Chapter 042: An Eccentric Family

While they were chatting idly, Li Tianque’s phone chimed with a text alert: his bank account had just received thirteen thousand yuan.

He had only intended to request an advance on his salary, but to his surprise, the deposit included not only his wages but also a bonus for this assignment. Such efficiency in payroll processing surely ranked the company among the city’s top ten employers. Yet this also unsettled him further. A job offering such generous compensation must come with equally substantial risks.

From what he’d learned so far about these nuclear insects, every one of these bizarre creatures was profoundly unsettling. At this moment, their mission felt less like routine work and more like a journey with uncertain survival.

His pulse quickened at the thought.

The car sped along the highway, scenery outside blurring into fragmented streaks as it rushed past, leaving jagged trails behind them.

On the way, Duan Xiaoyu explained to Li Tianque the location of the incident: Gashi Mountain on the outskirts of the city.

Li Tianque had heard of this place long ago. When he first arrived in this city a few years back, he remembered talk not of supernatural tales but of an aircraft accident—a military helicopter crashed on the mountain slope for reasons unknown, causing quite a stir and becoming the subject of much gossip.

But as years passed, Gashi Mountain faded from memory.

Gashi Mountain lay on the edge of Xuanwu District, under the jurisdiction of Tiepishan Town. The area was famous for its mushrooms; villagers made a living from the mountains, climbing up during the season to gather mushrooms for sale at the morning market, supplementing their income. The mushrooms here were renowned for their freshness and flavor, drawing buyers from all over Xuanwu District and even Lanshi City. Every morning, the market bustled with merchants.

The main peak of Gashi Mountain rose only one hundred eighty meters, its slopes gentle and, for years, untouched by any significant natural disaster.

But just days ago, a sudden and large-scale landslide struck without warning, trapping over sixty villagers who had gone to pick mushrooms. The disaster left one dead, sixteen injured, and five still missing.

Authorities had sealed off the site, with rescue teams searching the mountain urgently.

The shop investigation team had come not to inspect the shop right away, but first to visit the families of two victims.

These were a married couple whose child had gone to Gashi Mountain a week before the incident, supposedly for a camping trip with classmates.

Afterward, their child vanished in the mountain, whereabouts unknown.

After the landslide, the searchers found no trace of the child, and his parents remained at the scene, weeping and refusing to leave, telling stories that defied belief.

Later, Lu Mou stepped in and arranged temporary accommodation for them at a hotel at the foot of the mountain.

Upon arrival, the investigation team’s priority was to question them for details.

Hearing Duan Xiaoyu’s account, Li Tianque felt increasingly perplexed. He couldn’t see how an ordinary natural disaster connected to nuclear insects and shop investigations, and was curious about the strange events the parents claimed.

With these questions swirling, Li Tianque followed Wu Miaoran and Duan Xiaoyu to the hotel where the grieving parents stayed, and met them.

The door was opened by a middle-aged woman, her face haggard. Her hair was disheveled, as if it hadn’t been washed for days; her eyes were dull and lifeless, her lips cracked, with a thin, bloodied gash at the corner of her mouth, her head trembling involuntarily like a Parkinson’s patient.

As soon as she opened the door, she seized Wu Miaoran’s hand, her whole body shaking.

“Comrade Investigator, I beg you, please, please… You must save my child, he must still be alive, he must be alive, you have to save him…”

She half-knelt as she pleaded, while the man inside, equally worn, nodded heavily and implored as well:

“Comrade Investigator, you must help us, save our child. He was just confused for a moment, that’s why he’s in danger. He’s probably still alive. If necessary, let us search the mountain ourselves!”

Li Tianque quickly helped the woman to her feet, comforting her:

“Auntie, don’t worry. We’ll do everything we can to help you!”

“Hey, hey… We’re not a charity; don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Wu Miaoran whispered in Li Tianque’s ear.

He glanced at her in surprise, unsure what she meant.

Duan Xiaoyu ignored the exchange and sat down directly on the sofa, pouring herself a cup of hot water.

“Auntie, Uncle, please calm down and tell us what happened,” she said.

The couple exchanged a glance. The woman sighed and began her story.

They ran a modest restaurant in Xuanwu District—business neither thriving nor failing, comfortable enough, and their family life was harmonious.

Their child, named Yang Tianshu, was a student at a key middle school in Xuanwu District. His academic performance was above average, though not at the top.

The couple’s only regret was their own short stature, which their son inherited. Despite naming him with high hopes for his height, reality disappointed them.

Yang Tianshu was the shortest in his class, and among the shortest in his grade. This small stature made him the target of ridicule and bullying, earning him the nickname “Little Gnome.”

The parents had contacted the school about this issue, and his father nearly came to blows with another parent whose child had bullied Yang Tianshu.

They tried all sorts of methods to help him grow—more milk, exercise, miraculous tonics, so-called scientific approaches—but nothing worked. Yang Tianshu’s height remained unchanged, and his personality grew increasingly withdrawn, shy, and unwilling to join group activities.

Fortunately, his studies were decent, so his parents didn’t worry too much.

Though short, Yang Tianshu wasn’t alone. Three other boys in his grade shared his stature, and together they became close friends. They walked to and from school together, played games during holidays, giving Yang Tianshu some comfort.

Among friends, Yang Tianshu was cheerful and outgoing. His parents were pleased, often inviting his friends home.

But good times didn’t last. During puberty, many short boys suddenly grow taller, and this happened to Yang Tianshu’s friends. Two soon shot up in height. At first, they remained close, but over time, the taller boys drifted away from Yang Tianshu and another boy, Chen Feng.

Their little group shrank to just Yang Tianshu and Chen Feng. Still, the two stayed close, neither begrudging their friends’ growth nor feeling overly disappointed.

Then, not long ago, a blow struck Yang Tianshu: after his two friends grew tall, Chen Feng, his best buddy, suddenly experienced a growth spurt. In just two weeks, he went from one hundred sixty centimeters to one hundred ninety-one, becoming someone Yang Tianshu could only look up to—and attracting the admiration of many girls at school.

Though Yang Tianshu congratulated Chen Feng on the surface, deep down he felt lost and despondent.

Unwilling to accept defeat, Yang Tianshu asked Chen Feng how he’d managed to grow so tall.

What he never expected was that this ordinary conversation would plunge him into a terrifying disaster…

(End of chapter)