We had barely made it halfway up the stairs when screams erupted from downstairs, followed by a piercing shriek. It was Zhao Simeng! I told Gao Qiang to continue leading the team upstairs while I rushed back down.
What I found was horrifying—every officer had been knocked unconscious, and Zhao Simeng was nowhere to be seen!
I checked the officers; thankfully, they were still alive. But a swarm of Western bullet ants was crawling toward them. I wanted to wake them up, but it was too late. The ants engulfed their bodies, biting savagely.
After a series of agonized screams, only blackened corpses remained on the floor.
They had been eaten alive right under my nose. But now wasn't the time for grief or anger. I noticed the ants were crawling out from a coffee table in the living room. Grabbing a prepared bottle of insecticide, I threw it at the table.
Chief Huang had advised us that bringing insecticides wasn't necessary, but we'd insisted, worried that Hong Xingchen might use his techniques again. We hadn't expected him to turn his house into another bullet ant nest.
What a nightmare!
After killing part of the swarm, I flipped the coffee table and discovered several cracks in the floor beneath it. I poured insecticide into the gaps and then armed myself to search for Zhao Simeng.
I soon found drag marks leading toward the kitchen. Following the trail, I discovered that the refrigerator had been moved. Pushing it aside revealed a hidden passageway.
It was clear Hong Xingchen had planned this for a long time. This tunnel wasn't recently dug—it must have taken over a month to create.
Cautiously descending with my weapon drawn, I noticed that the walls of the stairwell were coated with some kind of liquid. Further down, strange fumes began seeping out. Covering my face with my hand, I tried to block the gas, but it was futile. Before long, I had inhaled some of it and felt a wave of dizziness.
Judging from the wall liquid, I should have realized it was the same hallucinogenic agent we'd encountered in the Qing mansion. Within two minutes, I collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
When I came to, I felt a large hand dragging me down a staircase. After what felt like endless pulling, the movement stopped. Someone said, "Keep them alive for experimentation."
"Yes, Father. These meddling cops found this place. If I hadn't kept quiet, they'd have discovered it sooner."
"Hehe, it doesn't matter now. As for the fools upstairs, I'll deal with them soon. Su Su, keep an eye on these two."
"Yes, Father!"
After her reply, Su Su tied me up and threw me into a large cylindrical specimen container, treating me like an experiment. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Zhao Simeng was in a similar state in another container.
"From the moment you entered my home, I planned this. Still, it's a pity to ruin such a handsome face," Su Su remarked, staring at me.
I opened my eyes groggily, regaining some awareness. "You're Hong Xingchen's daughter?"
"Yes. You seem like someone who'd appreciate my father's work."
I didn't respond but instead took in the surroundings. The walls were painted with images of insects, and there were countless vials shaped like bugs, along with bizarre instruments. Some of the equipment resembled what we'd found beneath the forest soil. It was now clear that Hong Xingchen was far more dangerous than Gong Yongyan.
This facility hadn't been built overnight—it was the culmination of years of work. Su Su was his assistant, and both were extraordinary individuals. I had underestimated them.
If I had arrested Su Su during our first encounter, perhaps we wouldn't be in this mess now.
Soon, Hong Xingchen arrived with Gao Qiang and several officers. They all appeared dazed, likely affected by the hallucinogens on the staircase.
After placing them in more insect-shaped containers, Hong Xingchen uncovered a multi-layered black-cloth-covered plastic box. Inside was a bed of sand holding a massive bullet ant queen, far larger than any Western bullet ant we'd seen.
"Your Majesty, I've brought more nutrients for you. May you produce countless offspring!" he declared, pouring baby bullet ants and fresh blood into the container as food for the queen.
The queen devoured the ants and blood greedily, ripping apart her own offspring with her mandibles. It was horrifying. Even tigers don't eat their young, yet this queen seemed to consume as many as she birthed.
I shuddered at the sight, chills running down my spine. Su Su had once mentioned a painting titled "The Queen's Feast," and now I realized this was its grotesque, living representation.
After the queen finished her meal, Hong Xingchen announced, "It's time, Su Su. Let's begin the experiment. With the blood of three more humans, the queen will produce 100,000 Western bullet ants!"
"Congratulations, Father," Su Su said, pressing a button on a nearby machine.
Instantly, I felt searing heat as the container's temperature rose. Strange liquid poured down from above, threatening to dissolve me. Clenching my teeth, I pressed the emergency button on the tracker I had installed on myself. It signaled that I was in danger.
According to my calculations, backup should have arrived by now.
My reinforcements weren't ordinary officers but Xiao Yuande and his team. Unbeknownst to Hong Xingchen, I had maintained contact with them all along. Special Police Team Leader Li Yuning, a petite yet highly skilled combatant, was among them. Renowned for her speed, sharpshooting, and close-quarters combat prowess, she was a force to be reckoned with.
To handle this extraordinary situation, I had called in the special police. They came equipped with pesticide tanks, sprayers, and submachine guns.