# 346
Chapter 346 – Abandoned Forest Station
Li Deyang threw on his army coat and opened the door.
In the biting wind an old man stood trembling, ears already scarlet from the cold, frozen tear-tracks caught in the furrows of his face.
“Dad?!” Li Deyang froze, then hurried to pull him inside.
“Deyang!!” The old man’s frost-cracked hand jerked away. “Tingting’s been taken!”
Li Deyang’s face changed instantly.
“What happened?”
“After we checked into the inn I went downstairs to fetch her hot water. I heard glass smash upstairs, ran up, and saw a… a monster grab her!” The old man’s words tumbled over each other.
“A monster?” Li Deyang’s brows locked. “What kind?”
“Like an ant, red, but huge—huge and terrifying!” He sketched its size with shaking hands.
Red ant?
Li Deyang’s heart sank. “Which way did it go?”
“Into the forest!” the old man cried. “Deyang, you’re head ranger—call the higher-ups, get men, helicopters, bring her back!”
“They can’t handle this.”
Li Deyang strode back inside, donned cap and gloves, grabbed his shotgun, pulled a sheathed Straight Blade from the corner, hesitated, then dug out a dark-red cloak from the bottom of a chest.
“Deyang, what are you doing?!” the old man stammered.
“Going in.”
Slung with gun and blade, Li Deyang stepped outside. “Stay here—you’re old. If I’m not back in three days, call the police.
And take the money under my bed; it’s for Tingting’s birthday. Use it to buy her a city apartment. Stop running to these backwoods.”
“I’m coming too!” the old man insisted, stubbornly following. “I was the best hunter in the village—”
“This is different!!”
Li Deyang pushed him back inside, voice hard. “Wait here. I’ll bring her home.”
He locked the door, ignoring the frantic shouts from within, then shouted into the wind.
“Chen Han!”
“Here!”
Chen Han emerged from the next room—thin walls had let him hear everything; he was already geared up.
Side by side, Straight Blades sheathed, the two men stood in the night wind, their long-unworn crimson cloaks spotless.
Li Deyang eyed the dark forest and strode forward.
“Team 332—full deployment!”
…
Deep in the virgin forest.
Lin Qiye, Cao Yuan, An Qingyu and Baili Pangpang stepped out of dense undergrowth; torch-beams swept an abandoned clearing and stopped.
“This is the disused forest station?” Cao Yuan asked.
An Qingyu nodded. “Marked here on the map.”
Baili Pangpang’s flashlight swept the area—mostly bare mud, a few two-storey buildings in the distance swallowed by vines and weeds.
“Place gives me the creeps,” he muttered, shrinking his neck.
Lin Qiye glanced at him. “You’ve said that twenty-six times already.”
“Twenty-six,” An Qingyu corrected flatly.
“But it is creepy!” Baili protested.
“Let’s look inside,” Lin Qiye said, ignoring him and heading for the buildings.
Grey-white brick houses loomed in the dark, every window shattered into black, staring squares. Beams revealed broken furniture and rotting walls.
Vines strangled the brickwork; weeds half-buried the doors. Desolate, eerie, sinister—
Even Lin Qiye felt the hairs on his neck rise.
“Why would any witness come here?” Baili wondered aloud.
Silence.
“Intel says the witness saw the red giant ant on a rooftop, eating a dead crow,” Lin Qiye said. “My guess: the ants smashed these windows. They’re active here—stay sharp.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect myself!” Baili declared bravely.
Lin Qiye sighed. “I meant: when we move, don’t kill the worker—leave me a live one.”
Baili: …
They pushed through waist-high weeds toward the nearest door.
Their priority: capture a living giant ant. This abandoned station was the best lead.
They had to search every building.
Torchlight pierced the black doorway. Baili gulped, eyes squeezed half-shut, and forced himself forward—
His head bumped something.
He yelped and leapt back. Lin Qiye stood in front of the house, turning slowly.
“Nothing inside—I already swept it with mental power.”
He shrugged and walked to the next building.
Baili: …
You could’ve said that earlier!
Relieved, Baili followed as Lin Qiye cleared several more buildings—no ants.
At the last house Lin Qiye stopped, frowning.
“Empty too?” Baili asked hopefully.
Lin Qiye stared at the grim little structure, hand sliding into his backpack, and said quietly,
“Third window from the left on the second floor… there’s a person.”