When they heard the news, they were very glad that Shi Lin had thought of this and found a way to use the filtration device. Otherwise, they might have gotten sick. At the time, none of them had considered the virus. They only thought that it was disgusting to have bugs in the water, so they used the filtration device.
Jiang Li and Gu Jin always drank water from the space. The others, apart from using filtered water for bathing, mostly drank bottled drinking water. After all, water with insects in it felt wrong even when boiled, so they weren't worried about getting sick.
Jiang Li had initially thought of taking a few out of his spatial storage after Captain Wang mentioned that chickens could eat insects. However, after considering the epidemic, he changed his mind. He worried that if the chickens ate them and got sick, it would be a loss, and the insects couldn't be dealt with by just one or two chickens.
However, the message sent by Captain Wang made everyone in the villa feel heavy-hearted. The insect plague was not over yet, and now an epidemic had emerged. If this continued, everyone in the base would be filled with anxiety, which was not a good thing. Moreover, the thick fog had not yet dissipated, which also made people very uneasy.
On the seventh day after the insect infestation began, the base's network went down again. It was probably because so many insects had chewed through the lines. Also, some of the streetlights installed in the base were no longer working, causing a lot of inconvenience for people traveling around the base. Even when they were repaired, they would be chewed through again very quickly.
Jiang Li also noticed that the insecticide seemed to be less and less effective against the insects in the past few days, as if they had developed resistance. If that were the case, things would get increasingly troublesome.
That day, Jiang Li and the others heard a knock on the door. Jiang Li went out with Gu Jin to open the door and found Wang Shuo. Jiang Li was quite surprised to see Wang Shuo, as they hadn't seen him for a long time.
"Wang Shuo? What brings you here?"
"The base has developed a new insecticide, and it works quite well after testing. I'll bring you a few bottles to thank you for saving me back then."
When Wang Shuo saw that it was Gu Jin and Jiang Li who opened the door, he said to them that he had been recuperating since he came back, and after finally recovering, there was a thick fog and an insect infestation. He had been busy with his uncle and had not yet had a chance to properly thank them.
"Captain Wang has already given us the payment, so you really don't need to come and thank us again."
Jiang Li and the others did not take the insecticide from Wang Shuo's hand.
“It’s different. My uncle is my uncle, and I am me. You saved me. I should have come to thank you in person, but I was injured and couldn’t get out of bed before, so I couldn’t come. I want to be a grateful person.”
In the end, Jiang Li and the others accepted the insecticide. The young man was quite conscientious, but sometimes he was still too soft-hearted.
Before leaving, Wang Shuo told them that the supermarket would have the first batch of insecticides on the shelves the next day, and they could buy them if they needed them. More insecticides would be added gradually afterward.
After seeing Wang Shuo off, Jiang Li and the others tried out the insecticide developed at the base, and it was indeed much more effective than the previous ones.
"This works really well. Let's buy some more tomorrow. These few bottles probably won't last long."
Seeing that the effect was indeed good, Fang Qingxun suggested that they buy some more.
"Okay, we can buy enough for ourselves, and leave some for others too."
Gu Jin offered her opinion, which made things relatively easier for them, but it was more difficult for others. They didn't need to buy a lot and compete with others.
The next morning, Fang Qingxun went out with Shi Yuan and Shi Lin. Originally, it was Shi Lin and Shi Yuan who planned to go, but Fang Qingxun insisted on going too, so the three of them set off together.
Fang Qingxun and his group already knew yesterday, so they arrived quite early today. When they got to the supermarket, there were already a few people scattered around the entrance, indicating that quite a few people had known the news in advance.
After the supermarket opened, the group bought some items and went back. On the way back, the base issued a notice saying that insecticides would be available in the supermarket today.
After hearing this, many people immediately went to the supermarket to buy insecticides.
Meanwhile, the base's vehicles have been using pesticides extensively within the base. After seeing the base spraying pesticides on the roads for free, many people no longer intend to buy pesticides from supermarkets.
They thought that since the base was already killing the bugs, there was no need for them to spend points to buy more. However, what they didn't know was that they would regret it later. Although the base was used on the road, the bugs couldn't be dealt with all at once, and the base couldn't handle them even if they ran into the house.
Over the next few days, the base would send vehicles to spray insecticide along the roads, and the number of insects at the base did decrease significantly, resulting in some improvement.
The insect problem has improved, but because there were too many insects before, the food has been ruined, and we can only use what's in the warehouse. With so many people in the base, food is becoming increasingly scarce and expensive, and many people haven't been able to go out to work for a long time.
Since there were no points to buy food, some people came up with the idea of eating insects. Of course, they didn't eat them directly, since some people had experienced vomiting and diarrhea after eating them before. Instead, they deep-fried the insects.
At first, I was very scared and didn't dare to take a bite, but in order to fill my stomach, I gritted my teeth and took a bite. To my surprise, it tasted pretty good.
The deep-fried insects were crispy and not as bad as I had imagined. I didn't seem to have any adverse reactions after eating them, so I boldly started eating them.
Gradually, this method somehow spread. At first, people couldn't accept it, but in order not to starve, they tried it once and found it wasn't unacceptable. So, they went from resisting it to loving it now. After all, it's delicious and can fill their stomachs. The insects are quite rich in oil, and most importantly, it's all free, and there's so much of it.
With so many insects in the base, everyone wasn't worried about eating them all. Even if they ran out of the ones in the base, there were still more outside. So, from being chased by the insects at the beginning to now chasing after them, Jiang Li remembered a saying that had been circulating online: "Anything that comes to China can be eaten to extinction." That saying was absolutely true.
Moreover, this is the apocalypse, and being able to fill one's stomach is already a great blessing. After overcoming the initial fear of insects, they are nothing to worry about.
Now, people from the base walk around with a bag of fried insects each. Some have even opened fried insect shops, charging only a small handling fee. After all, insects are everywhere in the base, and some people still buy them.
Jiang Li and the others did not join the ranks of those eating insects. They had plenty of food, and given that they had food available, none of them were inclined to eat insects.
In this way, the insects and food in the base were improved to some extent. The base continued to research insecticides because the insects would develop resistance after using the initial insecticides for a period of time, so new insecticides had to be developed.
While insects can fill our stomachs, we can't keep eating them forever. If we don't solve the insect problem, we can't grow food. We also need to find a way to deal with the insects outside the base.
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