Chapter Seventy-One: Microscopic

“No way, you two are really going back?” Seeing their fists bump together, Shen Mingyi showed a look of utter incomprehension. “Are you crazy? It’s already dark out. You know the dangers of the jungle at night are ten times what they are during the day. We can barely survive in the daytime, let alone at night. And what if that bug hasn’t gone far? What will you do then?”

“We’ll just run back again,” Liu Chang replied with a laugh. “Sigh, I just want to go back and take a look. We’ve been through so much together with Fatty—life and death, over and over. If we just leave without seeing him, I can’t accept it!”

“Everyone thinks differently, do as you wish. But let me be clear: I’m not going back,” Shen Mingyi sighed, the sound tinged with both admiration and resignation. “Don’t call me a coward, but I truly have no obligation to go back with you. The fact that I’m not stopping you is already good enough. After all, you’re my assigned targets. If you leave, I won’t even be able to report back! If something happens to Mr. Li, my comrade and I will be deserters. If our mission targets disappear or die, we’ve failed the mission—how could we go back to the military district? Even though all communications are down and the people in Zhengzhou may not know our situation, I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to return there either.”

“So with you leaving, I’m suffering a huge loss!” Shen Mingyi exclaimed loudly.

“It’s fine, we’ll come back alive. Also, I need to ask you a favor. Here, take this…” As Liu Chang spoke, he held out the little girl in his arms to Shen Mingyi. “This little girl is our companion. Take care of her for us. Believe me, if we survive, we’ll definitely come back to find you.”

“Of course I believe you. If you’re willing to risk so much for someone who might already be dead, then you’d never give up on someone who’s still alive!” Shen Mingyi took the little girl from him. “If you do come back, where should we meet?”

“There!” Liu Chang pointed northeast. “Over there, on the eastern outskirts of Zhengzhou, at the end of Zhengkai Avenue—there should be a university called North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, do you know it?”

“Yes, I’ve heard of it. It’s not far from here,” Shen Mingyi nodded.

“Then go wait for us there. University campuses should be relatively safe. If we make it back alive, we’ll go find you as soon as we can.” As Liu Chang spoke, he looked at the little girl in Shen Mingyi’s arms, his eyes full of reluctance. “Take good care of her. If we don’t return, then she…”

He paused, choosing his words carefully. “Then… don’t give up on her. She’s a very special child.”

With that, Liu Chang patted Shen Mingyi’s shoulder, then turned to face Li Qingshui.

“Let’s go!”

“Let’s go.”

After waving farewell to Shen Mingyi, Liu Chang and Li Qingshui turned and re-entered the jungle.

The two moved quickly, and as they pressed deeper into the woods, the grass beneath their feet grew thicker, and the trees towered ever higher and denser. Five minutes later, they once again stepped into that world of green and blue.

“The sky’s almost completely dark. Your vision must be affected too, right?” Once inside the jungle, Li Qingshui slowed his pace. “How far can you see?”

“Not far,” Liu Chang replied, scanning their surroundings. “Maybe six or seven meters at most. My field of vision has shrunk by more than half. What about you?”

“Less than a meter!” Li Qingshui said. “I can’t even see your face from here.”

“Seriously? That’s basically being blind.” Liu Chang looked at Li Qingshui, who was less than a meter away. “You’d better stick close to me!”

“Mm.”

Li Qingshui gave a soft reply, and the two continued on, heading toward the spot where they’d been surrounded by the bugs.

It wasn’t far from the edge of the jungle. After a cautious search, they reached the scene—but there was no sign of movement. Nature’s immense power to swallow and erase had already wiped away most traces of what had happened here.

The giant bug was gone, as were the missing soldiers, Fatty, Dr. Huang, and the others. In the nighttime jungle, everything seemed uncannily calm.

“There’s nothing left,” Liu Chang said after searching the area.

“There should be some remains. Someone from our team must have been taken by that bug. Look for scraps of clothing or backpacks left behind,” Li Qingshui said, crouching down to search with his pitifully short range of vision.

“Yeah.” Liu Chang joined him, the two combing the scene and the path where they’d been chased.

Five minutes later, they found a clue.

“Here’s a shirt, torn in two,” Liu Chang said, using a stick to lift a piece of clothing from the ground.

“Looks like it was ripped apart by the millipede. The body must have been eaten or carried off, leaving only the clothes.” Li Qingshui carefully took the bloodstained uniform from the stick, shaking off a few small insects feeding on the scraps, and inspected it closely.

“Look, there are some messy footprints here too.” Liu Chang lay on the ground, searching for more evidence. “These footprints can’t all belong to one person. I just wonder if any of them are Fatty’s.”

“Let me see.” Li Qingshui moved closer.

“Here.” Liu Chang pointed to a cluster of overlapping footprints on the ground.

“These are definitely Fatty’s!” Li Qingshui studied the prints, then pointed to two in particular. “No doubt about it!”

“Really? You can tell?” Liu Chang tried to spot the difference himself, but got nowhere. “They all look pretty much the same. How can you tell which are Fatty’s?”

“It’s easy. A millimeter’s difference in your eyes is as obvious as a meter in mine. And these prints differ by more than a millimeter—over a centimeter, in fact. The gap is like a chasm to me; there’s no way I could mistake it,” Li Qingshui explained, then followed the direction of Fatty’s footprints, tracing his escape path step by step.

“But how could that be? Do you actually remember everyone’s build and shoe size?” Liu Chang hurried to keep up, taking the lead in spotting prints while Li Qingshui identified which were Fatty’s. Together, they pressed on.

“Of course. Did you forget how my brain mutated? Data collection and memory analysis—I can’t forget anything I’ve seen,” Li Qingshui said, moving forward. “Fatty must have been in a panic. His strides are huge and all over the place. There must have been a bug chasing him alone.”

“Let’s hope he’s still alive!” Liu Chang led the way, eyes scanning for prints. After they’d gone dozens of meters further, Li Qingshui no longer needed to differentiate—the trail was now made up of a single set of prints: Fatty’s.

“I never thought Fatty would make it this far,” Li Qingshui said, tracking the trail. “But he’s running in the wrong direction—completely at random!”

“Mm…” Liu Chang had barely answered when, suddenly, his body stiffened in mid-step, freezing in the air at an odd angle, suspended like a marionette with taut strings—utterly motionless!

“What’s wrong with you?” Seeing this, Li Qingshui immediately drew his knife, alert and ready.