How can we completely eliminate insects?
Of course, we should eliminate that cockroach queen.
Analysis of the captured insects' DNA showed that their genetic material came from the same mother.
Zhang Fan was quite curious about what a 100-year-old cockroach looked like.
The first thing to do is to find the location of the queen of the roosters. This is not difficult, because no matter how you look at it, the place where the Perseverance Mars rover landed has high exploration value.
Zhang Fan was also heading to that destination, but he didn't dare drive the "Giant Beetle" there directly. That would be too conspicuous, and he estimated that the car would be covered in bugs before he even reached his destination.
Although the "giant beetle" has extremely strong defenses, it is ultimately just a large Martian rover; too many ants can kill an elephant.
After traveling a short distance, the "giant beetle" stopped in a secluded spot and switched to defensive mode.
In its defensive form, the "giant beetle" resembles a huddled group of pill bugs.
This time, Zhang Fan did not wear the MK10 insect-specific mech, because the mech made too much noise when walking, and the insects were too sensitive to ground vibrations, and the insects generally did not come out during the day.
The current mission is reconnaissance, not combat; it would be safer and more convenient to wear a regular spacesuit.
Wearing a spacesuit and carrying an AWP, Zhang Fan got out of the car and walked to the destination where the "Perseverance" rover was located.
Mariners Canyon.
What a wonderful coincidence! After all this time, I've come back here again.
The Valley of Mariners has changed dramatically. Lava from Mount Olympus flowed into the valley, cooled, and solidified into dark brown ridges covered with volcanic ash.
Zhang Fan walked to a small hill, squatted down, and took out his binoculars to observe the surrounding environment.
There seemed to be movement in a distant mountain hollow. Zhang Fan increased the magnification of his binoculars and focused on the hollow.
Two soldier cockroaches were active in the shadows of the ravine, behind which appeared to be a cave.
Insects don't like sunlight and are inactive during the day, which is why Zhang Fan chose to come out to scout when the sun was strongest at noon.
Zhang Fan cautiously approached the ravine and lay down to observe the insect from 200 meters away.
Now it's clear that they are two level-one soldier cockroaches. Judging from their behavior of guarding the cave, they should be two sentries, making the cave behind them highly suspicious.
After switching to silent ammunition, Zhang Fan hugged his knees, aimed the gun, and remained focused and motionless, waiting for an opportunity.
Two one-star soldier cockroaches crawled around at the entrance of the cave, occasionally stopping to look around before continuing to crawl, never leaving the shadows of the ravine.
puff!
With a soft thud, the bullet flew 200 meters and pierced the heads of two cockroaches.
Zhang Fan continued to observe the area for a while. There was no movement around him, and no insects crawled out of the cave. Only then did he get up and walk towards the ravine.
What a coincidence!
Zhang Fan stood in front of the cave; everything was all too familiar.
This is the lava tube cave where he spent the night in the wild.
Zhang Fan turned on the night vision goggles on his helmet and carefully explored the cave wall.
After walking several hundred meters, Zhang Fan stopped in front of a rock, reached out and touched it, almost bursting into tears.
There is a human-shaped imprint on the rock.
This is the rock I leaned against when I spent the night.
rustling sound—
Zhang Fan reflexively squatted down and hid motionless behind the rock.
At the end of the cave, a cockroach stopped, looked up and glanced in this direction a few times, then continued crawling forward.
Although the mutant insects still have compound eyes, their eyes are not very developed. They can barely see anything, only the outline of objects. This may be related to their long-term underground life, which has caused their eyesight to degenerate.
Insects primarily rely on ground vibrations and their long antennae to detect things. So as long as you don't move, it's difficult for them to find you.
Zhang Fan cautiously continued walking forward for more than a hundred meters. Ahead was a fork in the road, and the further in he went, the more forks there were.
Continuing forward is dangerous; you can't guarantee you won't run into bugs near a fork in the road, but you should at least check if the cockroach queen is inside.
Zhang Fan put down his spacesuit backpack, took out a black box from it, and opened it.
Inside the box were a group of lively little insects.
These tiny insects have the shells of "worker cockroaches," but their insides are metallic.
Zhang Fan named this small unmanned reconnaissance aircraft "Flea".
"Go on, little ones!"
Ten "fleas" crawled out of the box, touched the sensors on their antennae, and then each ran off to a different fork in the road.
Zhang Fan turned on the arm monitor and, by switching screens, could see images captured by the miniature cameras on the heads of "fleas" numbered 1 to 10.
Just like sending minions to explore the map in a game, the places the "flea" walked through were lit up, and a three-dimensional map gradually appeared on Zhang Fan's arm monitor.
As the "flea" moves forward, the passages on the map extend upwards, downwards, leftwards, and rightwards.
This is practically a replica of an anthill.
Two whole hours have passed, and still not a single flea has found the legendary "egg chamber," the place where the queen cockroach dwells.
Zhang Fan felt he couldn't stay any longer. Although the area illuminated on the map was still expanding, the original plan was that each time he went deep into the insect nest for reconnaissance should not exceed one hour, and now that time had already been exceeded.
Zhang Fan pressed the ultrasonic transmitter, calling the "fleas" back.
After a long wait, ten lively "fleas" scrambled back as fast as they could and jumped into the black box. Zhang Fan closed the box, put it in his backpack, and slowly backed away.
