Chapter 304

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

Dense and packed, within the range of vision, not a shred of the external situation could be seen.

Shen Yao: ……

"System, this is the insect disaster?" It was simply far more brutal than the imagined scene.

If the insect disaster sweeping the Southern Hemisphere is of this magnitude, then the Northern Hemisphere most likely cannot escape either.

"Host, this is merely the vanguard force," there is still a massive swarm behind that has not yet arrived.

The situation in the Southern Hemisphere is more suitable for insect and mosquito life, especially the few countries around the equator.

Briefly relaying the information she had scouted to the Host, the System lamented that such an insect disaster occurs roughly once a year; while natural disasters compress human survival space, they also provide living grounds for these animals and plants.

Humans and the other animals and plants of the natural world belong to a contradictory relationship — one waxes as the other wanes, and they do not coexist.

Shen Yao touched her chin, "Hearing you put it that way, I have hope for the future again."

System: ……

Why does it feel like the Host is singing a contrary tune? Aren't they cooperative partners?

"We are good partners," that is on the premise of aligned interests; during this process their relationship has opposed several times, and Shen Yao cannot forget that cleanly.

While they were speaking, the vanguard force flying over had already arrived before her eyes.

Looking at the insect swarm pouncing against the glass windows and walls, Shen Yao's whole body broke out in goosebumps.

These insects grew strangely; not only were they pitch-black all over, but each one was the size of a baby's fist.

Pressing their bodies against the glass windows, one packed against another, they caused the entire space to darken.

Relying on her excellent eyesight, Shen Yao also saw the insects' deformed limbs — like castrated centipedes, monsters assembled from numerous insects.

No wonder these things can run rampant in the Southern Hemisphere; they must have undergone various mutations. Once this wave of insect disaster passes, Rimu City will probably need several months to slowly recover its vitality.

Drawing the curtains on both sides of the window, Shen Yao simply adopted an "out of sight, out of mind" approach and directly hid in the bedroom to rest with eyes closed.

Her room was fully prepared; even with the insect disaster arriving it would not cause harm. It was the other people in the residential compound — the internet was intermittent, and various wails and sobs continued without end.

Not everyone has Shen Yao's capability; just the medicinal powder she had scattered was enough to make the numerous insects pouncing over heedlessly avoid it at all costs.

Moreover, Shen Yao had sealed all the vents in the house to prevent insects from exploiting gaps to enter the room.

By the time Shen Yao got up in the afternoon and pulled open the curtains to check the situation, the airtight sky revealed a faint glimmer of light, although this insect disaster had not completely passed yet.

No, that cannot be said; it should be said the main course of the insect disaster has not yet been served — what is before us is merely the appetizer.

Shen Yao tapped on the glass, and through her gaze she saw insects that made her scalp go numb.

"System, has the Official side taken action?" The insect disaster situation shows no improvement; one could say the Official side is letting things drift.

"Host, the Official side plans to act when the main force of the insect disaster arrives."

Only then can benefits be maximized; you must know these insects eat whatever they grow on. If they really take medicinal action, the insects' bodies might develop drug resistance, and then the medicine would be useless — Huaguo's losses would be even greater.

"What about chickens and ducks? And the caged birds?" They are all Huaguo's methods.

"Already used, with significant effect; however chickens, ducks, and birds eat a limited amount. The Official side is currently dispatching personnel to collect insects." These insects cannot be eaten by humans, but after processing they can serve as extra feed for livestock.

After the natural disaster, not only is human food in short supply, but animals' survival space is also affected.

The chickens, ducks, and birds raised in the Animal Husbandry Garden were originally meant to provide physical nutrition for humans; unexpectedly encountering the insect disaster, they simply made the best of it.

This insect collection might unexpectedly expand production capacity later and raise more high-yield chickens, ducks, and birds. After all, insects are such a thing — even if they die out this year, they will hatch again next year; there is fundamentally no worry about insufficient supply.

After chatting a couple of sentences with the System, Shen Yao glanced at the time and ran to the kitchen to cook.

They were all simple, easy-to-make foods; for convenience Shen Yao even opened a can.

Happily finishing the meal, then tidying the trash and placing it at the doorway, Shen Yao patted her cheeks, took out her phone to probe for outside news.

There was not much information; the situation online was such that even scrolling for half a day yielded nothing.

Shen Yao estimated the outside network might be cut off; after all, the insect disaster eats everything it flies over — outside cables and optical fibers cannot escape the insects' mouths either.

Rimu City's network was also largely paralyzed, but miraculously the internal compound network could still communicate; at least the compound group messages flew fast, and Shen Yao could still see a few disgusting pictures.

