When Klein stood in front of the open back door of his house, he felt his heart racing. Not just because of the speed he rushed over or the previous ‘operation’. He couldn’t hear any noises. But he could smell smoke… From a cigarette.

“Doc! Doc! We need yer help!”

“I’m Krowly the Legendary Entomologist! Not some shitty Anthropologist!”

Jade widened her glowing eyes in horror as she watched the headless body fall to the floor. Peridot and Oliver were also in shock. Just like that, one of their best friends from childhood was just… Gone.

“If something happens to either of us, your little girlfriend is gonna go away for a long, long time!”

“Murdering a Sheriff and a Deputy is a minimum life sentence!”

The ant-like creature wasn’t naked. It actually wore a light-blue dress suit, buttoned up, with a white undershirt and a black tie tucked under the jacket. If the feet weren’t giant hairy ant claws covered in spikes, it would probably be wearing dress shoes as well!

“I’m not saying we kill Granny Woods!” Peridot complained, “What would that even solve? We should ask Myrtle to torture her for information!”

“Damn it, Peri! We’re not torturing Granny Woods either!”

“I still can’t believe you guys built this place in only a little over a year.” Peridot looked at the huge, wide-open underground space and couldn’t help sighing. The ceiling was nearly 10 meters high and there were several huge white marble pillars holding up the ceiling just in case. This was only the top floor though.

Only a few kilometers to the northeast of Verde Village was a small waterfall. It used to just be a gentle stream, but after the sinkhole event, there was a three meter drop along the riverbed. The sound of water crashing from such a short distance wasn’t very loud, but created a very pleasant atmosphere.

It wasn’t just Klein’s family who saw the little family drama happening near the riverside. A short and muscular brown-haired woman was peeking from behind the second-floor window curtains of her house next door. Those bright green eyes narrowed and focused on Jade’s wrist…

As the sun was rising, Oliver and Jade stood on the riverbank at the edge of their backyard. Suddenly a figure seemed to emerge from Jade’s shadow and the two of them didn’t notice at all…

“Where the hell are you going?”

“Ah~!”

“Peri?! Scared the shit outta me!”