Chapter 242 Exclusively published on Jinjiang Literature City: Everyone gathers as guests in Yunlu Village...
The people in all the settlements have long suffered from the rain.
As soon as the rain stopped, everyone rushed outside, only to get caught in the rain.
Chen Bing, Miao An, Liu Ziming and Liu Ziying, Ye Feiluan, Hua San, and a large number of garrison troops from the prefectural city led by Chu Ming who went out for training, as well as Huo Tiankuo and most of the Huo family army who were outside, were all killed.
The viewers in the live stream were completely dumbfounded by the names the hunting team was calling out.
[Tsk tsk, these are the people who are living the best lives in their respective towns, and they've all gotten infected. That's incredibly unlucky.]
It wasn't that they were unlucky; it was just that the timing of the insect fog was terrible, appearing suddenly precisely when everyone was relaxed.
If I were stuck indoors for over ten days because of a downpour and it suddenly stopped, I'd also rush out and run a few laps.
Fortunately, these people were all in good health, and because they held a prominent position in their communities, or were even leaders themselves, they did not lack deworming medication. As long as the infection could be detected by the treatment device as soon as possible, they recovered very quickly.
The real problem is the rescue efforts in the city.
Lu Xuan couldn't go to every gathering place to help disperse the insect fog. If he really went around to each place, who knows how many people would become so ill that they wouldn't be able to get help.
To this end, the local people with supernatural abilities and the able-bodied men of Yunlu Village worked together.
Zhang Chengming, Ye Feiluan, and other wind-type ability users started by using their abilities to disperse the crowds as much as possible from the most densely populated areas.
Chen Bing, Chu Ming, Li Tuo, Wei Xiang, and other fire-type ability users, unable to blow away the insect mist, simply burned it with fire. The insect mist is a manifestation of the insect swarm, and when it encounters fire, you can clearly hear the 'sizzling' sound of something being burned, which makes those who have been hit by it feel a sense of satisfaction.
Ice and lightning types can also be used to eliminate insect fog to some extent.
Although Lu Xuan is in charge of the capital, Xie's eldest brother is also a wind-type ability user. Lu Xuan's wind cannot cover all areas, so he can fill in the gaps and improve his ability in the process.
Those without superpowers weren't idle either; they all followed the instructions above, using powerful flashlights, whistles, and other means to guide others through the fog.
Some people were also using loudspeakers to remind those who hadn't yet been infected by the insects not to go outside and to keep their doors and windows tightly closed to prevent more people from being parasitized by the insects.
Everyone is doing their best to resolve the crisis brought about by the insect fog.
However, even the smallest of the large settlements, Yangshan, has a population of over 70,000, let alone other large cities with hundreds of thousands of people.
The number of people infected by the parasite ranges from tens of thousands to as many as one-third of the total population, exceeding six figures.
Even with the swift action taken and the deworming medication already in place, injuries and fatalities were still inevitable, and quite a few of them occurred.
The viewers in the live stream sighed, while those in positions of power who received the specific data turned ashen-faced.
The casualties ranged from a few hundred to several thousand people. The seemingly harmless insect fog caused far greater losses than the attack by the polar night beasts.
The next day, when the rain fell again, it washed away all the insect fog, and the insects disappeared without a trace, just as they had appeared. The rescue operation also came to an end, and the leaders in various places couldn't help but ask Lu Xuan questions.
"Mr. Lu, besides insect repellent, is there any other way to eliminate the insect fog in advance?"
"Boss Lu, the disaster change chart you provided earlier shows that there will be several days without rain after the rainy season. Could it be that insect fog will appear during these days?"
"In the end, where did this damn insect fog come from? I've never heard of insects forming fog before."
Faced with these questions, Lu Xuan's only answers were "I don't know" and "I'm not sure".
He's not truly omniscient; how could he know if there would be more insect fog later?
As for asking him for a solution, he has already provided insect repellent and protective clothing. What more could you want?
Lu Xuan said, "Regardless of whether there will be more insect fog later, learn from your mistakes and don't rush out. This will naturally prevent you from being parasitized."
It's frustrating to be stifled, but it's better than dying.
Wanting more would be a bit too greedy.
The leaders of each gathering place were speechless.
After dealing with the insect fog, Lu Xuan originally did not intend to stay in the capital for long. However, many noble families received the news from the officials of Huo Family Army Camp and rushed to buy safe houses from him.
The least desirable house is a two-story villa, while most owners have decided on a three-story mansion.
The nobles were amazed by the voice-controlled equipment, touch-screen lights, and several convenient bathroom facilities in the safe house, while Lu Xuan smiled with satisfaction at the more than two million catties of mutated grain he had obtained.
