Chapter 216: Allelopathy
These ants knew how to stretch out their hind legs and moved the leaves in the water after they got on the leaves. Although their legs moved slowly, the leaves actually were moving. According to this situation, the ants would attack the island sooner or later.
“What shall we do? What should we do?”
This was the thought of all. Seeing the ant corps coming from all directions toward the island, they couldn’t do anything about it.
If they had some long tools like branches in their hands, they could stir up the lakelet and knock the ants, but the island in the middle of the lakelet was barren. There was not even a stone, let alone a branch.
Lei Tianrui turned to Dong Sihai and cried, “Aren’t you a jungle expert? Hurry up and find a way!”
“I… I have no idea,” Dong Sihai said in despair.
Hu Xiaoxian said, “Haodong has warned you that you can’t camp here, but you said it was okay. Now, we’re all going to die here.”
When they thought of the scene of the ants devouring the animals, they all felt numb and uncomfortable. As people in special departments, they all had thought that they would die one day, but n.o.body could accept this way.
Just then, Qin Haodong said, “I have good news to tell you.”
“What?” Hearing his words, hope was renewed in everyone’s eyes. Even Lei Tianrui and Zhao Qiankun, who had been hostile to him, were full of longing on their faces.
Although death was close to them, Qin Haodong could miraculously subdue Cannibal Vine and might also have a way to deal with these ants.
Qin Haodong said, “I just saw that these ants were not marching ants in South America.”
Dong Sihai was frustrated and said, “I’ve seen it for a long time, so what?”
Qin Haodong did not answer him and said, “These ants have a name called h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ant. Because they appear suddenly every time, no one knows where they come from, they are said to come from h.e.l.l.
“At the same time, these ants are extremely greedy and can eat iron and steel. It is said that they can even eat the soul, so they are called the h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ants.”
These things he said came entirely from the Cultivation World. The h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ant was a terrible creature in the Cultivation World, and even cultivators had to withdraw when they encountered it.
At first, Qin Haodong did not think of this, and he also thought that these ants were just ordinary South American marching ants. It was only when he saw that these ants had eaten even Hummers that he thought of this terrible creature. After careful observation, he affirmed that this was the h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ant of the Cultivation World. He just didn’t understand how they could appear on the earth.
w.a.n.g Yuancheng said with a pale face, “You mean, our souls will be eaten by ants after death, and there is no chance of reincarnation. Is this good news?”
“That’s really good news.” Qin Haodong said, “If they are South American marching ants, there’s nothing I can do, but I know the weakness of the h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ant.”
“What? What is their weakness? Tell us quickly.” Lei Tianrui and others looked at Qin Haodong pitifully.
Hu Xiaoxian also said, “Yeah, Haodong, these ants are half way through the lakelet. Tell us quickly about their weakness, otherwise it’s really too late.”
Qin Haodong said lightly, “All things live together. Every living creature has something to restrain it. The h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ant is no exception. What they fear most is a plant called Huangquan Gra.s.s. As long as there is a leaf of the Huangquan Gra.s.s on one’s body, these ants will never dare to approach him.”
“What’s the use of saying this? We haven’t even seen what Huangquan Gra.s.s is. Where can we find it?”
“Yes, isn’t that nonsense? There is none gra.s.s on this island, let alone a leaf of the Huangquan Gra.s.s.”
When Zhao Qiankun and others complained, a yellow leaf appeared in Qin Haodong’s palm. He said happily, “Coincidentally, I just have the Huangquan Gra.s.s.”
The Huangquan Gra.s.s came across by chance when he was collecting medicines. At that time, he did not expect to meet such a terrible creature as the h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ant, but the s.p.a.ce of the Storage Ring was large enough, so he picked some and threw them in at random. He didn’t expect that now it would become a good thing to save lives.
“Take it and don’t lose it.”
Qin Haodong gave Hu Xiaoxian the leaf in his hand and took out another one from his pocket.
Lei Tianrui and his people looked at the golden leaf in Qin Haodong’s hand with their eyes flas.h.i.+ng infinite longing. They immediately surrounded him.
“Doctor Qin, do you have any leaves? Can you give me one?”
Lei Tianrui asked flatteringly.
Seeing the dense h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ants on the surface, he had no idea about his dignity.
Qin Haodong said, “Yes, but why should I give it to you?”
Lei Tianrui said, “Doctor Qin, you forget that we are companions, and we should always help each other in case of difficulties.”
“Oh! I remember that just now you were charging me the fare.”
Lei Tianrui wanted to slap himself now. He charged the protection fee. As a result, he was almost killed by the Devilish Five, and eventually he was saved. This time, he wanted to charge a fare. In the end, he did not even have his car. He also needed to ignore his dignity and asked for help.
Qin Haodong fiddled with leaf of Huangquan Gra.s.s in his hand and said, “Now this is a good thing to save lives. If you want it, it’s not expensive to charge you twice your fare?”
“Well…”
Lei Tianrui blushed instantly. He just wanted to take back the lost money quickly. So he let Qin Haodong pay five million yuan a day. The twice of it would be 10 million yuan. In the past, Qin Haodong charged one million yuan every time. Now it had increased 10 times once. It was totally a fault made by himself.
