"All we can do is pray she gets back quickly, and hope that she's a high school senior!"
Red Ant lay on the ground, murmuring weakly.
Darkness descended once again, stirring up panic in his heart.
Upon hearing this, Chu Ge's eyes lit up.
Tang Xuejia was indeed a high school senior!
So was he!
High school seniors never finished their homework, with multiple papers every day and reviews to do; this meant she wouldn't go to sleep before 12 a.m. after dinner.
Studying by lamplight until midnight, this was the mantra of countless scholars!
They began to wait, cautious and anxious.
About an hour passed.
Tang Xuejia finally returned to her bedroom, giving Chu Ge and Red Ant a sigh of relief.
When they saw Tang Xuejia holding her British Shorthair cat, they both shuddered.
Especially when they saw the British Shorthair licking Tang Xuejia's face, they nearly felt nauseous.
The British Shorthair had previously eaten a cockroach!
And that cockroach had been a human!
"I will never keep cats in my life."
Red Ant mumbled, and Chu Ge nodded in agreement.
Tang Xuejia played with her British Shorthair for a while before she began to take out papers to review.
The British Shorthair lay at the edge of the computer desk, scanning the room with its innocent cat eyes, but when its gaze swept over Chu Ge and Red Ant, they both felt a chill in their hearts.
Cats are believed to be psychic by the older generations; they had never felt such a thrill when they were human.
Calm as water, like the lord at the top of the food chain looking down on all beings with contempt.
Chu Ge sighed inwardly, "I can't believe I'm being scared by a domestic cat!"
What a disgrace!
He tried to adjust his mood, knowing well that he absolutely couldn't afford to be afraid in the Survival Arena; to fear was to lose.
Time continued to tick away.
Unwittingly, it turned 10 p.m.
Tang Xuejia was still diligently working on her papers, while the British Shorthair was deep in sleep.
Red Ant suddenly turned, looking towards the depths of a wall crevice.
"What's wrong?"
Chu Ge asked nervously; to him, the crevice seemed only wide enough for ants and shouldn't pose a danger.
Red Ant replied, "There's danger, after all, I've survived two Survival Competitions. My Survival Skills are not just a one."
With that, he crawled out towards the crevice.
Chu Ge was stunned for a moment, but after some hesitation, he followed.
Even though Red Ant was seriously injured, the insect's vitality was strong, and he climbed up the wall with Chu Ge right behind him.
Both were nervous, stopping after intervals to look around warily.
Now that they were so small in size, they faced many obstacles to their vision.
A piece of paper on the wall could conceal an enemy, making them invisible.
Chu Ge looked back, his body trembling with fright.
Out from the crevice where they had been came an oval-shaped bug, its shell segmented, many small legs underneath, and two longer antennae in front. The entire creature was a grayish-white color.
Was that not a Rat Woman?
Chu Ge quickly calmed himself, having not heard of Rat Women eating ants.
To humans, Rat Women were as insignificant as ants, often crushed to death.
This bug was still relatively common in human dwellings, often found in dark, damp places.
Could it be that Tang Xuejia's home had a leaky wall?
The moment the Rat Woman saw them, it charged at them.
"Run! This creature is an old-timer too! We can't treat it like an ordinary Rat Woman!"
Red Ant shouted, leading the rush upwards.
Chu Ge wasn't about to act carelessly and started sprinting with his ant legs.
Quickly, he surpassed Red Ant.
"Damn it, can't you slow down?"
Red Ant yelled, his tone somewhat tragic and indignant—he had been bitten by a centipede and lost two legs; how could he possibly outrun Chu Ge?
Chu Ge certainly wasn't going to actually stop.
Although they spoke of cooperation, at a moment like this, he did not want to be dragged down by Red Ant.
Rat Woman was fast, even faster than they were!
"No way! If this keeps up, I'm going to die!"
Chu Ge's mind worked like lightning, rapidly considering his options.
His gaze landed on something above.
There was an area with shredded paper, the ruins left behind after tearing posters.
He climbed desperately upwards, but Rat Woman was simply too fast, closing in on them at a visibly alarming rate.
"Dammit! Does this Rat Woman have speed enhancement?"
Angry curses came from Red Ant behind him, but Chu Ge couldn't afford to pay him any attention.
Right before his eyes lay the paper shreds; Chu Ge quickly positioned himself behind a piece, tensed his body, and turned white, perfectly blending in with the paper scraps.
Soon, Red Ant scurried past him, dragging his halved abdomen and desperately climbing up, a sight that tugged at Chu Ge's heartstrings.
"Buddy, you're just unlucky."
Chu Ge could only mourn for him in silence. As for sympathy, he couldn't afford to give it another thought—he was focused solely on how he might escape to safety.
Rat Woman crawled past him without stopping, its sights set solely on Red Ant.
Under Chu Ge's gaze, Rat Woman caught up with Red Ant, gave a forceful shove, and with a pained scream, Red Ant was sent flying, following a parabolic trajectory toward the ground.
Would an ant be killed from the fall?
Chu Ge was unsure, as he had never witnessed an ant dying from a fall.
Rat Woman turned around, dashing towards the ground, clearly convinced that Red Ant wouldn't die from the fall.
The battle raged on!
In the distance, Tang Xuejia, who appeared like a giant, was still engrossed in her papers, completely oblivious to the life-or-death struggle happening in her room.
Chu Ge's eyes settled on the British Shorthair cat on the desk, hoping the boss wouldn't wake up.
After Red Ant hit the ground, he quickly got up and dashed towards a nearby wardrobe.
Rat Woman didn't dare to jump down straight away. Even though it could climb the walls swiftly, it was still outpaced by Red Ant.
Chu Ge once again felt the tension of a life-or-death moment.
At the same time, he felt fortunate for his own thinking.
The Change Color ability truly was a divine skill!
In this room, there shouldn't be any creatures with heat-sensing abilities like snakes, so he had a good chance to survive.
Chu Ge decided to stay in this area with the paper shreds.
He didn't believe Tang Xuejia would get up in the middle of the night to clean the wall.
"There's a cloud made by rain in the wind, a cloud made by rain...
Just then, a melodious female voice rang out, the music so loud it struck Chu Ge like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
Cellphone ringtone!
Tang Xuejia picked up her phone to answer the call, while the British Shorthair cat beside her awoke startled, blinking its sleepy eyes hazily as it looked around. The Rat Woman, which was nearly on the ground, immediately stopped, motionless.
"Xiao Yu, why are you calling me so late?"
Tang Xuejia asked as she held the phone in one hand and the papers in another.
There was no one else in the room, so Chu Ge could vaguely hear Xiao Yu's voice coming from the phone.
"Tomorrow is Saturday; let's go visit Chu Ge."
"Why should we visit him? We're not that close."
"You're so silly. It's a chance to go out and have fun!"
"We're in our senior year, you still want to play? Aren't you afraid of not getting into a top university?"
"There's a comic convention tomorrow, are you sure you don't want to go?"
Listening to the conversation between the two female classmates, Chu Ge was embarrassed.
Sister!
I'm right behind your wall, shivering in terror!