The crackling sounds of electricity were followed by waves of burnt odor wafting into her nose. Even wearing a mask, Qin Sang found the smell unpleasant.
She frowned, retrieving her electrified net while keeping her eyes fixed on the sewer cover ahead that had been pried open.
Ten minutes ago, the administration bureau had poured a large amount of insecticide down into the sewers. But these giant cockroaches seemed to have become demons. If not for the drone footage from above the sewers, they wouldn’t have known that these giant cockroaches actually knew how to huddle together when faced with insecticide.
In the footage, countless giant cockroaches formed tight balls. When the insecticide rained down on them, it only killed the ones on the outer layer, which then fell off. The ones inside that hadn’t been exposed to the insecticide remained perfectly fine.
Moreover, these creatures could fly. After evading the insecticide, they immediately flew out of the sewers in an endless stream.
Even though it was brightly lit outside, the moment they emerged from the sewers, they could instantly find dark places to hide.
The administration bureau had no choice but to set up a cockroach extermination point near the sewers, ready to eliminate the cockroaches as they poured out.
Qin Sang had come straight from home to help out here.
Swarms of cockroaches were still appearing in the sky. On the ground, it was up to the troops and the public to handle them.
“Everyone stay on alert. The next wave of cockroaches should appear soon.”
The person in charge of the extermination point was an old acquaintance of Qin Sang’s—Captain Lin Feng, whom she had met before on South Island.
After completing the population relocation work on South Island, he had used his points to exchange for a piece of jade. With great luck, he had successfully gained a space on his first try. He was now a squad leader at their local administration bureau.
Hearing Lin Feng say the next wave would come soon, many villagers who had gathered behind them stepped back in fear.
These villagers had come seeking protection because giant cockroaches had appeared in their homes.
Now, seeing wave after wave of cockroaches being killed without end, they all regretted coming down. But they didn’t dare go back either. With cockroaches appearing in the sky and on the ground from time to time, heading home now would be even more dangerous.
So some began complaining about why they weren’t using more insecticide, or why they didn’t first help exterminate the cockroaches in their own homes.
Qin Sang found these complaints a bit exasperating. The truth was, ordinary people could still handle a few scattered giant cockroaches, as long as they weren’t in swarms. After all, no matter how big they were, they were still just cockroaches—they didn’t breathe fire or water or spray poison. Essentially, they were just enlarged versions of ordinary cockroaches. Of course, with the added problem of a taste for human flesh. But after killing so many, Qin Sang had come to realize these things weren’t all that terrifying.
Just as she was thinking this, the next wave of giant cockroaches came surging up from the sewers.
Qin Sang didn’t even need to strain herself. She simply diverted a bit of the energy stored in her body to her eyes. Then, she found that her eyes had become like detectors—she could track the cockroaches’ movement patterns in real time. After that, she just released the electrified net and electrocuted the roaches.
“Another full net, Qin Sang. Your aim is just incredible.”
Shen Zhu, a middle-aged man on the same team, couldn’t help but admire her. Others around also glanced at Qin Sang’s results with awe.
It wasn’t that they were exaggerating. These cockroaches were alive and extremely fast. Even knowing they were about to fly out of the sewers, every time they released their nets, they risked missing completely or catching only a small portion.
But Qin Sang had the ability to fill her net to the brim every single time.
Hearing their praise, Qin Sang felt like rolling her eyes.
This wasn’t deep-sea fishing, and “full net” wasn’t exactly a compliment. Whoever heard of a good catch being a net full of cockroaches? The thought alone was enough to make one’s scalp crawl.
These disgusting things—Qin Sang wished she could come up empty every single time. At least that would mean the giant cockroaches had all been eliminated.
“You really are impressive, Qin Sang. With aim like that, if the administration bureau is hiring, you could go apply.” Even Captain Lin Feng, who wasn’t one for jokes, couldn’t help teasing her a bit.
Shen Zhu then muttered, “Our team has it easy. Some teams have the task of catching them alive. Now that’s a real pain.”