As expected, some households in the compound had insects fly inside; the residents came face-to-face with them, and the insect side won outright.

Complaints and cries for help in the group were not few; unfortunately, with the situation outside, no one could even step out the door — they could only endure on their own.

Shen Yao looked a few times, discovered there was nothing for her to do, and turned the screen off again.

Her life now is better than most people's; it is the most unsuitable time to stick her head out — better to keep a low profile and lie low first.

On the third day of the insect disaster sweeping through, a large amount of white secretions appeared on Shen Yao's glass windows, greatly obstructing her view outside.

Moreover, these secretions are corrosive; the glass is sturdy and durable, yet a layer was still corroded away — this gave Shen Yao a sense of crisis.

Turns out these insects are this troublesome; it seems that in future plant cultivation, insect-resistant traits must be integrated early on.

Mentally planning how to arrange work, Shen Yao also did not keep her gaze on these insects. Who knew that despite Shen Yao ignoring them, these insects actually took the initiative to swarm over.

On the third day's afternoon, another dense swarm of insects flew over.

The quantity was even greater than before; covering heaven and earth like a layer of black, oppressive netting, pressing on one's heart until one could not breathe.

Long-prepared Official Personnel began using prepared medicine to greet these insects.

The medicine reacted upon meeting the insects; layer after layer spread on the ground, and even after people walked over and trampled it open, it still emitted a pungent smell.

The Official personnel were busy beyond measure with the insect matter; Shen Yao's side was not exactly relaxed either. She recorded all the tasks she needed to do, then finally stood up and contacted Sun Ge, the Group Leader in charge of her group.

Sun Ge has been on standby at the Planting Garden recently; the work there is more important than at home.

Hearing that Shen Yao had some ideas, he immediately guaranteed it with a packed promise — he is new, and his contact time with Shen Yao is relatively short.

Now hearing Shen Yao intentionally drawing close, what is he hesitating for? He should hurry up and nod in agreement.

Shen Yao didn't expect the other party to be so cooperative; honestly, she thought they would be a serious, self-disciplined, and upright person, but didn't expect their mind to turn so quickly — they went right down the stairs she handed them.

Tsk tsk tsk

From a certain perspective, this person indeed has some real ability.

Hanging up the phone, Shen Yao glanced sideways at the window outside where day and night couldn't be distinguished, and returned to the bedroom to continue resting.

In short, during these days when the insect disaster hadn't dispersed, Shen Yao stayed honestly hiding in her room resting.

During this period it wasn't that no one came to make trouble, but Shen Yao didn't indulge them.

Moreover, with Shen Yao's reputation at the Planting Garden, the whole crowd didn't dare go too far; most just failed to get any cheap advantage with their mouths and turned around to leave.

Shen Yao handled these people with ease; after all, the whole crowd didn't want to tear face completely, and in the end still held some reservations.

But still couldn't stay too long; the people here could be reserved for a moment, but not for a lifetime.

Shen Yao had always understood this principle; if she wanted to rise above others, she still had to achieve something in her career — at minimum, let the Management above see her value, so they would willingly take care of her.

Another early morning, the situation outside improved, and Shen Yao was finally able to go out.

But there were still insects on the road, especially in some unseen nooks and crannies.

Shen Yao deliberately avoided contact with these insects; by the time she reached the Planting Garden, her protective suit had inevitably rubbed against dirty things.

Seeing this, Sun Ge hurriedly had Shen Yao fetch water to wash; these insects are very poisonous — Official personnel have already had quite a few fall victim while cleaning them up.

Shen Yao asked if there was any danger; Sun Ge shook his head, saying it was just physical discomfort — if they could really take lives, the Official side wouldn't be this calm.

"Heard the Officials intend to let the masses help catch insects to exchange for grain;" insects have many uses — although humans can't eat them, for chickens, ducks, and birds they are a great tonic; even powder ground from crushed insects mixed into feed can save a lot of supplies.

"These insects — are you sure they've already flown away?" Extermination is impossible, but they can be made to leave.

Sun Ge nodded, his face full of sighs, "If they didn't leave, one Rimu City wouldn't be enough for them to ravage."

The plants in the experimental fields outside yielded not a single grain; only the test specimens in the Planting Garden remained.

Now the entire Rimu City's people are all counting on the Planting Garden to quickly produce results, so everyone can smoothly fill their stomachs and not starve to death.

Hearing Sun Ge's slightly exaggerated words, Shen Yao thought: how could it be that miserable? The country's stockpiled grain is enough for them to eat for several years; moreover, they aren't people who just sit eating the mountain empty — there are many test specimens in the Planting Garden; as long as a few species with stable traits are cultivated, their lives will improve significantly.

