408: Chapter 405: A mole within the company caused the deal to be terminated.

Ye Ouyang kicked away an ant that lunged at him, his golden figure turning in the air before landing on the back of another ant.

He backhanded a claw across the ant's compound eyes—the claw blades struck a shower of sparks against the hard carapace, leaving only shallow marks.

He used the momentum to leap away, caught his breath, and swept his gaze over the motionless mantis at the edge of the skirmish.

It did not attack.

It just stood there, its two sickle-like forelimbs folded across its chest, its triangular head turning slightly, as if watching a performance that had nothing to do with it.

Wei Ziqing's words flashed through Ye Ouyang's mind—those mantises followed some ancient rules: duels, honor, just like in the movies.

They disdained ganging up on others and were unwilling to mix with ants to besiege a single opponent.

So that was the reason it didn't attack.

"Damn it." Ye Ouyang parried an ant's mouthparts once again, his golden claws sliding along the joints of its forelegs—hiss, this time it finally left a shallow gash, but no blood flowed out; the carapace was too thick. "My claws can't pierce it at all... what about the joints?"

He adjusted his tactics, no longer hitting the thickest back and head armor, but specifically targeting the joints, the edges of the compound eyes, and the gaps where the legs connected to the body.

The effect was better; at least he could leave marks on those hard carapaces, but he was still far from causing real damage.

Fighting while retreating, he shouted at the mantis:

"What about the other animals? Isn't the New Federation made up of many animals? If you really let these algae produce huge amounts of oxygen, many animals won't be able to survive, right?"

The mantis's compound eyes turned slightly to look at him.

"What does that have to do with us?"

Its voice was as calm as if it were stating a fact.

"We are insects. Those animals—mammals, birds, reptiles—adapt if they can, and die if they can't. Survival of the fittest."

It paused.

"The era of high oxygen, the era of giant insects, will eventually come. When that time comes, you humans will go extinct due to the massive amount of oxygen, and those animals will also go extinct. So what?"

It raised one of its sickle-like forelimbs, pointing at the bright green algae on the river surface.

"It is enough to have only us insects left. The era belonging exclusively to insects will come again. And these algae are the opportunity."

Ye Ouyang kicked away another ant, panting heavily.

"You wish—"

Before he could finish, the mantis that had been motionless suddenly moved.

It passed through the middle of the ants with astonishing speed, its sickle-like forelimb sweeping horizontally toward Ye Ouyang.

Ye Ouyang dodged to the side, but that was just a feint—the mantis's real target was the position behind him, forcing him to retreat and trapping him in the ants' encirclement.

It had finally attacked.

But just as it landed, its body suddenly shifted to the left, as if pushed by something.

It landed steadily, its triangular head snapping toward the empty space, its compound eyes darting rapidly.

"...What?"

It had sensed something. The instinct honed from hunting countless animals allowed it to perceive something in the air that shouldn't be there.

But the ants nearby didn't have this instinct.

An ant's flank suddenly burst open; the hard carapace seemed to have been slashed by some invisible blade, splitting directly down the middle, and green body fluid gushed out.

The ant struggled twice and collapsed to the ground.

Another one. Deep cracks appeared out of thin air on the back of another ant, as if being torn crazily by something.

It writhed in pain, its six legs flailing, but nothing could be seen.

Invisibility. It was that cat.

Ye Ouyang instantly realized who had arrived—the Orange Cat that could turn invisible after evolving, Li Zhe's partner.

It had infiltrated the battlefield at some point and was using its sharp claws to tear open the carapaces of the giant ants.

He didn't make a sound, just took advantage of the gap while the giant ant was injured, driving his golden claws hard into the joint gap of a giant ant, sinking them deep inside.

In the distance, behind a large tree, Li Zhe stared intently at the battlefield, his heart pounding like a drum.

His fingers dug into the bark, and he bit his lip, afraid to make any sound.

Come on, Big Orange. He silently chanted in his heart.

Interesting.

The mantis's compound eyes rotated rapidly, trying to catch the invisible attacker, but it could only see the claw marks appearing out of thin air.

