Free Web NovelChapter 197: Hijacked Groove
"Don’t shoot!" Arthur shouted while drawing his combat knife. "Some aberrants in this forest are extremely sensitive to sound! Use blades instead!"
The three of them immediately split up.
"And don’t stab their stomachs!" Arthur added, barely dodging a pair of massive mandibles. "The liquid inside evaporates the moment it’s exposed, and the smell will attract every nearby ants!"
"Goddamn it!" Otis cursed as he slung his rifle behind his back and pulled out his combat knife. "There are way too many rules in this place!"
Jace silently did the same, gripping his blade without wasting another second.
Ten giant leafcutter ants rushed toward them. Six broke away and charged Arthur and Otis, while the remaining four surrounded Jace from different directions.
Arthur was the slowest member of the team, while Otis had a habit of rushing ahead without thinking. If those two got cornered, things would turn ugly almost immediately.
That meant everything depended on Jace. He had to kill his opponents as quickly as possible while avoiding injuries and making sure none of the ants’ bodily fluids splashed onto him.
In a forest crawling with parasites, even a single drop could become an invitation to something far worse than death.
Jace held the combat knife in a reverse grip and watched the four giant ants spread apart, instinctively trying to surround him.
Their movements were fast, each step producing a faint clicking sound as their sharp legs dug into the damp soil, but none of it changed his expression. He has seen worse. freewёbnoνel.com
The first ant reached him in a blink. He leaned sideways just enough for its mandibles to miss his shoulder before his knife slid into the narrow gap beneath its head. The blade twisted once and the giant body instantly lost its strength. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Jace grabbed one of its legs and lowered it to the ground instead of letting it collapse, making sure the swollen abdomen remained intact.
The remaining three attacked together. Jace stepped forward rather than retreating, slipping through the small opening between them.
His knife cut through the front legs of the closest ant, forcing it to lose balance before he calmly stabbed upward into its neck.
The third ant jumped from above, aiming to pin him beneath its weight.
He raised his free arm, redirected the impact with his shoulder, and used the momentum to spin. The blade passed through the joint beneath its jaw, separating the head cleanly as the corpse rolled across the moss.
Only one remained. It hesitated for the briefest moment.
It was the perfect time to move. One silent step closed the distance, and the knife pierced straight through the weak point hidden beneath its shell.
The ant stiffened before collapsing motionlessly, leaving four intact corpses scattered across the forest floor without spilling a single drop of green liquid.
While Arthur moved to the left side, separating himself from Otis, he headed straight toward the area where the serpent lianas gathered the most.
He didn’t even bother drawing his knife. Instead, he wrapped both hands around a nearby tree trunk and pushed with all his strength until it slowly tilted before crashing into another tree.
The impact echoed through the Groove. The serpent lianas immediately shrieked and came alive, their long bodies twisting like dozens of giant snakes disturbed from their sleep.
They ignored Arthur completely. Every vine shot toward the giant ants instead, wrapping around their bodies and tightening until the creatures hissed in protest.
The remaining ants fought back with their massive mandibles, tearing apart several lianas, but more of them descended from the canopy and joined the hunt, strangling every ant they could reach.
Arthur quietly stepped backward, hoping to leave while both sides were distracted.
Unfortunately, one serpent liana noticed him. Its head slowly descended from the branches until it stopped only a few centimeters from his face, swaying gently as if deciding whether he was prey or not.
Arthur held his breath. If he killed it, the serpent liana right in front of him would know exactly where he was and start to attack him.
Then, without warning, the creature froze. Not only that one, but every serpent liana suddenly stopped moving. They released the ants and turned in the same direction.
Toward Arthur. Their bark-like bodies slowly shifted into a sickly green, while their serpent eyes bulged unnaturally as if something inside was forcing them open.
Arthur’s face instantly paled. He recognized the symptom immediately.
"The parasite hijacked the mycorrhizal network..."
Without another thought, he slashed the liana blocking his path and sprinted back toward Otis and Jace.
"Run! Get inside the building!" he shouted without slowing down. "Everything with eyes and ears has become their spy!"
Neither Otis nor Jace had ever seen Arthur this terrified.
"Take off your PPE before we enter!" Arthur didn’t even turn around.
"What?" Otis exclaimed while running beside him. "Have you gone crazy?"
"The ants’ pheromones are probably stuck to the suits. If we keep wearing them, they’ll track us in no time."
His explanation was terrifyingly reasonable. The three of them tore off their protective suits and threw them aside before slipping into the headquarters building.
They immediately barricaded the entrance with anything heavy they could find and hid behind the nearest cover.
Looking through the dusty window, they watched hundreds of giant ants marching through the forest in perfect formation, searching every corner around the building.
None of them stepped inside. None of the serpent lianas crossed the entrance either.
The silence somehow felt even more frightening.
"Arthur..." Jace whispered. "Do you think something even scarier is waiting ahead?"
Arthur slowly nodded. "Probably the Queen. If something is controlling this entire Groove, she’s the most likely candidate."
Otis rubbed his face and let out a long breath. "For now, screw the ants, the Groove, and whatever parasite took over this place. Let’s focus on finding information first."
For once, his suggestion was the most logical one. Arthur and Jace nodded, and the three of them quietly disappeared deeper into the abandoned headquarters.
