Chapter 179 Insect Tide
Lin Baozhu took a deep breath of the air, which was filled with the stench of decay and the smell of vegetation:
"How about we venture a little deeper?" she suggested. "We definitely won't be able to go back tonight, so let's find a place to settle down first."
The three found a relatively flat clearing in the woods. Qin Haifeng and Lin Sanlang deftly suspended the hammock high between two giant trees, each seven or eight meters tall.
For safety reasons, Lin Baozhu hung specially made insect-repelling sachets at the four corners of each person's hammock. The venomous insects and snakes in the deep forest are difficult to guard against, and a moment's carelessness could be fatal.
Beneath the massive canopy of trees, a campfire crackled and burned. Orange flames licked at the darkness, dancing in the flickering light in the three people's eyes. Above the fire, a small iron pot bubbled and steamed with clear water.
Lin Baozhu sat on the ground, hugging her knees, resting her chin on her knees, quietly savoring this brief but precious peace.
The primeval forest at night was filled with a symphony of insect chirps and the rustling of the wind through the layers of leaves. Lin Baozhu pulled a thick coat from her basket and wrapped it tightly around herself, her gaze drawn to the fireflies that twinkled and danced leisurely around her.
In the heart of this forest where she had just witnessed the death of the forest, she was surprised to see such dreamlike fireflies... This stark contrast stirred up a complex and indescribable feeling in her heart.
"Little sister, what are you daydreaming about? The pot's been boiling for ages, where's the food we brought?" Lin Sanlang's voice broke Lin Baozhu's gaze at the fireflies.
Lin Baozhu snapped out of her reverie, coughed lightly to cover her distraction, and deftly pulled out the prepared dried vegetables and dried meat from her basket, dumping them all into the boiling pot. She also broke up a few hard cornbreads and tossed them in. The rich aroma of meat mixed with the scent of wheat instantly filled the damp air, temporarily dispelling the chill of the forest.
The three of them enjoyed a hearty meal around the campfire, the warmth dispelling their fatigue, and then each climbed onto the hammocks suspended high above.
It was midnight.
A series of eerie and monotonous "woo-woo" sounds, like the low weeping of ghosts, drifted intermittently from the depths of the dense forest.
Annoyed by the noise, Lin Baozhu rolled over in her hammock, cursing inwardly: "What are you doing blowing those lousy leaves in the middle of the night, disturbing my sleep!"
Um?
wrong!
Lin Baozhu suddenly opened her eyes, all sleepiness gone! That voice... it was too deliberate!
"Shuffle... rustle..."
A teeth-grinding, dense grinding sound surged in from all directions like a tidal wave! Getting closer and closer!
Lin Baozhu's heart pounded. She quickly grabbed a powerful flashlight, and a blinding white beam of light shot out towards the tree below—
"hiss--!"
The sight before her made her scalp tingle and the hairs on her body stand on end!
Wherever the beam of light reached, the ground was covered as if it were a living, twisting, writhing carpet! It was densely packed with all kinds of venomous insects: brightly colored snakes flicked their tongues, giant, oily, multi-legged centipedes crawled swiftly, hairy tarantulas, slender, writhing centipedes, scorpions with their stingers raised high... A strong, pungent, and nauseating stench filled the air!
Fortunately, Lin Baozhu had come prepared! While setting up camp, she had scattered a thick layer of specially made insect-repelling powder around several large trees. At that moment, the white powder acted as an invisible barrier, separating this small "sanctuary" from the poisonous insect hell outside. The insects hovered and piled up anxiously at the edge of the powder, but dared not cross the line!
Lin Baozhu rubbed her numb arms hard, her voice trembling slightly: "These...these things..."
Qin Haifeng was already standing by the hammock, his face ashen and resolute. He stared intently at the swarm of insects, his voice low and firm:
“They’re kept by someone! The sound of the leaves blowing is the signal that drives them!”
Upon hearing this, Lin Baozhu jerked up and sat up, nimbly climbing up a tree branch. With a few leaps, she landed lightly on the thick branch where Qin Haifeng was. The two stood side by side, looking down at the terrifying "sea of insects" below.
As Lin Baozhu watched the swarm of poisonous insects churning and surging like a black tide, a sudden flash of inspiration struck her!
