Crack…
The surveillance video had no sound, only picture. But looking at the scene before her, those were the only two words Qin Sang could think of.
On the screen, the middle-aged woman, her expression vigilant, had been rejoicing just a moment ago that her body was covered in light and she wasn’t afraid of the cockroaches. The next moment, her smile froze on her face. A giant mouthpart appeared directly on the screen. Then, the woman’s head was gone, and her body collapsed straight to the ground.
At the very end of the footage, a giant black eye appeared on the screen. Then, the signal cut out.
“That thing actually destroyed the surveillance equipment.”
Possibly because she had experience now, Qin Sang quickly snapped out of it and stared directly at where the giant eye had been as she spoke.
The video team leader’s mouth twitched a few times before he finally said, “Go notify the exploration team. It’s confirmed. There really is a mutated cockroach.”
Xu Lin then looked at Qin Sang.
Qin Sang thought about it but couldn’t make up her mind just yet. The main issue was that the thing was truly too ugly. And judging by those giant mouthparts, its lethality was probably considerable. It was better for her to play it safe. Let the professionals handle professional matters.
Xu Lin was pleased with her decision. He was about to say something when shouts suddenly erupted from outside.
The two exchanged a glance and immediately walked out of the tent. Sure enough, the commotion at the main gate, which had already been somewhat chaotic earlier, had grown even larger. Quite a few people were running out. But the people on the periphery didn’t know what was happening inside, so they were being pushed forward by those around them.
The dense crowd—some moving forward, some moving backward—quickly led to pushing, shoving, fighting, and even a stampede.
And it didn’t end there. Just as the screams were rising and falling, a massive swarm of cockroaches surged out from the farm.
From the sky and from the ground, like a tidal wave, they came swarming forth. In that instant, these giant cockroaches seemed to no longer fear the bright lights. They desperately fled in the direction away from the farm.
The management bureau personnel on the periphery wanted to rescue people. The exploration team members wanted to get into the farm to investigate. They used loudspeakers, even their own throats, shouting at everyone to stay calm, not to push, not to stampede.
But the out-of-control crowd wouldn’t listen to any commands. As if they had lost all reason, they pushed and shoved, desperately trying to escape the farm. Those who ran faster were grabbed by those who ran slower, pulled back, and used as shields against the oncoming cockroach swarm.
At that moment, the open space in front of the gate became a meat grinder. The cockroach swarm didn’t kill the people. The people killed each other.
—
“If this continues, everyone is going to die…”
Watching this scene unfold, Qin Sang wanted to curse. What kind of people were these? Weren’t they just dragging each other down?
The official in charge not far away immediately gave an order.
Xu Lin, as if anticipating something, quickly pulled two pairs of sunglasses from his spatial space. “Put these on immediately.”
Qin Sang didn’t question it. She took the sunglasses and put them on.
At the same time, she saw the person in charge pull a giant lamp base from his spatial space. It looked like an outdoor LED lamp, but magnified dozens of times.
The giant lamp appeared, its head aimed directly at the frenzied crowd. Then, an immense beam of light, covering a massive area, flooded the entire zone.
The beam was incredibly bright. Even with sunglasses on, Qin Sang still felt a sharp sting.
But fortunately, the beam worked.
The moment it appeared, the frenzied crowd was caught off guard. Their eyes teared up in pain, and they squeezed them shut. In severe cases, even with their eyes closed, they still saw flashing halos before them.
And the cockroach swarm, being photophobic creatures, needed no further explanation. The moment the beam appeared, they scattered and fled in all directions. The slower ones were frozen in place, immobilized under the beam’s baptism.
“Damn!” Qin Sang blinked away the tears induced by the light and couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed at Xu Lin.
Even though she couldn’t see clearly through the sunglasses, Xu Lin knew in that moment that Sangsang was definitely staring at him with wide eyes.
“This is a newly developed weapon. Its lethality doesn’t distinguish between friend and foe. And it consumes a lot of energy.”
As an insider, Xu Lin had only heard about it. This was his first time seeing it in person.
Listening to Xu Lin’s explanation, Qin Sang roughly understood why they hadn’t used this intense light weapon before. Although it could eliminate all the cockroaches, leaving behind a crowd of people screaming in pain and clutching their eyes would have been a huge headache in itself.
