Then, the bare, eerily still aloe root suddenly twitched a few times as if seized by a spasm. It looked rather comical. After twitching a few times, the aloe root stretched out like a rubber band, elongating nearly a meter in an instant. Within ten seconds, the root retracted. But this time, it had pierced into an earthworm about half a meter long.
The earthworm hadn’t yet reached the level of mutation, but its length was already quite substantial.
Just as Qin Sang was about to marvel at how formidable the aloe root was, wondering why there were no insect remains in the soil beneath it, the next moment, she saw the still-writhing earthworm suddenly shrink into a thin thread. Just as she tried to get a clearer look, there was nothing left, not even residue.
This… was a bit brutal!
Qin Sang couldn’t help but gasp. She wondered if this aloe plant would attack humans. If so, she would need to nip the danger in the bud before it grew stronger.
But this aloe plant did seem quite impressive.
The insects it absorbed left behind absolutely nothing, making it a natural cleaner. Moreover, after the aloe root absorbed energy, the path the energy took was also interesting. It wasn’t transported to the leaves above ground. Instead, it was sent to the central area of the root system.
Qin Sang was very curious whether that central area of the root system would eventually form an energy core, similar to mutant insects.
Of course, for now, this aloe plant didn’t have an energy core yet, so it couldn’t be called a mutant plant.
But Qin Sang felt it was close.
After some thought, she decided to continue observing. Perhaps this mutant plant would become a great boon to human life in the future.
Meanwhile, after lunch, Second Aunt led her cats and dogs back to where she lived.
This was the basement floor of the village office, covering about three hundred square meters. She occupied fifty to sixty square meters by herself, mainly because she had so many cats and dogs with her. The villagers were grateful that she and these furry companions had protected their safety, so they compensated her quite a bit for her living space.
Other villagers who came to live here each had only about five square meters or less.
“Let’s go, let’s go, we’re home!” Second Aunt returned to her quarters, pulled the curtain shut, and smilingly told the kittens and puppies to go back to their nests and rest. She then began a headcount.
There were quite a few stray cats and dogs—eighteen in total. Every time Second Aunt took them out, she counted them again upon returning. Today, when she counted, two were missing again. She chuckled and tapped the nose of a husky at her feet. “Where do you all go? Taking turns not coming back, are you?”
Yes, for the past few days, every time Second Aunt’s cat and dog corps went out and returned, two would be missing. But they weren’t lost; she didn’t know where they ran off to. They usually came back the next day when she went out again. Then two different ones would run off, and then come back. The cats and dogs that ran away were different each time. Second Aunt noticed they seemed to be taking turns going outside to do something.
“Second Aunt, you’re back! Have you eaten?”
Just as Second Aunt was musing that the cats and dogs seemed to live more freely than humans, Eighth Aunt from next door started a conversation.
“I’ve eaten, I’ve eaten. Sang Sang treated me.”
“Sang Sang, huh? Her family must be very well off. Three spatial ability users in one household!”
Seeing Eighth Aunt’s envy, Second Aunt understood why. There were six people in Eighth Aunt’s family, yet not a single one had a spatial ability. It was said they had spent a fortune to trade for two pieces of jade to try blood bonding, but neither attempt succeeded.
Such misfortune was indeed pitiable.
“In this current world, even bugs are becoming spirits. Spatial ability or not, family being together is more important.” Second Aunt could only console her.
Hearing this, Eighth Aunt’s expression softened.
Second Aunt then asked, “Your nose was bothering you earlier. Is it better now?”
Hearing the word “nose,” Eighth Aunt subconsciously sniffed. “I think it’s better. No more sneezing or runny nose.”
Second Aunt didn’t think much of it. She continued chatting with her, casually mentioning the family in their village that raised a rooster.
“Now their whole family relies on that rooster for protection. That rooster even dares to peck at mutant insects. It’s the envy of everyone.”
Eighth Aunt spoke of the rooster-raising family in the village with genuine envy. Her own family had also raised a rooster, but they couldn’t produce a king of chickens like that one. Her family’s rooster could at most fight off large bugs. Against mutant insects, it was completely useless.
