America: The Cremator

Su Long's eyes widened as he repeated the word: "Insect eggs?"

Stella's gaze remained fixed on the screen: "That's right, they are insect eggs."

"Look at the structure here, the clear outline of the eggshell, the yolk inside and the dense tissue that looks like an embryo... Although the shape doesn't match any insect egg I know, from a biological point of view, this is definitely the egg of some kind of organism."

She turned her head to look at Su Long, and for the first time, her beautiful eyes revealed a mixture of disgust and horror.

"To mix insect eggs into pills and have users ingest them is disgusting..."

Su Long's brain began to work at lightning speed, connecting the pieces of information with this newly emerged clue.

Butterflies, insect eggs, pills, hatching...

He immediately had a guess: "They are butterfly eggs."

"Furthermore, I have a general idea about the effects of this drug."

Upon hearing this, Stella looked up at Su Long, seemingly gesturing for him to continue.

"The first time I encountered a butterfly ghost was when my former landlord took a dream pill and a giant butterfly burst out of his stomach."

"And the killer we caught at the candy factory a few days ago also died tragically in the hospital for the same reason."

Stella's breath hitched, and she instantly understood the meaning behind Surong's words: "You mean..."

"Those who take these pills will become that guy's pupa."

"Specifically designed to hatch...more butterflies."

As Su Long finished speaking, the entire laboratory fell into an eerie silence.

Stella's voice was a little hoarse. She closed her eyes and forcibly suppressed the nausea surging within her.

"The initial spiritual tests and physical structure analysis have been completed, but I need more time to fully understand the hatching conditions, life cycle, and chemical reactions of these insect eggs with other components of the 'Dream' potion."

After saying that, she turned around and took out several high-resolution X-ray photos from the printer in the corner.

"Could you please make a trip and bring these photos to Captain Elena?"

"I will continue to conduct more in-depth research and analysis on the samples, many of which will take several days to produce results."

Su Long took the still-warm photos and nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, Professor Stella. Be careful here by yourself."

Stella did not reply or look up at him, as if she was completely absorbed in the tedious work of preparing for the experiment.

……

noon.

Sulong returned to Elena's villa.

He pushed open the half-closed door. The television was making a loud noise in the living room. Elena was curled up on the large leather sofa, covered with a thin wool blanket. It seemed that she had fallen asleep while watching TV after returning from her business.

She was sleeping soundly, her expression exceptionally serene, having shed all her usual sharpness and defensiveness. Her long eyelashes cast a soft shadow under her eyelids, making her appear less fierce and more charmingly feminine.

Su Long didn't make a sound to disturb them. Instead, he walked quietly to the sofa and sat down, then turned his gaze to the LCD TV on the wall.

The television was showing a retrospective documentary about a sports figure, the protagonist of which was Lucas Kron, a legend in the heavyweight boxing world.

A deep narration slowly began, recounting the glory and fall of this boxing champion.

"Lucas Crown, a man who etched his name in boxing history with his iron fist."

"His career was nothing short of perfect. At his peak, he held the world heavyweight championship belts of the four major boxing organizations: WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO. He was the undisputed heavyweight champion."

The screen switched, and the TV began playing highlights of Lucas's match.

On the ring, he was like a furious brown bear, his combination punches swift and heavy, each strike carrying an overwhelming momentum.

One powerful opponent after another fell to the ground with a thud under his punches.

However, the style suddenly shifts, and the rousing background music becomes somber and sorrowful.

"However, fate played a cruel joke on him. Just when his career was at its peak, his only daughter mysteriously disappeared after a trip and vanished without a trace."

"This sudden family tragedy became the final straw that broke the camel's back for this boxing champion."

"His wife couldn't bear the pain of losing their daughter and chose to divorce him. In just a few months, Lucas lost everything."

The screen showed a photo of Lucas backstage after the game.

He sat in the corner, head down, his face untreated, his eyes vacant, the once fiery gaze now reduced to lifeless ashes.

"From then on, the king of the ring disappeared. He lost nine matches in a row, and in the last one, he was even defeated by an unknown newcomer, and finally retired in the most humiliating way."

The documentary ended with endless sighs, and the end credits began to roll.

Perhaps startled by the sound of the TV program ending, Elena's eyelashes fluttered a few times as she groggily opened her eyes on the sofa.

Seeing Su Long sitting beside her, she asked somewhat sleepily, "Su? When did you get back?"

"I just arrived a little while ago," Su Long said softly, "and since you were sleeping so soundly, I didn't wake you."

Elena rubbed her eyes, sat up, and looked at the TV screen that had already started playing GG. She said with some annoyance, "Sigh, I actually fell asleep. The show is already over."

Su Long smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to enjoy watching boxing matches."

"Did the show reveal the reason for Lucas's retirement at the end?" Elena asked.

"He said it," Su Long briefly recounted the contents of the documentary: "It's said that his wife left him because his daughter went missing. The successive blows completely broke him down, and he could no longer concentrate on the competition."

After listening to Su Long's story, Elena's eyes dimmed, and she let out a soft sigh.

"What's wrong? You really like this boxer?" Su Long asked.

Elena was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, her voice somewhat low: "He was Old John's favorite boxer."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air in the living room froze.

Sulong glanced at Raphael and Sirius at his waist, unsure of what to say for a moment.

After a long silence, Elena finally broke it: "By the way, how are the research results for the pills?"

"The situation is terrible," Su Long said, handing over the X-ray photos.

Elena took the photo and examined it carefully by the light coming from the window.

When she saw the dense, dust-like structure of insect eggs in the photo, her pupils contracted sharply, and her face showed the same horror and disgust as Stella's.

"This...this is..."

Just then, a crisp and urgent doorbell rang, breaking the silence of the night without warning.

ding dong -- ding dong --

The two were startled at the same time and exchanged a glance.

"You have an appointment with guests?" Su Long asked in a low voice.

"No." Elena shook her head decisively.

Su Long's eyes instantly turned wary, and his right hand subtly pressed against the gun handle at his waist.

Elena quickly got up, tiptoed to the door, and peered through the peephole.

A few seconds later, her tense body relaxed, a look of doubt on her face, and then she opened the door.

An elderly man, who looked to be at least sixty years old, stood at the door. His face was covered with wrinkles, but his eyes were gentle.

He wore a black pastor's shirt with a distinctive white square stiff collar.

Elena stared at the stranger in front of her, momentarily stunned.

The old pastor looked at her and asked in a kind tone, "Excuse me... are you Mr. John's friends?"