But thanks to that, with everyone’s eyes hurting, no one dared to cause any more trouble.
Before long, they found out what had caused the commotion at the main gate.
—
“I know this person!”
Standing in front of the farm’s main gate, Qin Sang looked at a body that had been beaten to a pulp. If it weren’t for the fact that the face could still be pieced together, she would hardly have recognized the person.
Xu Lin looked at Qin Sang in surprise.
Qin Sang said, “This is the son of that middle-aged woman whose head was bitten off. He was beaten to death—it probably has something to do with this farm.”
The exploration team leader standing nearby nodded. “We’ve confirmed that in the past few days, this person lured quite a few people to this farm. None of those who came ever returned. The relatives of the victims came looking for answers and demanded an explanation. Then a conflict broke out, and this man was beaten to death.”
Qin Sang thought to herself, Even after the apocalypse, some people are still playing dirty tricks. Back at the square, this mother and son had tried to fool her too. It seemed their intentions weren’t simple.
The exploration team leader had no idea what Qin Sang was thinking. Before entering the farm, he confirmed once more with the two of them.
After all, they weren’t military personnel, nor were they management bureau staff. Xu Lin was an official, but he held a desk job. Qin Sang was even more so—an ordinary citizen.
Originally, they had been invited here simply to confirm the existence of a mutated insect. Now that it was confirmed, they could leave.
As he said this, the exploration team leader looked at the pile of groaning people not far away and sighed helplessly.
Qin Sang said, “There’s nothing to think about. Since we’re already here, we should cooperate with your work.”
She said the right thing, but deep down, Qin Sang really didn’t want to go. However, for the sake of what Grandpa Goose had mentioned, she decided to explore this cockroach farm anyway.
Xu Lin, for his part, came along with Qin Sang so they could look out for each other.
After confirming the two wouldn’t change their minds, the exploration team leader pulled out two gas masks from his spatial space.
“Put these on.”
Qin Sang took them without asking questions. She knew the answer—cockroaches were too smelly and filthy.
The farm before them was dilapidated, not much different from a ruin. The apocalypse hadn’t even lasted a month yet, and the temperature was over 70 degrees Celsius. Under these conditions, the farm had fallen apart like this. Needless to say, it was definitely related to the cockroach swarms.
After Qin Sang and Xu Lin put on their gas masks, the ten-member exploration team also put on theirs. They formed up and entered the cockroach farm. Qin Sang and Xu Lin were positioned in the middle, with people protecting them from both front and back.
The farm was very quiet. Not a sound could be heard. Not a single cockroach was in sight. It was completely different from the video that had been circulating online.
“Let’s go. This way!”
The team leader led everyone straight toward the breeding area. Qin Sang could see that they were heading to where the cockroaches lived.
It was only after entering the farm that she once again felt that tight, heavy feeling in her chest.
“Be careful.”
The moment Qin Sang’s words left her mouth, the previously silent farm was suddenly filled with the clear, loud sound of flapping wings.
The sound was loud and rhythmic, very much like the buzzing of insect wings.
“Run…”
The team leader had already reached the door of the breeding area when he suddenly turned around and shouted at them.
Qin Sang heeded the warning and immediately pulled Xu Lin to turn around and run back. At the same time, the corner of her eye caught a glimpse of a giant cockroach.
It was truly huge—over two meters long. If it weren’t that big, that would be strange. Flying in mid-air, it gave off an overwhelming sense of pressure.
The people still gathered outside the gate, waiting to have their injuries treated, also heard the sound of flapping wings and saw the giant cockroach. One by one, they screamed for help.
But none of that had anything to do with Qin Sang and the others anymore.
Because this giant cockroach was dive-bombing their team from above. The way it was coming at them, you’d think it was a hawk if you didn’t know better.
Qin Sang found the thing disgusting. Even with a gas mask on, she still felt it was filthy in her heart.
She immediately pulled a Gatling-style water gun from her spatial space and sprayed the diving mutated cockroach fiercely.
Of course, what sprayed out wasn’t water, but high-concentration insecticide.
