War Truck in the Apocalypse

Chapter 22: A Colony of Ants Arrives on Land, and a War

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Shen Cong would not be worried if he just faced one or two mutated monsters, unless they were monsters that were of the prehistoric crocodile’s size. 

However, the mutated ants that were the size of plastic bottles caused Shen Cong’s skin to instantly be covered in goosebumps. The wrecked car in the distance was surrounded by approximately one hundred mutated ants, and in a very short amount of time, the wrecked car was eaten by the ants until only a few scraps were left. It was as if it had melted away, just like how foam did at high heat. 

The mutated ants ate metal!

Once they finished eating one of the wrecked cars, they quickly went to the next car. 

Shen Cong did not immediately return to Titan, because the ants were still a distance away from him. He was currently in a conflict as to how he should deal with the situation. 

His first option was naturally to run away. If he could not win against someone, just flee; that was one of Shen Cong’s beliefs, and he felt no shame about it. This belief was especially strong when he saw how the mutated ants were capable of eating metal. This was enough to pose a threat to Titan. 

His second option was to destroy the colony of ants. The ants might seem terrifying, but they were not an army. The entire outside force only numbered to around one hundred ants, so Shen Cong was confident that he could kill them with his slingshot and steel balls. One attack would kill one ant, so one hundred ants just meant that he would have to use up one hundred steel balls. 

But did the ants have other forces? Could the entire nest of ants have mutated?

Based on the habits of ants, they sent worker ants out to gather food, and if they found a large source, all of the ants would immediately surge out to work together so that they could transport the food back. 

Shen Cong was not certain whether what he saw was the entire nest. If there was an entire nest of ants as their backup, then once war broke out, wouldn’t something of an immeasurable scale happen?

As someone with a persecution complex, Shen Cong usually thought more than anyone else. 

He cast a profound glance at the ants that were busy eating metal and came to the decision that he should remain on the safe side. After all, he had already removed most of the spare parts that he needed in the vehicle recycling plant. There was no longer any significant reason for him to stay, so it would be best if he used the chance to leave. 

Once he made his decision, he no longer hesitated. 

Shen Cong immediately put things in order in Titan, had the outer armor slide shut, turned on the ignition, and stepped on the accelerator. Titan’s engines released a whirring sound that sounded like rumbling thunder, which meant that they were slowly coming to life. 

While the engines began working, Shen Cong paid attention to the ants in the distance. 

He hoped that he could leave quietly. 

But things always worked against his wishes. The sound of Titan’s engines was really loud, and Shen Cong soon noticed through his binoculars that the colony of ants had stopped eating their wrecked car. Instead, they started rushing over to Titan based on the sound. 

The speed at which the mutated ants traveled was much greater than that of Titan, who could not speed up when it faced a terrain filled with potholes. 

‘You’re forcing me to change my decision, huh?!’

Shen Cong resolutely decided to give up on leaving. With Titan’s speed, it was impossible for him to shake off the mutated ants, and sooner or later, he would have to face them. With that being the case, it would be better if he just attacked beforehand. 

He stepped on the brakes and turned off the ignition. 

Shen Cong did not dare delay matters. He quickly opened the window in the direction of the mutated ants. Then, he picked up his slingshot and steel balls. The metal frame of Shen Cong’s slingshot was something he had made himself. It was a very simple frame, but there was no need for him to pay attention to how good it was. The key lay in the quality of the rubber bands. 

However, there was a lack of a standard in the production of the rubber bands. Still, Shen Cong, who had already perfected the art of using a slingshot, knew whether a rubber band was good or bad after pulling it some ten times. If he encountered a good rubber band, he would buy extra of the same batch. Hence, over the years, Shen Cong had prepared quite a number of rubber bands. 

Of course, the most important thing when using a slingshot was the sense of using the slingshot. The experts would adapt to using different types of rubber bands. 

Previously, Shen Cong had used a six-rubber band from Special Rubber. Now, he had switched to a twelve-rubber band from Special Rubber. If he fired a steel ball from it, he could shoot through a 1 mm galvanized steel sheet within 100 m. 

If the target was within 30 m, he could achieve one hundred percent accuracy, even if the target was a soybean. If the target was 100 m away and happened to be the size of a coin, his accuracy would still be above seventy-five percent. 

