Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Silence Is the Prelude to Death

“It kills by sound?!” Fang Ye blurted.

Feng Ling glanced at him, surprised. Chao Qiang Chao’s little follower had barely existed in the group’s awareness—so invisible that even after falling and getting his face smeared with blood, nobody had paid attention.

The moment the words left his mouth, Fang Ye looked like he regretted them. He shrank back, throat tight, as if he’d interrupted a private meeting.

A small packet of wet wipes dropped into his lap.

Fang Ye blinked, then looked up. Feng Ling had tossed it to him.

“Wipe up,” she said.

Warmth surged in his chest. He nodded hard. “Th-thank you…”

Feng Ling’s attention was already back on Zhou Zhou and Xiao Li.

“Every line in that quest prompt matters,” she said. “Silence fits the polluted entity’s pattern. Before each attack, the swarm either dies or retreats. The cave goes quiet. And when it’s quiet, our voices stick out.”

Zhou Zhou’s eyes narrowed. “You mean it hunts by sound. Like it can pinpoint us.”

“Possible,” Feng Ling said. “So far it hasn’t committed to a sustained fight. It ambushes, then immediately retreats into a hole. That tells me it knows something—under good light, it isn’t our match.”

Xiao Li nodded once. “Then we protect the lighting. If we keep light, we keep a chance.”

“But the swarm can still rush our gear,” Zhou Zhou said, jaw tight. “Too many of them.”

“They’re not endless,” Feng Ling said. “If there were a massive nest under Jiang Kou City, people would’ve been vanishing in droves long before this.”

Fang Ye listened from the side, quiet.

Qin Liang edged closer and spoke low, almost friendly. “You’re sharp. I didn’t think of sound at all. What’s your name?”

Fang Ye swallowed. “Fang Ye.” His eyes flicked, instinctively, toward Feng Ling. “Fang as in aiming in all directions. Ye as in fields stretching a thousand miles.”

Qin Liang grinned. “That’s a good name. Mine’s terrible. My grandfather picked it. Back when my grandfather—”

“Qin Liang,” Zhou Zhou cut in, impatient. “Get over here. Pull up the terrain map.”

“Coming.” Qin Liang opened the black box and brought up a 3D model.

The shape on-screen made their last half hour feel stupidly simple.

Two neat rectangles.

Two underground parking garages.

Between them: a massive central pit. And from each side of that pit, a rugged, twisting passage connected the garages.

The “holes” they’d seen weren’t separate routes at all. They were connected inside. No matter which one you entered, you’d end up in the same rough passage—and reach the same central pit.

The only reason it had felt like a maze was the lighting. Without visibility, their brains couldn’t judge distance or shape correctly.

Zhou Zhou stared at the map, then exhaled hard. “If we get this data out, Old Su can support us from outside.”

Qin Liang pointed to the left garage. “We came down from here. Su Yu Qing is thorough—he’ll have people guarding that entrance.”

He shifted and pointed at the right garage. “But if any insect monster escapes through the other garage, it’ll hit the surface. That’s a serious threat to local citizens.”

Zhou Zhou’s voice dropped. “Both sides matter. We can’t let even one bug leave. So who runs the message?”

Silence.

Then, one by one, everyone’s eyes slid to Feng Ling.

Feng Ling stared at the map.

Zhou Zhou nudged her with a claw. “Hey. What are you spacing out for?”

Feng Ling blinked. “This map looks like a uterus. I was… looking.”

Everyone stared at the screen again.

It did. Unmistakably.

A shape that specific didn’t happen by accident.

Zhou Zhou’s expression sharpened. “The deepest part of the ‘uterus’ has to be hiding something. I’m betting there’s an insect egg card—or larvae. All the bugs we’ve seen probably come from there.”

“Agreed,” Qin Liang said, tapping a data stream. “Life-sign readings are extremely active at the bottom of the pit. Even if there isn’t an insect egg card, something special is down there.”

Zhou Zhou paced once, twice, then made the call. “We rest ten minutes. After that, Qin Liang and I head to the uterus. We’ll make noise—pull the polluted entity back into the open. Feng Ling takes the detector data out. Everyone else stays here.”

“I disagree,” Xiao Li said at once, straightening. “I still have ammo. I can go and back you up.”

Cao Hong Yi spoke too, voice tight with pride and frustration. “Deputy Captain, let her go. My leg is busted, but I still have two hands. If bugs come, I can protect myself.”

He wasn’t wrong. Zhou Zhou had been keeping Xiao Li here to watch him.

Zhou Zhou’s jaw worked. He paced, then snapped, “Fine. Ten minutes. Qin Liang and Xiao Li come with me. Anyone else have a problem?”

His eyes landed on Feng Ling. “You can do it? Get the data out?”

Feng Ling wanted to go down into the “uterus” too.

But the chip mattered more. If they butchered bugs underground while the swarm sprinted to the surface, even one escapee would be a disaster.

She didn’t know how Su Yu Qing’s evacuation was going. And this was morning—old folks out buying breakfast, doing exercises. Even if the bugs didn’t bite, the panic alone could trigger heart attacks and blood pressure crises.

Feng Ling nodded. “I have a question.”

Zhou Zhou looked like he wanted to bite something. “What? Say it.”

“Why ten minutes?” Feng Ling asked.

Zhou Zhou stared at her. “What?”

Feng Ling swept her gaze over the group, honestly confused. “Are you that tired? You need ten whole minutes?”

They’d been in the cave less than half an hour.

Was everyone’s stamina really that bad?

Zhou Zhou exploded. “Yes, I’m tired, okay?! You think using an ability card is free? It burns stamina like crazy! Stop showing off! Stop acting like you’re above it!”

Feng Ling wasn’t even trying to provoke him. She smiled, rolled her shoulders, flexed her hands. “I feel fine. If your state’s not great, I can go to the uterus and you can take the chip out.”

Zhou Zhou looked like she’d spit on his badge. His eyes went wide. “I’m the captain!!!”

He jabbed a claw at his own chest. “Deputy Captain is still a captain. You respect me!”