I Broke Up with My Girlfriend — Don’t Look Down on Me Just Because I’m Poor - Chapter 3:
Chapter 3: Mutated Ant
“This should be it. This must be the biggest ant nest nearby!” Su Mo murmured in surprise.
At that moment, a small ant was crawling on his fingertip, its antennae constantly twitching as if sending out some kind of signal. Through the title of [Ant Killer], a faint, blurry consciousness was guiding Su Mo to this place.
In front of him was an old banyan tree behind his courtyard. At the base of the banyan tree, a huge hole yawned open—a massive ant nest.
“Children, I need your strength!” Su Mo, wearing his split pants, stood with hands on his hips, full of heroic spirit.
Very soon, through the [Ant Killer] title, he connected with a vast, hazy consciousness. The next moment, under the command of a seemingly harmless one-year-old child, a black tide of ants began to move…
[Ding! Your ant army is gnawing on a centipede, experience +5.]
[Ding! Your ant army is gnawing on a swallow, experience +10.]
[Ding! Your ant army is gnawing on a python carcass, experience +50.]
Su Mo lay leisurely at home, listening to the constant system notifications. Ever since the ant army started helping him level up, life had become incredibly comfortable. Every small animal the ants gnawed on gave Su Mo experience points. Though the amount was only half of what he’d get from killing them himself, the sheer volume made up for it.
Initially, he wanted the ants to bring the insects to him so he could deliver the final blow, but that proved too troublesome. It was far more convenient to let the ants handle everything. Roughly estimating, Su Mo had control over more than ten thousand ants, and as long as they operated within a one-kilometer radius, they remained under his command.
“Hmm, almost level three now… I love this leveling speed…” Watching his experience rise, Su Mo was overjoyed.
A week later, Su Mo finally turned two.
[Ding! Your ant army is gnawing on an earthworm, experience +5.]
[Ding! You swatted a mosquito, experience +1.]
[Ding! Your ant army found a lost lamb, attempted to gnaw, but failed. The ant army lost ten members, with three still stuck on the lamb’s body.]
[Ding! Your ant army is besieging an injured mantis. The mantis has been successfully captured, experience +10.]
[Host: Su Mo]
[Age: 2]
[Level: 3]
[Experience: 0/1000]
[Evaluation: Strength of one sheep.]
Finally, a golden light flashed, and Su Mo reached level 3.
“Tsk, strength of one sheep, why is it always compared to animals?” Su Mo muttered, feeling a twinge of annoyance. But what really made him uncomfortable was the experience required for the next level—an astonishing 1000 points!
The insects within a one-kilometer radius were becoming scarce. His ant army had almost caused a local extinction. From a hundred experience per day at the beginning, it had dwindled to barely ten now. Moreover, ants would occasionally “resign” by getting lost or dying in service. Why were there so few insects within a kilometer? Don’t ask, it’s just how the world is set up.
“Can’t find insects anymore… leveling has slowed down again… I need a new method.” Su Mo pondered. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Although a bit cruel, it was the only way to level up quickly now.
He summoned all the ants back to him. In the courtyard, they gathered like a black cloud.
“I always say, heaven cherishes life, and we shouldn’t kill indiscriminately. Look at you all, pillaging everything, causing local ecological extinction… sigh, you’ve killed too much. There’s nothing I can do to save you now…” Su Mo sighed.
Ants: “???”
“End yourselves. I won’t dirty my hands.” Su Mo stood with his hands behind his back, unwilling to look at the scene. After all, stomping this many ants would be exhausting.
Thus, he ordered the ants to devour each other.
[Ding! Your Ant No.1 killed Ant No.2, experience +0.1.]
[Ding! Your Ant No.6, not to be outdone, killed Ant No.5, experience +0.1.]
[Ding! Your Ant No.1 was ambushed by Ant No.6, experience +0.1.]
[Ding! Your Ant No.6 sneak-attacked Ant No.321, experience +0.1.]
[Ding! You have leveled up.]
After two hours, only one ant remained.
[Ding! Your Ant No.6 survived till the end. After prolonged battles and devouring, it has mutated into an Iron-Armored Ant King.]
[Ding! Pet System activated.]
“What the heck? This actually works? And it even unlocked the Pet System?” Su Mo clicked his tongue, though his eyes showed a trace of regret. After all, once something becomes a pet, it can no longer be converted into experience points.
A golden light flashed. The once ordinary ant had grown to half the size of a human fist, with strange patterns etched onto its body.
[Ding! Please name your pet.]
“Naming? Since it’s an ant…” Su Mo rubbed his chin.
[Name: Xiao Liu]
[Species: Iron-Armored Ant King]
[Level: 3]
[Skills: Bloodline Suppression, Innate Strength, Iron Body.]
[Bloodline Suppression: Can intimidate and control ants within a certain range.]
