Chapter 094: The Blood-Red Tentacles of the Insect Body

Ma Baoguo’s reaction was a little exaggerated, but hardly unexpected.

Watching Ma Baoguo’s frantic anxiety, Li Tianque naturally knew exactly what was on his mind.

The case had ground to a stalemate, and Ma Baoguo was only too eager for the research team to leave at once, so the matter could be handed upward for further investigation.

When the murder had first occurred, Li Tianque himself had been a suspect, and Ma Baoguo had been confident he could crack the case in a short time.

Back then, he had even thought that misfortune had turned to blessing, and that before his term was over he might be able to handle a major case.

But now the investigation had taken a turn, and the most important suspect had even been bailed out and allowed to join the inquiry. That made things troublesome.

If anything else went wrong with the research team at a time like this, the responsibility he would have to bear would be enormous.

Still, Ma Baoguo’s objections could not decide the matter.

Whether the research team would leave tomorrow still depended on the wishes of Lu Zuzhi, the team leader.

Lu Zuzhi did not immediately respond to Li Tianque’s suggestion. Instead, he fell silent.

He rubbed the black orb in his hand, his expression unchanged.

Li Tianque could sense that Lu Zuzhi’s breathing had grown heavy, and for a long while he could not seem to steady himself.

Li Tianque looked at him and said with a smile, "Professor Lu, given the situation, I suggest we leave a little later. After all, before this matter is properly investigated, it probably would not be safe to leave rashly."

But Lu Zuzhi had not listened to Li Tianque at all. He was absorbed in his own thoughts.

After a while, Lu Zuzhi said, "All right then. We’ll move in two days. I’ll give you one day. If you can solve the case, that will be best. If not, we don’t have time to waste here."

It was two days less, but Li Tianque had no intention of bargaining. He answered readily, "Fine. It’s settled."

"Hey, hey... what do you mean, settled? Superiors already arranged for someone to come tomorrow and take the research team away. You say it’s settled, and it’s settled?" Ma Baoguo said, alarm rising in his voice once more.

"Then let them wait one more day too. If necessary, I’ll speak to them myself," Li Tianque said gravely.

Before Ma Baoguo could object, Li Tianque turned to Lu Zuzhi again.

"Professor Lu, I’m sure you understand how dangerous the Shierwu is. To ensure your safety during the experiment, I think it would be necessary for us to remain in the laboratory and protect you."

At this suggestion, Lu Zuzhi immediately shook his head.

"No need. I have a way to deal with it.

From what I can tell, most of the Shierwu inside this black sphere should already be dead. At most, there are only one or two left. They are easy enough to handle."

With that, Lu Zuzhi placed the black sphere on the lab bench. After glancing at the two of them, he said softly, "If you are still worried, I can open it now."

Ma Baoguo did not know what this Shierwu really was, but because he had also taken part in investigating the bizarre case by the Siweiwei River, he had some apprehension toward this legendary creature as well.

Lu Zuzhi was preparing to release the Shierwu, and Ma Baoguo took out his pistol and gripped it tightly, his nerves on edge.

Li Tianque did not object. Although he could directly dissolve the black sphere and draw the black tissue back into himself, he did not want to expose his abilities before this scientist.

Li Tianque had already undergone secrecy training. Without the ability to handle public opinion properly, he had to conceal his own powers and everything related to the nuclear insects as much as possible.

From Lu Zuzhi’s earlier description, this so-called Shierwu seemed to be an insect known as the velvet tiger beetle rather than a nuclear insect.

That was why Li Tianque had handed the Shierwu over to him. If the man could identify it, that would be even better. If not, Li Tianque could at least learn more from him.

Lu Zuzhi first lifted the black sphere, then set a flask stand over a glass tank and poured two different viscous, transparent liquids into it.

The air filled with a harsh, pungent smell as Lu Zuzhi stirred the two clear liquids together with a glass rod.

Ordinary insect specimens were usually prepared by pinning, soaking, or mounting in glass slides.

But judging from the equipment and solutions Lu Zuzhi was using, he clearly intended to turn the velvet tiger beetle into artificial amber, using epoxy resin as the material.