"I understand!!" she cried out, grabbing Qin Haifeng's arm tightly. "Those mass graves we found today! The holes in the bones! Third Brother said they were caused by maggots, but that's not true at all!"
She spoke rapidly, her eyes gleaming with an insightful light:
"Those corpses are the food for these poisonous insects! By doing this, they've killed two birds with one stone!"
First, use corpses to breed these highly venomous reptiles in large numbers and control them!
Secondly, this will provide an opportunity to eliminate predatory animals like wolves, bears, and foxes from the mountains! Without their natural predators, wild rabbits will multiply uncontrollably, carving holes in the mountainsides! When the rainy season arrives, a torrential downpour could trigger a mudslide, instantly engulfing the villages below!
She stopped abruptly, her brow furrowed, and posed the crucial question:
"But...what were they trying to achieve by going to such lengths to create mudslides and flood the villages?!"
Qin Haifeng turned his head, his gaze fixed intently on Lin Baozhu, his deep eyes filled with undisguised admiration and pride! As expected of the girl he had chosen, her insight and her way of thinking were exactly what he had in mind!
"What's the point?" Qin Haifeng's lips curled into a cold smile. "Once we catch them and get them to talk, we'll know!" His tone was sharp and determined.
His gaze then swept over the massive, intertwined branches of the trees in the darkness, his brow furrowing deeply.
"Do you think... these poisonous insects might crawl over here along these intertwined branches?"
"Don't worry!" Lin Baozhu said confidently, with a hint of pride, "The insect repellent powder I mixed is very potent! They absolutely won't dare to come near it!"
As if to verify her words, she raised her flashlight again, and the bright beam clearly illuminated the area under the tree: within a three-meter radius of the tree, where insect repellent powder had been sprinkled, the ground was spotless, and not a single poisonous insect dared to cross the boundary! That invisible barrier was stubbornly protecting them.
Qin Haifeng looked at the three-meter-wide "safe zone" beneath the tree, like an isolated island, and his tense nerves relaxed slightly as he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. He lowered his voice and spoke rapidly:
"These poisonous insects below, stimulated by the smell of blood and humans, won't easily disperse. To find the whistleblower behind this... we must cross this 'sea of insects'!"
Lin Baozhu's gaze swept over the still churning swarm of poisonous insects below, but a confident smile played on her lips:
Why risk forcing your way in? Wouldn't it be easier to lure the person 'fishing' into the trap?
Before she finished speaking, she had already reached into her small bag and quickly pulled out a glass bottle about the size of a thumb. With a flick of her wrist, the bottle arced through the air and landed precisely on the ground a short distance away!
"Crack!"
The glass bottle shattered instantly! The crystal-clear liquid (spiritual spring) inside spilled out in an instant!
A strange, indescribable aura, fatally attractive to insects, suddenly filled the air!
The effects are immediate!
The swarm of poisonous insects, which had been wriggling aimlessly just a moment ago, suddenly seemed to have been doused with scalding hot oil! They went completely mad! They churned and leaped violently like boiling water! Layer upon layer, they surged towards the source of the spiritual spring water with astonishing speed, disregarding everything else! The scene was like black tide being frantically sucked up by an invisible whirlpool!
"This is...?!" Qin Haifeng's pupils shrank sharply, stunned by this bizarre and shocking scene.
“A potion that can drive insects completely mad.” Lin Baozhu explained calmly, her gaze sweeping across the dark depths in the direction of the swarming insects. “Let’s wait and see… see if the person ‘fishing’ will be hooked by his ‘bait’ instead.”
She paused, then added:
“If they don’t come… I’ll just add some more food to them! We can leave after these bugs clear a path for themselves.”
"Gurgle gurgle... crack crack crack..."
A chilling, guttural gnawing sound erupted! The poisonous insects that had come into contact with the spiritual spring water instantly became the most tempting meal in the eyes of their kind! Countless poisonous insects swarmed forward, frantically tearing and devouring!
In just a short while—
The swarm of poisonous insects, which was originally as thick as a carpet and covered a large area of the ground, collapsed at a speed visible to the naked eye! Countless poisonous insects turned into corpses in the process of killing each other, and a thick layer of insect corpses piled up on the ground!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com