Chapter 298: Chapter 298

It just goes to show that people tend to turn a blind eye when a problem doesn’t directly concern them. Originally, the overpopulation of zombie deer in Australia caused a species invasion. This led to the viral infection of red earthworms there, and in just six months, the virus spread rapidly, causing red earthworms all over the world to become infected.

At that time, Huaxia had no time to worry about virus-infected, non-threatening red earthworms; various kinds of insects in the waters of the Jiangnan Region were threatening people’s lives.

All China began to urgently produce worm-killing medicine, barely managing to save its endangered populace. Because of this, they even changed the competition topics for all 26 Medicinal Materials Association locations nationwide.

However, this situation allowed Jing Shu to find a loophole. She successfully used tobacco, enabling the Wu City Association to advance into the top ten nationwide and skip the preliminaries. This success could be entirely attributed to Jing Shu’s tobacco cultivation.

Therefore, the news from Australia a while back didn’t attract much attention until today, when the virus finally spread to Huaxia.

"Oh, you all need to be disinfected! Don’t bring in any red earthworms, okay? There are quite a few people outside who look so much like zombies from the movies. Are they beyond saving?" Grandma Jing vigorously sprayed Jinglai and Wu You’ai, who had just returned from work, with disinfectant.

Jing Shu was speechless. "Grandma, it’s just the flesh on their bodies necrotizing piece by piece, then festering, turning green, and becoming extremely rigid—just like zombies. The necrotic flesh infects the healthy flesh around it. They aren’t actual zombies. This disease does indeed damage the brain in its later stages, leaving only instincts behind."

Actually, this zombie disease had only caused minor losses compared to other disasters in her previous life; it was just that people were more panicked. After all, in the later stages of this disease, the entire body would necrotize, secrete pus, and emit a foul odor. The flesh would hang down like tumors, wobbling as they walked. The most severe case Jing Shu had seen involved someone who lived for about a year with their entire body necrotized, dragging these tumor-like growths around. It was incredibly disgusting.

Luckily, those afflicted with this disease felt no pain; it had a natural anesthetic effect. To put it bluntly, infected individuals had even been used in past studies to extract a significant amount of anesthetic compounds, though Jing Shu didn’t know if it had ever been used clinically...

Mr. Jing no longer cared about aesthetics. Instead, he was mixing lime with mud and applying a fresh coat to the villa’s low walls. After so much continuous rain, despite dehumidifiers, moisture-proofing agents, and dryers, the villa remained somewhat damp. Now, they even had to run the boiler at night to warm the underfloor heating.

Wu You’ai and Jinglai efficiently disinfected and dried their raincoats before storing them. Wu You’ai then said, "Twenty percent of the people in Australia have already died. Once infected with this disease, the body rots ceaselessly. Even if the necrotic flesh is cut off, if the virus isn’t eliminated from the body, other areas will begin to rot. And there’s no medical treatment available now. Grandma, you should stop spraying. Although it’s transmitted by red earthworms, it’s not that easily transmitted from person to person."

The family entered the dining room and began dinner. Jing Shu had been eating too much barbecue recently and felt a bit inflamed, so she had asked Grandma Jing to stew some fish soup, make chilled bitter gourd, and prepare some light home-style dishes. However, the main dish was still meat buns—finely minced, marinated meat mixed with gravy, stuffed into fragrant baked bread and enhanced with Qin pepper. The flavor was superb!

Jing Shu devoured a meat bun in two bites, followed by a spoonful of fresh Crucian Carp Tofu Soup. She slowly exhaled. This is the life I’ve longed for.

Grandma Jing’s eyes widened. "How did those people in the neighborhood get infected?"

"Don’t even get me started. After the red earthworms went extinct, their prices skyrocketed. Previously, red earthworms were a staple in the common people’s diet, at least enough to fill their stomachs. Now, it’s just a little Mushroom Soup, which is hardly filling. So, some people started a business with red earthworms, smashing the smelly, virus-infected ones with stones to make pancakes, selling five for 1 Virtual Coin. Some people ate these every day and ended up contracting this zombie disease. However, human immunity is generally strong, so only a few got sick."

"Eating them every day?" Grandma Jing exclaimed.

"Yeah, the red earthworms have been extinct for over a month, and people started eating those pancakes back then. This disease is only surfacing now." Wu You’ai was eating her meat bun, enjoying it with a heavy mix of flavors; she liked to add pickles, sweet radishes, and stir-fried shredded potatoes all together.

Jing Shu couldn’t help but feel fortunate. In her previous life, she had also bought some—those pancakes dipped in Mushroom Soup. Although they tasted bad, they were filling, and she was grateful she hadn’t caught the disease. She had worried about it for months after finding out.

Now, in the apocalypse, people weren’t too picky. It was so cold during the day that if they didn’t eat their fill at night, they could literally freeze to death. Since the red earthworms vanished so quickly, in just two months, those accustomed to eating them felt uneasy when the canteens suddenly stopped serving them. The canteens did offer red worm cakes, though, for 0.5 Virtual Coin each.

With even the live red earthworms dying off due to the virus, some people started a business by scooping up the dead ones. Especially in deserted areas, long-dead red earthworms floated on the water’s surface and were easily bagged. Selling them for 0.2 Virtual Coins per pancake, they found no shortage of buyers.

"Those utterly conscienceless people! How many have they harmed? And what about those who sell these pancakes?" Grandma Jing angrily bit into her meat bun, channeling her outrage into strength.

Wu You’ai shrugged. "It’s a huge gang, over three hundred people. Most of them were arrested today by the Second Team. Some gathered the red earthworms, others sold them, and some cooked them. Grandma, not many people have the means to cook food with actual fire anymore. I heard the boss sold hundreds of thousands of pancakes, netting 80,000 Virtual Coins, and his minions also made a good amount of Virtual Coins."

"Such malicious people should all be sentenced to death," Mr. Jing affirmed.

Wu You’ai replied, her words muffled by chewing, "They are indeed preparing to sentence them to death, but the group is protesting fiercely. They claim ignorance of the virus, arguing that if they had known it was contagious, they never would have done it. So, it’s still under discussion, considering apocalypse law distinguishes between intentional and unintentional harm."

The family discussed the recent major events, enjoying a harmonious moment. Jing Shu, usually quiet, focused more on eating. Just then, the phone rang. Jing Shu saw it was Su Malie calling.

"Jing Shu, where are you?" Official source ıs 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝔫𝔢𝔱

"That’s great! I was hosting the auction at the Xishan Base today, and I’m heading back now. If you’re free, could you drop by the Second Team’s post at the entrance for me?"

Su Malie’s resigned voice came through the phone.

"A few classmates called me. They said they’re in trouble and asked if I could help them out for old times’ sake. I’m not quite sure what’s going on. Last time, they mentioned a money-making opportunity and wanted my help, but I couldn’t make it. I already stood them up once."