Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 31 Fireflies - Dapu Ghost Insects

Unable to bear seeing the soldier burned alive, Hu Bayi suppressed his grief and drew his sword, plunging it fiercely into the soldier's heart.

But suddenly, a number of blue ladybugs flew out from the crack and pounced on them. Another soldier was hit by more than a dozen blue ladybugs and instantly burned into a pile of ash. He only had time to let out half a scream before the other soldiers had no choice but to open fire.

But the sound of gunfire only spurred more blue ladybugs out of the cracks and attacked them.

Their commotion triggered an avalanche, and in the end, only Hu Bayi survived.

“When I woke up, I was lying in the military post hospital, my body wrapped in bandages. It took more than half a year for my injuries to heal. The entire team that followed me into the iceberg, except for me, was wiped out.”

"I will never forget the scene of my brothers, my comrades, being burned alive before my eyes."

"Their pained yet fearless expressions have stayed with me."

Hu Bayi's voice choked, his eyes filled with sorrow, tears streaming down his face. He wiped away his tears, placed his right hand on his forehead, and squatted down in anguish, "You'll know what it feels like to kill your own comrades..."

"When I closed my eyes, countless familiar faces smiled at me, and ladybugs filled the sky with blue flames..."

The fat man stared blankly at Hu Bayi, feeling a pang of sadness in his heart.

He often scolded Hu Bayi for being too soft-hearted from being a soldier, but he didn't know how much pain Hu Bayi had endured and how much he carried in his heart. Having experienced so much, a person becomes calm and reserved, seemingly without a temper.

The fat man sighed, realizing he wasn't even a good enough brother.

He squatted down, patted Hu Bayi on the shoulder and comforted him, "Old Hu, let bygones be bygones. You must bravely face the future again. Your comrades don't want you to be so upset."

Hu Ming, who had been silent for a long time, sighed and said, "Old Hu, don't try to avoid the past. You can't live like this forever, unable to sleep at night."

You should face it. It's just the Kunlun Mountains, right? Let's go for it. You should also go back and see the spirits of your fallen comrades. Maybe they're waiting to see you there!

Hu Ming knew that Hu Bayi's problem was psychological, and he dreamed about it every night. He believed that if Hu Bayi went to the Kunlun Mountains, his psychological problem would be 70-80% cured.

However, after hearing Hu Bayi's words, Hu Ming hesitated for a long time, after all, there were too many taboos on Kunlun Ice Mountain.

With so many people, it's uncertain how many will make it back safely, but Hu Ming still decided to go anyway.

There's no way my cousin can live like this forever, so I'm taking this opportunity to visit him.

After a moment of silence, Hu Bayi agreed, "Mingzi is right, I'll go."

Seeing this, the fat man said, "Since Old Hu is going, I'll go with you, brother."

At this moment, Hu Ming said to Yang Xueli, Professor Chen, and the others at the workshop entrance, "Have you heard enough?"

Yang Xueli, Professor Chen, Hao Aiguo, and others had arrived long ago and had heard the whole story of Huba Yi; they were all deeply moved.

It's unexpected that Mr. Hu has such a mysterious past, but it seems rather pitiful.

Yang Xueli looked at Hu Bayi with sympathy, then turned to Hu Ming and said, "Mr. Hu Ming, do you recognize this kind of insect? We might encounter it on our trip to Kunlun Ice Mountain. Could you please tell us more about it?" Hu Ming didn't answer immediately, but instead asked Yang Xueli and the others to return to the private room to discuss it further.

"Please have a seat, all three of you," Yang Shirley said, sitting down at one side of the table. On the table were books and a map, which had been marked, indicating that they had been looking at the map and planning their route.

“Mr. Hu, do you think this ladybug looks like one?” Yang Xueli said, lifting a book from the table and pulling out a black and white photograph from under the book, handing it to Hu Bayi.

Hu Bayi took the photo and saw that it was a blue insect with flames all over its body and its wings spread out. Its expression, appearance, and body the size of a fingernail were exactly the same as the ladybug in the Kunlun Ice Mountain.

Hu Bayi said with a grim expression, "That's right, it's that one."

Professor Chen and the others exchanged glances. Sure enough, the information Yang Xueli's father had collected was true; there really were such terrifying insects in this world.

"Miss Yang, this photo of yours?" Hu Bayi looked at Yang Shirley with some surprise. This American girl was quite mysterious. She even had a photo of a blue ladybug. It seemed that she was not as simple as she appeared.

"It was an explorer from the United States named Pete who entered the Kunlun Mountains in 65 and took this picture. Pete named this insect the fire-breathing worm."

Yang Xueli spoke intently, explaining that everyone was discussing the insects they might encounter, and this was something they dared not take lightly. She handed the photo to Hu Ming, having heard from Professor Chen that Hu Ming's knowledge was no less than his own, so she wanted to see if Hu Ming knew about this insect.

Hu Ming looked at the photo and smiled, saying, "That Pete guy really knows how to pick a name!"

Hu Ming took out a cigarette, lit it, and then looked at everyone, saying, "Some people call this fire-breathing insect a firefly, but its real name is the Dap Ghost Bug."

When everyone heard that Hu Ming knew about this kind of insect, their eyes lit up.

Hu Ming glanced at everyone and continued, "Dap Ghost Insects, demonic insects driven by the Demon Kingdom. Dapu means demonic insect in Tibetan."

This strangely shaped, transparent ladybug, resembling a seven-spotted ladybug, is completely transparent and slightly smaller than a fingernail. It is used in the tombs of the Demon Kingdom to protect corpses.

Moreover, they have two forms, "Boundless Karmic Fire" and "Exhaustive Divine Ice," which are two evil forces that can shatter the souls of ordinary people. In addition to affecting living things, they can also affect other objects.

One type, "Boundless Karmic Fire," is quite common. Another type is the Blue Flame Ladybug, whose entire body resembles a red, transparent crystal. Its wings are especially translucent, and through its transparent shell, one can vaguely see its translucent internal organs, within which flames seem to flow faintly.

It emits a blue flame, and if a person comes into contact with even a tiny bit, the flame is absolutely impossible to extinguish and will be instantly burned to ashes. Its only weakness is water. This is the common firefly.

Another type of "Naiqiong Divine Ice" is entirely silver-white, like a tiny, shimmering ice crystal. It can instantly freeze anyone who comes into contact with it, turning them into frost and then shattering them into ice dust. Its weakness is fire.

Of course, whether it's a fire worm or an ice worm, attacking it using any method other than exploiting its weaknesses will only cause the worms to multiply.

Hu Ming paused for a moment, then added, "However, from what Old Hu just said, it should only be about fireflies! Fireflies are afraid of water, so we just need to find a way to splash them with water."

Hearing this, Hu Bayi breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, there was a way to deal with them. Hu Bayi came back to his senses and asked in a panic.

"And the snow, how's the snow?"

Suddenly, Hu Bayi realized that water was the nemesis of fireflies, and snow water was still water. Logically, fireflies should also be afraid of snow, so even accumulated snow should be able to deal with them?
Hu Ming paused for a moment upon hearing this and said, "These insects can fly, so they won't easily get hit by snowballs. But we can burrow into the snow."

(End of this chapter)