So it really was true that good deeds bring rewards. Jing Shu had unexpectedly gained another life-saving trump card: a single drop of pure Spirit Spring could save a life. This pleasant surprise could not have come at a better time.
"@Everyone, this time we must especially thank @Xiao Shu from the villa district. Thanks to her, at two in the morning she drove a family of three with viral flu to the hospital. The child has now passed the critical stage, and the adults are also fine. Since the hospital was overcrowded, we finished the discharge procedures and are already back in the community. Reminder: everyone must take protective measures, the hospitals are already running out of medicine."
On the third day, the couple brought their child to thank Jing Shu in person, carrying a whole box of dried purple sweet potatoes and dried sweet potatoes as a gift. In the apocalypse, this was life-saving food.
The couple had run a small dried sweet potato shop in the city. Lately, business had collapsed and raw supplies had stopped coming, so they had temporarily closed their shop. Their home still had stock from before, and since Jing Shu refused to take money, they could only bring their specialty goods as thanks.
Jing Shu was very satisfied, and together with the little boy—the couple's son—she ate quite a lot. After drinking Spirit Spring, the boy's appetite had increased greatly. Fortunately, he ate a lot and expelled a lot, and so far showed no other strange symptoms.
The dried sweet potatoes were sweet, chewy, and tasty. In the apocalypse, they were an excellent food. Jing Shu decided she would make some herself in the future.
That day, as expected, Su Lanzhi scolded Jing Shu again. Saving people was one thing, but why not at least bring Jing An along? Going alone was far too dangerous. "Just thinking about it terrifies me. One of my colleagues who went with me to sell the house, Wang Hong, caught the illness in the middle of the night. By the time they realized and went to queue at the hospital, it was too late. She died today. We even had to give 500 yuan as condolence money. And she still owed me 800 yuan that she never paid back."
Jing Shu: "..." The focus here seemed a little off.
As more and more people around them died, and with the Earth's Dark Days showing no sign of ending, panic among the public grew worse. The national vaccine was still not released, but instead a new nationwide mission was announced.
"In 2017, Australia injected Wolbachia bacteria into poisonous mosquitoes, causing the males to become infertile. They then released twenty million sterile mosquitoes to spread the Wolbachia bacteria to the normal ones. This caused more and more mosquitoes to carry the bacteria and prevented the next generation from reproducing. By sterilization, the poisonous mosquitoes went extinct, achieving excellent results."
"This method is equally effective on black beetles."
"However, this method has regional limitations, so it must be implemented by local governments. Bacteria have already been distributed to all urban and rural governments. Each region must capture a certain number of black beetles, inject them with the bacteria, and then release them. Once sterilized, they will not reproduce. When this generation of beetles dies off, they will be extinct."
It was exactly the same as Jing Shu's previous life. The government was giving the people something to do, both to ease their panic and to increase their sense of collective honor.
There was an old saying: when people are full and idle, they like to overthink. That had its own philosophy. If you keep people busy until they collapse into bed, they will have no time to worry about other things. The leaders were brilliant at grasping the psychology of the masses.
In Wu City, every time the water trucks delivered water, there would also be trucks collecting bugs. The government distributed hoods, sacks, nets, and other tools. One sack of black beetles could be exchanged for an extra bucket of water, which greatly motivated everyone.
Risking one's life to capture bugs for free was unlikely, but with a reward it became feasible.
Many households had not yet reached the point of licking their bowls clean after meals, but they had begun wiping dishes with paper instead of washing. Cooking and drinking water were just barely enough, so extra water was very welcome.
That evening, when the temperature dropped, residents of Jing Shu's community went out in groups. Every family covered their heads, wore thick socks and rain boots, rubbed floral water on themselves, and donned gloves. Wrapped tightly from head to toe, they went out to catch bugs.
"Our quota is at least ten sacks of live bugs per person. Other workplaces also have to hand in five sacks," Su Lanzhi said worriedly, eating an apple.
Jing An, who had already sent Grandma Jing some floral water, mineral water, and vegetables back when the beetles first appeared, was much more relaxed. He said easily, "Then I'll go to the community gate and catch them for you."
"At that rate, how long will it take? You can't even fill one sack in a whole day."
At this point, Jing Shu pulled out a solar-powered light stick. "Use this."
Jing An could not help thinking his daughter must be the reincarnation of Doraemon.
While the neighbors were still catching a few bugs at a time with nets under the only working streetlight at the community gate, Jing Shu and Jing An, fully armed, went to their villa. They set up several light sticks, releasing strong beams on the ground. In no time, countless flying bugs swarmed down, buzzing furiously.
Jing Shu used a sack to scoop them up, then pulled out the bug-covered light stick. That alone filled a third of the bag.
Jing An imitated her, and in less than half an hour the two of them had filled ten sacks, meeting the quota. When Jing An saw the dense swarm of huge black bugs, he shivered. His daughter, however, grabbed them with her hands when they slipped through the net, tossing them back into the air.
The giant chicken Jing Shu had recently picked up would then flap up and snatch them mid-air. Jing Shu even praised it each time. It really looked like she was training a dog, except it was a chicken. The scary part was that the chicken did very well. Jing An began to wonder if the world had gone mad or if he had.
"Let the community neighbors use this too," Jing An suggested. With nets, they could only catch three or four at a time, and filling a sack took ages.
"They finally have some evening entertainment, Dad. Don't ruin it for them," Jing Shu replied. Then she waved to Number 1, the bug-catching chicken. "Number 1, let's go."
Number 1 reluctantly pulled itself out of the pile of bugs, waddled back to Jing Shu's side, its big butt swaying. Ever since it had resumed drinking Spirit Spring, it had become a bottomless pit. No matter how much it ate, it could keep eating. The bugs outside had become its endless feast, and it never seemed full because it ate while excreting at the same time.
The nationwide bug-catching campaign was a huge success. Every household earned a few extra buckets of water. In less than three days, the Wu City government announced that all the bugs had been injected with the bacteria and released.
In a dozen days, once this generation of black beetles died out, the plague would be over. The citizens could rest assured.
The apocalypse had now lasted fifty days. The number of black beetles was rapidly decreasing. Just as the domestic situation seemed to be improving, Jing An received a phone call with Grandma Jing crying on the other end:
"Hurry and come! Jing Lai and Wu You'ai were infected by black beetles. They've caught the viral flu! The nearby hospitals refuse to take them, saying there is no medicine left. What are we going to do?"