Chapter Eleven: Clearing the Ant Nest Dungeon

Li Yunfei dared not be careless. After a forward roll and regaining his footing, he sped up, sprinting forward and gradually drawing closer to the ant queen.

The ant queen was over ten meters long, yet her height only reached Li Yunfei’s shoulder.

Approaching her flank, he raised the ant leg blade and brought it down with a fierce slash.

A sharp sound rang out as the blade struck her neck, and Li Yunfei, with the momentum, dragged it backward. Yet all he managed was to leave a gash barely an inch deep.

The ant queen's health dropped—about four or five percent.

Li Yunfei did not linger. Having landed a blow, he immediately leaped back, dodging the queen's swinging head, then continued his run.

Thus, he circled her endlessly, darting in to slash whenever opportunity arose.

He ensured he stayed at her side, avoiding her mandibles and forelegs, remaining in her blind spot.

He had no other choice. Facing a boss alone meant whittling her down bit by bit. Greed or impatience would only court disaster.

This battle was far more tense and intense than facing hundreds of worker ants before; Li Yunfei dared not stop for even a moment.

The queen’s limbs and mandibles spelled instant death if touched.

Not only were they lethally powerful, but both bore corrosive toxins.

Coupled with her deadly acid spray, Li Yunfei could not afford even the briefest direct encounter.

His stamina drained rapidly; the mental strain was immense. His breath soon grew ragged.

Fortunately, his relentless attacks had nearly severed the queen’s neck.

When he was on the verge of collapse, he summoned his remaining strength for one last blow—finally, the massive head tumbled to the ground.

Her huge body crashed down, limbs and antennae twitching meaninglessly, but she was dead.

A series of soft thuds followed—the sound of items dropping to the ground. As the final boss of the dungeon, it would be an insult if she didn’t drop a bounty of loot.

“Dungeon cleared. Would you like to leave?”

Li Yunfei gasped heavily, not responding to the system for now. He stowed the ant leg blade, took out a towel, and wiped the sweat from his face.

Once his breathing calmed, he walked toward the pile of equipment and items on the ground.

The little fox hopped in, picked up a twenty-yuan bill, and brought it to Li Yunfei.

---

Li Yunfei was delighted, rubbing the fox's head as he took the bill, smiling, “Honghong, you’re so clever.”

Whenever he went to the supermarket outside the complex to buy eggs for her, he’d hold the fox, so she remembered—this thing could get her eggs.

Praised by her master, the little fox was overjoyed. She opened her mouth, tongue lolling, her bushy tail wagging even more vigorously.

Li Yunfei had spent half the day clearing the dungeon, yet this was the first time he’d seen a monster drop cash.

He wondered if the money was real or counterfeit—it would be absurd if it turned out to be fake when he tried to spend it.

But surely the system wouldn’t be so stingy. If it could create a dungeon and shrink him to barely larger than an ant, producing fake money would be truly outrageous.

Pocketing the bill, Li Yunfei began gathering all the equipment dropped by the ant queen.

She had dropped more than ten items, each capable of greatly enhancing his combat power.

Super-strength ant armor helmet, super-strength ant armor breastplate, super-strength ant armor bracers, super-strength ant armor gloves, super-strength ant armor boots.

Every piece bore the “super-strength” prefix, offering defenses superior to the ant soldier set.

But the weapon she dropped made Li Yunfei’s eyes shine.

The Corrosive Ant Leg Blade—its lethality far outstripped the ordinary blade, and it carried corrosive toxin damage.

Dungeon ants had innate resistance to ant acid, but anything else struck by this blade would find wounds impossible to close.

Even a small cut would soon be corroded into a gaping hole.

Unfortunately, there was only one blade. If only there were two.

Still, it was not a big problem. Next time he killed the queen, he’d get another.

This was only a level one dungeon; there were still levels two, three, four, five ahead!

He didn’t know the system’s rules yet, but in online games, the first clear of a dungeon boss always yielded a massive drop.

Since the system mimicked online games, that rule should apply here.

Aside from equipment, the queen also dropped ten packs of Ant Queen Powder, which worked like Ant Powder but with much greater efficacy.

Sadly, killing the queen did not level him up again—his experience remained at 84.6%.

Next time, even in a level two ant nest dungeon, he would surely reach level five.

After collecting his spoils, Li Yunfei removed his gear, placed the little fox on his shoulder, and left the cavern, heading to the main path and walking toward the exit.

---

He didn’t dare exit the dungeon directly; what if someone happened to be outside? How would he explain his sudden appearance?

So he had to walk out himself, check the surroundings, and confirm no one was around before choosing to leave the dungeon.

The reason Li Yunfei spent so much time in the ant nest was the many branching tunnels—he had searched each one.

The main path was not long at all, barely two kilometers.

But its steep incline and uneven ground made cycling impossible. If he had an off-road motorcycle or an all-terrain mountain bike, he would have saved so much effort.

When his level increased and his system storage fused into a large space, he would definitely keep an all-terrain mountain bike inside.

After about ten minutes, Li Yunfei emerged from the ant nest and peered outside, feeling relieved.

There were indeed people passing by—it was noon, and whether heading to work or school, everyone was on their lunch break, likely crossing the garden to eat and rest at home.

He had no choice but to sit by the entrance and wait.

Watching the passersby was quite interesting.

At this moment, the normal-sized people appeared to him as towering giants, vast as ancient titans.

Occasionally, a young woman in a skirt would walk by… cough… Li Yunfei dutifully lowered his head.

Actually, even if he walked out, nobody would notice him—at his current size, he was invisible, just like people never notice ants on the ground as they walk.

Waiting in the cave for half an hour, Li Yunfei knew he had to leave.

A stylish woman in a black suit appeared at the end of the left road, her short hair tousled, brows sharp as swords, delicate nose and lips, long legs and slender waist—who else but Zhang Ziying?

Ahead of her walked another person. Once both passed, no one remained behind them—if he went out now, their backs were turned.

So Li Yunfei decisively picked up the little fox and ran out of the ant nest, and with a thought, his outfit changed.

His previous clothes were torn from the battle with ants—hard to explain if seen.

After changing, he took out the bag of eggs prepared for the fox, holding it in his hand. Then he crouched down and, in his mind, said, "Leave the dungeon."