That night, the entire village was engaged in a massive cockroach cleanup. By the time the sun rose on the 10th, all sorts of photos were being shared in the village group chat—many of them showed cockroaches. But they were all ordinary household cockroaches. These weren’t afraid of light, but they were easy to kill. As for the giant cockroaches from the pond, there wasn’t a trace of them.
If so many people hadn’t captured footage of the giant cockroaches eating people, one might have thought it was all fake.
Xu Lin returned around nine in the morning. He got off at the village entrance, wearing the official’s high-tech sun-protective clothing—the reflective kind. If it weren’t for the fact that most villagers were still sleeping in, he probably would have topped the village group chat’s trending list.
Even so, when Qin Sang saw him come through the door, she still excitedly went over and reached out to touch the high-tech fabric.
It felt cool to the touch. Even though he had just come in from outside where it was over 70°C, it wasn’t the least bit hot.
Xu Lin was momentarily stunned by her childlike gesture, then couldn’t help but laugh. He reached out and ruffled her hair. “What are you thinking? This thing is cool to the touch. It uses some high-tech methods to refract light, which is why it looks reflective in the sun. It also absorbs solar heat and converts it into energy to cool the clothing.”
The principle sounded simple enough, but Qin Sang knew this was high-tech stuff—the core technology was probably mind-bogglingly complex. After satisfying her curiosity, she ran back and flopped down on the sofa. “I thought you wouldn’t be back until the afternoon.”
Xu Lin watched the hem of her shirt flutter as she ran off and shook his head helplessly. But the smile on his face never faded.
“There were people coming and going constantly at the dorm, so I figured I’d just come back here to rest. A batch of sun-protective clothing was released last night—you didn’t manage to grab any, right?”
Qin Sang nodded. With the whole village on cockroach-killing duty last night, she had completely forgotten to try and snag anything.
“Oh, right—where’s my net gun?” Speaking of snagging things, Qin Sang immediately thought of the ultimate giant-roach-killing device.
Xu Lin pulled a crossbow-like object from his space. But instead of firing arrows, it fired electrified nets.
Qin Sang weighed it in her hands. It had some heft to it. The net was made of metal, though she couldn’t tell what kind.
“You gave this to me—can you apply for another one on your end?”
Xu Lin had gone into the bathroom to wash his hands. Hearing her question, he called back, “It’s fine. I can apply for another one in a while.”
Qin Sang didn’t stand on ceremony and put it away. Then she pulled out a bunch of good food from her space and invited Xu Lin to come eat.
Looking at the table full of his favorite dishes, Xu Lin felt like he’d just eaten a bucket of ice cream on a scorching summer day. He finally had time to ask where Qin Sang’s parents were.
Qin Sang said, “They were tired from hunting cockroaches last night, so I told them to rest in the basement. It’s quieter there.”
Xu Lin nodded, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat. From the day before yesterday until now, he’d barely had time to sit down for a meal. When he was hungry, he ate a plain bun; when he was thirsty, he drank bottled water. And he wasn’t the only one—every official had been on standby at their posts. Those who had to go out on field duty had it even worse. By today, things had finally stabilized. Of course, the appearance of the giant cockroaches was a major problem.
“Don’t bother looking for drainage pipes. I’ve already found someone to get a replacement. It should be delivered in the next couple of days. Also, seal up all the gaps in the doors, the air conditioner pipe openings, the vents, and the drainage pipe outlets. Only open them when you need to use them.”
These were all potential entry points for cockroaches to invade the house. Even though the giant cockroaches probably had a hard time fitting through, who knew if they were like cats and could ooze through like liquid?
Qin Sang said, “Yeah, I’ve sealed them all. Your house is sealed too. But your air conditioner hasn’t been replaced yet. I figure you’re going to be really busy for a while, so my dad said you might as well just stay at our place.”
The corners of Xu Lin’s mouth turned up. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too. My place can serve as a backup base.”
After all, they were really just crossing the bridge as they came to it. No one knew which direction the apocalypse would take. Many of those precognitive dream contents collected earlier now seemed to be off.
The authorities hadn’t made this public, but those on the inside knew. So every step they took now was critical.