It quickly made a judgment in its mind—this size, this claw shape, it wasn't a human. A peer? Or another Evolved Animal?

Is the New Federation monitoring me?

This thought flashed by, and was immediately confirmed by itself. That's right, the New Federation never trusted our insect clan.

On the surface, they unite all Evolved Animals, but in secret, they send spies to watch every group that might threaten their rule.

Very well, very well.

It sneered internally. Because of distrust, they didn't hesitate to act against us. Hmph, I knew the New Federation wasn't trustworthy.

On the battlefield, Ye Ouyang was taking advantage of the wounds the giant ants had sustained from Big Orange, driving his golden claws in fiercely.

Every time he stabbed in, he injected a large amount of Gold Weave Cells into those wounds.

The giant ants' struggles became increasingly violent, and the muscles under their carapaces began to bulge and twitch irregularly.

One, two, three—

A moment later, those injured giant ants let out shrill hisses simultaneously.

Their bodies began to expand from the inside, black body fluid oozed out from the gaps in their carapaces, and then—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Those huge bodies exploded from within; countless excess organs grew crazily inside them, squeezing and rupturing, ultimately tearing the host apart from the inside out.

Only one mantis remained on the battlefield.

It retreated two steps, its triangular head turning toward Ye Ouyang.

Ye Ouyang did not pursue, just gripped his golden claws dripping with black blood, and approached it step by step.

Just then—

The roar of an engine approached from afar.

A black SUV sped down the slope by the side of the road, with no intention of slowing down at all, heading straight for the mantis!

The mantis leaped violently to the side, the car body brushed past it, and the wind it kicked up almost knocked it over.

Before it could stand steady, the car drifted, the tires screeching harshly on the ground, the front of the car aimed at it again, the engine roaring—

"This guy..." the mantis gritted its teeth, "doesn't he have a driver's license?!"

Before it finished speaking, Ye Ouyang had already kicked over.

The mantis raised its sickle-like forelimbs to block, the two forces collided, shaking it back a step.

At this very moment—

A sharp pain came from its flank.

Three claw marks deep enough to see bone appeared out of thin air on its abdomen, and green body fluid gushed out.

The invisible hunter had somehow circled to its side and dealt it a fatal blow.

The mantis's compound eyes rotated frantically.

No. Must retreat.

It wanted to dive into the hole the ants had emerged from behind it—but Chen Xing's car was already blocking the entrance, the engine still roaring, ready to slam it back at any moment.

It wanted to retreat forward—but Ye Ouyang had already blocked its path, his golden claws right before its eyes.

It was trapped.

The mantis's compound eyes flickered a few times.

Then it made a decision.

It bent its knees, its whole body prostrated on the ground, its sickle-like forelimbs tucked at its sides, its triangular head lowered.

"I surrender."

Ye Ouyang was stunned for a moment.

The mantis raised its head, its compound eyes turning toward the empty air behind him.

"Hurry up and take care of that invisible guy!" Its voice carried a hint of urgency, "He's also from the New Federation! He must have been sent by the New Federation to monitor our insect clan! They don't trust us—I surrender, I'll say anything, just take him out!"

Ye Ouyang blinked.

He quickly reacted, swiping a claw at the air, pretending to attack the invisible presence.

His golden claws slashed through the air, hitting nothing, but he put on a show of being in a fierce struggle.

In the distance, behind that large tree, Li Zhe saw Ye Ouyang's movements and was stunned for a moment.

Then he understood.

He waved his hand lightly toward the battlefield, making a gesture to leave.

Big Orange was a few meters behind the mantis, keeping invisible, preparing to attack again. It saw Li Zhe's gesture, paused slightly, then retreated silently, exiting the skirmish and heading toward where Li Zhe was.

The mantis lay on the ground, still shouting: "Right there! That's where it attacked me! Stop him!"

Ye Ouyang swiped at that direction twice more, then stopped and caught his breath.

"It ran away," he said.

The mantis's compound eyes flickered, seemingly relieved.

"Good that it ran," it whispered, "that traitor."

(I just realized I can come up with a book title again. Does anyone have any recommendations?)