The crisp snap beneath my boots jolted me from my contemplation. I looked down, catching a glimpse of a shattered insect carcass in the firelight, seemingly large, though its exact nature remained unclear. Switching on my flashlight, the beam revealed a floor slicked with green ooze. Finally, I recognized the insect: it looked exactly like a type of bug I’d occasionally caught while fishing in the river as a child. Something like a "Dragon Flea," perhaps, though I’d never heard of them crawling onto dry land.

While I was still pondering this, another sharp crack echoed nearby, immediately followed by Officer Liu’s angry shout: “What the hell kind of place is this? Bugs crawling everywhere in the dead of winter!”

Hearing that, the realization finally hit me—how could there be insects out now! It was minus ten degrees Celsius outside!

I turned my head. Section Chief Wang had grasped the gravity of the situation too, staring at me with undisguised terror. But what use was looking at me? Right now, I wasn’t much better off than they were. Even with a handgun on my hip, what good was a pistol against these things?

I glanced at Section Chief Wang. Seeing him paralyzed by fear, I knew I had to take up the burden of organizing these people.

I pulled Section Chief Wang over, pointed toward the windowsill, and thrust the flashlight into his hand. “Go see if there are more of these bugs outside!”

At the mention of checking for bugs, Section Chief Wang’s face instantly turned ashen. The others noticed the shift in atmosphere; their stance clearly indicated they wouldn't obey anything Section Chief Wang commanded now. Wang understood his predicament and bitterly accepted the flashlight, glaring at the others.

As for me, once he took the light, I stopped concerning myself with their internal drama. Before those creatures actually reached us, I needed to find a geographical advantage that might buy us a few more moments of life.

More and more bugs started appearing outside the window. At Wang's urging, the others reluctantly manned the door and windows, swatting away the insects that managed to crawl in. Time was rapidly running out for me. I walked to the back of the building, where a pile of firewood was stacked. Old Li must have collected wood from here. These logs, seemingly piled there for decades, gave me a clue: fire might repel these monstrous bugs!

But where should I set the fire to stop them? This structure was built in a mountain hollow—a sheer cliff face behind it, a crumbling perimeter wall in front, and the three-story main building in the center. However, the stairway leading to the second floor had been sealed off, and I wasn't sure if those strange bugs could climb walls. This drastically limited my options.

More importantly, I needed to choose a spot that not only offered defense but also provided an escape route in a true crisis. Though I’d been listless for half a year, I hadn't entirely forgotten what I learned at the military academy. It wasn't just about holding ground; it required considering both offense and defense. Yet, I had a grim feeling that against these bugs, I wouldn't have any chance to attack; the most crucial thing was just surviving.

Walking past the firewood pile, I stumbled over something on the ground and nearly fell flat. Getting up and shining the flashlight down, I saw that what tripped me was a frozen corpse!

It wasn't that I’d never seen a dead body. When I was very young, a truck transporting blasting caps exploded near my house. I must have been in elementary school, but I rushed right to the scene out of morbid curiosity.

The explosion itself had been devastating, but it failed to impact my small, fearless self. It was a story I often bragged about, but seeing a corpse here now, my earlier bravery vanished. The moment I saw that hand, I nearly screamed.

It took me two or three seconds to regain control. Though my heart hammered violently, I managed to scramble aside, pick up the flashlight, and aim it back.

When the beam hit the corpse's face, I nearly dropped the light again, because the face staring back was exactly what Old Li had described: a face without features!

The sudden realization that a monster Old Li spoke of had died here flooded my mind with countless thoughts. One specific idea surfaced sharply.

How did this person end up here? Old Li was always meticulous; he shouldn't have missed searching this area. The ice around this body looked well-established, suggesting it had been here quite some time. Old Li had no reason not to find it. If he knew this thing was here, why wouldn't he tell me?