The two chatted some more about things happening in other countries and regions that they’d seen online. Then they each went back to their rooms to rest.
It wasn’t until after three in the afternoon that Qin Sang woke up in her room and heard Xu Lin in the living room, talking with her parents.
She opened her door and went out, finding them watching the news.
On the news, fully armed official personnel were taking advantage of the high sun to clear out places where giant cockroaches might be hiding.
“Sang Sang, you’re awake. What do you want to eat? Mom will go make it.”
Her father said, “They’re already cleaning up the stinking pond.”
Qin Sang walked over to look at the screen. It was still a live stream, though the picture was a bit blurry. The streamer was the villager who lived closest to the stinking pond.
“This family hasn’t dared to sleep since last night—they’re afraid the giant cockroaches might come out. But now it’s fine. The authorities are about to clean this place up.”
Just as she said that, the streamer suddenly let out a scream. The camera began to shake. Qin Sang’s eyes were sharp—in the shaky footage, she spotted cockroaches crawling up from the balcony’s sewer drain.
The cockroaches were huge, but as their bodies passed through the drain opening, they slid through as smoothly as noodles.
The image flashed by in an instant. Many people in the comments hadn’t even registered what happened and were asking what was wrong with the streamer.
Her expression turning serious, Qin Sang looked at Xu Lin. “Quick, notify the administration bureau and the village.”
Xu Lin picked up his phone and contacted the bureau. Qin Sang immediately called Brother Fa to explain the situation, telling him to post an urgent message in the village group chat instructing everyone to seal off their home sewer drains.
Her parents, who had been watching the live stream together, hadn’t yet processed what was happening. They looked at Qin Sang and Xu Lin in confusion.
“Dad, Mom. Take the insecticide that Da Linzi brought back and dilute some of it. We’re going to pour it straight into the sewer pipes. Hurry, hurry, hurry…”
Qin Sang spoke urgently. Her parents were both efficient people. Without asking why, they immediately went to dilute the insecticide.
By then, Xu Lin had returned from making his calls.
“I’ve notified everyone. But those giant cockroaches are moving too fast.”
No sooner had he said this than screams erupted from the village. Then came shouts of “Cockroaches are coming! Cockroaches are coming!” Many villagers were completely bewildered. Hadn’t they said these giant cockroaches were afraid of light and wouldn’t appear during the day?
But the next moment, their phones began receiving alerts one after another—from the survival app, from text messages sent by the community, from push notifications on various apps, and from the village group chat. The message was the same across all of them: immediately seal up every entry point into your home, especially the sewer drains.
The alerts were timely enough, but the giant cockroaches had arrived too quickly.
Qin Sang didn’t know about other places, but here—too close to the stinking pond—the giant cockroaches had probably started moving the moment they noticed the authorities were cleaning it up.
There were several drainage pipes at the pond, left over from old sewage lines. Yes, the very pipes that used to discharge untreated household wastewater directly into the pond.
By now, those pipes had been abandoned. But long ago, they had already been connected to the municipal sewer network.
Qin Sang couldn’t figure out exactly how the giant cockroaches were getting around, but it was safe to assume they were heading toward places with people. And the households closest to the stinking pond were suffering the most.
The phones of Qin Sang’s family began ringing again. Relatives and friends were calling, sending videos, and leaving voice messages. Her mother opened a voice message from one relative, who immediately started pleading for help.
“Sister-in-law, help! The house next door to us has giant cockroaches. My whole family has opened all the curtains, but the giant cockroaches are still getting into the house.”
Qin Sang shouted back directly, “Auntie, tell your neighbors to have their whole family stand under bright lights. As long as there’s light, those things won’t dare come near. Opening all the curtains was the right move. Worst case, step out into the sunlight.”
That was the last resort. But the sun was still out, and the houses had lights on. Even if the giant cockroaches got inside, they wouldn’t dare stay exposed to the light for long.
Still, Qin Sang gritted her teeth and checked the time on her phone. It was already four in the afternoon. Although the sun wouldn’t fully set until around seven, the area covered by sunlight was already shrinking. No one knew if the giant cockroaches would make their move once the light weakened.