Qin Haodong said with a laugh, “My principle is that I have always been an upstanding businessman. It’s your freedom to decide that whether you buy it or not. I do not want to let you buy it forcibly.”
Lei Tianrui glanced again at the dark, dense h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ants in the lakelet. There was no other choice.
He said, “Doctor Qin, I’m sure I want to buy it. But there’s no signal on the mobile phone here, and I don’t have so much cash, so I can’t pay for it for the time being.”
Qin Haodong said, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t have cash. You can give me a receipt for the loan.”
w.a.n.g Yuancheng felt a bit sore when he thought of the 10 million yuan. He said, “Are you sure this leaf is useful?”
Qin Haodong said, “If it’s useful, you can save lives. If it’s not, you’ll all die here. What’s the matter even if you make a receipt for the loan of 100 million yuan?”
Thinking about this, they also knew that if they died, the money they left would be useless, let alone a receipt.
Xie Zidan said, “Doctor Qin, I believe you. I want one of the leaves.”
Qin Haodong took a pen and paper from his backpack and handed them to Xie Zidan and said, “You have been driving hard all the way for me. I can give you a 50% discount. You can write five million yuan.”
“Thank you, Doctor Qin.” Xie Zidan did not hesitate to write a five-million’s loan receipt and then took one of the Huangquan Gra.s.s leaves from Qin Haodong.
Although Lei Tianrui and others hesitated, seeing that the ants were close to the sh.o.r.e. They also wrote receipts and took the leaves of Huangquan Gra.s.s from Qin Haodong.
Seeing Qin Haodong put all his pen and receipts into his backpack, Lei Tianrui was curious. On the way, he always saw Qin Haodong took things from his backpack, but the shape of the backpack did not change. It seemed that it would not be bulged or shriveled no matter how many things it contained. Was this a treasure of the cultivator in legend?
It was a tense moment. The h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ants finally landed on the island. They went up to the center of the inland.
Qin Haodong and others stood together and formed a circle. Each of them had a Huangquan Gra.s.s leaf in their hand. Now it was up to the small leaves.
By this time the sun had completely set, and only a bright moon in the sky shone on the valley. It was silent all around, and everyone could clearly hear their breathings, heartbeats and the rustles of ants moving forward.
These h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ants were getting closer and closer. Even the ants’ mouthparts which were waving on their heads could be seen in the moonlight.
Five meters, three meters, two meters… When the ants arrived about a meter from them, the ants suddenly stopped. The two antennae on their heads fluttered wildly. Then, as if they had been greatly frightened, they turned their heads and ran back.
Panic seemed to be contagious. The fierce and unprecedented corps of the h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ants, at this time, was like the army that collapsed after a great defeat. Without formation and discipline, they rushed to the lakelet one after another. Even many ants couldn’t jump on the leaves before falling directly into the lakelet. They struggled for several times and then sank.
People on the island were relieved, including Qin Haodong. He just learned in the Cultivation World that Huangquan Gra.s.s leaves could restrain the h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ants, but he had never tried it before. He didn’t expect the effect to be so good. It seemed that the creator was really amazing.
A few minutes later, all the ants on the island had escaped. Even the h.e.l.l Soul Devouring Ants outside the lakelet began to retreat. Dozen minutes later, all ants had disappeared from the valley. If there was not a strong smell of blood in the air, it would look as if nothing had happened.
Everyone had a feeling of being a survivor of a disaster. No wonder so many expeditions were lost in the death zone. This place was so evil.
Now it was late at night. For safety’s sake, they didn’t go back to the opposite of the lakelet, but camped directly on the island.
In the next morning, when the sun rose from the east, and the golden suns.h.i.+ne filled the valley, Qin Haodong used the same method to send Hu Xiaoxian and the little fellow to the opposite side. Then he threw the Huangquan Gra.s.s leaf in his hand into the lakelet and used it as a steppingstone to cross the lakelet.
Looking at that Huangquan Gra.s.s leaf, Lei Tianrui and others had complex feelings. It was this small thing that cost them 10 million yuan. But they dared not throw it away, as they didn’t know whether they would encounter such terrible things again in the future.
After calming down, they all went back to the opposite side of the lakelet.
Looking around the valley, it was still quiet and beautiful. The devoured animals yesterday did not leave any bones. There was only a pool of oil left in the position of the two Hummers. Only the burnt gasoline ditch could truly record what had happened here.
Lei Tianrui said to Hu Xiaoxian, “Let’s discuss what to do next. Should we go ahead or go back?”
Hu Xiaoxian said, “We haven’t finished our task yet. How can we go back?”
Dong Sihai said, “But we don’t have any vehicles and equipment. It’s dangerous if we continue to move forward.”
Hu Xiaoxian said, “But we are about to arrive at our destination. If we go back, we will waste all the previous efforts. Besides, how do you know that it is safe if we go back?”
Lei Tianrui said, “Xiaoxian is right. Now that we have arrived here, we should move on.”
After the unification of goal, they continued to go deep into the Shennongjia. Qin Haodong would not go back naturally. He held the little fellow in his arms and walked behind the team with Hu Xiaoxian.