[Innate Strength: Can exert strength a thousand times its body weight.]
[Iron Body: Greatly enhanced defense.]
Looking at Xiao Liu’s stats, Su Mo was dumbfounded. An ant that was once level 0 had devoured ten thousand ants and reached level 3 with three skills. Meanwhile, he himself didn’t even have one skill yet.
“Such a pity. A level 3 creature can’t be turned into experience points anymore.” Su Mo stared at Xiao Liu with regret.
Xiao Liu: “???”
Xiao Liu stood there innocently, not knowing what to do under his master’s strange gaze. Was his master into this kind of thing? But I’m male… Xiao Liu felt utterly lost.
[Name: Su Mo]
[Age: 2]
[Level: 5]
[Experience: 231/2000]
[Evaluation: Strength of one person.]
After devouring ten thousand ants, Xiao Liu provided enough experience to boost Su Mo to level 5—a meteoric rise! Now, at just two years old, Su Mo possessed the strength of an adult.
“Xiao Liu, now that you’re part of the system, you must work hard and level up diligently, understand?” Su Mo stood with his tiny body, hands behind his back, speaking to the silver ant in a babyish yet serious tone. “I’m not like those vampire capitalists who exploit workers. We follow the most humane 007 work system: 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Any objections?”
Seeing Xiao Liu listening intently without protesting, Su Mo nodded with satisfaction. “Good, your silence means consent. Go now, level up.”
Xiao Liu, half a fist in size, quickly scurried towards the distant mountains.
“Mo’er, look what I brought back! Our family has a new member now!” Su Mo’s father said happily. As expected, a few barks followed as he returned with a fierce, large black dog.
Su Mo’s mouth twitched. “A new member, huh? I’m overjoyed… really.”
“Yay… another new friend,” Su Mo said in a childish voice, pretending to be happy, while a system interface appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Su Yu]
[Level: 7 (9)]
[Skills: Hunting Mastery, Basic Fist Techniques.]
Because Su Mo’s father hunted year-round, he gained a Hunting Mastery skill. The level bracket indicated that, with his bow and arrow, Su Yu’s combat power reached level 9. This bracketed level probably included his equipment bonus. As an ordinary mortal, equipment clearly bridged the gap in strength.
[Name: Black Dog]
[Level: 6]
[Skills: Bite, Untamed Nature.]
“This black dog is actually level 6? Even stronger than Xiao Bai from the village?” Su Mo’s gaze turned dangerous. This beast was destined to bite off his leg next year, ruining his cultivation foundation. Though it hadn’t happened yet, the thought alone was unbearable. Naturally, this dog had to become experience points.
“Seems like I can’t deal with it for now. But sooner or later, it’ll be on my menu,” Su Mo muttered. The black dog, sensing his hostility, bared its teeth and growled at him.
“You brute, if not for your hunting skills, you’d be dead already. How dare you act up?” Su Yu, seeing the black dog’s defiance, picked up Su Mo and kicked the dog, sending it sprawling. The dog whimpered, curling up obediently.
Su Mo’s eyes lit up. “Hunting? I can hunt too?”
Thus, Su Mo began pestering Su Yu relentlessly.
“What? You want to learn hunting?” Su Yu’s voice shot up an octave, visibly shaken by his two-year-old son’s request. “No way, you’re too young. Hunting is dangerous! Your mother would kill me!” He kept shaking his head like a rattle drum.
“I don’t have any secret stash, stop making things up…” In the end, Su Yu didn’t agree to take Su Mo hunting but compromised on another request: to bring back live prey. Though puzzled by his son’s strange request, he couldn’t refuse him for the first time.
In the following days, Su Yu would bring back live animals—sometimes rabbits, sometimes deer, and even the occasional grey wolf.
[Name: Grey Wolf]
[Level: 6]
[Skills: Bite, Sharp Claws.]
Seeing even grey wolves brought back, Su Mo shivered. Clearly, the mountain wasn’t as safe as he imagined. How had Su Yu managed to catch a lone wolf? However, according to the simulator, Su Yu should not face real danger until the bandits attack at Su Mo’s age of eight.
With the wounded prey brought back and Xiao Liu’s continuous efforts in the mountains, Su Mo’s experience points soared once again.
[Ding! You killed a severely injured rabbit, experience +10.]
[Ding! You killed a severely injured deer, experience +20.]
[Ding! You killed a severely injured grey wolf, experience +50.]
[Ding! Your pet Xiao Liu is gnawing on a centipede, experience +10.]
By the time Su Mo turned three, he had leveled up twice more.
[Name: Su Mo]
[Age: 3]
[Level: 7]
[Experience: 131/5000]
[Evaluation: Blood surging.]
On this day, another opportunity for growth was placed before Su Mo.
“Mo’er, do you want to learn martial arts?”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Johnson
3 YEAR BOY LEARNING MARTIAL ARTS ?