As soon as the new message appeared, Bai Xi felt a sparkling card materialize in her storage space.
She took out the rectangular card. The background image on the front featured mysterious, rune-like patterns and some characters she couldn't recognize. The only words she understood were "30% Speed Boost." On the back were a few notices:
1. Single-use consumable; cannot be reused.
2. Time-limited card; provides a temporary attribute boost; can be stored permanently.
3. Drops with a certain probability upon the player's death.
These notices served as a wake-up call for Bai Xi. With a mere ten percent survival rate and the fact that cards could drop upon death, it meant players could slaughter each other to steal their cards. As the number of survivors dwindled in the later stages of the game, clashes between players would be inevitable. To survive, it was highly likely that people would kill other players to seize their cards and increase their own chances of staying alive.
This game was much harder than she had imagined. Especially in the late game, those hidden top-tier players would definitely start killing. Ironically, the early game might actually be safer because they still needed other players to complete tasks and farm cards. She just didn't know how many novice players like her—and how many experienced veterans—were in a single match.
Thinking of this, Bai Xi lamented her bitter fate. Why was she so unlucky to be chosen by this game?
Putting the card back into her storage space, she washed her hands and walked out of the restroom. She had carved out a small sub-section in her storage space specifically to store items and cards rewarded by the system.
Outside, Tan Mingshan was on a phone call, and everyone was quietly watching him.
"Yes, I understand... All right... Then we'll handle it ourselves... Okay, I'll wait for your news."
After he hung up, before he could even speak, the group asked, "Uncle Tan, when is the military sending people over?"
Tan Mingshan shook his head, his face full of worry. "Those giant ants have appeared in many places. The city's entire police and military forces have been dispatched to rescue trapped civilians. Since we're temporarily safe here, they aren't going to spare manpower for us right now. I've already reported the ants' weakness to the higher-ups. They should be able to resolve this soon. The higher-ups told us to wait for news."
Hearing that it could be resolved, everyone felt relieved, except for Bai Xi and Qi Shuo, who remained silent.
"Uncle Tan, with something this massive happening, has it been reported to the provincial level? When will rescue teams from other cities arrive?" Bai Xi asked.
This was the most critical question. If these mutated giant ants were the key to survival in this round of the game, they would likely riot in the later stages. And most importantly, the ant colony still had the much larger soldier ants. If the ordinary worker ants were already this huge, just how big would the soldier ants be? Just thinking about it put an immense amount of pressure on Bai Xi. The other name for a survival game was a death game.
"The news has already been reported up the chain. With an incident of this scale, the higher-ups will react very quickly." Tan Mingshan had faith in the military.
"Even if the higher government sends people over, that'll be a matter for tomorrow. These ants could burst out of their holes at any moment. We should still be careful on our own!" Qi Shuo suggested.
Bai Xi nodded, completely agreeing. "Even if rescues arrive, they might not have the capacity to take care of us. We still have to find a way to save ourselves."
"Let's wait a bit longer! When there's news, the city will call us, and then we'll go rendezvous with the rescue team." Tan Mingshan wanted to find the main force. As a police officer, he had confidence in the government.
The room was quiet for a moment.
Du Yue, who had been silent, finally spoke up. "Captain Tan, I want to go home and check. My mom is at home with the kid, and I'm worried. Once I confirm they're safe, I'll rush right back, okay?"
"My daughter went to her tutoring class today, and I don't know if she's back yet. I couldn't get through on the phone earlier either," Fang He said, also feeling anxious.
"If you're worried, hurry home and check!" Tan Mingshan suggested.
"Thank you, Captain Tan."
After thanking him, Du Yue, Fang He, Zuo Jin, and Huang Xing all hurried back home.
The room suddenly felt deserted. Tan Mingshan looked at Bai Xi and Qi Shuo. "Aren't you two going home to check?"
"I'm from another province. I wouldn't be able to get back anytime soon, so I'm not going to run around," Bai Xi replied.
Qi Shuo also nodded.
"What about you, Captain Tan?" Bai Xi asked out of curiosity.
"I'm single, and my parents passed away a long time ago." Tan Mingshan seemed open about it, but there was a hint of desolation in his words.
"I'm also from out of town. The four of us can keep each other company," Han Dong said with a smile.
Tan Mingshan nodded. Bai Xi was indifferent; she didn't have any specific plans right now, so anywhere was the same to her. Following responsible police officers like Tan Mingshan and Han Dong was at least better than being out there alone.
"Uncle Tan, ants are pretty good at burrowing. Is it safe here? Could the ground underneath us be hollowed out?" Bai Xi asked, feeling a bit worried.
"Probably not. This is the city police station. When it was built, it was constructed to explosion-proof standards. It's impossible for it to collapse that easily," Tan Mingshan said, shaking his head.
The four of them sat down and quietly waited for news. They took out their phones and scrolled through updates online. The television in the station was also on, keeping them updated on the developing situation.
"I'm going to the restroom." Qi Shuo got up and walked toward the restroom by the stairs.
Bai Xi glanced at him, then retracted her gaze and continued gathering information online.
Around six in the evening, Zuo Jin and the others hadn't returned, and Tan Mingshan received a message from the city.
"Old Tan, we haven't been able to contact the higher-ups. The city can't look after you guys right now. Hurry up and find a safe place to hide. This ant plague is coming in fierce..."
The person on the other end of the line was interrupted, and an anxious shout rang out. "Old Tan, I have to go."
A busy tone echoed from the phone, signaling the call had been abruptly disconnected.
Tan Mingshan sighed. "We'll have to fend for ourselves! The city can't spare any resources for us."
"Didn't they use our method?" Han Dong asked.
Tan Mingshan shook his head. "I don't know. He hung up in a rush."
"Are we going home now? It doesn't seem safe outside either." Han Dong looked at the deserted street outside. An invisible, tense atmosphere was spreading.
At that moment, the wooden board weighed down by the large rocks began to shake as something pushed against it from below. CLATTER CLATTER!
"Those giant ants are coming out."
Bai Xi noticed the commotion. In the greenbelt outside, another dirt mound had appeared.
"Let's go! It's no longer safe here."
Qi Shuo stood up, getting ready to leave. Bai Xi didn't want to stay anymore either. There was no rescue, they couldn't find the main forces, and there was an ant nest right beneath them. They were completely isolated and helpless! She recalled that the missing persons cases were mostly concentrated during the early morning and late evening. It was exactly that time right now.
"Uncle Tan, I'll go with you. I'm heading back to the dorms anyway." Han Dong planned to leave with Tan Mingshan so they could look out for each other.
Bai Xi thought for a moment and decided not to follow them. Tan Mingshan and Han Dong gave off a good impression, but in the face of a disaster, human nature couldn't withstand the test. Moreover, Qi Shuo, being a fellow task-taker, posed a potential threat to her. It was better for her to set out on her own.
With their decisions made, the four of them parted ways. Outside the building, the ants had already poked their heads out. The four hurried out of the police station at top speed. The ants were no slower than them, and getting surrounded would be extremely troublesome.