When they returned to the village, the rest of the hunting team were saddened and even felt guilty about the number of casualties in their respective settlements. Only Lu Xuan was indifferent and even treated everyone to a meal in a cheerful mood.
Zhang Chengming, Xiong Mao, and others gathered in the lounge of Ship No. 1, grilling various seafood and eating hot pot, while they couldn't help but ask Lu Xuan how he maintained such a good mindset.
Liu Chun asked, "A lot of people must have died in the capital, right? Don't you feel guilty for not being able to save them?"
Li Jing, who happened to be visiting Licheng, the city with the highest number of deaths this time, nodded vigorously.
He recalled the disaster victims whose internal organs were eaten away by parasites and who eventually died in agony. He felt like he couldn't breathe and had no appetite at all.
While the others weren't as dramatic as Li Jing, their moods were generally low.
Lu Xuan raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Why should I feel guilty?"
Zhang Chengming scratched his head. "After all, a lot of people have died in various places this time, and those who didn't die are also suffering from the parasites."
"So what?" Lu Xuan said bluntly, "Without your help in delivering medicine and protective clothing, even more people would have died. Don't look at how many people died, look at how many people you saved."
Without deworming medication, or even further, without the treatment equipment he provided beforehand to quickly diagnose others with parasites and then administer targeted medication, those who weren't infected with the parasites would continue to walk out, and then batches of people would die.
One wrong move and most of the people outside Yunlu Village could be wiped out.
Only a small number of people died, while the majority were saved. In the end times, even though they have received their due reward, their actions can be considered those of saints.
Guilt? More like a celebration of aged wines whose opening time has been accelerated.
After hearing Lu Xuan's theory, the others fell silent.
Something about it sounds off, but upon closer inspection, it makes perfect sense.
People like Li Tuo and Xiong Mao, who were easygoing, quickly put the casualties that they shouldn't have had to bear in the first place behind them. The others were still a bit conflicted, but when they heard Wu Yang mention that he had met several people who resented him for arriving too late because of the deaths of their relatives and wanted him to pay with his life, they couldn't help but frown deeply.
Chen Rong said unhappily, "Isn't this just like when they first started doing business and people complained that they were late? We don't owe them anything. If they have the guts, they can blame God or the insect fog."
When no one blames them, their values make them feel guilty, but once they are truly blamed, their rebellious nature immediately kicks in.
Lu Xuan is right. They have done enough and have no reason to feel guilty.
The people present finally put aside their worries and began to discuss how the various settlements they had discovered during their trip had changed their way of life after being hit by floods.
Various towns have purchased a number of fishing boats, kayaks, or inflatable platforms.
To avoid being swept away by the flood, these boats and platforms were linked together with ropes and chains to form a large artificial 'land' where the disaster victims lived, ate, and slept.
In some areas where most of the city was flooded, there wasn't enough housing or boats, so people simply moved into greenhouses, using the rooftops to get in and out.
If there's anything inconvenient or frustrating, it's probably that because of acid rain, we can't get resources by fishing this year.
Not only were the other disaster victims distressed, but the people of Yunlu Village also felt heartbroken.
Before the floods came, the effects weren't so noticeable. But once the floods arrived, looking out from the boat, you could see dead fish, killed by the acid rain, floating in the murky water.
Considering how many kilograms of fish they could catch every day at this time last year, and the similarly affected gathering and hunting activities, it's fair to say that apart from the income from heating the houses, Yunlu Village has almost no other extra income this rainy season.
That's terrible!
The viewers in the live stream were utterly speechless as they watched the villagers feast on fish and meat while constantly looking outside and sighing.
Before complaining about how miserable you are, could you at least eat some plain porridge and side dishes for a few days to make it look like you're suffering?
Is eating plain porridge and side dishes really that bad? Aren't we, who eat nutritional supplements every day, even worse off?
Although there was no extra gain whatsoever, the situation was truly miserable... it was hard to see any improvement at all.
[I remember this year's rainy season was a little shorter than last year, only a little over two months. Will two months be enough to consume all the villagers' stockpiled goods?]
"Impossible. Even if it rains for a whole year, no one in the village will starve to death."
I see! They did it on purpose at Versailles!
In reality, the villagers are not Versailles; they have simply become accustomed to a good life under Lu Xuan's influence, and it is difficult for them to adapt to the change from luxury to frugality.
However, regardless of whether the villagers were genuinely suffering or not, the acid rain of the rainy season continued unabated.
And so, the Lu family's newborn baby, Lei Xiao, reached his one-month milestone as scheduled.
Lu Xuan sent invitations to everyone he had even a slight connection with to attend the full moon banquet.
People from various settlements had long been curious about Yunlu Village. Since Lu Xuan took the initiative to invite them, almost all the younger generation, except for those who were really too busy, were picked up by the flying vehicles sent by the village in advance.