He glanced at the time on the monitor and felt a pang of regret. He shouldn't have been so greedy. It would take time for the "flea" to return after its scouting mission, and by the time it got out of the cave, the sun might have already set.
Just in case, Zhang Fan released the safety on the AWP and chambered a bullet.
A sliver of light could already be seen coming through the cave entrance.
Great, it seems it's not dark yet.
Zhang Fan quickened his pace.
rustling sound—
Click click click—
Less than 50 meters from the cave entrance, Zhang Fan slipped and lay prone on the rock wall, aiming his gun at the entrance.
Through the light shining through the hole, a silhouette could be seen: a large insect was gnawing on a cockroach at the entrance.
The dead cockroaches on the ground were the two Zhang Fan had shot through when he entered the cave, and the insects that were eating them were...
Holy crap, it's true what they say, enemies always meet.
Through the telescope, Zhang Fan saw the figure of a four-star male cockroach leader, but this four-star male cockroach leader only had three crystals on its forehead, and a piece was missing from its forehead.
Seeing that there was only one insect at the entrance of the hole, Zhang Fan gently replaced the AWP with armor-piercing high-explosive incendiary rounds and aimed the scope at the head of the four-star male cockroach.
While silent grenades are safer, their power is too weak; a single shot might not be enough to eliminate a four-star male cockroach. Armor-piercing high-explosive incendiary grenades, though powerful, also create a lot of noise, potentially attracting other insects after firing.
But Zhang Fan didn't care anymore; as long as he could kill this male cockroach, he was willing to take the gamble!
Zhang Fan calmed his breathing and slowly placed his finger on the trigger.
rustling sound—
Suddenly, two more four-star male cockroaches crawled into the hole.
Damn it, I can't figure it out.
Zhang Fan slowly put away his gun. He had no chance of winning against three at once, especially since he was only wearing an ordinary spacesuit.
The more serious problem now is that he can't get out of the hole because three four-star male cockroaches are guarding the entrance.
As the light outside the cave grew dimmer and the three male cockroaches continued to eat, Zhang Fan grew anxious. If they couldn't get back to the base vehicle by nightfall, they were doomed.
I can't wait any longer.
Zhang Fan took out an incendiary bomb, pulled out the fuse, and threw it deep into the cave.
The incendiary bomb tumbled a few times in the cave before exploding.
Crackle! Crackle!
The incendiary bomb contained small explosives and incendiary agents, which made a very loud noise.
Attracted by the entrance, the three four-star male cockroaches raised their heads and then quickly crawled deeper into the cave where the incendiary bomb was located.
rustling sound—
The three insects passed by Zhang Fan's hiding place but did not find him and continued to crawl forward quickly.
Seeing the insects crawling further in, Zhang Fan immediately jumped out of his hiding place and, taking advantage of the cover of the explosion and firelight, ran towards the cave entrance.
The incendiary bomb could only last for a few dozen seconds. Zhang Fan dared not look back, hoping only to leave the cave before the insects discovered him.
Squeak squeak squeak—
A voice that Zhang Fan hated came from behind him. He pulled the pin on a smoke grenade, threw it on the ground, and quickly ran out of the cave.
laugh--
The smoke bomb contained insecticide, and the green smoke blocked the entrance to the hole.
Squeak squeak squeak—
rustling sound—
Some insects, disregarding the effects of the insecticide, rushed straight through the smoke and out of the hole.
Some of the cockroaches crawled out of the hole and then wandered around aimlessly like headless flies.
The pesticides are obviously effective, but something is driving them to run away despite the pesticides' toxicity.
Zhang Fan glanced back and saw the four-star male cockroach in the center of the insect, with a missing corner on its forehead.
Damn it, it really was you!
Bang!
Zhang Fan turned around and fired a shot. The armor-piercing incendiary grenade missed the four-star male cockroach, but several soldier cockroaches next to him were killed by the blast.
The AWP is inherently inaccurate when firing while moving, and now that the sun is already halfway down below the horizon, visibility is obstructed.
Zhang Fan hadn't actually intended to hit it with a shot; he just hoped to scare it away like last time, or at least prevent it from chasing after him.
Squeak squeak squeak—
This clearly had the opposite effect. The four-star male cockroach seemed to feel insulted, and its mouthparts emitted an unusually sharp friction sound. Then, the surrounding soldier cockroaches surged forward!
Zhang Fan ignored everything and threw all the incendiary grenades, smoke grenades, and high-explosive grenades he could carry behind him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions continued to occur behind them, and some insects were blown away or poisoned by insecticides and scurried around. Dust, smoke and insecticide filled the surrounding ground.
rustling sound—
Insects continued to fly through the dust and smoke, chasing after Zhang Fan.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Zhang Fan emptied the AWP's magazine, but faced with the surging swarm of insects, the powerful armor-piercing high-explosive incendiary rounds were like stones thrown into the sea, only splashing a few water droplets.
How can a human with three legs outrun a cockroach with six legs?
The insects on both sides were closing in from a distance.
"Damn it! I'm not running anymore!"
Zhang Fan stopped running, turned around to look at the surging insects, bent down and took a few deep breaths, then stood up, threw away his AWP, and took off the backpack from the back of his spacesuit.
"You bastards, I'll play with you!"
"Xiao Feng, launch the MK10 insect-specific mech!"
"receive. "
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