Shen Cong had already figured out his best ability. If he had a 5 cm target situated 20 m away from him, he could hit it one hundred and thirty-four times within twenty times. Shooting a 5 cm target situated 20 m away was a rule set by a slingshot expert among the common people, who managed to shoot the target one hundred and forty-seven times. It was, in fact, a record among the Guinness World Records. As for long-distance shooting, Shen Cong had managed to hit a leaf 200 m away more than once using his steel ball. 

But the certainty of hitting a target at long distance was not great. This was mainly because the further away the target was, the more the steel ball would drop and waver. It would not have much power left either. 

‘After Activity made me stronger, my strength increased, and when I draw a twelve-rubber band, all targets within 100 m are objects that I can kill.’ 

Shen Cong stopped moving forward and brought up his slingshot. Then, he pulled the rubber band abruptly until it was at least 1.5 m long. 

When Shen Cong used a slingshot, he would always hold it diagonally and fire after a brief estimation of where his target was. He fired entirely based on his instincts. 

He had always sought to use his slingshot based on instinct and feeling. This was a type of style in which the users let their instincts take up the task of aiming. 

The human brain was an amazing thing. It could work perfectly on instinct, but if someone deliberately aimed at the target, they would become much less accurate. 

The moment Shen Cong pulled the rubber band, the mutated ants rushed into the area 100 m away from him. 

Snap!

At the instant Shen Cong finished pulling the rubber band, he released it. The powerful spring caused by the twelve-rubber band when it was fully drawn allowed the steel ball to travel at a speed that the naked eye could not hope to see. 

Shick!

A faint sound rose. The mutated ant that led the charge flopped over and shuddered on the ground. 

Shen Cong could clearly see that the steel ball had struck the petiole, which was the part connecting the thorax and abdomen. The steel ball had nearly split the ant in half. 

It died right away, but Shen Cong did not bother himself with it. He was now in the zone, and the moment he released the rubber band the first time, he had already gone to grab another steel ball by his side. He fit it against the rubber band, which he pulled with great force right after, found the right feeling to fire the next shot, and released the rubber band. Another steel ball shot out. 

Shick. 

Another mutated ant stopped moving. 

The mutated ants were the size of a plastic bottle. Even though they had grown multiple times compared to their original size, when alone, they were still incredibly insignificant. 

Shen Cong fired seven steel balls in succession and took seven mutated ants’ lives. But at that moment, the mutated ants had already arrived in front of Titan, and Shen Cong found it difficult to continue attacking them with his slingshot. 

He reached out and shut the window. He then brought out his fang dagger and cut a strip of tumor pork before placing it by the window. Once he was done, he opened the window again. 

Flesh with Activity was incredibly attractive to mutated monsters, and the group of mutated ants surged to the window. 

Shen Cong guarded the window. He held a steel board with his left hand, and in his right, he held his fang dagger. When an ant dropped by, he swung his dagger. When another came, he swung his dagger again. At this time, the great benefit of possessing a war truck with a tight defense was displayed in its full glory. 

Since there was only one hole, Shen Cong only needed to pay attention to that place, and his safety was ensured. 

When a few of the mutated ants rushed over together, Shen Cong could not kill them in time, so he positioned the steel board at the hole to block it. He first killed the ones who had rushed over before he removed the steel board and continued luring the mutated ants over in the same manner as before. 

This killing style was just like the challenge mode in Crossfire. All he needed to do was to hunt down the monsters. It was also similar to Beach Head 2000. When the allies brought an artillery battery over, one man alone could hold out against ten thousand fascists. 

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Once Shen Cong killed one group, another rushed over, and once that one died, yet another one rushed over. Their “teamwork” was so impeccable that Shen Cong enjoyed it immensely. 

Once he killed seven batches of mutated ants, the happy atmosphere disappeared, because the thing he was worried about happened. The hundred mutated ants were indeed just worker ants tasked to gather food for the nest. While Shen Cong was killing time, he looked outside and found that at some point in time, a trail of black had started rushing over from a distance. 

It was a dense mass of mutated ants. 

In his peripheral vision, Shen Cong caught a glimpse of ants that were much larger than the ones he was killing right then, and he immediately felt troubled. 

‘Why did so many ants mutate?!’