Since the villagers moved into the boats and all the safe houses in the village were taken down, the village has become much less interesting on the surface.
But the mutated fruit orchards, which have expanded further after being moved to the new planting area, and the equally impressive livestock sheds, have left the visitors in awe.
Looking at the seemingly endless mutated fruit forest, Chen Bing exclaimed in surprise, "How much fruit must such a large forest produce at once?!"
Ye Feiluan, Liu Ziming, Bai Xuefeng and the others looked at the fruit trees with plump fruits all around them, and smelled the fragrant aroma of the fruit. They couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
It smells so good, it makes my mouth water.
Li Tuo, who was greeting guests with Lu Xuan, said proudly, "At the beginning, the orchard was small, with only about a hundred fruit trees, and could produce less than 5,000 catties of fruit at a time. Ordinary fruits accounted for more than half of it. Later, Brother Lu continued to expand the scale, and now there are more than a thousand fruit trees in the orchard, of which two-thirds are mutated fruit trees. We can harvest more than 30,000 catties of ordinary fruits and mutated fruits every month."
Initially, there were few trees, so they could be ripened every two weeks.
Later, as the number of trees increased, Lu Xuan's supernatural abilities were greatly depleted, so, just like with grain, he changed the harvesting method to once a month.
Compared to the profits from grains that can easily reach hundreds of thousands or even millions of kilograms, the yield of fruit is still relatively small. Therefore, hunting teams only bring a hundred or two hundred kilograms to small gathering places for trading, while in large cities such as Luochuan and the capital, they can exchange for one or two thousand kilograms each time.
Even so, it still wasn't enough to go around.
Originally, they came here hoping to obtain more mutated fruits so that more disaster victims could strengthen their bodies and buy more time when they encounter similar crises like the insect fog in the future.
But now that they knew the orchard's yield and did the math privately, they felt a little embarrassed to bring it up.
Lu Xuan then channeled his last burst of supernatural power into the fruit trees in the forest, saying, "Since you've come all this way, I'll make an exception and let you eat as much as you want today. After you've finished eating, each of you can pick a box of fruit to take over, any kind you like."
The aroma of fruit, even stronger than when they first entered, immediately caught everyone's attention, and their eyes lit up.
When Lu Xuan took out a stack of large boxes that could fit an adult man, everyone said, "This is too much," and quickly divided up the boxes and rushed into the orchard.
【!!!!! Not only can you eat whatever you want, but you can even pick a whole box of them?!?】
[The host is being too generous! They came here to eat at the banquet, how could they be allowed to eat and take things away too!]
Why can't I have such a good opportunity? (Crawling in the shadows)
Ahhh! I want to go to the full moon celebration too, and eat and pick fruit for free!
There were more than a dozen people attending the full moon celebration this time. They were Chen Bing, Cheng Yi, and Miao An from Yangshan, Ye Feiluan, Hua San, and Yu Niangzi from Fengxian, the Liu brothers and Chu Ming from Luochuan, and Xie Yun and Bai Xuefeng from the capital.
Huo Tiankuo was too busy to come, so only Deputy General Liu, who had stayed at the camp, came.
Once these people entered the orchard, they were like mice that had fallen into a rice jar, abandoning all restraint and quickly finding their favorite fruits to eat while stuffing them into their boxes.
The fruits that Lu Xuan obtained from the streamer's shop have all been successfully mutated and improved. They not only taste good but are also large. The key is that because he obtained them relatively late, he hasn't had time to trade many with the various settlements yet.
Because of their rarity, and because they are indeed delicious, people almost always choose mutated pineapples, mutated mangosteens, and other unique fruits.
Durian is quite unique; those who love it want to eat it all, while those who hate it stay far away and don't even want to smell it, their faces showing undisguised disgust.
The group worked in the orchard for most of the hour before they were full, filling a large box with mutated fruit. Satisfied, they arrived at the door to meet Lu Xuan.
Chen Bing patted Lu Xuan on the shoulder and thanked him with a big laugh, "I've taken advantage of you this time."
The others also expressed their gratitude.
Lu Xuan simply waved his hand and then led them to the livestock shed.
The livestock sheds, also enclosed by glass greenhouses, or rather, the indoor pastures, are filled with hay.
Outside the hills, the yellowish-brown floodwaters continued to rage, while inside the greenhouse, the lush green grass created a stark contrast.
The ranch didn't smell so good. Even with people and robots cleaning it every day, the distinctive smell of the livestock and the smell of manure still made people who weren't used to it frown.
But with Lu Xuan's words, Chen Bing and the others' eyes lit up again.
"The eggs in the pasture haven't been collected yet today. Each of you can collect a basket. If you want milk, you can take a bucket of cow's milk or goat's milk, but you'll have to squeeze them yourself."
Everyone: !!!
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