Once everyone dragged themselves up from the ground, the first thing they did was lay into Lao Gao.
"Can you watch what you're doing? You almost blew us up."
"At least give a warning before you throw the charge. Not after."
"Trying to get us killed faster, are you?"
But.
"You all saw him throw it. We didn't even catch the signal over here."
"Exactly. We had it worse."
So yes, Lao Gao didn't act like a decent human being.
…
There were plenty of complaints. How many of them Lao Gao actually heard was anyone's guess.
Lao Gao hunched his shoulders, slapped wood dust off his clothes, and said to everyone present, "I can finally see you again. Direct and effective. Knew this would work."
Everyone fell silent. No one bothered to argue. They let the topic pass.
Just then, the corner of Pei Xin's eye caught a flicker of red. Pei Xin turned her head and stared for a while. The red light was under the ruins of the blasted cabin. With the collapse, a pile of beams had buried it. If not for the glint, it would have been easy to miss.
Pei Xin said, "There is a red light flashing there. What is it? Looks suspicious."
Everyone followed Pei Xin's finger. Under the ground, a red pulse blinked, clear as day.
They stood up first, brushed off the dust and splinters, and headed toward the glow.
They worked in relay, moving the collapsed timbers away piece by piece.
With the wood cleared, the red blink shone straight into their eyes. It was packed around with soil as if it had tried to bury itself, and that flare of red seemed to be signaling hard, I am here. I am right here.
Captain Zhang took two team members, grabbed a slab of split timber, and started scraping away the dirt around the light.
They had not dug far when stink bugs poured out from the edges of the glow.
Everyone flinched back at once.
The stink bugs were small and weak alone. They could not mount a real attack. Even so, they swarmed so close it felt like they would crawl onto their suits any second. The stench spread at once, that same foul, familiar smell no one could stand.
Ling Jiang darted forward a few steps, then spun and unleashed her ice ability. Ling Jiang stamped twice. A heavy layer of ice rolled out across a five meter circle.
The ice froze the stink bugs solid, and it froze their boots to the ground as well.
Lao Gao glanced down, checking his feet. Once Lao Gao confirmed the bugs were locked in, Lao Gao pulled free with a hard yank.
It took Lao Gao almost no effort.
Others were not so lucky.
Lao Gao was monstrously strong. What was easy force for Lao Gao took everything others had, and some still could not break loose. After freeing himself, Lao Gao ran around prying everyone else out of the ice.
One thing was certain. With her ability boosted, Ling Jiang was dazzling.
Shen Zhiyan brushed shards off Shen Zhiyan's pants and said, "Your abilities are ridiculous. Two stomps and all the bugs are stuck."
At the mention of bugs, everyone looked back to the red glow. No more insects climbed out. They all let out a breath.
Should they keep digging?
Captain Zhang said, "The red light is iced over too. Do you still want to check it? If we break the ice, more stink bugs might come out."
Everyone answered without hesitation. "Of course we check. We have to know what is hidden under there before we leave. If the cabin was not the reason we could hear each other but not see each other, then this red light may be the real culprit."
Lao Gao raised a boot and stomped down on the ice above the glow.
Ice made by ability was much tougher than ordinary ice, but that didn't mean it could not break.
After several heavy blows from Lao Gao, a crack opened. The stink bugs seized their chance and wriggled up through the gap.
No matter how a creature mutated, their numbers here were not overwhelming. Ling Jiang froze them again with two sweeping bursts. Almost all the stink bugs turned into ice pucks.
The moment the flow stopped, Lao Gao fetched a tool and levered the whole slab of ice away from the red light.
Soil showed again. With no more threats, everyone stepped in and dug.
The thing under the glow didn't take long to unearth.
It was a safe like box. In the center of the lid was a slot that looked like a card reader. As everyone traded helpless looks, Captain Zhang said, "Lan Jin, where is the IC card Professor Pei gave you?"
Lan Jin said, "I have it. Are you sure the card goes here?"
Was it not hidden a bit too deep?
Captain Zhang said, "Only one way to know. Try."
Lan Jin took out both cards and hesitated, then pressed Professor Pei's work ID to the reader.
Nothing happened.
Lan Jin swapped to the other card. A beep sounded. The box clicked open, and the red light cut out at once.
"It really opened. Quick, see what is inside."
Everyone leaned in, a little excited despite themselves. They all hoped the box would show them the way to end this mission.
Luck didn't bless them yet.
Inside the box lay a single chip, and one sheet of paper. Lan Jin unfolded the paper. What met their eyes looked like a route map.
Huang Jinghe said, "Is this a plan of the forest? There is a mark on it. Do we have to go to the next marked place, take whatever is inside, complete the assigned task, and then reach the final destination?"
Huang Jinghe's guess sounded fanciful. After a round of discussion, it started to look exactly like that.