twenty one
Tao Sai looked at the shocking subtitles in front of him. A total of eight insect academies appeared near Jiangmian Town, including two level 2 insect academies.
With so many insects in the bloodstream, the number of insects gathered here was undoubtedly astonishing. Tao Sai immediately signaled Zhou Ning to dock the fishing boat to the left bank. She wanted to take the crew to observe the insect swarm from a distance while ensuring safety.
The gathering point of the insect swarm is about three kilometers away from the river bank and needs to be walked there. After Tao Sai and Zhou Ning discussed it, they decided that she and Grandma Zhou would stay on the boat.
The defense system of the refuge ship cannot be activated for the time being. In order to eliminate the possibility of being hijacked like last time, Zhou Ning will not fix the cable, so that the fishing boat will remain in motion and wait for pick-up on the shore.
Before leaving, Tao Sai warned her, "Doudou, there might be some mature insects flying onto the boat, but there won't be too many. Just clean them up with a knife in time, just like before."
"Okay." Zhou Ning nodded seriously.
Led by Tao Sai, the group climbed up a small hill. They thought it was just an ordinary outing until they were shocked by the scene before them.
At the foot of the hillside, vast fields stretched as far as the eye could see. In the distance, villages and homes appeared, creating a peaceful and idyllic scene. But further out, countless black insects, the size of sparrows, fluttered in mid-air, forming a dense mass, their chirping shrilly.
On the ground, the insects gathered into a vast ocean, surging towards the village like a tide.
"Oh my God!" Lin Yan exclaimed, covering her mouth.
"How terrifying." An Nan frowned.
Wherever the insect swarm passed, large trees fell down in an instant and rice fields disappeared.
"What kind of bug is this? It's a disaster!" Li Yinzhu hugged his arms and shivered.
Tao Sai gave a timely explanation: "They crawl out from underground, have a strong reproductive capacity, and are incredibly destructive. They have been found all over the world. We must take shelter."
"Xiao Tao, you are a bit pessimistic. Bugs are just bugs after all. They will be solved soon." Although Zhou Weixing was also frightened by the scene, he was optimistic enough.
"What if it can't be solved?" Tao Sai asked.
Zhou Weixing said, "Xiao Tao, you may not care about military matters, but Uncle Zhou is telling you, our technology is so advanced now. Our weapons are incredible. We humans can use weapons to defeat animals hundreds of times our size. We can even dig up mountains and fill the sea. What are these insects? If all else fails, we still have nuclear bombs. Nuclear radiation does have significant side effects, but nuclear bombs are incredibly powerful. A few million insects wouldn't be enough to blow them up."
Millions...Uncle Zhou underestimated the insects' reproductive capacity.
But Tao Sai didn't intend to argue anymore. He had formed a deep-rooted mindset and it was difficult to convince him. He said, take it slow and don't rush.
Tao Sai was about to lead everyone to evacuate when Zhou Weixing, who was standing beside him, suddenly exclaimed, "Oh my god, where's the house?!"
Just now, he witnessed with his own eyes a swarm of insects engulfing a two-story rural self-built building. After the swarm of insects, the reinforced concrete building disappeared completely.
Soon after, the swarm of insects engulfed the entire village. Several three-story self-built houses in the village were instantly erased, as if pencil drawings were being erased with an eraser.
Zhou Weixing was petrified on the spot. The insect swarm rushed towards the slope. The people who witnessed the insect swarm were terrified and instinctively fled in the opposite direction.
An Nan jumped down the slope at great speed, then turned around to help Lin Yan and Lan Xiaojia go down the slope.
Zhou Weixing, who had appeared to be the calmest before, was now running the fastest. He jumped down the hillside with big strides. After running for a distance, he realized that he had not brought his wife with him. He immediately turned around, carried Li Yinzhu on his back, and ran hurriedly towards the river.
Tao Sai: “…”
As long as he believes it.
Tao Sai did not rush to run away, she stayed behind to cover the retreat.
The speed of the insect swarm is not that fast. If a person runs at full speed, the crawling insects will not be able to catch up. Of course, flying insects are another matter.
In the fields not far away, young and growing insects gnawed away, while mature ones flapped their wings and flew, gathering and swirling in the air to form a massive whirlwind. At least hundreds of thousands of insects had gathered here, and the number was growing.
The liver-killing gene in his body was at work, and Tao Sai suddenly had the urge to rush forward and have a good fight.
But she weighed it again and decided to give up. She had no weapons and was short of manpower. If she attracted the hatred of the insects, she would easily die here.
Gaining experience is fun, but staying alive is more important.
Everyone helped each other and climbed onto the fishing boat one by one. Zhou Ning drove the boat away from the shore. Several people on the deck were still in shock.
"Xiao Tao, let's go! Let's get out of here!" Zhou Weixing kept saying.