"Sun Ge, the field matters are entrusted to me — just don't forget the matter I asked you to handle before."

She wanted to cultivate the plants' insect resistance, and needed to get insect corpses.

Although there were many insects outside, even many live ones, Shen Yao belongs to the technical worker category and doesn't need to personally do the work.

Assigning the live work to Sun Ge, she disposed of her protective suit and ran off to check the field ditches she hadn't seen in several days.

Not to mention, Sun Ge's methods for tending these plants are still very strong; during the days Shen Yao wasn't there, no plants withered and died.

Even the results compared to the control group were not bad — even earlier than the time she estimated for handing in the quota.

Swish swish—

Shen Yao moved to remove the weeds in the fields, felt the soil condition, confirmed there were no problems, added a bag of fertilizer, then stopped.

This fertilizer was still a finished product she researched — it can raise the plants' absorption rate to the upper limit, promote plant growth and development, and save time.

The control field's plants were ultimately not the shape and appearance she wanted; Shen Yao didn't want to waste fertilizer in vain, so she only sprinkled it on a few plots with good growth.

After sprinkling finished, Shen Yao's work was about done; first she ate a meal, then found a spot to rest a while, and when the sky was about to turn dark she hurriedly returned home.

Inside the residential compound, crowds surged — all people who had received the Official news, knowing there were rewards for coming out to catch insects, each rubbing their hands in anticipation, wanting to show off their skills.

Shen Yao saw there were still familiar faces — it shows the things the Officials brought out this time are cost-effective; even the elderly and children are participating.

The manager was still reminding everyone to pay attention to safety — insect bites need hospital treatment; they mustn't lose their own lives just to earn a bit of grain.

When the crowd agreed, each and every one guaranteed it, but when they started moving, not a shred of stability — Shen Yao dodged left and right and finally smoothly entered her home door.

Phew

Truly dangerous — next time there's work like this, I have to stay far away.

……

This insect-catching competition didn't last several days, because Rimu City didn't have many insects left, plus more and more people wanted money regardless of their lives — are those oddly shaped insects some terrifying things? No! They are treasures that can be exchanged for grain.

Shen Yao watched the people around her going crazy, head lowered, busy with her own experimental field.

Until the experimental field produced results, which Shen Yao handed over to the Management upon turning her head, her position and treatment rose another big notch.

It really was a big notch — including Group Leader Sun Ge, their expressions became even more fawning.

Shen Yao endured and endured; finally, only at her hint did Sun Ge return to normal.

Shen Yao: …… Truly blessed without fortune to enjoy

Fortunately the managers were still fairly normal; they didn't make things too difficult for Shen Yao, just left words of doing their best to cooperate, then poured all their enthusiasm into other aspects.

Rimu City has so many Planting Gardens — not only Shen Yao's side produced results; other places' results are even more novel than here; they are all trump cards they can rely on in the future.

Shen Yao's side is all fruits and vegetables, which destined her to receive limited attention; fortunately Shen Yao doesn't care about these — who told her she never wanted to stick her head out too much.

Spring passes, autumn comes; cold comes, heat goes.

Shen Yao once again experienced scorching heat and rainstorms; the sweeping storm ravaged Rimu City, leaving this town riddled with holes.

People gradually adapted to this environment through one natural disaster after another.

Shen Yao was the same; and she and Wei Mingyu also found a suitable opportunity, pierced that layer of window paper, and smoothly became boyfriend and girlfriend.

Pity the timing wasn't right — change to another time and they might have quickly achieved a successful outcome; right now, they can only temporarily get along for the time being.

The third year after the natural disaster, Rimu City only then barely stabilized.

This stability can only be said to mean they have confidence in responding to coming natural disasters — they won't be flustered like the previous two years, and won't let the masses suffer losses.

Of course, it's also true that natural disasters have caused humanity's survival environment to become increasingly harsh — these years Rimu City's population has to some extent shown a reduction trend.

Especially the elderly and children with weak resistance — basically casualties were heavy.

In special times, the Officials can even less advocate the masses marrying and having children — they can only do their best to care for the elderly, young, and other vulnerable groups, to reduce unnecessary losses.

……

Shen Yao got off work and returned home, seeing traces of someone moving about in the opposite room.

Wei Mingyu wore casual clothes; the weather was good, a rarity, and he had taken a bath, so his whole person looked very refreshed.

"You're back?"

Shen Yao's face was full of surprise; it had been half a month since Wei Mingyu last returned.

"Vacation, I can stay at home for two days," he planned to go see his parents tomorrow, and then settle the marriage between himself and Shen Yao.