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He turned back, only to freeze. Mia was watching him.
The surrounding ants noticed too. Soldiers who had previously ignored Kai now watched him with undisguised jealousy.
One worker Ant said, "What! She is back. Why does it look like she is here for that new guy?"
Another worker ant said, "I think this new guy will be beaten to death by captain Darius. He gets jealous whenever someone from our working area talks with Princess Mia."
Mia slowly approached Kai, her red eyes locked onto him with curiosity. There was a mystery within her, she definitely has some secrets related to Kai.
"You did well," she said simply, while she was smiling.
Kai wiped the sweat with his little Ant legs/hands from his Ant brow. "I follow orders," he replied, keeping his tone even.
Mia chuckled softly. "Yes, but you don't follow blindly. I like that."
In the background, from the corner of his eye, Kai saw Darius stiffen. The Ant captain's hands clenched at his sides, his aura subtly flaring.
Kai realized then, this wasn't just about status. Darius had been trying to win over Mia. And here she was, talking to Kai instead.
Darius took a step forward. "Your Highness," he said smoothly, forcing a calm expression. "A worker like him is unworthy of your time. If you need something please tell me."
Mia turned to Darius with an amused smile. "And yet, he managed to impress me twice within a single day. Something you haven't done in years, Captain Darius!"
Darius's expression darkened. "I… I have always tried my best to help you Princess Mia."
Kai suppressed a smirk. He wasn't interested in whatever political game was happening here, but if it gave him an advantage, he'd take it.
Mia looked back at him. "Walk with me." she said.
Kai hesitated for a fraction of a second before stepping forward. He didn't miss the way Darius's aura flared again. He was furious.
Mia led Kai through a more secluded path in the kingdom. The noise of the workers and soldiers faded into a distant hum.
For a while, they walked in silence. Then Mia spoke. "You're different," she said. "I've seen thousands of ants enter this kingdom. None of them questioned their place. But you… you want more."
Kai glanced at her. "Wouldn't anyone?"
Mia smiled. "No. Most accept their roles. They live, they work, and they die for the colony."
Kai's mandibles clicked. "Sounds like a waste of a life. I am not like those Ants."
She stopped walking and turned to him. "Exactly!!! I am talking about that."
For a moment, they simply stared at each other.
Then Mia asked, "Tell me, Kai. If you could have anything in this world, what would it be?"
Kai exhaled slowly. He thought about the mark on his head, the level cap, the rules that bound him. "Freedom!" he answered.
Mia's violet eyes gleamed. "You and I," she said softly, "may have more in common than you think."
Before Kai could respond, a faint rustling caught his attention.
Mia's expression hardened instantly. "Someone is listening."
Kai's instincts flared.
His eyes flicked to the shadows, and he realized something chilling. He was being watched. By who? He didn't know. But the game he had just stepped into was far more dangerous than he had thought.
Rustle! Rustle!
Kai's heart still pounded in his chitinous chest as he strained his eyes toward the source of the faint rustling. He had barely processed Mia's urgent warning when his instincts screamed at him as someone was lurking in the dark.
The sound was subtle at first, a mere whisper amid the quiet rustle of leaves and the distant hum of colony activity. But now it grew louder, a deliberate presence moving stealthily through the shadows.
Kai's gaze swept across the dim corridor of the secluded pathway where he and Mia had been speaking. The low light cast long, wavering shadows on the polished walls of the ant kingdom's outer corridors. There, partially concealed behind a cluster of towering fibrous structures, stood a figure cloaked in darkness, a shadow ant, its form barely discernible from the gloom. Unlike the rest of the colony's regimented subjects, this Ant moved with an uncanny, almost liquid stealth. Every step it took was measured, silent, and lethal.
Mia's eyes narrowed as she spotted the intruder. In an instant, her expression shifted from curiosity to anger. "Someone is listening," she had said moments before, and now her voice cut through the quiet like a sharpened blade: "Show yourself! I know you are there. Don't waste my time."
Without warning, the shadow ant burst forth from the darkness. It leaped into the open with lightning speed, its movements were blur as it closed the distance between itself and Mia. Its body, sleek and jet-black with hints of iridescent violet along its limbs, betrayed its true nature, this was no ordinary wanderer, but an assassin ant of considerable skill. The intruder's mandibles gleamed ominously, and its eyes, cold and focused, burned with a deadly intent.
Kai stood frozen, he never felt this much aura pressure since his Reincarnation. It's like he is a tiny bug In Front of a big mountain, his eyes wide in awe and apprehension.
He had seen many adversaries in his journey, but watching an assassin ant in full, fluid motion was something altogether different and Princess Mia's aura was on a totally different level.
His mind raced with questions, and despite the pounding in his chest, he managed to whisper, "System… compared to me what level are they?"
In a flash, his internal interface lit up with a terse reply:
[Ding! system notifications:
Mia: 6-star rank. ★★★★★★
Assassin ant: 5-star rank.★★★★★
Host: 1-star rank.⭐ ]
The information hit Kai like a shock. Mia, one of the most beautiful and sexy figures in the colony, was a six-star ant, a symbol of authority and power that few could match. And this assassin, the one now threatening to disrupt the fragile peace of their secluded meeting, was five stars rank, a formidable force in its own right.