Just as he said that, Shen Zhu let out a poof and released his net. He got lucky—more than half of his net was filled with cockroaches. The crackle of electricity sounded, and the familiar burnt smell returned.
Qin Sang frowned. “Catching them alive—to make wound-healing solution?”
Forgive her—that was the only use she could think of.
“Who knows? All I know is the Academy of Sciences specifically requested them. It’s just rough on those guys…”
“Alright, enough.” Lin Feng cut off their conversation.
Qin Sang didn’t ask further. But she felt there was something suspicious about the origin of these giant cockroaches. Given the increased energy concentration in the outside world, she had wondered if these things had grown large because of that energy.
But after facing these countless giant cockroaches directly, Qin Sang found that there was no energy contained within their bodies. As for why they had become so large? That remained unclear for now.
Since the Academy of Sciences wanted live specimens, Qin Sang hoped they would get research results soon.
After all, these creatures were quite lethal to ordinary people.
If things went badly, as Grandpa Goose had suggested, and these things grew larger and larger—big enough to swallow a person whole—then a great many people would die.
—
That night, Qin Sang spent her time exterminating cockroaches. At first, she could keep track of how many times she had released her net. Eventually, she lost count. If she hadn’t specifically diverted some of her energy to her wrists, her hands would have gone numb by now.
Even so, when the sun appeared on the horizon, Qin Sang felt both wrists were so tired she didn’t want to move them.
Watching the sunlight begin to tear open the dark curtain of night, Qin Sang sighed. “I never thought I’d feel so fond of the sun.”
She wasn’t alone in this. Everyone around her, including the villagers who had been terrified all night, now wished the sun would climb into the sky even faster.
“Alright, the sun is about to come out. The cockroaches’ activity should temporarily cease. Everyone pack up and rest here. In ten minutes, once it’s fully daylight, we’ll all head back to our homes.”
As soon as Lin Feng finished speaking, some villagers couldn’t help but say, “Hey, Captain Lin. There are still giant cockroaches in our homes. If we go back now, won’t we just be serving ourselves up as food?”
“Exactly! Can you help us kill the giant cockroaches in our houses?”
The villagers began pleading all at once. If they had been demanding arrogantly, Lin Feng wouldn’t have wanted to bother. But with this pleading tone, he wasn’t quite sure how to handle them.
The situation in the city center was far more dire than here. Places with sewers, underground parking garages, and elevator shafts had become severely infested. They needed to take advantage of the sunrise to clean up the cockroaches in those areas. The villagers could handle the scattered giant cockroaches in their own homes.
Fortunately, Qin Sang spoke up directly. “Captain Lin, you have your duties. Go do them.”
After Qin Sang said this, she looked at the villagers. Some were unhappy with what she said. But they were all from the same village—people her age had grown up together, and the older ones had watched her grow up. They couldn’t bring themselves to say anything too harsh.
“After the sun rises, the cockroaches in your homes will be hiding, and there won’t be many. If you’re scared, team up with a few families and clear them out house by house. After you’re done, seal up all the entry points and sprinkle insecticide. That should take care of the problem.”
Qin Sang’s words calmed the villagers’ emotions a bit.
She continued, “And don’t forget—these giant cockroaches are, after all, just enlarged versions of regular cockroaches. Don’t we normally kill ordinary cockroaches the size of a finger with a flip-flop?”
“Easy for you to say! Why don’t you lend us your electrified net? If we had something that useful, we’d dare to fight cockroaches too.”
Qin Sang looked at the speaker. He was a stranger, not someone she knew well.
Other villagers reminded her that this man had a relative who had been attacked by cockroaches at the stinking pond and was hospitalized.
Hearing this, Qin Sang knew he was deliberately looking for trouble.
“Don’t you have an electric fly swatter? No matter how big these cockroaches are, an electric fly swatter can still electrocute one at a time!”
At this, everyone paused for a moment, then suddenly realized: “Right! Our electric fly swatters will work too! Why didn’t we think of that?”
