CHAPTER 108: AS A MOBILE CORPSE WORM RATION

If you fell asleep and didn’t wake up when the first rotten corpse insect laid its eggs and ate your flesh and blood, in less than a few minutes, a continuous stream of flies would come to lay more eggs. In less than two hours, your body would be swarming with rotten corpse insects. Their saliva, secreted from their mouthparts, also has a paralyzing effect, so deeply sleeping people would not easily notice.

It must be said that the evolution of species is a very miraculous thing. Initially, rotten corpse insects were only the size of a pinhead, but now they can grow much bigger. In the later stages, they will become fat and plump, and due to the scarcity of food, they have become less picky about what they eat, consuming anything that holds energy.

In the past, rotten corpse insects would only lay eggs on corpses, but now they lay them on living people. A female rotten corpse fly is now about the size of a mosquito, and once it lays eggs on a person, thousands of eggs turn into tiny, wriggling larvae that can grow to the size of a pinhead overnight.

Jing Shu was extremely familiar with these rotten corpse insects; they were her nightmare. The rotten corpse insects could mature in three days, with the females transforming into flies to seek food and new places to lay eggs.

Meanwhile, the male rotten corpse insects would grow longer and larger. They stored energy when food for the species was plentiful and became food themselves when there wasn’t enough. They never transformed into flies. In the fifth year after the apocalypse, Jing Shu’s diet consisted mostly of male insects.

This species’ rise to power had a reason: they were ruthless even to their own kind.

A few days ago, when Shangguan Jun tormented the auntie from the community, Jing Shu had dropped the auntie into a pool of water contaminated with rotten corpse insects. Those long, wriggling rotten corpse insects were males, constantly feeding and serving as a mobile food reserve for their species, ready to make a sacrifice when needed.

In her previous life, Jing Shu had to be on guard even while sleeping, fearing that she might be bitten by rotten corpse insects or become a host for their eggs.

Wang Qiqi said, "@Everyone, Aunt Liu from Building No. 3 unfortunately had eggs laid on her by rotten corpse insects last night. When discovered today, her body was already crawling with rotten corpse insects, leaving just a skeleton. I remind everyone to be vigilant when sleeping at night."

Wang Cuihua sent a voice message, saying, "I put up a mosquito net at home, but it was completely useless! My face was still covered in bites when I woke up this morning. Does anyone have gauze? I’ll need to add another layer of that too!"

Fat Girl No.25 said, "I exchanged all our cloth for work points. If I’d known, I would’ve kept some!"

Wang Qiqi spoke again, "The five people who went missing from the community a few days ago still haven’t been found; they may have already been killed. If they’re not found within seven days, I’ll apply for their death certificates. Then, we can go to the houses of those with no kin and inherit their things. As usual, I get a triple share."

Now, no one opposed what Wang Qiqi said because he had successfully ensured the community had meat to eat and water to drink.

Wind No.3 said, "That’s great! I can look for a few more sets of bowls. My bowls were covered in maggots today; I would have thought they were rotten corpse insects if they weren’t white."

The news channels also reported continuously on the dangers of rotten corpse insects. The science channel finally had its moment of triumph, declaring, "See? Rotten corpse insects are going to rule the world! They’re going to be at the top of the food chain! If this trend continues, in less than three months, all other living beings and resources will be under the control of the rotten corpse insects."

Jing Shu’s villa was somehow infiltrated by many rotten corpse insects.

Fortunately, the villa had frogs and fat chickens. Jing Shu also put a few frogs in Grandma Jing’s house. After Wu You’ai left, Third Aunt Jing Lai also moved into the villa for a few days, as everyone felt it was too unsafe outside. Now, there were patrol cars outside the villa, and the Armed Police were on duty 24 hours a day. Until the Heavenly Cover Leader and Second Leader Shangguan Jun were found, the patrols would not leave.

Every day, Jing Shu would also deliver some boiled ordinary water. She adhered to the principle that small kindnesses foster goodwill while excessive aid can breed ingratitude, so offering minor tokens was sufficient.

Mr. Jing recently brought back some Domestic Poultry from the farm to raise at home. The farm had suffered a pest outbreak: dozens of Domestic Poultry died accidentally after rotten corpse insects laid eggs on them. Some individuals with connections who were responsible for their care had been negligent, leading to entire pigs and cattle being devoured by the rotten corpse insects. The infestation then spread to other Domestic Poultry at a terrifying speed. Therefore, it was better to bring them home to be raised. The conditions at home were better, and crucially, there were fewer rotten corpse insects.

As for the dead Domestic Poultry, they all had identification numbers. Whoever was responsible for the one that died had to take responsibility. Quite a few individuals with connections were directly removed from their positions, and their recommenders would also be punished.

Yes, to enter the farm or agricultural base, one needed a recommender. If you made a mistake that you couldn’t compensate for, the recommender had to pay the damages.

"Dad, we need to get some sealing strips and various glues. We have to ensure that the tempered glass is seamless and the doors and windows are absolutely sealed. Otherwise, so many crops will be in trouble," Jing Shu said, pointing at the cucumber flowers in the yard. Some places were out of reach for the frogs, which made them easily vulnerable. Once eggs were laid, it would become a catastrophe. "And we have to prepare for next year’s torrential rains. I definitely don’t want red earthworms to get in."

"Okay, leave it to me. I’ll find a way to get some," Mr. Jing replied. He considered for a moment. Looks like I’ll still have to ask Lao Liu for some glue. I really don’t want to contact those colleagues of over twenty years again; I’ve already seen their true colors.

It looks like we’ll still have to spray the entire villa with floral water, even if it’s a bit wasteful. If it runs out, we can always plant some medicinal herbs later and make our own.

Mrs. Jing had been under a lot of pressure recently. Most of the Mushrooms cultivated by the Planting Management Department in the other twelve districts of Wu City were devoured by rotten corpse insects! She was terrified that her department would meet the same fate.

Fortunately, Jing Shu had placed hundreds of frogs in the department. With constant temperature air conditioning and good water, this had prevented the crops from disaster.

Nowadays, Wu City consumed the most Mushrooms on a daily basis. Even if they weren’t tasty, they were cheap in terms of work points, and without any other choice, people had to settle for Mushroom rice.

And since the cultivation of Mushrooms also involved mold, which just so happened to be something rotten corpse insects liked, no matter how people tried to protect them, a large portion was eaten. This posed a problem for the food supply for everyone in Wu City for the next few days!

Now, those who still had food storage at home were very few. If food supplies were cut for even a few days, who knew how many more would die.

That day, Jing Shu was also approached by Minister Niu, who reserved almost her entire second batch of frogs and even expressed a desire to reserve the third batch.

The second batch of frogs numbered around a thousand. Two hundred were kept at Mrs. Jing’s department, and the rest were given to Niu Mou in exchange for 500 work points, 300 units of electricity, 200 bottles of mineral water, and a favor owed by Minister Niu.

Due to the current water shortage, even Minister Niu couldn’t afford to lavish two bottles of water per frog anymore, instead scraping together some other items. Overall, the 300 units of electricity, combined with solar power generation, meant that Jing Shu’s house could run for a few months without using any gasoline for power generation, saving them a bunch of fuel.

Jing Shu wasn’t concerned about the number of mineral water bottles; her main goal was to establish a legitimate source for them in the future. This way, people would know her family’s large supply of mineral water came from trading with Minister Niu. Otherwise, having hundreds of cases of mineral water hidden in a study without a clear origin would undoubtedly arouse suspicion.