Li Deyang pulled on his military coat and opened the door.
In the biting cold wind, an old man stood there trembling. His ears had been frozen red, and tears, frozen into icy streaks, had congealed in the weathered furrows of his face.
"Old man?!" Li Deyang froze, hurriedly reaching out to pull him inside.
"Deyang!!" The old man flung away Li Deyang's hand with his frost-cracked palm and cried, "Something happened to Tingting!"
Li Deyang's expression changed instantly upon hearing those words.
"What happened?"
"After we got to the inn, I went downstairs to pour Tingting a cup of hot water. Then I heard a window shatter upstairs. I rushed back up and saw a... a monster... take Tingting away!" The old man spoke incoherently.
"A monster?" Li Deyang frowned tightly. "What kind of monster?"
"It looked a bit like an ant. It was red, but huge! Scarily huge!" the old man said, gesturing as he spoke.
A red ant?
Li Deyang's heart sank. "Did you see where it went?"
"It went into the forest!" the old man said anxiously. "Deyang! You're the captain of the Forest Ranger Station! Hurry and call the higher-ups, have them send people, helicopters, whatever it takes! Save Tingting!"
"The higher-ups can't handle this."
Li Deyang strode back into the room, put on his hat, gloves, and hunting rifle, then drew a sheathed straight blade from the corner. After hesitating for a moment, he pulled a dark red cloak from the bottom of a chest.
"Deyang, Deyang! What are you doing?!" The old man stared blankly at him.
"Going into the forest."
With the rifle slung over his back and the blade in hand, Li Deyang quickly stepped outside. He turned back and instructed the old man, "You're old. Stay here and don't go