Chapter 346
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Chapter 346: Abandoned Forest Farm
Li Deyang put on his military coat and opened the door.
In the biting cold wind, an old man stood trembling outside, his ears already frozen red, and the tears on his aged face had frozen into icy streaks.
“Old man?!” Li Deyang was taken aback and quickly grabbed the man’s hand, trying to pull him inside.
“Deyang!!” The old man’s cracked hand shook off Li Deyang’s grip as he cried out, “Tingting is in trouble!”
Hearing this, Li Deyang’s expression changed instantly.
“What happened?”
“After we got to the hotel, I went downstairs to get Tingting a cup of hot water, and then I heard a window shatter upstairs. I rushed up and saw a—a… monster, taking Tingting away!” The old man spoke in a somewhat incoherent manner.
“A monster?” Li Deyang furrowed his brow. “What kind of monster?”
“It looked a bit like an ant, red, but it was huge! Terrifyingly big!” The old man gestured as he spoke.
“A red ant?”
Li Deyang’s heart sank. “Did you see where it went?”
“It went into the forest!” The old man said anxiously. “Deyang, you are the captain of the forest protection team. Hurry and call the higher-ups, tell them to send people and helicopters to rescue Tingting!”
“This matter is beyond their control.”
Li Deyang quickly walked back inside, put on his hat, gloves, and grabbed his hunting rifle. He also pulled out a sheathed dagger from a corner and, after hesitating for a moment, took out a dark red cloak from the bottom of a box.
“Deyang, Deyang! What are you doing?!” The old man stared blankly at the scene.
“Going into the forest.”
Li Deyang slung the rifle over his shoulder, held the knife in hand, and quickly walked outside. He turned back to the old man and said, “You’re old, stay here. Don’t go anywhere. If I’m not back in three days, call the police.”
“By the way, there’s a bank card in the drawer under my bed. It has three million in savings, and the password is Tingting’s birthday. Take it back, and when Tingting is safe, buy a house in the big city and enjoy life. Don’t keep coming to this remote place.”
“Deyang! I’m going with you!” The old man stubbornly followed him. “Back in the day, I was the most famous hunter in the village. Going into the forest is something I…”
“This is different!!”
Li Deyang emphasized his words, pushing the old man back into the house. He said sternly, “Old man, just listen to me and wait here. I will definitely bring Tingting back.”
After saying that, he locked the door, ignoring the old man’s calls from inside.
Li Deyang shouted into the cold wind.
“Chen Han!”
“Here!”
Chen Han stepped out from the adjacent room. The soundproofing in the house wasn’t great, and he had heard their conversation. He was already geared up and ready to go.
The two stood in the night wind, holding their sheathed knives, the dark red cloak untouched by dust.
Li Deyang glanced at the dark, deep forest and walked forward with determination, slowly speaking.
“Team 332, all members mobilized!”
…
In the primeval forest.
Lin Qiye and his three companions emerged from a tall thicket, the beam of their flashlight sweeping across a desolate clearing before coming to a stop.
“This should be the abandoned logging site, right?” Cao Yuan said.
An Qingyu nodded. “It’s marked on the map.”
Baili Pangpang carefully scanned the surroundings with his flashlight. Most of the area was empty, muddy ground, but in the distance, there were shadows of a few two- or three-story low buildings, covered in tangled vines and wild grass.
“This place… feels so eerie,” Baili Pangpang shivered.
Lin Qiye shot him a glance. “You’ve already said that at least twenty times on the way here.”
“Twenty-six times,” An Qingyu added dryly.
“But it really is creepy here! Don’t you think?” Baili Pangpang couldn’t help but retort.
“Let’s go check inside,” Lin Qiye said, ignoring Baili Pangpang and walking straight ahead.
The buildings standing in the darkness were old brick structures, their windows mostly shattered, leaving behind narrow, eerie black openings. The flashlight’s beam illuminated the remnants of broken tables and rotten walls inside.
Thick vines wrapped around the walls, and the overgrown weeds nearly surrounded the entire building. Through the gaps in the weeds, one could see the dark entrance of the building.
Desolate, eerie, strange…
Even standing in front of these abandoned low buildings, Lin Qiye felt the hairs on his body stand on end, a chilling sensation creeping over him.
“So why did that witness come to this haunted place in the first place?” Baili Pangpang asked, puzzled.
Lin Qiye and the others fell silent.
The intel said that the witness saw the giant red ant while it was gnawing on a dead crow on the roof of a low building. Lin Qiye broke the silence, slowly saying, “If I’m not mistaken, these windows must have been shattered by the giant ants. They likely frequent this area, so everyone be careful…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect myself!” Baili Pangpang said, mustering his courage.
Lin Qiye glanced at him, helplessly saying, “What I mean is, be careful when you act. Don’t kill the worker ants; leave one alive for me.”
Baili Pangpang: …
The four of them stepped through the overgrown weeds toward the front door of one of the low buildings.
Right now, Lin Qiye and his team’s main goal was to find a live giant ant, and this abandoned logging site, where giant ants had previously been spotted, was the most likely place to find their traces.
They had to search the entire area thoroughly.
The flashlight beam projected into the dark entrance, and Baili Pangpang looked at the eerie house before him, swallowing hard. He closed his eyes and steeled himself to step inside.
Suddenly, he bumped into something.
Baili Pangpang let out a yelp and stumbled back two steps, only to see Lin Qiye standing in front of the building, slowly turning around…
“Let’s go. I scanned with my mental power, and there’s nothing inside.”
Lin Qiye shrugged regretfully and stepped toward the adjacent building.
Baili Pangpang: …
“You could have mentioned you could scan with your mental power earlier!”
He had been on edge for so long for nothing!
Knowing he didn’t have to enter that haunted house, Baili Pangpang visibly relaxed and followed Lin Qiye as they passed several buildings without finding any traces of the giant ants.
Just as they were about to reach the last low building, Lin Qiye suddenly stopped, his brow slightly furrowing.
“This one doesn’t have any either?” Baili Pangpang asked tentatively.
Lin Qiye stared at the eerie low building in front of him, slowly reaching into his backpack, and uttered a chilling sentence that made the three others’ scalps tingle.
“Behind the third window on the left of the second floor… there’s a person.”