CHAPTER 45: BLACK FUNGUS BEETLE

Zhang Zhongyong’s expression was grim as he remained silent. He had originally thought he had Su Meimei by the scruff, with enough leverage to bully her. As a man who had been cuckolded, his feelings were understandable; he wished he could torment Su Meimei daily to vent his fury. However, he now found out this vile woman threatened to expose his son’s affair and report them.

If she reported it, our lives—mine and my son’s—would be over! Our fate would be even worse than Sun Yinrui’s! This damned woman!

Uncle continued tapping on the table. "So, Meimei, what do you say? A divorce and we go our separate ways, or...?"

Su Meimei, biting her nails, said with confident nonchalance, "That’s up to him." I’ll definitely expose him and ruin his reputation before any divorce.

Uncle looked at Zhang Zhongyong, who immediately replied anxiously, "Of course, we can’t divorce. I’ll cut off all ties with her immediately and send them far away once the Dark Day is over."

Su Meimei snorted. "Wait until the Dark Day is over? What about the house and the car?"

Zhang Zhongyong squinted at Su Meimei for a moment before spitting out a few words, "Send them off immediately. I want the house and the car back."

Su Meimei finally quieted down, looking satisfied. Uncle admired Zhang Zhongyong’s quick understanding. He said a few conciliatory words, hoping for family harmony in the future, and warned Zhang Zhongyong to make a clean break, or else the latter half of his life would be ruined. He also had Su Meimei apologize to Mrs. Jing. Mrs. Jing responded with an indifferent hum, and Uncle said no more.

Zhang Zhongyong certainly wasn’t going to break off the relationship. Su Meimei thought she had Zhang Zhongyong under her thumb, but the real hardships for her were yet to come.

What’s the difference between her parents not divorcing and getting divorced? Zhang Hanhan thought, clenching her teeth and staring at Jing Shu. One is obsessed with his Xiao San, hating his legal wife to death, and the other is only thinking about how to score a fortune. Who’s considering my feelings? No one! Clenching her fists tightly, Zhang Hanhan swore in her heart, Just give me a chance, and you will all pay, one by one! You’ll wish you were dead, especially you, Jing Shu!

With the discussion concluded, it was customary for everyone to stay the night. But Mrs. Jing, feeling chilly, longed for her consistently warm, clean, and odor-free villa and decided to take her leave.

Su Meimei struggled to speak. "I won’t touch a car that vixen has driven. Mrs. Jing, take your car back."

Mrs. Jing’s heart ached at the mere mention of the car.

Zhang Hanhan decided to ally with her mother. "Auntie Jing," she began, "your car is still as good as new. Back then, you felt you’d sold it for too little, and our family felt quite guilty about that. Why don’t we just return it to its original owner, and you can pretend you never sold the car?"

Su Meimei looked at Zhang Hanhan approvingly and said, "That car could fetch 200,000 if sold. But isn’t it your favorite, Mrs. Jing? Just repay me what I initially paid for it."

"It was you who insisted on buying it back then, and now you’re insistent on selling it back," Jing Shu interjected. "If you can get 200,000 for it, go ahead and sell it. My mom won’t want it after someone else has touched it."

After a pause, Jing Shu continued, "Instead of scrambling for money, you should think about how to deal with Sun Yinrui’s wife once she gets out of prison. She’s going to take out all her frustrations from the past month in jail on you." She clearly took delight in their misfortune.

How could I have forgotten about this? Su Meimei’s face turned pale instantly.

Jing Shu’s family and Wang Gang’s family were both leaving, so Uncle escorted them to the ground floor.

"It’s late, and it’s cold outside. The buses have stopped running, and there are no unofficial taxis. You’d better stay the night," Uncle said, looking out at the pitch-black city. It was devoid of moonlight, stars, and even streetlights; one couldn’t see their hand in front of their face.

"We drove an energy car, so we can give Lao Jing’s family a lift," Wang Gang said, pulling out his car key.

"We also drove an energy car. Let’s go our separate ways," Mr. Jing declined the kind offer. He, his wife, and daughter got into their car, turned on the heat, and drove off.

Watching the Jing family’s retreating figures, Wang Can, who had been silent all night, remarked, "I always feel their family is quite mysterious, not as vulnerable as Zhang Hanhan described."

"A family that can grow such fresh vegetables, whose hands are all clean with no dirt under their fingernails, and who can still use laundry detergent, doesn’t seem to be short on water. Most importantly, they didn’t bring any extra clothes."

"What’s wrong with not bringing extra clothes?" Wang Can asked curiously.

"It means they’re not used to wearing heavy clothing. People only dress like that if they live in a constantly air-conditioned environment, which is quite curious. My political achievements for next month might depend on them."

"When will the Dark Day actually end?"

"Who knows."

...

A few days after the Lantern Festival, the power supply hours in Wu City were reduced to just six hours, from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

To improve efficiency and reduce energy output, work hours were changed to 5:00 AM to 10:00 AM to avoid the peak heat of the day. However, this change still couldn’t prevent hundreds of daily incidents where elderly people and children succumbed to heatstroke, with rescue efforts proving futile.

In the apocalypse, the weak, the sick, the elderly, and children are always the first to be eliminated. Hospitals, the only places with 24-hour uninterrupted power and air conditioning, were already working beyond capacity. Now, they were so full they couldn’t admit any more patients. It was then that another disaster struck, making a bad situation worse.

"Reports say this is a new species of flying insect, mutated due to the dark, hot temperatures, and named the Black Fungus Beetle. It carries and indiscriminately spreads bacteria. Like other flying insects, it’s attracted to light. It’s about the size of a date, likes to dive-bomb from high altitudes, and flies chaotically. Although it doesn’t bite and isn’t directly lethal, contact with it can spread various diseases."

"The bacteria it carries can lower a person’s immune response, making even normally healthy individuals highly susceptible to sickness. The current viral cold epidemic is mostly attributed to this insect."

"The Black Fungus Beetle’s weakness is its sense of smell, which is one hundred times stronger than that of similar insects. Spraying mosquito repellent, Wind Oil Essence, or similar floral waters, and burning mosquito coils can effectively repel this insect."

"The government plans to launch an extermination effort against this beetle within a week and produce a preventive vaccine within three days. Authorities urge the public to remain calm."

The exterior of the villa at Jingshu’s house was covered with a BUZZING swarm of insects attracted by the light. The THUDDING of Black Fungus Beetles dive-bombing the tempered glass enclosure could also be heard.

Mr. Jing, dressed in a head-to-toe beekeeper’s suit, climbed a ladder with a mixture of water and Wind Oil Essence to start spraying the tempered glass enclosure. As soon as he sprayed, a swath of insects BUZZED and fell to the ground, while many more WHOOSHED away. However, the villa was large, so there was still a lot of work to be done.

How does my daughter seem to have a magic pocket like Doraemon’s, able to produce whatever we need at any given moment? Mr. Jing was baffled when he received this equipment.

They’ve really developed fast. Their numbers weren’t this high just over ten days ago, Jing Shu remembered. Back when they first went to collect water, the insects weren’t carrying viruses yet.

Wang Qiqi No.13: "@Everyone, if you have mosquito repellent, mosquito spray, or floral water at home, be sure to spray it on windowsills and door cracks! Do not touch these black flying insects under any circumstances! If any neighbors accidentally catch a viral cold, they must hurry to the hospital! When going out, make sure to cover yourselves completely and do not expose any skin!"

Wang Xue Mei No.2: "What should I do? I’ve run to all the supermarkets, stores, and pharmacies that might sell Wind Oil Essence or floral water, but they’re all sold out!"