors into search parties and have them comb the area for anything that might be a doorway.
The Qin family of three naturally stuck together.
With people all around, the three didn’t discuss anything sensitive—they only talked about ordinary things, like what they wanted to eat once they got home.
The villagers who’d been watching them, hearing such mundane chatter, gradually lost interest.
Qin Sang noticed this and her eyes darkened slightly. These people were still fixated on the idea that she’d taken some treasure—even with their stomachs growling from hunger. They just hadn’t been hungry enough yet.
If the exit weren’t appearing today, she wouldn’t have said anything at all. There was no telling when the next chance to find an exit would come.
The exit had only appeared because all the energy crystals here had been fully absorbed. The additional knowledge that had appeared in her mind told Qin Sang that the exit would only open once. Even if she hadn’t told anyone, later—as the sun went down—the exit would have opened on its own, and everyone would have found out anyway.
By revealing the exit’s existence, she’d made these people spend the entire day searching under the blazing sun.
Consider it a little exercise for them.
By sunset, after a whole day of searching, no one had found anything. Many grumbled in frustration, and some even accused Qin Sang of making it all up.
Qin Sang raised her voice. “If I were lying, would I have spent the whole day searching along with my family?”
She wasn’t wrong—she always committed to the act. Besides, their family had eaten well. Walking around outside, absorbing the abundant energy of this loess land while getting some exercise—what was wrong with that?
Her retort left the gossips with no ammunition against her.
But Qin Sang wasn’t focused on them anyway.
Because as the last ray of light vanished and night fell, the stone doorway suddenly appeared—right where the little golden ant’s egg had been.
Yes, the exit had been sealed by the golden ant’s egg. Now that it was open, they could take the chance to leave. The doorway would only remain for ten minutes.
After those ten minutes, the laws of this place would mend the exit.
In other words, if they didn’t leave within those ten minutes, they’d have to find another way out later.
“Let’s go—”
Calling out to her parents, Qin Sang ignored whatever everyone else was thinking and charged straight through the towering stone doorway.
“We’re out…”
The moment her feet touched solid ground, voices of relief echoed all around her.
She looked up and found their family standing at the foot of the mountain. Behind them was a stone doorway identical to the one in the loess world.
The stone door was carved with many incomprehensible patterns. Someone reached out to touch it, only to find it was just a projection—their hand passed right through.
“What’s inside?”
As soon as Qin Sang and her family emerged, they were immediately surrounded by people.
These people were all wearing Administration Bureau uniforms. Qin Sang didn’t hide anything, giving them a brief account of the situation inside the loess world.
After hearing her story, some tried to step through the stone doorway. Just then, many more people came rushing out from inside. Chaos erupted on the scene.
Qin Sang didn’t concern herself with any of that. She led her parents toward where their car was parked nearby.
Just then, she heard a familiar voice: “You’re finally out.”
Qin Sang turned toward the voice and didn’t quite know what to say for a moment.
Qin’s mother gasped. “Dalinzi, you…”
Qin’s father hurried over. “Kid, what happened to you?”
Xu Lin, who normally paid close attention to his appearance, now had long hair, a scruffy beard, deep dark circles under his eyes, and looked noticeably thinner.
“It’s only been a few days—how did you end up like this?” Qin Sang’s tone carried a hint of disdain, but her hands faithfully pulled out two energy cores from her space.
Seeing the energy-rich cores, Xu Lin opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, all he managed was: “I’m glad you’re back.”
Qin Sang tilted her head, a little puzzled. But her attention was mostly drawn to the stone doorway. She only told Xu Lin to rest, that they were back, and then fixed her gaze on the stone door as it began to flicker—about to vanish at any moment.
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