Chapter 266: Li Si's Special-Effect Pesticide

Xia Qing didn't rush into action. First, she sprayed a bucket of pesticide around her precious green-light spinach and green-light sweet potato greenhouses, then grabbed a leaf with caterpillars crawling on it and hurried to Territory Nine. She also wanted to hear an expert's opinion and find out what kind of evolved insects had suddenly emerged.

When she reached the central passage of the territory, Xia Qing saw Zhao Ze, Kuang Qingwei, Qi Fu, and Shi Du, all wearing protective suits, surrounding a short woman and asking her questions.

This woman actually wasn't wearing a protective suit or a protective mask. She wore a white lab coat and glasses, had a fair round face, and looked to be around thirty years old.

Hearing her cool, detached tone, Xia Qing confirmed that this was the famous-but-never-before-met Lord of Territory Nine, Li Si of the Blazing Fire Squad.

"This is the larva of an evolved slug moth. Its egg stage lasts over half a year, but the larval stage is only about three days."

Kuang Qingwei couldn't believe it. "Does Sister Si mean this little bug can grow up in three days and turn into a pupa?"

Li Si nodded. "Right. After the evolved slug moth larvae grow up, they'll crawl into the soil and pupate. The slug moths also lay their eggs on the stems and leaves of plants close to the soil surface, so they're very hard to eradicate completely. Once human skin touches the spines on the larvae, it causes intense pain and a burning sensation; extensive contact can be fatal. After hatching, these insects feed continuously, growing to over three centimeters long within two or three days, then burrow into the soil to form pupae."

"Holy—" Kuang Qingwei's hand holding the leaf was trembling. "There are tons of these things in my territory, and there must be a lot more bugs about to hatch. In just a few days they could strip my territory bare. Captain Tan!"

Tan Junjie nodded, turned, and went aside to report the pest situation within his jurisdiction.

Li Si examined the leaf Shi Du had brought over and quickly made her judgment. "This is a leafminer larva. It's somewhat less harmful than the evolved slug moth larva, but this kind of larva is a favorite food of many birds."

The corners of Shi Du's mouth, which had just curled up, immediately drooped down. Bugs that attracted birds were even more terrifying.

When Xia Qing walked closer, Qi Fu was handing a corn leaf to Li Si. "Sister Si, look, what bug is this?"

Li Si pushed up the gold temple piece of her glasses with her palm and observed carefully for a few seconds. "This is a striped stem borer larva. From its body characteristics, I can't tell whether it's evolved."

Zhao Ze's eyes went wide. "Corn gets bugs too?!"

Qi Fu continued to ask, "Sister Si, the striped stem borer is the borer worm, right?"

Li Si answered rigorously, "Before the catastrophe, both the striped stem borer and the yellow stem borer were called borer worms. They were major crop pests. This type of insect must be eliminated as soon as possible."

Zhao Ze didn't understand. "We built our pest-proof sheds long ago. When we planted the first crop, there were no bugs in the greenhouses. So why did bugs show up in the second crop?"

Li Si answered calmly, "If bugs have appeared, it's definitely because there are eggs inside the shed. As for how the eggs got in, that needs a full inspection to determine. Right now the most urgent thing is pest control, otherwise it will cause reduced crop yields."

Seeing Xia Qing coming over with a leaf, Zhao Ze glanced at the bug on it. "This is an evolved slug moth larva—it's poisonous, so be careful. Thank goodness you spotted it early, otherwise our territory would've been stripped bare by these bugs."

Kuang Qingwei hurriedly asked, "Does Sister Si have a special-effect pesticide?"

Li Si nodded. "Yes."

Assistant Xiao Liu stepped forward, holding a file folder in his left hand and a pen in his right, and began taking orders with a smile. "If any lords need to buy the special-effect pesticide, you can register with me. There's one thing I need to tell you all in advance: the evolved slug moth has pesticide resistance, so the ordinary pesticide you get from the Territory Management Department won't work on it. Our Territory Nine special-effect pesticide is patented, and the price is a bit steep—five hundred milliliters for two hundred points—but one spray can protect ten mu of land and is guaranteed effective."

Hearing the price, the lords' enthusiasm for buying the special-effect pesticide was largely dampened.

Only Tang Huai was still asking, "Assistant Liu, does your special-effect pesticide only work on these few kinds of bugs, or on all bugs?"

Xiao Liu answered professionally and patiently, "It works on all lepidopteran insect larvae, except for a very small number of highly evolved insects that have developed resistance."

Tang Huai heard this and was not only unhappy, but a little worried. "Will cicada larvae be killed too?"

Everyone……

Xiao Liu politely reminded him, "Mr. Tang, cicadas belong to the order Hemiptera, not Lepidoptera."

Li Si was even more rigorous. "If cicada larvae hatch during the spraying period or within three days after spraying, they will also be affected by the pesticide, with reduced activity."

Tang Huai's desire to buy the pesticide instantly vanished. "Thanks, Sister Si. That stuff's too expensive—I have to ask my lord first."

Tan Junjie walked over. "The inspection team has reported the pest situation to the Management Department. Territories Eleven through Twenty-Eight have also experienced pest outbreaks of varying severity. The helicopter will arrive in an hour and a half to spray an 'evolved version' pesticide. The spray range covers the territories and the evolved forest within ten li nearby. All lords are requested to return to their territories immediately to prepare. When the aircraft comes, close doors and windows and wear protective masks. Do not open windows or remove protective masks for four hours after spraying."

Hearing Tan Junjie's deliberate emphasis that the aircraft would be spraying an improved pesticide, all the lords decided to wait and see how the pest control went before deciding whether to buy Li Si's special-effect pesticide. Even Assistant Xiao Liu's business smile couldn't hold up.

"Xia Qing."

As the crowd dispersed, Li Si only called Xia Qing to stop. Li Si stared at Xia Qing's face, dyed red, her voice cool and detached. "Have any striped stem borer larvae appeared in your fields? Given Base Hui Three's conservative style, even if this pesticide is an improved version, it'll only be effective against one or two kinds of insects—it won't kill striped stem borers."

Xia Qing immediately nodded. "Thanks for the warning, Sister Si. I'll head back right now and check every single plant, catch the bugs."

Li Si stared at Xia Qing's retreating back for a while before returning to her own territory.

After returning to her territory, Xia Qing sprayed pesticide around the outside of every greenhouse and small shed. The pesticide she used was the non-improved version regularly distributed by the base. Its effect was a bit worse, but spraying was better than not spraying.

Without knowing how many helicopters there were or where they'd start spraying, Xia Qing naturally used every means available.

After finishing the spraying, Xia Qing went home to collect the pine cones drying on the roof.

Before she had finished collecting the pine cones, Xia Qing got a call from Qi Fu, who wanted to discuss buying the pesticide with her. "I found borers in my corn shed and mung bean shed yesterday, and I sprayed pesticide, but it seems the stuff we got from the base doesn't work well. Sis, what do you think—should we buy that special-effect pesticide from Territory Nine? I just feel uneasy about it."

Xia Qing asked, "Brother Qi, are you worried that spending big money on the special-effect pesticide won't work?"

"It's not just that." Qi Fu explained. "I'm also worried the pesticide is too strong and will cause the quality of the crops or seeds in the field to drop."