CHAPTER 64: THE APOCALYPSE GIFT, GIVE A LIVING FROG IF YOU WANT TO GIVE

Because Jing Shu suddenly remembered, when it comes to the natural enemies of rotten corpse insects, frogs are definitely the top contenders. Next in line would be maggots, which we often turn our noses up at.

In the first year of the apocalypse, maggots kept quite a few people alive, and those maggots, in turn, were sustained by rotten corpse insects. So it goes to show, the world goes round in circles, and no one is spared by the heavens.

The bees in the flower room on the second floor of Jing Shu’s house were enough, and also more pleasing to the eye. One fat chicken and a fighting chicken in the villa’s yard were also sufficient—they’d make sure to eat every insect clean.

Her main plan was to raise some more frogs for ’business’ and as gifts. In the apocalypse, one had to have a legitimate occupation, after all.

In the Initial Stage of Apocalypse, people were quite squeamish. The spread of rotten corpse insects scared the daylights out of them, for one thing. For another, the insects truly caused a lot of trouble. Even the most careful households would be invaded by rotten corpse insects, leading to spoiled food, and bites during sleep that caused swelling and pain, among other issues. In her previous life, Jing Shu was always bitten by rotten corpse insects when sleeping outside.

Even with mosquito repellent, it was impossible to keep an entire house protected at all times like Jing Shu did. Resourceful individuals who managed to obtain frogs to give as highly-praised gifts eventually started raising them. These were pets that didn’t require food; they could live entirely on the insects they ate themselves.

So, when all the mosquito repellent and Wind Oil Essence ran out, a new trend emerged: for apocalypse gifts, the best gift was a live frog.

Having a frog at home could basically solve all insect-related problems. After the apocalypse, frogs became a luxury item, much like famous dog breeds before the apocalypse. Those who could afford to keep frogs in their homes were considered truly formidable.

"The ideal temperature for frogs is around 32°C. Now they are almost extinct, which has led to the insect infestation. If you want to eat stir-fried bullfrog, fried frog legs, braised forest frogs, or dry pot bullfrog, I’m afraid these types of frogs won’t do," Wu You’ai said calmly as she picked up a piece of cola chicken wing.

"Emm... Do I come across as a glutton in others’ eyes?" Jing Shu rolled her eyes and said, "Any frog will do."

"Our professor has a few Bell Horned Frogs from South America. They are fierce, extremely voracious, but very easy to raise. A large mouth takes up half of their body, and they even eat their own kind. Want them?"

Jing Shu clapped her hands, "Deal, I’ll take those."

After finishing the meal, Jing Shu took the fat chicken to her grandparents’ house for a thorough cleaning. As expected, she found some rotten corpse insects, but not many, since her grandparents stored their food in the refrigerator at Jingshu’s house. Jing Shu decided that from now on, she would bring the fat chicken to patrol their house daily to prevent the breeding of rotten corpse insects.

The issue of rotten corpse insects must be taken seriously. Otherwise, it would be too late by the time one realized their food had been spoiled. It was like the owner of the luxury car dealership in the neighborhood; he only discovered at night that his food had been invaded by rotten corpse insects, and over ten bags of rice were gone. Of course, for the situation to develop to this extent meant he had no food left at home, allowing the infestation to spread even to his bed.

Jing Shu didn’t even dare to imagine how many rotten corpse insects had proliferated in that person’s home. It was this very person who had initially blamed her for not warning him, right? Hah, serves him right. Let’s see how he survives in the apocalypse now.

Rotten corpse insects wasted a lot of food in the Initial Stage of Apocalypse. Careless people like the luxury car dealer, having lost their food supply, likely contributed to the increasing number of individuals transitioning from robbery to violent home invasions, and perhaps eventually revealing their true natures through murder. After all, quite a few people in the group chat already had their food spoiled. What could they do without water or food?

Jing Shu knew that the half-year where humanity would be eroded was finally upon them! The period when people began forming their own factions through murder and robbery would be officially recognized as the true arrival of the apocalypse.

The evening news broadcast indeed reported on this insect, officially naming this insect species ’rotten corpse insects,’ and described its habits and other information.

They also reported that unscrupulous farms were secretly raising live domestic poultry, hoping to sell them at high prices. However, this still resulted in large-scale deaths of the poultry, leading to an infestation of rotten corpse insects. Within just three days, hundreds of millions of Mother Worms had flown out to breed, invading every household! The government was now using pesticides to spray and kill the insects and incinerating poultry carcasses on a large scale.

The contaminated lakes were also thick with these insects, floating in clusters. It was predictable that before long, another large batch of Mother Worms would be flying everywhere looking for places to breed. Without natural predators to control them, the rotten corpse insects would become a natural disaster.

Scientists on the Science Channel even ranked rotten corpse insects at the top of the food chain, predicting that before long, they would consume all food sources, and so on. However, not much later, they were proven spectacularly wrong—but that’s a story for another time.

The news reported that Wind Oil Essence could be used as a repellent. Before the government could find a solution, people were advised to spray Wind Oil Essence at home as a preventive measure, ensuring their food supplies remained intact.

Jing Shu also finally systematically checked the traps around her villa—those in front of the door and those behind it. Still not feeling safe enough, she then traded one and a half kilograms of rice with Manager Liu from Suning for a complete infrared night vision surveillance system and a motion sensor alarm system.

Money had already become worthless, not nearly as useful as food. After another six months of darkness, the monetary system would be completely obsolete.

With the complete surveillance system and motion sensor alarms installed around the main gate, plus the 24-hour air conditioning, ice machine, and other constantly running electrical appliances, the electricity supply at Jingshu’s house became completely insufficient. The UBC power generation was already stretched thin, so Jing Shu had to resort to her gasoline generator. It consumed 1 liter of fuel to generate a day’s worth of supplementary electricity. Fortunately, she still had 15 tons of gasoline. At this rate of consumption, it would be enough for several decades, but she needed to save some for a potential relocation.

Now, if anyone approached the villa, Jing Shu’s phone could capture them on video. If someone tried to forcibly open the door, her phone would sound an alarm. It was a very advanced system, and only then did Jing Shu begin to feel secure.

Wu You’ai brought over five Bell Horned Frogs the next day. Each frog was essentially a large, round mouth with a comically bulging belly, looking quite different from ordinary frogs.

Jing Shu and Mr. Jing specifically fenced off a two-square-meter living space for the frogs by the edge of the pond. Mr. Jing was puzzled, asking, "Why build such a large nest for just a few frogs?"

"I’m planning to breed some frogs; they can make a lot of money. Grandpa, don’t you see how insects are infesting every household now? If we raise more frogs, we won’t have to worry so much about those rotten corpse insects, right?" Jing Shu explained.

Mr. Jing was skeptical. How much money could a little frog fetch? He’d just consider them pets being raised for fun.

Jing Shu moved a male and a female frog into her special dimension, keeping them separated from the quails. She fed them with ’Feed No. 3,’ hoping they would breed a new batch soon.

Mr. Jing finally returned, looking very spirited and even brought back two boxes of mineral water. He said to Mrs. Jing, "Your sister-in-law’s older brother’s family is really quite good. It was just a matter of helping out, and they insisted on giving me all this mineral water. Speaking of which, do you know about the relatives your older brother said were coming over?"

Mrs. Jing nodded. "They’ve been talking about it for over a month. They were supposed to come from our hometown, but there’s been no word since. What’s up? Have they arrived? Who is it that’s coming? Most of my parents’ generation has passed away, you know."