Qin Shilei came to the warehouse and the ant hole.
He first removed the nearby grain and flammable materials, then took out gasoline and poured it into the hole.
When doused with gasoline, the ants seemed enraged, crawling out of the hole one after another.
Qin Shilei brought his torch forward, and the flames instantly spread to the entire hole.
The ants, too preoccupied to attack Qin Shilei, scrambled around in panic.
To prevent the burning ants from reaching the grain and igniting it, Qin Shilei took out a fire extinguisher and stood on guard.
After a while, the burning ants were all dead, and the fire at the hole's entrance continued to burn, with the ants inside fleeing deeper into the tunnel.
Qin Shilei took out another small bucket of gasoline and threw it into the hole, allowing it to burn longer.
There were a total of five ant holes. Three were inside the granary, and the other two were outside.
Qin Shilei, using the same method, set fire to the holes in the remaining two granaries.
Then, he went to an outside hole and poured a large amount of gasoline into it.
He then threw his torch inside, and a raging inferno shot up into the sky.
"Surround three sides and leave one open. I don't believe you won't come out," Qin Shilei said as he rode Xiao Qiang into the sky to monitor the last hole.
Lu Tiangang and his men in the helicopter saw Qin Shilei setting fire to the granary and became worried.
"Commander, black smoke is rising from the granary. He wouldn't have set a fire inside, would he?"
"I hope he doesn't burn all the grain."
"Commander, Qin Shilei is setting fire to the granary to kill the ants. This is too reckless."
"Why didn't he discuss it with us first? We could have tried to get scientists to create some poison to kill the ants. Using fire is too risky."
"Since it has come to this, we can only see if we can salvage more grain later."
Qin Shilei, riding Xiao Qiang, guarded the airspace above the last hole and noticed more and more ants crawling out from within.
Soon, the vicinity became an ant ocean again.
"They're coming."
In Qin Shilei's eyes, a group of giant ants, as thick as an arm, followed the ordinary ants and crawled out.
Their numbers far exceeded Qin Shilei's expectations. In a short while, over a thousand giant ants emerged.
Behind the giant ants came seven or eight super-giant ants, as big as puppies.
With the scouts clearing the way, the queen ant made its grand entrance.
The queen ant was entirely black and shiny. Its upper body was the same size as a super-giant ant, but its abdomen was larger than that of a pregnant woman in her tenth month.
The two antennae on its head were nearly a meter long. After emerging, they continued to sway as if communicating with its subordinates.
"Xiao Qiang, target the queen ant, charge!"
With Qin Shilei's command, Xiao Qiang swooped down towards the queen ant like lightning.
"Hiss hiss hiss!"
Perhaps sensing the sound of air tearing above, the queen ant looked up at Qin Shilei and let out a sharp hiss.
Instantly, the ant swarm below became agitated, moving closer to the queen ant.
The queen ant even turned to burrow back into the hole.
However, it was already nearly two meters from the entrance, and Xiao Qiang was too fast. It was caught firmly by Xiao Qiang's claws before it could escape back into the hole.
Xiao Qiang flapped its wings twice and flew back into the sky before the ant swarm could surround them.
The queen ant struggled wildly in Xiao Qiang's claws. The antennae on its head shot out rocks and dirt, striking various parts of Xiao Qiang's body.
Xiao Qiang ignored the rocks and dirt, which caused little damage, and flew swiftly towards a tall building in the distance.
The queen ant tried to use its incredibly sharp mandibles to bite off Xiao Qiang's claws, but its body was held too tightly to turn.
Lu Tiangang and his men on the helicopter watched this scene in astonishment.
"So he set the fire to force out the queen ant."
"Catching the queen ant so easily. This large bird's strength is not to be underestimated."
"Is he trying to use the queen ant to lure the other ants away? That's indeed a good plan."
The tens of millions of ants on the ground, after their queen was captured, all followed the direction Xiao Qiang was flying.
Meanwhile, Xiao Qiang had already dropped the queen ant onto the rooftop of a tall building.
Qin Shilei jumped off Xiao Qiang's body. As soon as he landed, he was met with an attack from the queen ant's mandibles.
He raised his Blood Soul sword and batted it away with the blade.
Bang!
The queen ant flew backward, crashing into the concrete wall of a staircase building, creating a spiderweb-like crack.
Qin Shilei flashed forward and charged again, relentlessly pounding the queen ant's body with his fists.
The queen ant fought back desperately, swinging its antennae multiple times to launch rocks and earth spikes at Qin Shilei.
However, the gap in their strength was too great, and with no subordinates to help, the queen ant was soon on the verge of death.
"Surrender and become my subordinate, or I'll beat you to death."
Qin Shilei took out the Contract Scroll and tore it open.
The Contract Scroll instantly transformed into a white light that enveloped the queen ant.
"Ding, successfully contracted the Queen Ant. Please name it."
The queen ant struggled slightly before succumbing to Qin Shilei's fists.
"Let's call it Queen Ant."
"Naming successful."
Pet: Queen Ant
Cultivation: Black Iron Four Stars
Skills: Earth Spike, Rockfall, Quicksand.
Talent: Control Ant Swarm.
Although the queen ant's strength was only one star lower than Xiao Qiang's, if they fought one-on-one, it would be no match for Xiao Qiang.
But with the queen ant's talent and the vast swarm behind it, was it something that could be easily challenged alone?
"Let's go and review my tens of millions of subordinates."
Qin Shilei chuckled and jumped onto Xiao Qiang's back, while Xiao Qiang once again grabbed the queen ant on the rooftop with its claws and flew back.
Soon, they encountered the massive ant swarm on the way.
At this moment, they were clashing with zombies in the city.
Zombies attacked all living beings and naturally wouldn't let any ants that dared to enter their sensory range go.
The ant swarm, eager to retrieve their queen, would kill anything in their path.
As they swept past, zombies fell to the ground, dead.
Of course, a small number of ants were also killed or poisoned.
However, relative to the enormous number of ants, this was negligible.
"Queen Ant, command your subordinates to return to the vicinity of the granary."
Qin Shilei commanded.
The queen ant clearly understood Qin Shilei's instructions. It waved its antennae, emitting invisible waves, and the ants on the ground retreated like a tide.
"Truly amazing, like a bull with a rocket, flying to the heavens."
The tamed queen ant, as Qin Shilei had guessed, could indeed control the ant swarm. Looking at the black mass of ants on the ground, he couldn't help but exclaim.
From now on, I am also a master with tens of millions of subordinates!
At the granary base.
Lu Tiangang saw that the ants had been led away by Qin Shilei, and he and his subordinates jumped down to the ground again.
They cautiously entered the warehouse. There were only a few ants inside, and they paid no attention to their arrival.
"Quick, let's grab the grain."
Lu Tiangang gave the order, and his subordinates each took out a large string of spatial rings to pack grain. He himself continuously collected grain into his ring, which could hold over ten cubic meters.
"Commander, the ants are back, run!"
Just as they finished packing the grain, an anxious shout came from outside.
Lu Tiangang quickly ran out and looked up. "What is Qin Shilei doing? He's actually brought the queen ant back again."