Volume One, Chapter 13: The Terrifying Live Broadcast

Several days later, Qiqi ventured deep into the remote edges of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. She had been walking for over an hour, ready to fulfill the promise she made during her livestream a few days prior.

Upon finding a suitable spot, she pulled out her phone. The area around her was relatively flat, and although this mountain region originally had no signal, three years ago, the government had installed a signal tower in Tian Village. The village itself only had one public phone, kept at the village chief’s house, where anyone facing trouble would go to seek help.

The installation of the signal tower not only enhanced surveillance over Tian Village but also extended cellular coverage within a ten-kilometer radius. This meant that in the event of natural disasters like mudslides or mountain floods, people could call for emergency assistance.

"Great, there’s actually a signal! Since that’s the case, let’s start the livestream!" Qiqi exclaimed as she powered on her phone. Attached to the bottom of her phone was a roughly one-meter-long pole, connected by a wire to facilitate communication between the two.

"Hello everyone, it’s Qiqi! A few days ago, I promised to livestream from these deep mountains. Now, I’m going to show you what my hometown in the mountains looks like!" she announced, turning the camera around to capture her surroundings.

Comments flooded the screen: Old Xie said, "Wow, you dare come to such a desolate place… impressive." Another warned, "Streamer, be careful of bears! Don’t let a big bear eat you." Invincible chimed in, "Finally live! I've been waiting days. If you find the mountain monster, I’ll send ten super rockets." Old Xie replied skeptically, "Come on, you trolls can’t even afford those super rockets you’re talking about."

Qiqi glanced at the comments, feeling the chat room warming up. She continued walking forward, holding the pole with her right hand, raising it as she moved. Though the livestream footage was shaky, the thrilling solo expedition captivated a large number of viewers. Within minutes, over ten thousand people were watching, and messages poured in at an increasing rate.

Qiqi herself had amassed a following of 100,000 fans on the platform.

Suddenly, sparse footsteps echoed nearby. Qiqi stopped, scanning her surroundings quietly with her phone. She whispered into the microphone, "Family, did you hear that? There’s a mysterious sound of footsteps. Let me check it out."

She proceeded forward, breaking branches that obstructed her view. Besides clearing the path, this tactic helped her mark the route: broken twigs and flattened grass would guide her back to Tian Village.

The chat was rapidly filled with messages, but only one repeated itself: "Are those ants? So many of them."

---

"What the hell, are these ants mutated? Be careful, streamer!" one viewer typed.

"Maybe they fed on nuclear waste? Definitely ants from that cousin’s place," joked another.

Qiqi, puzzled by the barrage of identical comments, stopped and zoomed in on her phone screen. "What ants?" she murmured.

Just then, she looked up ahead and was stunned. A dense, black mass covered the forest floor—an army of ants, each as large as a rooster, swarming everywhere. Above them hovered a flying ant queen.

The dense black swarm stretched endlessly, evoking intense feelings of claustrophobia. The constant ominous rustling filled the air as countless ants explored the ground with their antennae.

Frightened, Qiqi stepped backward. She had never seen such a vast colony, and driven by her fear of tight spaces, she desperately wanted to escape. Her sixth sense warned her: if she stayed, she’d be torn to pieces by these ants.

The sparse footsteps, mingling with hers, seemed to have alerted the ants. Using their sensitive antennae, the army turned uniformly toward Qiqi. Their eyes, about the size of longans and shining like black orbs, stared at her.

Despite living underground for so long, their eyes had not lost their sight; instead, thanks to the revival of spiritual energy, they shone brighter than ever.

As the ant army advanced toward the newly appeared life form, Qiqi’s screams pierced the air. Her breathing quickened, and in panic, she dropped her phone, which landed facing the ant horde.

At that moment, the livestream exploded with activity, viewers frantically discussing the scene.

"Damn, are they about to feed on her?" one exclaimed.

Invincible wrote, "Streamer, you’re awesome. If you die, I’ll be the first to send you super rockets."

"Those ants are huge; hope she’s okay," another commented.

---

The chat was flooded with thousands of messages, ranging from concern and schadenfreude to playful teasing.

But Qiqi couldn’t see any of it now. All she wanted was to flee. Yet, when she tried to move, her legs refused to obey. No matter how hard she tried, she was frozen in place.

"Crap, a cramp? Why now, when I need my legs the most?" despair washed over her.

She didn’t want to become ant food in this forsaken mountain. At barely over twenty, a blooming young woman, she couldn’t accept her life ending here.

Summoning the peak of her survival instinct, she shattered the cramp’s grip and sprinted downhill.

Yet, entering the dense forest was easy; finding her way out was another matter entirely. Panic clouded her mind, and before long, she was hopelessly lost.

Looking around, she muttered, "This isn’t right… I don’t recognize this place. Did I take a wrong turn?"

Desperation crept in. If given a second chance, she vowed never to venture into the Hundred Thousand Mountains again.

Her phone was gone, and now, disoriented and surrounded by towering trees, she could barely discern any direction. Even sunlight seemed dim.

The relentless sound of ants climbing grew nearer, as if they would reach her any moment.

Qiqi stared at the ant army ahead. Though slow, their pace was nearly half that of an adult’s walking speed.

"Run—get away!" she thought, but hesitation lasted only a moment.

With no way back, she plunged deeper into the forest, forced to press forward.

---

Meanwhile, the livestream footage was gradually overtaken by countless ants crawling over the phone. The screen filled with a dense carpet of insects.

One viewer watching the stream at home even fainted from trypophobia.

As the massive ant legion swarmed over the device, the screen went black. Moments later, the phone was chewed to pieces, the feed ending forever.