Chapter 576: Chapter 576

The woman spoke in a light, dismissive tone, "What a pity. It’s her own fault for playing with fire. Team Leader Zhang, you might as well report the situation as it is. Otherwise, if the higher-ups start holding people accountable, you’re finished." She clearly regarded Wu City and him as expendable and had already started her new plan.

Zhang Xian gritted his teeth. He would first disqualify Wu City from the competition and shift the blame—after all, it was *their* contact who couldn’t be reached!

The notification quickly appeared on the big data page. Behind the Wu City Pharmaceutical Association’s name on the list of the 31 provincial Medicine Associations were four red characters indicating disqualification. Although the announcement was met with public silence, perhaps even going unnoticed by many, the management of Wu City erupted in chaos. Old Zhou’s phone began to ring off the hook. It even alarmed the man in power, Jin Tianci.

With the disqualification of the Wu City Pharmaceutical Association, they lost a year’s worth of resources—not even a share in the newly researched New Energy!

Suddenly, there was an uproar everywhere.

All of this was unknown to Jing Shu, for she was busy, truly busy.

"I hope this final destination won’t disappoint me," Jing Shu sighed; her time was running out.

"Miss Jing, this is one of the funeral management offices. Every day, thousands of corpses are transported here for handling. This area is for normal deaths... these bodies need to be taken for further examination and use. Next door is the crematorium... those who died abnormally are incinerated on the spot."

Song Bin wiped the sweat from his forehead, thoroughly puzzled. He was able to work under the aegis of the Jun Family, so he’d thought it would at least be some difficult task. Even Jun Bao, the Imperial Capital’s ’Smiling Tiger,’ had decreed that whatever this young lady required, they were to help her accomplish it. And yet, she was here just to visit a funeral management office?

What was there to see about dead bodies?

Oh, and there was more. The behavior of Miss Jing Shu these past few days truly baffled him.

She was clearly here to participate in the Medicine Association competition, a matter concerning resources from all regions. Yet Miss Jing Shu had tricked the Pharmacists into staying in a place so remote that birds wouldn’t shit there, nor turtles lay eggs, forbidding them from going anywhere. This suggested a lockdown, obviously to prevent anyone from sending messages. And now that the competition was about to start, she wasn’t participating. What was she thinking?

Right, this lady first investigated all sorts of data from the major Medicine Associations. This small task wasn’t anything special, nor was it a secret; the Jun Family could obtain it quickly. Then she requested the list of all the medicinal materials brought by the various Medicine Associations for the competition. This wasn’t a secret either. There had been a registration record from the beginning, and he understood the reasoning: know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated.

Song Bin still remembered it. When Miss Jing heard the news found by the Jun Family—that the reason for hosting this Medicine Association competition was to consolidate all top resources to find an antidote for the parasite infection—her eyes had lit up.

Why such bright eyes? Does she think she has an antidote? The research institute has made only scant progress after all this time; how could she have an antidote just like that, right after arriving?

But putting that aside, when Miss Jing delved deeper into her investigation, her face turned dark and somber. A gloomy chill emanated from her, making Song Bin feel as if even breathing was difficult. What now? Why is she so angry?

Afterward, her actions became incomprehensible to him. She reviewed grain storage reports from various places, visited the Imperial Capital’s botanical garden, the Ministry of Agriculture, and even inspected breeding farms and grain silos. With each stop, her face seemed to darken further.

Is this person here for tourism? Or is she conducting a private investigation? What exactly is she trying to do? Could she be a thief scouting the area? The thought made Song Bin more cautious.

Jing Shu gently furrowed her brow. "Let’s go. We should check out the crematorium to see the abnormal deaths." Thıs content belongs to 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⁂𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⁂𝓷𝓮𝓽

Pah, thieves wouldn’t come to steal bodies, would they?

As Jing Shu spoke, she surveyed the surroundings. It was clearly her first time in such a place. Even in the fourth year of the apocalypse, Huaxia was still impressively orderly in its collection and disposal of bodies. This prevented parasite-infested corpses from causing greater disasters. Otherwise, one couldn’t imagine what kind of outbreak this would cause in the future.

"Ah?" Song Bin’s face suddenly turned pale. "I heard that these parasites can crawl out and re-infect."

Jing Shu rolled her eyes. "Have you ever eaten red earthworms?"

Song Bin’s face grew even paler, and he shook his head vigorously. "Never have."

"Then you’ll be fine. According to my research over the past few days, those who haven’t eaten them will be safe," Jing Shu impatiently strode ahead on her own.

"Hey, hey? But, but... Hey! Wait for me, slow down! This godforsaken place... At least wear some protective gear! Wait for me, you can’t get in without me!"

Jing Shu and her companion, now dressed in protective gear, arrived at the huge crematorium. The place was busy, with people constantly coming and going, transporting fresh corpses.

It was warm here, thanks to the constant burning of bodies that provided decent heat and light. Occasionally, crackling and popping sounds could be heard. These were said to be the common noises of body fat burning, sometimes bursting into flames.

Uncle Wang was the crematorium director responsible for incineration.

Uncle Wang, indulgently sniffing a cigarette, said candidly, "Hey, it’s just a few hundred a day. At times, one or two thousand. Very normal. The death rate hasn’t increased by much. Before the apocalypse, considering the Imperial Capital’s population of tens of millions, several thousand people died each day, all requiring cremation. After the apocalypse began, the higher-ups banned cremation. It was only recently that they started it again. Otherwise, I would have been out of a job."

Speaking of this, he sounded somewhat relieved. "I heard it’s troublesome to be infested by parasites. If we don’t cremate them, more severe epidemics could occur. These parasites don’t infect those who haven’t eaten red earthworms, so you all can rest easy." He wouldn’t have dared to come here otherwise.

Jing Shu fell silent for a moment. Even with this second chance, there are things I still haven’t prepared enough for. In my past life, I simply lacked the standing and insight to grasp the full picture.

Documents from Jin Tianci a while ago stated that only a few thousand people in the south had been infested by parasites, and the big data reflected this. However, it wasn’t until Jing Shu came to the Imperial Capital and visited this crematorium that she truly began to understand the actual extent of the situation—a reality previously unknown to her, now made starkly evident.

I was still too naive. If the infected numbers were only in the thousands, why would the Imperial Capital suddenly announce the competition, concentrating all top-tier medicinal materials and resources to address this? The situation must have already reached a severe level, one that had to be kept secret to avoid causing public panic.

"May I take a closer look at these corpses?" she asked.

Uncle Wang waved his hand, leading Jing Shu and her companion to a line of bodies queued for cremation. "There’s not much to see. These people didn’t even know they were infested by parasites. What you see here are those without symptoms. Only a few who developed symptoms noticed something was wrong and sought medical help, but it was no use. They suffered unbearable pain... Sigh, it’s somewhat better for those whose brains are eaten by the parasites—they slowly forget who they are, and with it, the pain. But for those whose intestines are eaten, it’s miserable. Their agony can last for ten days or more before it’s over."

Song Bin’s lips trembled. My God, are parasites this terrifying? No one ever told me!

Jing Shu, on the other hand, already wearing rubber gloves, had begun a detailed examination of the bodies.