Or perhaps I had overlooked something again? I wracked my brain, finding no answers. The sounds of bugs being crushed outside were growing denser; time simply wouldn't allow me to linger here. Regardless of how this individual arrived, my priority was securing a safe location, not wasting time on mysteries! Just as I was about to leave, I spotted what looked like a trail behind the body! The mark resembled the track left by some amphibian crawling out of water. Strange, how could there be water traces in this temperature? At this cold, even spitting would freeze instantly!

Suspicion prickled me, and I examined the corpse more closely. The more I looked, the more problems I found. On its back were four distinct bullet holes! My first thought was that Old Li might have fired them, but I quickly dismissed it; Old Li carried a notoriously loud military rifle. If he had shot, we certainly would have heard it inside.

Moreover, upon closer inspection of the holes, they weren't the small, clean entry points left by military rounds, but large wounds indicative of lower velocity, slower-spinning projectiles.

This meant that aside from us, another armed party had been here.

The realization brought a bitter taste to my mouth. If that was true, it meant we weren't just facing these monstrous bugs; we might also have to contend with other armed human adversaries.

Before I could process this further, a strange sound interrupted my thoughts. Under the flashlight beam, I saw the origin of that trail: a concrete manhole cover pried open on the ground. What gave me goosebumps was seeing several of the strange bugs actively gnawing at the ** that formed the traces.

Moments ago, I had guessed those water-like marks were probably bodily fluids leaking from the faceless monster’s bullet wounds. Now, these bugs were sending a clear message: they were here to eat flesh!

My scalp prickled. I took a deep breath. More and more of the strange bugs were emerging from under the manhole cover. Some that crawled out later were already following those trails toward the corpse.

Section Chief Wang sprinted over, and seeing me, rushed forward as if spotting a savior, grabbing my arm and gasping, “There are too many, way too many!”

I managed a weak smile. If there were too many ahead, the ones coming from behind couldn’t be few either. By then, the bugs had reached the corpse, and that weird crunching sound grew louder.

I swung the flashlight beam toward them. Section Chief Wang twisted his head, following the light, and then both of us inhaled sharply.

Several bugs had climbed onto the corpse, and they were visibly tearing large chunks from the body.

Wang and I exchanged a look, then simultaneously bolted back the way we came. In this situation, running was our only option. Unexpectedly, just as we reached the room where we had initially sheltered, the remaining members were already giving way, struggling to drag their belongings toward us. Seeing us fleeing back in equal panic, a flicker of shared despair crossed everyone’s eyes.

We huddled together, completely frantic, trapped between two fronts of terrifying bugs—truly caught between a wolf and a tiger, with nowhere left to flee unless we could simply fly away. Otherwise, today, we were destined to become food for these monstrous insects!

The thought of flying away suddenly reminded me of one place: the sealed-off second floor! It probably wasn't completely barricaded. We could take a chance and try to reach the upper level!

The decision took only an instant. The others, thoroughly terrified, readily followed my lead now that someone was taking charge. Only Section Chief Wang hesitated briefly before falling in behind us.

We crushed quite a few of those strange bugs along the way until I finally spotted the external staircase on the side of the building. Crossing that path meant reaching the upper floor. Bugs were trailing us, causing our group to tremble with fear.

Finally reaching the stairwell entrance, I took the lead and charged forward. But after taking two steps, I slammed heavily into something, hitting my head so hard I staggered back, nearly knocking the already stunned Officer Liu down with me.

Clearing my head slightly, I turned on the flashlight to see what I’d hit. The sight was chilling; my blood went cold from my head to my toes. The entire stairwell was sealed off by a solid brick wall!

I refused to accept it and desperately tried to smash through the damned wall, but these old structures were built immensely solid, and I couldn't budge them easily. After several attempts, all I achieved was intensifying the pain across my body to no effect whatsoever!

Seeing my futile efforts, Section Chief Wang yelled from the landing: “They’re coming! Xiao Luo, can you do it?!”

Hearing his voice, for some inexplicable reason, a surge of reckless anger flared within me, and I roared back, “Damn it, you try hitting it!”