Li Tianque frowned. He did not know insects well, but he understood at least one thing:

a specimen made by this method would inevitably suffer damage to its own structure, and it would not be ideal for scientific observation.

Still, Lu Zuzhi was the expert. Since he wanted to do it this way, perhaps he had his own reasons, and Li Tianque did not stop him.

Thus, Lu Zuzhi sealed the top of the glass container with a partition, then used a narrow scalpel to cut open an opening in the bottom of the black sphere.

As soon as the sphere split, Lu Zuzhi swiftly withdrew the blade and sealed the glass container completely.

In that way, through the cut opening, the corpses of two velvet tiger beetles were squeezed out.

Only then did Li Tianque get a clear look at the true appearance of this terrifying insect.

It was pitch black all over, its carapace flat and soft, covered with a thick layer of black down.

Its legs were very short, and at first glance it looked somewhat like a black house centipede.

However, the velvet tiger beetles that had fallen into the liquid were still very different from ordinary insects.

Li Tianque saw that not only were they enormous, but they also bore strands of red, fleshy growths.

Seen up close, those growths looked rather like the red tentacles from an animated horror film.

Although the two velvet tiger beetles were dead, the red tentacles on their bodies were still trembling faintly, as if they were rows of sharp bamboo shoots thrusting upward. The sight was deeply unsettling.

"Did those black bugs originally have things like this on them?" Li Tianque asked.

Lu Zuzhi was visibly startled. After a long pause, he said, "No. They may have been infected by some kind of fungus..."

Li Tianque watched closely, of course, and did not believe that explanation for a second.

The two velvet tiger beetle corpses slowly sank into the transparent liquid. Through the gap in the black sphere, a long, dark red feeler quietly emerged.

It probed outward, seeming hesitant.

Then once more, that eerie, uncanny laughter came from within the black sphere.

"Hee-hee-hee-hee... hee-hee-hee-hee..."

The laugh was piercingly sharp, and Li Tianque was no stranger to it.

"Professor Lu... if those tendrils can be explained as fungus, then I’m afraid that strange cry cannot be explained away so easily."

"That laughter came from this thing? It sounds far too human. It’s practically a woman’s laugh!" Ma Baoguo also found it utterly unbelievable.

But Professor Lu was unruffled and explained with full seriousness, "That is perfectly normal. This kind of velvet tiger beetle has the same structure as a cicada. It has a sound-producing organ in its abdomen. A cicada’s sound organ is somewhat like a drum, with a hollow space between the cover plate and the membrane.

"But the velvet tiger beetle’s sound organ is more like a flute, which is why the sound it makes is so high and thin.

"By the way, this sound can also induce hallucinations. Many people who have come into contact with this insect have reported auditory hallucinations."

Lu Zuzhi gave Li Tianque a meaningful look.

Li Tianque froze slightly, and recalling what had happened by the river, he did indeed feel that those sounds had been strange at the time, as though they had been generated directly inside his own mind.

As the three of them continued watching, the velvet tiger beetle hidden in the crack had already poked out one foreleg.

It still seemed to be hesitating over whether to come out.

At that moment, Lu Zuzhi yanked hard, then suddenly slapped the back of the black sphere.

With a dull thud, Lu Zuzhi’s strike took effect. Under the force of the blow, the velvet tiger beetle could no longer hold itself within the widening裂 seam, and soon dropped down.

Its legs clawed wildly, trying to find the last point of support, while its sickle-like mandibles trembled violently.

After a brief struggle, it quickly sank into the epoxy resin filling the glass container.

It was precisely then that a dark red haze began spreading from its abdomen.

After spreading outward, that dark red substance gradually split into several tendrils. After writhing for a few moments, they grew still.

The sharp laughter stopped abruptly with them.

Lu Zuzhi emptied all the remaining insect corpses from the black sphere into the glass container, then said to Li Tianque and Ma Baoguo, "All right. I do not wish to be disturbed by anyone from this point on. If you have any other questions, leave me a message on WeChat."

With that, he ushered Li Tianque and Ma Baoguo out the door.

Just then, Li Tianque suddenly saw something incredible happen inside the glass container.