Chapter 287: Chapter 287

The zombie deer virus in Australia was hardly big news. Even when the virus spread from over there, it didn’t cause much of a stir in Huaxia.

Even though the news broadcasted that many creatures in Australia had been infected with the virus, and some people even started to resemble Zombies as their bodies slowly rotted into chunks of putrid flesh.

This would last from one to three months, with infected individuals gradually dying as their consciousness slowly blurred, surviving purely on instinct. They would eat anything when hungry, including human flesh.

Online, there were even rumors that these were actual Zombies—walking corpses. However, this still didn’t garner much attention because Huaxia itself was barely holding on. Due to problems with poisonous Mushrooms and venomous insects, countless people were dying every day, and the population had grown numb.

The moss in the Banana District had grown tens of centimeters long, with every building and even the ground covered in long strands of it. Jing Shu felt that this was tormenting her eyes. Living here was even more terrifying than places depicted in horror movies, especially since she could see clusters of brightly colored insects within the moss.

The government had begun urging citizens to clean and remove the moss around their homes, but the effects were clearly minimal. The moss’s tenacity was astonishing; even if one chopped down a patch with a government-issued cleaver, it would grow back within three or four days.

The best course of action was to remove it by the roots, but they had already embedded themselves deep into the walls. Unless the houses were torn down, it was impossible.

These insects would venture out for food. They looked like typical insects but swam swiftly in water, and some could even jump. Jing Shu suspected these insects might have evolved from fleas.

Now, whenever Jing Shu went outside, she would see a layer of insects floating on the water. Ordinary residents now wore multiple layers of plastic bags or clothing when they went out because these insects sucked blood and ate flesh, causing painful swellings where they bit. Google seaʀᴄh 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽

That wasn’t what scared her; in her previous life, Jing Shu was often bitten. What terrified her was not knowing which insect carried an infectious virus. Once infected, there was basically no hope of survival. At Jingshu’s house, they didn’t even take off their sealed raincoats when going outside, which showed just how severe the situation had become.

It was said that Wu City was still relatively well off. In the south, not only were these insects rampant, but there were also particularly large, flying cockroaches. They swarmed in the damp corners of houses, which had become their Heaven. People swatted at them daily with slippers but could never eliminate them all.

Now that the weather had turned cold, these creatures loved to burrow into people’s quilts. If you felt itchy all over while sleeping at night, it meant countless cockroaches had crawled into your bed. Netizens suggested just changing position, pulling the quilt tighter, and going back to sleep.

At this moment, a bottle of Wind Oil Essence or a bit of worm-killing medicine had become absolute luxuries in Huaxia.

Mary’s house exuded a pleasant fragrance; it was an insect-repelling incense that she had paid Zhou Bapi a hefty sum to concoct.

Jingshu’s family had naturally taken similar precautions, with Mr. Jing having arranged everything meticulously, both inside and out.

Seeing the envious glances from those around her, Jing Shu knew she had altered the trajectory of her previous life. Because in Wu City, the first batch of worm-killing medicine had been successfully produced, and the government was urgently organizing extermination and repellent efforts. If nothing unexpected happened, the Wu City Medicine Association would successfully pass the preliminary trials this time.

Speaking of this, Jing Shu couldn’t help but marvel at the power of the Magic Cube Space Spiritual Spring. This batch of Seeds had performed even better than Jing Shu had expected. Once distributed, almost everyone successfully cultivated tobacco with them, encountering virtually no problems. Except for a few Seeds that didn’t sprout, the rest all reached medicinal quality standards.

This astonishing germination rate once again proved how successful Jing Shu’s previous tobacco cultivation had been, and many people further acknowledged her standing as vice president.

Jing Shu’s batch of tobacco had arrived at the perfect time, resolving the Medicine Association’s urgent crisis. Her contribution to the rapid production of a large batch of worm-killing medicine was undeniable, so she was awarded an additional 50,000 Contribution Points. What left her speechless was that there was still a row of unexchangeable question marks listed afterward.

This made Jing Shu very curious. They were just Contribution Points from the Medicine Association, after all. What magical things could they possibly be exchanged for that weren’t even displayed? She was now just short of one hundred thousand Contribution Points. When she asked Zhou Bapi, he revealed his Big Yellow Teeth and smiled sleazily, saying, "You’ll find out for yourself later."

Alright, Jing Shu was determined to see what other valuable things the Medicine Association had that required so many Contribution Points.

Before she knew it, it was already late July. Jing Shu had been incredibly busy these days. She had to spend four hours a day at the Medicine Association, working to expedite the cultivation of the second batch of tobacco. The first batch of worm-killing medicine was nearly depleted, but its effects were quite good. Although insects were still visible everywhere, they were no longer seen crawling all over residents’ homes, which prevented a number of new infections.

Zijin and Grandma Jing had to tend to the silkworms daily, and Jing Shu also had to produce silk in the Magic Cube Space.

The cotton and tobacco planted in previous months had also matured. Jing Shu handed the cotton to Mr. Jing to be ginned into cotton fiber. The cotton seeds were set aside as feed for the Domestic Poultry, and the tobacco was made into cigars and cigarettes.

Meanwhile, Jing Shu frantically processed various semi-finished ingredients into cooked food. However, she had only processed less than a tenth of it. After all, butchering pigs and slaughtering cattle, even if done in the Magic Cube Space, was very time-consuming.

She was also busy finalizing work at two feed factories. As the weather grew increasingly cold, and with the spread of the Australian virus, the red earthworms had become inedible.

Red earthworms infected with the zombie deer virus began to slowly rot, becoming foul-smelling. They also carried the infectious virus, causing even their offspring to be born with it. Their numbers dwindled geometrically.

It was at this time that some sharp merchants sensed a business opportunity and began to acquire red earthworms in large quantities. After all, red earthworms had once been so abundant they were worthless. But now that red earthworms were gone, Huaxia had effectively lost its staple food source. The plentiful rainfall, however, meant Huaxia could still cultivate some crops.

Thus, the price of red earthworms skyrocketed hundreds of times overnight. Countless residents waded into the waters to catch live red earthworms to raise at home. Disregarding the temperatures, which were barely above ten degrees Celsius, and the potential life-threatening danger from other insects in the water, countless people tried to catch red earthworms. Unfortunately, their efforts were doomed to fail, as these red earthworms were all virus carriers and would die within a few days.

"Uncle really has a good head for business," Jing Shu mused, practicing with the Magic Cube and shaking her head. Her elder aunt’s family had started raising a batch of red earthworms half a month earlier. At least their pigs would have red earthworms to eat in the future.

Jing Shu had just managed to set an alarm and practice with the Magic Cube for a short while when she heard Grandma Jing’s voice from downstairs: Su Malie was looking for her.

Jing Shu put down the Magic Cube and hurried downstairs, where she saw a smartly dressed Su Malie.

"Jing Shu, let’s go! Today marks the official opening of Qian Duoduo’s Xishan Base after its reconstruction. I heard he hollowed out the middle of a large mountain to build the current base. It supposedly has everything and is a lot of fun!" said Su Malie.