Seeing the villagers’ spirits lift, Qin Sang continued, “If you’re really scared, wrap yourself up completely first. Turn on all the lights in your house. Treat it like a big spring cleaning. Go through every dark corner. Who hasn’t come across a cockroach or two while cleaning?”
This made quite a few aunts and older women chuckle. This they knew well. When they encountered cockroaches while cleaning, they just stomped on them. The fiercer ones would slap them dead with their bare hands.
It was just that these giant cockroaches—having eaten people at the stinking pond—made them afraid the moment they saw them, and they couldn’t muster the courage to strike.
Lin Feng had been watching the situation unfold. Seeing the villagers’ morale rise, he added, “We’ll leave a batch of insecticide tablets here for you.”
Just then, the village chief, who had been at another extermination point, finally ran over. He took over the task of housing the displaced villagers and organizing the house-to-house cockroach extermination.
—
“Tell me, why wouldn’t you let us out?”
The moment Qin Sang got home from the extermination point and released her parents from the space, she was met with their complaints. While she had been killing cockroaches at the extermination point, her parents had been in the space saying they wanted to come out and help.
Qin Sang didn’t plan on keeping them in the space forever. The space was safe, but if people stayed inside all the time, they would become disconnected from the outside world. She had kept them in the space last night because they had no experience facing giant cockroaches for the first time. After watching for an entire night, if the swarms came again tonight, they wouldn’t be inexperienced anymore.
“Don’t worry, Mom and Dad. I’ll let you take action tonight. I have a feeling these giant cockroaches won’t be eliminated anytime soon.”
Her mother, who had been about to continue nagging, finally looked satisfied when she heard this.
“That’s more like it. Cockroaches. Your mother isn’t afraid of them. That idea of using electric fly swatters was great. We stocked up on a lot of high-powered electric fly swatters. I’ll try them out tonight.”
Her father also rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Actually, those insect-catching nets could work too.”
Qin Sang thought of the giant cockroaches’ sharp mouthparts and shook her head. “Ordinary plastic nets are useless. Unless they’re metal nets.”
Hearing this, her father immediately said, “Then I’ll weave one myself today, using the wire mesh we have at home. Make the holes small. It might not be electric, but it’ll definitely catch a lot in one sweep.”
That was a good idea. Qin Sang suddenly said, “Then you go ahead and make it first, Dad. After it’s done, I’ll see if I can hook it up to electricity.”
The family discussed and planned together, each thinking of ways to better exterminate the cockroaches.
Meanwhile, the situation in the tall buildings of the city center was quite dire.
Unlike the self-built houses in the urban village, commercial residential buildings had far too many dark hiding spots. Cockroaches had invaded through sewers, underground parking garages, and elevator shafts, climbing up the buildings. Many people who weren’t paying attention were bitten to death by cockroaches immediately.
Although people reacted afterward, quite a few had already died in the first wave.
Qin Sang didn’t learn about the situation in the city center until she woke up in the afternoon.
“Ah, it’s just too tragic.” Her mother showed Qin Sang the news, her face full of sorrow. The previous night, the older couple hadn’t gone out to face the giant cockroaches directly. But Sang Sang had given them access to her space. Through the space, they had watched the cockroach extermination in the village.
No one had died, but many were injured. Yet compared to the situation in the city center, they were incredibly lucky.
“While you were sleeping, a lot of people called, wanting you to come help kill cockroaches. But your father and I refused. If the cockroaches come again tonight, don’t be foolish and rush to the front.”
Qin Sang understood this reasoning. If she kept playing the savior, not only would the villagers not be grateful, but they would come to her with every problem in the future.
“I’ll just kill them at our doorstep. However many I get, I get. My main job will be to guide you and Dad.”
Seeing that her daughter understood this logic, her mother felt relieved.
But Qin Sang wasn’t so easily reassured. After seeing the situation in the city center, she had a feeling these giant cockroaches would become a part of daily life for a long time.
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