The reinforced concrete building disappeared in an instant. This is not a bug, it is a biological weapon!
Tao Sai, the backbone of the refugee boat, remained calm. She pointed to the riverbank not far away and said, "Don't panic, everyone! Bugs repel water. Look!"
Everyone looked in the direction of her finger. The swarm of insects quickly expanded to the riverside, but the outermost insects, after sensing the nearby water flow, indeed avoided in the opposite direction.
Tao Sai continued, "If there's water, the bugs can't get through. As long as we watch out for some mature bugs that make short flights, we're absolutely safe on the boat."
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Xiao Tao, what is the situation now? Is there any news report?" Li Yinzhu asked.
This was also the question that other people had. They didn't have mobile phones and were cut off from information, but the situation had obviously developed to an extremely serious level.
Tao Sai pulled out his phone and checked the trending searches. He discovered that over an hour later, the topic of bugs had begun to trend on Weibo. Of the fifty trending searches, nearly half were related to natural disasters and bugs.
Insect swarms are appearing in more and more areas around the world. Some governments severely affected by the swarms have issued early warning signals, evacuated residents near the swarms, and begun organizing troops to eradicate the swarms.
Tao Sai handed them her phone. While they were reading the report, she continued, "I have more information. Do you remember the frequent earthquakes around the world from watching the news? The insects emerge from the earthquake rifts. The insects reproduce very quickly. A queen insect can lay up to 1,000 eggs a day. The number of insects will increase exponentially. The insects will first gather near the epicenter to form a swarm, and then continue to spread in all directions, just like you just saw, devouring everything. There is no material in the world that can withstand the attack of the insect swarm, so we have no choice but to take shelter."
After the words were spoken, everyone fell into silence.
The swarm of insects in the distance surged in all directions, visibly engulfing crops, bushes, woods, power poles, signal towers... The swarm of insects passed through and razed the land, leaving no living things.
The swarm of insects did not stop, but continued to spread and engulf further away.
This is a true apocalyptic scene.
Lin Yan sobbed in fear. An Nan and Lan Xiaojia hugged her to comfort her, but in fact they were also scared.
Li Yinzhu kept flipping through the videos sent back from the front line, her hands trembling as she held the phone. This was a natural disaster she had never heard of.
Grandma Zhou folded her hands together and prayed.
Zhou Ning stopped the fishing boat in the middle of the river and walked out of the cockpit. He hugged Li Yinzhu and Grandma Zhou and said, "Dad, Mom, Grandma, Taotao and I prepared a lot in advance. We can definitely save ourselves."
"Xiao Tao, how do we take refuge?" Zhou Weixing asked, his face showing a rare seriousness.
"As far as I know, insects repel water, and vehicles on the water are the best safe haven, so I moved my home to the boat in advance. Although my boat currently has limited space, it can be used as a shelter without any problems. The boat is equipped with power generation and water purification equipment, and all kinds of fishing gear are available. I have stockpiled food and started growing vegetables. If you are willing, you can stay on the boat, and we will get through this natural disaster together." Tao Sai said sincerely.
Zhou Weixing suddenly understood why she had moved her family onto a fishing boat. He nodded resolutely, "Okay, Xiao Tao, we believe you."
He was the first to break free from his meaningless panic. After regaining his composure, he began to think about the feasibility of taking refuge on the water.
We can find ways to overcome anything we need, but the most important thing is food.
If insects are wreaking havoc around the world on such a large scale, they will definitely not be able to return to the ground for a considerable period of time. Once the time span is prolonged, sufficient food reserves will be needed on the ship until the crops planted on the ship grow up, achieving circulation and self-sufficiency.
He walked around the fishing boat, carefully observing and counting the existing supplies. When he came back, he began to pace back and forth on the deck, like an ant on hot pot. "Xiao Tao, I went to the storage cabin to check the food you stored. It's not enough for so many of us. And there are all these boxes for planting things. The land is not big enough. Even if we grow enough, it won't be enough to eat."
"I've spent all my money," Towsey said truthfully.
"I have no money either," Zhou Ning said.
"Ah!" Zhou Weixing sighed heavily and clapped his hands in regret. "We just bought Xiaoning a pre-sale apartment with full payment, and were planning to give it to her when she got married. Now, it's all gone."
"Dad, how much did you spend?" Zhou Ning was very touched when she heard it, but she felt even more painful because she wanted to know the number.
"It's in a great location in Nanzhou City, and it costs more than two million." Zhou Weixing shed tears as he said this. He had wanted to change his car before but couldn't bear to do so. This was probably the most regrettable investment he had made in his life.
After a while, Li Yinzhu next to him raised his hand and said, "Actually, I secretly saved some money."
"How many?" the father and daughter asked in unison.
"About... one million."
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