As soon as the chicken king was mentioned, the surrounding aunts and older women gathered around. Even Qu Meijing, who had been staying in the corner, was drawn in by the topic. She quietly came over to listen to the women chat about family matters, feeling that such days were especially precious in the apocalypse.
——
As Second Aunt chatted with the others, her cats and dogs rubbed up against her, which triggered another round of envy.
Aside from the chicken king family, what the village women envied most was Second Aunt. She had a spatial ability and so many cats and dogs to protect her. Plus, she didn’t have to take care of a husband, son, or grandchildren. She was truly a winner in life.
Second Aunt paid no attention to their envy. As she listened to the chatter, she pulled a kitten over to pet it.
Then someone said that cats and dogs had fleas and weren’t clean.
“Bullshit! My cats and dogs are much cleaner than you,” Second Aunt shouted at the speaker.
The speaker was also a long-time villager, whose family had a land dispute with Second Aunt’s family years ago. The two families had cut off all contact. Unfortunately, they now lived in the same basement and saw each other every day.
Second Aunt ignored the woman, but the woman kept making snide remarks.
Everyone else got along well with Second Aunt and immediately chimed in, cursing the woman together. If the village chief hadn’t arrived, a fight might have broken out.
In the end, the woman apologized, and that was the end of it.
Second Aunt happily hugged the kitten and gave it a few more pets. After thinking it over, she directly called Qin Sang.
“Animal dewormer?”
“Yes, I was wondering if your family might have some. Your family has the most space in the village.”
Qin Sang actually did have some. Her family didn’t have pets, but Xu Lin had prepared the medical supplies. He had also stocked up on some veterinary medicine, presumably in case they needed it for future chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cattle, or sheep.
“Yes, I have both topical and internal dewormers,” Qin Sang said. Then she suddenly paused. “Wait, Second Aunt. Over the past few days since the insect tide hit, have the fleas on your cats and dogs changed at all?”
Second Aunt’s cat and dog corps were all strays, and they all had fleas. When the apocalypse first began, Qin Sang remembered Second Aunt mentioning catching fleas on the cats and dogs.
Second Aunt slapped her thigh. “Now that you mention it, there seem to be a lot fewer fleas. Let me check…”
Busy killing bugs these past few days, Second Aunt hadn’t really noticed. But after thoroughly checking the cats and dogs around her, she called Qin Sang again. “Sang Sang, there are none.”
Qin Sang asked, “So none of the cats or dogs have fleas anymore, right?”
Second Aunt replied, her voice shocked, “Right, right, right.”
Qin Sang: Case closed. The reason no bugs were getting close to Second Aunt was likely related to the cats and dogs around her.
With this discovery, Qin Sang couldn’t sit still anymore. She braved the scorching sun and went directly to Second Aunt’s place.
——
“Why did you come all the way over? I was going to find you tonight!”
Qin Sang said, “I’m too anxious!” With that, she personally checked every single cat and dog herself. She even used her nose, sniffing each one. Finally, she discovered that these animals all carried a faint, plant-like scent on their bodies.
After confirming that two animals took turns going out every day, Qin Sang became even more certain. But she didn’t explain it to Second Aunt; she wanted to find the location first. If her guess was correct, humanity might be saved!
“Qin Sang, are you here to visit a relative?”
Just as Qin Sang finished arranging to meet Second Aunt the next day and was about to leave, she ran into Qu Meijing.
“I came to ask about something. By the way, are you going to repair your house and move back?”
The basement floor of the village housed not only villagers but also several families of villagers’ relatives. When the insect tide first struck, these people had been in the middle of moving, and ended up stranded here. Since their relatives wouldn’t take them in, the living conditions in this place weren’t very good.
Qu Meijing, a reborn woman, was probably having a tough time here. She had so many supplies in her space but couldn’t keep taking them out here without drawing unwanted attention.
Seeing Qin Sang’s friendly attitude, Qu Meijing was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head. “Let’s wait until this insect tide is driven back to talk about that.”
Qin Sang had only mentioned it in passing. Seeing that Qu Meijing had her own plan, she didn’t say anything more. She nodded and prepared to leave.
