In a dim cave a hundred meters underground, a crystal-clear droplet clung to the ceiling. It trembled slightly for a moment, then finally fell under the pull of gravity, tracing a silvery arc through the air. With a soft drip, it landed precisely on an egg-shaped object about half the height of a person.
The eggshell's surface was moist and slippery. Inside, Ethan lay curled in a fetal position, fast asleep. His face was peaceful, as though he had yet to awaken from some long gestation.
In his dream, he was standing at the center of a grand, towering auditorium, passionately addressing a seated audience. Applause erupted. He smiled and turned, preparing to step down from the stage. But just as his foot came down, the solid platform beneath him suddenly gave way, collapsing into a bottomless abyss. He plummeted, weightless, his heart seizing—
Ethan's eyes snapped open. His heart pounded like a drum.
It was pitch black. He couldn't see his own hand in front of his face. For a few seconds, he was dazed, his mind still caught between dream and reality. But the dull ache from being curled up for so long quickly reminded him—this was real. He was in a confined, enclosed space.
Slowly, he reached out, feeling around him. His fingers touched a cold, curved inner wall—hard, with a subtle arch to it, like the inside of a shell. The space was no more than a meter high, resembling an oversized egg. He knocked lightly with his knuckles. The sound was crisp. The shell wasn't thick.
Ethan carefully inched forward, one hand bracing himself, the other probing the shell. Suddenly, he touched something soft. It felt like damp cotton—slightly quivering. Instinctively, he gave it a slight squeeze—
It moved.
He recoiled instantly, his palm tingling with the lingering sensation of that squishy texture.
Holding his breath, he listened. Silence. Whatever it was had only stirred briefly, then gone still. A wave of dread surged over him. Clenching his fist, he slammed it hard against the shell wall to his right.
Crack!
A fist-sized hole appeared. He struck again. The crack widened. He kept punching, blow after blow, until fragments broke away and a barely passable exit appeared. He squeezed through.
The sight outside left him stunned.
The cave stretched as vast as a football field, with a high, vaulted ceiling and jagged walls—like another world. The ground was densely covered in bioluminescent fungi glowing a faint green, forming a soft carpet of light that bathed the entire cavern in an otherworldly glow. But even more striking were the eggs—hundreds, maybe thousands of them, arranged in a precise, methodical grid like a massive incubation array.
Ethan looked down at the egg he'd just emerged from. Crouching, he brushed away the fragments and peered inside.
Inside lay a creature roughly thirty centimeters long—plump and white, like an ant magnified dozens of times. Its mandibles were thick, its belly swollen, and its translucent skin revealed underdeveloped organs pulsing faintly within. It was an unhatched larva.
Ethan scanned the surroundings. Every egg looked nearly identical. That meant—there were thousands of these things waiting to hatch.
Suddenly, his wristband gave a faint vibration and emitted a soft white glow. He raised his arm. The screen displayed:
Mission Initiated:
Round One Objective—Escape the Man-Eating Ant Nest within 24 hours.
Failure will result in elimination.
In the upper left corner of the wristband, a timer ticked down mercilessly: 23:56:45. In the upper right: Score: 0.
The word "escape" set him on high alert. This wasn't exploration—it was survival. And the phrase "man-eating ants" revealed the true danger of this place.
Ethan glanced around. The yet-unhatched eggs now felt like ticking time bombs. A horrifying calculation came to mind: if all these eggs hatched, they could release thousands of carnivorous ants. He had to find a way out—fast.
But just then, a scream echoed nearby, followed by several sharp cracks of breaking shells. He turned his head and saw, about ten meters away, an egg cracking open. A human figure clumsily crawled out.
Under the glowing light, he saw it was a middle-aged man with short hair, wearing a plain T-shirt. He looked to be in his forties and about 1.7 meters tall.
So, there were other people inside the eggs?
Ethan hurried over. The man, having confirmed there was no immediate danger, slumped to the ground, gasping for air. But then he noticed Ethan and quickly stood up, alert.
Ethan raised his hands, signaling he meant no harm. "My name is Ethan. I came out a little earlier than you. Check your wristband—it has the mission details."
The man glanced at his wristband, then nodded. "I'm Theo. You also have to escape this 'ant nest'?"
Ethan nodded.
Theo looked around, his expression darkening. "Got any ideas?"
"We both came from eggs, so there may be others still inside." Ethan pointed around. "Let's break the shells and get them out. See over there—lots of exits. We can split into teams to explore."
Theo thought for a few seconds, then nodded in agreement.
"I'll take the left, you take the right."
They set to work, cracking open egg after egg.
The cavern filled with the crack-crack sounds of shells breaking. Most eggs shattered within five blows. Ethan moved fast, one egg after another. Some contained undeveloped ant larvae, while others held curled-up humans—most still unconscious. Ethan had to slap them awake.
To those already awake, he simply said, "Check your wristband. Then help break eggs."
Crack! Another shell shattered. Just as he was moving on, a pair of hands suddenly shot out from within, grabbing his wrist and twisting it violently.
Pain flared. Ethan winced. "Hey! Let go!"
The hands finally released him.
He rubbed his wrist and looked into the egg.
The shell had been punched open. Out stepped a woman with a high ponytail, dressed in a sharp, practical outfit. Her expression was calm, as if completely unfazed by the strange environment. Seeing Ethan's grimace, she gave a brief apology. "Sorry. Thought you were an enemy."
"I get it. I'm Ethan. Your task is on the wristband. If you're okay, help us free the others." He turned and smashed the next egg.
The woman nodded. "I'm Sarah. On it."
Moments later, the rhythmic sound of cracking shells came from behind. Ethan turned to see Sarah breaking an egg every two seconds. Her punches were swift and fierce—far more efficient than the average person.
Others glanced her way, but upon seeing who it was, they quickly returned to their tasks.
Under the pale glow, the cave revealed a remarkable scene: over a hundred people working frantically to break open eggs and rescue the others. Broken shell fragments littered the ground. The entire cavern echoed with the constant sound of cracking shells.
After smashing an untold number of eggs, Ethan straightened up and checked his wristband. The countdown showed: 23:13:21.