NOVEL NEXT Chapter 232: The colony.
Some people covered their ears while others covered their eyes. The watchers gave up on the chase but not before Pink slapped the remaining drones out of the air.
None the less, one had succeeded.
It was a small victory; the goal had not been accomplished and yet some soldiers started to celebrate.
"No celebrations, we lost twenty-nine drones and we don't know what is out there. Get back to your duties now." Major Elio barked into a walk-talkie.
Meanwhile the last drone standing steadied, its rotors whining faintly so as not to spook the ants. Then slowly, it inched its way to the colony to start surveilling the unsuspecting ants.
"I have never been so nervous in my life or wished for the Mountain god to manifest in any way." Morris kissed the pendant on his neck.
Hadrian shook his head. "This was not your mountain god; it was all Carson Warnock. That lucky bastard has more talents than a circus master."
"He has arrived." Lisha announced. "Eyes on the screen everyone. Those with weak stomachs, make your way out because bugs can be disgusting sometimes."
Nobody left. Everyone leaned forward as one, shoulders drawn tight, eyes all fixed on the only video flickering on the monitors.
Carson Warnock controlled the drone with a steady hand, aware of the many expectations everyone had. "Hello little suckers." He muttered, almost under his breath.
He adjusted the camera set it on a 360-degree view. The colony was finally seen in its entirety. It was bigger than they had expected. taking up enough space for one and a half small hills. It stretched far and wide, black tides of movement that surged in unison like construction workers building a tower.
The tower was mostly composed of bones: human bones, or so it looked. While some worked, others fed, consuming everything within their vicinity. Metals, scorched plants, human and animal carcasses. Some even gnawed on stone to fill their hunger.
"They are mutated just like we thought." Sunshine confirmed. "In a more dangerous way than we anticipated. If they are feeding on humans and animals, it is not just grain we have to worry about."
She did not need to say this. Everyone in the room was already thinking about it and their hearts were unsettled. Warren was beginning to realize why Sunshine had said it was the most urgent problem they had.
Dwayne, his hand trembling against the table, pointed out something obvious. "They are bigger than we initially saw almost like they have doubled in size."
Sunshine blinked once and winced like something was hurting her. "The females could be pregnant, or they recently reproduced. How else have they been able to reproduce or multiply their numbers?"
"Pregnancy might explain the unnatural hunger." Hadrian said slowly. "Why else would they be eating so voraciously to the point of eating stones. If they make it in here, they will eat us and our home."
"Could this be what the watchers did not want us to see? "Lisha quizzed anyone that cared to listen and respond to her. "Were they hoping for the ants to eat us? How mean! I was just beginning to like Pink."
Sunshine quietly engaged the system as everyone shared their opinions and speculated. "What ants are these, system? They are definitely not your everyday red ants or termites."
The system scanned the footage on the screen, comparing it against the data of anything that had been repaired in any universe through time immemorial, as a result of insect damage. Then the screen in her head lit up.
A single insect appeared in high definition: black metallic body, sharp legs, small wings. The only similarity this insect had to the ones in the colony was that it was ugly but differed in some ways, especially in the size.
It was smaller than the ones in the colony.
[Host, the ants on the screen are familiar to a bombardier beetle. It has a natural defense mechanism of emitting an explosion from its abdomen when threatened....]
"System by explosion what do you mean?"
[It expels explosions from its backside.]
Sunshine let out a scoff. "You mean to tell me that it's fart is an explosion?"
[I would not put it like that but it is exactly how it sounds. The explosion is short range, and the lethality can depend on the situation.]
Sunshine's eyes narrowed. "Not lethal. I have never heard of an explosion that was not lethal. Is the explosion related to fire, and does it burn?"
[You need to be close enough for the explosion to harm you. Heat from a normal bombardier beetle can cause some itching and mild burns. The circumstances you are facing are unusual. For one, this is an entire colony of mutated bombardier beetles. My conclusion is that the explosion could be catastrophic.]
Sunshine's face remained still, but her mind raced. "Mutated bombardier beetles...." She said softly.
The room was quiet. Quiet enough for her words to be heard by everyone. Their attention turned to her, waiting to hear more.
"You found out what they are already?" Lisha's voice was filled with wonder. "That is amazing Suni, I knew we could count on you."
Morris placed his hands on the table, "I know my insects, especially those on this mountain and that is not one of ours."
Sunshine nodded her head. "These are mutated bombardier beetles. They release explosions from their asses in the face of danger. Our dragonoids could be useless against them if they have fire store in their bodies somehow."
"We could spray them with insecticides." Hadrian suggested.
"They are mutated; ordinary insecticides won't work." Hades reminded him.
Sunshine stared at the screen. "Carson rattle them a bit, we need to know what they can do."
"Yes ma'am."
Carson carefully adjusted the drone and threw a flash bomb into the colony.
The response was immediate.
Almost all the beetles erupted with a blast that lit the screen orange. Not a puff of steam or spark but a roaring chemical fireball, five feet wide, leaping outward in a hungry arc.
A collective gasp tore through the command center.
Sunshine cursed aloud, covering her mouth. Dwayne stumbled back from the console table, his face pale.
"They are walking nukes!! How are we supposed to fight them?" Hadrian asked with despair in his voice.
Worry etched deep into Hades' face. "Any way we must because the more that colony expands, the more danger we face."
Sunshine remained silent, her mind traveled, making calculations basing on everything that had happened so far. The watchers were involved with the beetles. Maybe they had been hoping to watch the humans walk in and get roasted like that one watcher that died under the dragonoid's fire.
Was this revenge for one of their own or simply entertainment?
Then suddenly a shriek came from the screen. It was the pink haired watcher again.
Sunshine's voice parted, her voice heavy but tight. "It knows about Carson's drone."
They looked out of the window and saw two watchers taking off like missiles. Thirty seconds later, they footage on the screen from Carson's drone shook violently. The last thing they saw were claws before everything went black.
Everyone froze.