But Qu Meijing mysteriously pulled her into a corner.
“Um… Qin Sang. That Eighth Aunt who lives next door to Second Aunt… she seems a bit strange.”
Qin Sang didn’t quite know how to respond to that.
“Got it. If you think someone is off, just stay away from them. There are all kinds of people here.”
As Qin Sang left, she thought about how Qu Meijing’s attitude had changed so quickly. Could it be that with her sister dead and that obsession gone, she had become more easygoing?
Qin Sang shook her head, putting the thought aside. She continued brainstorming, wondering what kind of plant the cats and dogs had actually discovered.
——
“Mugwort. That’s right. Even though the color doesn’t look green at all, the leaves are misshapen, and the smell has become pungent, it’s definitely mugwort.”
At noon the next day, two of Second Aunt’s cats and dogs broke away from the group. Qin Sang immediately took Second Aunt and followed them.
The two animals that had run off didn’t bark or meow. Instead, they came over, rubbed against Second Aunt, then bobbed their heads at Qin Sang and Second Aunt, as if telling them to follow.
The pursuit lasted half an hour – half an hour of jogging, bringing them almost to the suburbs.
A river lay before them, though it had dried up. This was the largest river in Huashan City. Along its bank stretched a vast grassy area. The grass looked no different from any other withered grass – a patch of brownish-yellow, seemingly just dry, rotting vegetation. However, as she got closer, Qin Sang could sense several energy fluctuations.
Yes, the same kind of fluctuations as energy cores. But looking towards the source of the fluctuations, she saw large, brownish-yellow, grass-like plants.
If Second Aunt hadn’t been familiar with mugwort, Qin Sang felt she wouldn’t have recognized them at all.
“This place is great! There are no bugs!” Second Aunt didn’t have as many thoughts. She was simply overjoyed to find a place without an overwhelming presence of bugs, so much so she felt like jumping for joy – completely forgetting she was almost sixty.
Upon arriving, the cats and dogs immediately started rubbing against those several giant mutant mugwort plants.
Yes, Qin Sang was one hundred percent certain these were mutant mugwort plants. The energy emitted by their energy cores was very stable.
She carefully observed the mutant mugwort and noticed that as the cats and dogs rubbed against them, these mutant plants didn’t move at all.
Qin Sang felt these plants posed a very low danger. After a moment’s thought, she ran straight over, ignoring Second Aunt’s attempts to stop her, and reached out to touch a mugwort leaf.
The texture was a bit rough, and the smell was pungent. When she pulled her hand back, her fingertips were coated with the scent.
She took out a bamboo cage she had brought with her, which contained an apple-sized seven-spot ladybug.
Qin Sang directly stuck the finger with the scent into the cage. The next moment, she saw the ladybug recoil as if it had encountered something repulsive, pressing its entire carapace tightly against the bars of the cage.
Her hypothesis confirmed, Qin Sang jumped for joy.
Second Aunt’s eyes widened, and she didn’t snap out of it for a long time.
“Mugwort could repel insects before. I didn’t expect that after mutating like this, it still has that effect. Sang Sang, you’re amazing.”
Qin Sang smiled and explained her discovery to Second Aunt.
“The really amazing ones are your cat and dog corps. I suspect they’ve been rubbing against this mutant mugwort here, picking up its scent on their bodies, which is why no bugs get close to them. And you, Second Aunt, must love petting them. So you’ve inadvertently picked up the scent too.”
“No wonder I felt like killing bugs was so easy.”
Qin Sang nodded, smiling. Exactly. The bugs wouldn’t even dare come near, so of course killing them was a breeze.
But this was also Second Aunt’s reward for her kindness. She hadn’t shunned the stray cats and dogs; she had taken them in, saving their lives in the apocalypse. She fed them with her own food. She didn’t mind that they were dirty from the streets or had fleas; she often cuddled with them.
That was how this wonderful situation had come about.
Qin Sang was very happy. She took out her phone and called Xu Lin to tell him about this discovery.
This could be a powerful tool for humanity to fight back against the bugs.
However, Xu Lin’s tone on the other end of the line was somewhat somber.
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