The Informal Tomb Raiding Diary: She is the occupant of the tomb!-Chapter 125: Stampede Incident

The leader and the others were using a spray oil can, similar to a hairspray, which, once ignited, produced a fierce flame.

I’m not sure what kind of fuel it was, but it could burn for a long time. Setting the fire at the ’entrance’ was even more effective than expected. The wings of the Flying Ants were similar to those of flies and mosquitoes: once they touched the fire, it was over for them.

Even though they charged forward relentlessly, the flames scorched their wings, causing them to instantly lose their air superiority.

The Flying Ants that fell to the ground but weren’t dead seemed fearless, desperately rushing towards any place where there were people.

Compared to the small ants in the city, they were undoubtedly ’big guys,’ but if they couldn’t form a certain number of ant armies, their attack power wouldn’t actually be very high.

However, Professor Liu shouted to everyone, "Be careful, they’re poisonous, one bite and you could be killed."

Alright then, today is the world’s slap me in the face day. Just as I underestimated these Flying Ants, Professor Liu jumped out to stress their danger.

Fortunately, they were wearing jungle boots with thick soles. When ants crawled to their feet, a strong stomp could kill a whole swath of them.

But this was their home, where they had lived for generations. Compared to their vast family, our little group was nothing.

Even as the fire engulfed the tree trunks, swarms of Flying Ants still poured out like a never-ending stream.

The leader realized the situation was not good and urged everyone to run quickly. The fire could only block their movement as a decoy, but escaping was the right response.

There were only two skeletons nearby, so Big Beard’s men shouldn’t all be dead. But according to the leader’s direction, as soon as we ran a little farther, we encountered fallen corpses.

Their skin was dark red, covered with many blisters. Professor Liu was indeed right; these bodies must have been poisoned by the red ants.

We hadn’t even run a hundred meters, and they were already lying dead on the ground. I counted six bodies in total.

Big Beard’s team suffered heavy losses. As they ran, Cong Zhibo asked, "Teacher, the patterns on those stone pillars look like those ants. Could it be..."

"Forget it for now. If your backpack is too heavy, throw it away. Saving your life is more important," Professor Liu advised, seeing that Cong Zhibo was out of breath yet still had the energy to ask questions.

Cong Zhibo was already running slowly, and with a big backpack, he was about to fall behind.

The red ants from behind crawled over the ground, doggedly pursuing us, probably holding a grudge for us destroying their home.

My little sweetheart wasn’t running too fast, always keeping a few steps ahead of Cong Zhibo.

Chen Qinghan also kept the same pace as me, while suddenly, Meng Qingyu let out an "Ouch" ahead of us. A fake fall was fine, but she even turned back to grab Chen Qinghan’s clothes.

Too many dramas, the pose was too obvious to be candid. What kind of person was Chen Qinghan? He had seen many scenes like this, probably having experienced all sorts of accidental encounters or stylish falls into someone’s arms since childhood.

He was nimble, could break free from inertia, and turned at an incredible angle. Just as Meng Qingyu’s hand reached for him, he stepped aside, narrowly avoiding her grasp while temporarily changing direction.

He turned without a problem but forgot he was still holding on to me. After he dodged, Meng Qingyu grabbed my clothes. At this point, she might have done it unconsciously, purely instinctual as she genuinely meant to fall, trying to grab the nearest object before falling to maintain balance.

I must clarify, I genuinely meant to step over her without being pulled down or harming her.

However, she held my clothes so tightly that I couldn’t step over her, and I ended up stepping right on her... left chest.

She let out a miserable scream and released my clothes, and I quickly somersaulted forward.

See? It’s not a good idea to cause trouble in times of crisis. Now we’ve ended up with a trampling incident!

Moreover, due to her fall, Cong Zhibo slipped and fell to the ground while trying to avoid her.

Though supposedly heavily ’injured,’ Meng Qingyu wasn’t slow in action. She quickly got up and resumed running forward.

The most innocent and most disadvantaged in this faux fall incident was Cong Zhibo. Unlike Meng Qingyu, he didn’t have such agility and was about to be caught by the red ants that were closing in.

Professor Liu noticed and ran back a few steps, ripping off the backpack from Cong Zhibo’s back and fiercely throwing it at the group of ants.

The ants’ bodies were quite fragile; hit by the heavy backpack, they suffered heavy casualties again.

Professor Liu pulled Cong Zhibo up and ran, casting a dark glance at Meng Qingyu, who was running ahead. It was very brief but happened to be caught by the ever-curious me.

What role Meng Qingyu played in the team was still unclear to me. Her decisions were mostly accepted by others, but the team members didn’t look at her like she was the ’leader.’

Lu Xiaodao and even Professor Liu treated her indifferently or as if they had a grudge respectively in their gaze.

Only Junior Brother Sha and that strong man showed great respect for Meng Qingyu. After seeing me step on her, Junior Brother Sha’s gaze towards me became indecipherable.

Of course, all these subtle changes occurred while everyone was collectively fleeing, and perhaps I was the only one with the leisure to observe their expressions change one by one.

I wasn’t afraid of Flying Ants because, when we were burning the tree earlier, one had landed on my shoulder. But it seemed to mistake me for a tree, without any attack behavior, crawling down from my shoulder.

It even passed over the back of my hand without biting. I flicked it lightly with my fingertip, sending it to the grass without anyone noticing.

So I was probably the least pressured in this team, running around like a morning jog, not missing any opportunity to spectate the drama.

Upon entering a Stone Forest area, those ants stopped advancing as if they knew this was not their domain. They lingered at the edge of the Stone Forest, neither entering nor retreating.

But this didn’t mean the crisis was over. Professor Liu’s two students couldn’t run any further. According to the leader’s intent, we couldn’t rest here, yet the two students seemed on the verge of collapsing, leaving the leader with no choice but to let everyone rest for five minutes.

Meng Qingyu frowned as she looked at the two students, her hand on her left chest. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed like her left chest was slightly lower than the right.

What would happen to a human wounded to this extent?

I recalled the information I had read before but couldn’t find anything similar for comparison.

But Meng Qingyu quickly returned to normal. Wearing the same loose clothing as the leader and others, her role changed, and I felt as if nothing had happened.

"Are you okay? Any injuries?" I asked out of curiosity.

"No problem, I’m not injured." Meng Qingyu replied calmly as if she truly wasn’t hurt.

Since she said she was fine, I couldn’t forcibly check by pulling her clothes. Still, curiosity drove me to Chen Qinghan’s side.