Chapter 266: The Invasion of Evolved Pests

Xia Qing didn’t rush off. First, she sprayed a whole bucket of pesticide outside her precious Green Light Spinach and Green Light Sweet Potato greenhouses. Only then did she grab a grass leaf crawling with caterpillars and head to Territory Nine. She wanted an expert’s opinion—just what were these sudden evolved bugs?

As she reached the main corridor in the territory, Xia Qing spotted Zhao Ze, Kuang Qingwei, Qi Fu, and Shi Du, all in full protective suits, gathered around a short woman asking for advice.

Surprisingly, this woman wasn’t wearing any protective gear—not even a mask. She had on a white lab coat, glasses perched on her nose, a pale, round face, and seemed to be around thirty.

When she heard the woman’s cool, even voice, Xia Qing was sure: this was the legendary Lord Li Si of Territory Nine, the leader of the Blazing Fire Squad—famous, but until now, never seen in person.

“Those are evolved stinging moth larvae. The egg stage lasts over half a year, but the larvae only stay worms for about three days.”

Kuang Qingwei was in disbelief. “So you’re saying, Sis Li, this little bug grows up in just three days—then turns into a cocoon?”

Li Si nodded. “Exactly. Once matured, the stinging moth larvae burrow into the soil and pupate. The moths lay their eggs on stems and leaves close to the dirt—it’s nearly impossible to get rid of them completely. If human skin touches their spines, it causes severe pain and burning. Heavy exposure can be fatal. Once they hatch, the larvae eat constantly, growing to over three centimeters long in two or three days, then dig into the earth to form cocoons.”

“Oh my—seriously!” Kuang Qingwei’s hand trembled, clutching the grass leaf. “There are tons of these things in my territory, and plenty more still to hatch. In just a few days, they could strip the whole territory bare. Captain Tan!”

Tan Junjie nodded and turned aside to report the pest outbreak in his area.

Li Si examined the grass leaf Shi Du handed over and quickly reached a conclusion. “That’s a leafminer moth larva. It’s less dangerous than the evolved stinging moth, but a lot of birds love to eat this sort of larva.”

Shi Du’s smile faded instantly. Pests that attracted birds sounded even scarier.

As Xia Qing came closer, Qi Fu was handing over a piece of corn leaf. “Sis Li, take a look at this bug—what is it?”

Li Si adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses and studied it for a few seconds. “That’s an Asiatic corn borer larva. Judging by its appearance, I can’t tell if it’s evolved.”

Zhao Ze’s eyes widened. “Corn has bugs in it now too?”

Qi Fu kept pressing. “Sis Li, the Asiatic corn borer—isn’t that the stem-boring pest?”

Li Si answered precisely. “Before the cataclysm, both the Asiatic and European corn borers were called stem borers—they’re major crop pests. These bugs have to be eradicated as soon as possible.”

Zhao Ze couldn’t understand. “We’ve had insect-proof greenhouses from the start. When we planted the first batch of crops, there weren’t any bugs. So how come there are so many in the second round?”

Li Si replied calmly. “If there are bugs, that means there are eggs in the greenhouse. We’ll need a full inspection to figure out how the eggs got inside. For now, the priority is to kill the pests—otherwise, there’ll be a serious drop in yield.”

Seeing Xia Qing walk over with the grass leaf, Zhao Ze glanced at the bug on it. “That’s an evolved stinging moth larva. It’s poisonous—be careful. Good thing you caught it early. Otherwise, those bugs would have stripped our territory bald.”

Kuang Qingwei immediately asked, “Sis Li, do you have any super-effective pest killer?”

Li Si nodded. “I do.”

Assistant Xiao Liu stepped up, cradling a folder in his left hand and a pen in his right, flashing a practiced smile as he handled the business. “If any of the lords would like to buy our special pest control formula, just register with me. A heads-up, though—these evolved stinging moths are resistant to normal sprays. The regular pesticide from the Territory Management Department won’t work. Our Territory Nine specialized formula has a patent, so it’s pricier—500 milliliters for 200 points. But it’ll protect ten acres and works for sure.”

Hearing the price, most lords lost their enthusiasm for buying the special formula.

Only Tang Huai kept asking, “Assistant Liu, does your formula only work on these few pests, or is it effective for all types?”

Xiao Liu answered professionally and patiently, “It works on all Lepidoptera larvae—almost all caterpillars—except for a few high-level evolved pests that have already developed resistance.”

Tang Huai didn’t just look unhappy—he seemed worried too. “Does that mean cicada larvae will get killed too?”

Everyone was speechless…

Xiao Liu politely reminded him, “Mr. Tang, cicadas belong to Hemiptera, not Lepidoptera.”

Li Si added, even more precisely, “If cicada nymphs hatch during or within three days after spraying, their activity will be affected by the formula. They’ll be less active.”

Tang Huai immediately lost interest in buying. “Thank you, Sis Li. That stuff’s way too expensive. I’ll have to check with our lord first.”

Tan Junjie came back over. “The Inspection Team’s reported the pest outbreaks to the management. Territories Eleven through Twenty-Eight have also seen infestations. Helicopters will spray an ‘evolved’ pesticide across all territories and a ten-mile stretch of the Evolved Forest in an hour and a half. All lords need to get back now and prepare. When the choppers arrive, keep all doors and windows shut and wear your masks. Don’t open any windows or remove your masks for four hours after spraying is done.”

After Tan Junjie specifically mentioned the improved pesticide, the territory lords were all thinking they’d wait to see how effective it was before buying Li Si’s formula. Xiao Liu’s professional smile was already slipping.

“Xia Qing.”

As everyone dispersed, Li Si called out to Xia Qing alone. Li Si stared at Xia Qing’s sun-reddened face, her voice cool and clear. “Did you find any Asiatic corn borer larvae in your fields? Knowing Base Hui Three, their conservative ways mean this improved pesticide probably only works on a few pests—it can’t kill the corn borers.”

Xia Qing nodded at once. “Thanks for the warning, Sis Li. I’ll go back and check the plants one by one. I’ll catch every pest I find.”

Li Si watched Xia Qing’s departing figure for a while, then headed back to her own territory.

After returning, Xia Qing sprayed pesticide all over every greenhouse and the open spaces around them. The pesticide she used was the regular kind issued by the base—less effective, but better than nothing.

Not knowing how many helicopters there’d be or where they’d begin spraying, Xia Qing made sure to use every method she had.

Once the spraying was done, Xia Qing went home to gather pine cones drying on the rooftop.

She hadn’t even finished picking up the pine cones when Qi Fu called, wanting to discuss buying the pesticide. “I found stem borers in my corn and mung bean greenhouses yesterday. I sprayed, but our spray doesn’t seem to work all that well. What do you think? Should we buy that special stuff from Territory Nine? I just can’t shake this uneasy feeling.”

Xia Qing asked, “You’re worried about shelling out all those points for special pesticide that might not work?”

“It’s not just that,” Qi Fu explained. “I’m also worried the chemical’s too strong and will hurt the crops or ruin the seeds’ quality.”