Just as she was thinking this, screams rang out from outside. The sound was very clear—it seemed to be coming from the village road.
Qin Sang immediately ran to the balcony.
The balcony was enclosed with glass, and the air conditioner reached it. The temperature there was barely around 50°C. Standing on the balcony now, she could clearly see a person with several giant cockroaches on him. This person was fierce—he had run out of his house and directly exposed himself to the sunlight.
The moment the sun hit them, the giant cockroaches scattered.
The man was saved. But his skin quickly turned red from the sun. Combined with the cockroach bites, he looked absolutely horrific.
His family didn’t give up either. As soon as the giant cockroaches fled, a young woman wrapped herself in a silver heat-insulating cloth and ran out to help the man to his feet.
“I’m going to go help.” Xu Lin was wearing the latest model of sun-protective, heat-insulating clothing.
Qin Sang nodded. “Go. I’ve got things covered here.”
Xu Lin: “I’ll head straight back to work afterward.”
Qin Sang: “Got it. Be careful.”
—
One after another, people ran out of their homes and into the sunlight.
The sunlight they had desperately avoided just two days ago had now become their life-saving remedy.
“I don’t know which is more painful—being bitten to death by cockroaches or getting sunburned.”
Qin Sang’s mother couldn’t bear to watch such cruel scenes and couldn’t help but speak up.
Qin Sang shook her head. No one knew where these giant cockroaches had come from. And the sunlight now was lethally intense.
Either way, it seemed like death.
Even worse, this giant cockroach invasion wasn’t happening only in their village.
Just as humans were using the strong sun to clean out the giant cockroaches, the cockroaches were using the sewer systems humans had built to invade their homes, completely disregarding the power of sunlight.
Once these monsters invaded, if they didn’t find an immediate opportunity, they would hide in the dark corners of the house.
Every home had places the light couldn’t reach—ceiling cavities, wooden floor gaps, cabinets, gaps between furniture…
There was simply no way to tell whether giant cockroaches had gotten into a house, or how many.
By the time the sun set, everyone was terrified, standing only under the brightest lights in their homes.
Eating, drinking, and using the bathroom were all confined to that one small area.
—
Qin Sang spent the entire afternoon monitoring the situation in the village and elsewhere online. The authorities were constantly broadcasting updates and releasing new strategies for dealing with the giant cockroaches.
When night fell, Qin Sang stood under the bright light in her living room, took out boxed meals, and had her parents eat with her. They would need to fight a hard battle after dinner.
And sure enough, not long after they finished, air-raid sirens blared across the entire city. It felt like going back to the day the apocalypse had begun.
That day, daylight had heralded the arrival of disaster. Today, night had become the prelude to devastation.
In the distance, Qin Sang saw a dark cloud flying toward them from the horizon.
Once again, she lamented how sharp her eyesight and hearing were. Her vision was so keen she could see that the dark cloud was a swarm of cockroaches—she could even make out their mouthparts and the tiny, piercing spines on their legs. Her hearing was so sharp she could hear the vibrating sound of their wings.
She immediately sent a warning to Brother Fa.
The authorities also sent alerts to areas that might be affected.
Countless people began to mobilize.
Helicopters and fighter jets streaked across the sky, firing silver electrified nets at the dark cloud.
Crackling sounds and the stench of burnt fumes hung over the city without fading.
The ones that slipped through were dealt with by ground forces.
And the ones that slipped through after that were left to the residents to handle themselves.
There were simply too many giant cockroaches—so many that even with all official personnel deployed, they couldn’t be wiped out in one go.
Qin Sang stood on the balcony, watching the distant battle, her hand gripping the electrified net gun Xu Lin had given her.
Who would have thought that in just one day—less than 24 hours, really—she would have to take this gun out and fight?
But she wasn’t afraid at all.
Because she realized that the energy stored in her body had finally found its purpose.
She turned to her parents. “Mom, Dad, I’m going out. You two go into the space.”
After sending her worried parents into the space, Qin Sang geared up fully, carefully opened the door, and made her way step by step downstairs.
Who could have imagined that just three days into the apocalypse, a plague of insects would already be upon them?
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