Well…
The team members who had been preparing to fight all froze for a second at the sight. Then they spread out a bit more to give Qin Sang room to move.
Qin Sang wasn’t there to fool around. After confirming the insecticide was effective, she waved her hand. Over a hundred Gatling-style water guns loaded with insecticide appeared at her feet. At the same time, she shouted to everyone:
“Grab a weapon, quick!”
—
Twelve people, each with a water gun, sprayed the diving mutated cockroach so hard that it fell straight out of the air.
Strike while the iron is hot!
The exploration team members raised their knives and slashed at the mutated cockroach.
Qin Sang, terrified that it might burst open and splatter goo everywhere, backed away a few steps in fear.
However, things didn’t go so smoothly.
The knives slashing at the mutated cockroach’s body only left a few scratches. But when they hacked at its limbs, they cut them clean off.
Only then did everyone fall silent as they watched new limbs automatically grow back, just like something out of a fantasy movie.
“This thing can regenerate its limbs?!”
Qin Sang was furious now!
What kind of world was this?! Last time, the mutated spider had eight legs sharper than any dragon-slaying blade. This time, the mutated cockroach had brittle limbs, but they could regenerate!
Oh my god, this world was going crazy.
After regenerating its limbs, the mutated cockroach became much more agile. It made them wonder—had their spraying of insecticide to damage its limbs, followed by their cutting them off, actually helped it?
“Why aren’t you using the electric grid cannons?!”
Qin Sang remembered that the authorities had such powerful weapons. But the exploration team hadn’t used them.
The team leader said, “The Academy of Sciences ordered that we try to capture it alive if possible.”
Qin Sang looked at the mutated cockroach, which was charging back and forth like a tank, and fell silent again.
How were they supposed to capture this thing alive? Just electrocute it and be done with it!
At that moment, Qin Sang truly wished she had an electric grid cannon. Or at the very least, a mortar—she’d blow this thing to smithereens, goo and all!
To make matters worse, the mutated cockroach seemed to have singled her out. Even after she dodged its attacks time and again, it kept chasing her relentlessly.
Qin Sang was furious.
Forgetting her disgust, she pulled a silver arrow from her spatial space.
Then she shouted, “Da Linzi, get down!”
Years of understanding made Xu Lin immediately crouch down on one knee.
Qin Sang took a running start, planted one foot on Xu Lin’s broad back, used the momentum to launch herself up, and landed directly behind the mutated cockroach. With one hand, she grabbed its flailing twin tail-like appendages. With the other hand, she stabbed the arrow straight into the mutated cockroach’s head.
“It won’t work…” the team leader started to say, wanting to explain that ordinary weapons were useless against a mutated cockroach’s body.
But then he saw the mutated cockroach’s head pierced clean through by a silver-white arrow.
Inside, Qin Sang was screaming. The mutated cockroach was so smelly and disgusting. But her expression remained unchanged. As she pulled the arrow out, she took the opportunity to toss the energy core from the mutated cockroach’s head into a plastic basin inside her spatial space.
“Are you okay?!” Xu Lin rushed over anxiously and kicked the mutated cockroach with his foot. Seeing that it was truly dead, he immediately pulled a water bottle from his spatial space.
Qin Sang immediately held out both hands, arrow and all, for Xu Lin to rinse off.
She felt her hands were dirty.
Xu Lin could tell what she was thinking and held back a laugh. “It’s okay. We’ll use disinfectant and then hand soap. I promise they’ll be completely clean.”
“Miss Qin…”
The exploration team leader also ran over at this point, his eyes fixed on the arrow in her hands.
Qin Sang immediately put the arrow back into her space.
“Miss Qin…”
Qin Sang played dumb. “Team leader, I accidentally killed this mutated cockroach. Will I still get reward points for this?”
The team leader was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.
“Yes, but those professors at the Academy of Sciences probably won’t be happy.”
Xu Lin said, “If they’re unhappy, they can’t blame an ordinary citizen…”
Qin Sang nodded silently. Exactly! Capturing it alive was easier said than done. Fighting with restrictions held them back. It was better to end it quickly. Didn’t they see how the mutated cockroach had targeted her specifically?
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