Chapter 117: With that, Mo Zeya Presented a Bloodstained Envelope With Both Hands
Inside the city.
The conscripted citizens of the day, clad in protective gear, had already begun the citywide sanitation operation under the leadership of the city guards.
This year’s rainy season cleanup… was vastly different from the past.
The differences started from the very beginning.
During gear distribution, in addition to their standard hazmat suits and equipment, they were issued something else.
A roasted potato and a large paper cup.
The cup seemed to contain a liquid, securely lidded, and felt warm to the touch.
A new weapon against the mosquito swarms?
In the crowd, Qiu Jie heard someone ask. The guard distributing the items simply said someone would explain it to them shortly.
Once everyone on the roster had received their supplies, a guard bearing a single small silver star on her shoulder stood before the assembly and spoke.
“My name is Jesse, and I am the division commander for this insect eradication mission. All supplies have been distributed. Each person receives one protective suit, one extermination spray gun, one roasted potato, and one beverage. If you are missing anything, find your squad leader to claim it shortly. Your squad leaders are already standing in front of you. During the operation, you must follow your squad leader at all times and sanitize along the designated route.”
“The beverage is the Mint and Lemongrass Tea from the Chinese Restaurant. Its effects: repels mosquitoes and insects for two hours post-consumption, increases mold and fungal resistance by ten percent for ten hours, and boosts heat tolerance by five percent! Additionally, it will elevate your positive mood for twelve hours.”
“Given that the insect-repellent effect only lasts for two hours, you will drink it only when your squad leader orders you to!”
As soon as her voice fell, murmurs erupted.
Everyone was astounded by the drink’s effects.
The Chinese Restaurant had this kind of beverage? Why hadn’t they seen it before?
Insect repellent? How exactly would that work?
“Silence!” Jesse stood with her hands behind her back, restoring order. “You all have ten minutes to double-check your gear and listen to your squad leaders’ tactical briefings. In ten minutes, the operation officially begins. Do you understand?”
“Understood—!”
Qiu Jie was assigned to Division Two, Squad One.
Aside from the commanding city guard, there were only four civilians in the squad.
He didn’t recognize the others, but there was a familiar face in the adjacent Squad Two.
The middle-aged man, Rhode.
They had become acquainted at the Chinese Restaurant.
While the division commander was speaking, Qiu Jie had quietly greeted him.
Old Rhode looked to be in terrible spirits, his face pulled into a miserable grimace.
The other three in Qiu Jie’s squad also wore heavy, solemn expressions.
Every rainy season, danger descended equally upon everyone.
Taking turns to clear mosquito eggs within the walls often meant coming face-to-face with the mutant mosquitoes themselves.
In previous rainy seasons, there had been cases where a mutant mosquito’s proboscis pierced a worker’s protective suit during cleanup, infecting them with a virulent plague that tragically claimed their lives.
And it wasn’t just an isolated case.
When the rainy season arrived, it was dangerous both inside and outside the walls.
When faced with true mortal peril, there was no point in arguing about “which side is more dangerous” or “the probability of injury.”
You only had one life. If tragedy struck you, the probability was one hundred percent.
Qiu Jie rallied his spirits and listened closely as his squad leader outlined the upcoming deployment.
Virtually everyone had experience being conscripted during the rainy season.
Sanitizing the city wasn’t unfamiliar work.
Promptly drain any standing water that accumulated during the downpour. If black egg-like clusters were found in uncleared puddles, immediately use Setting 1 on the spray gun to neutralize them.
If the eggs were already hatching into larvae, switch the spray gun to Setting 2 for eradication.
If fully formed mutant mosquitoes appeared, immediately coordinate with the squad leader’s fire and engage Setting 3 to wipe them out.
The rain continued to fall, growing heavier by the minute.
Even with the city’s flat terrain, neglected corners inevitably collected standing water.
They had to meticulously inspect every inch of the city, including all blind spots.
Many of the past tragedies had occurred in precisely such neglected areas.
But… this rainy season, with the distribution of the Chinese Restaurant’s tea, things took a wildly different turn.
Different squads coordinated their patrol routes, meaning they drank their lemongrass tea at staggered times.
Generally, they consumed it right as they moved in to inspect the dangerous blind spots.
Buzz-buzz-buzz—
Had anyone ever seen a swarm of mutant mosquitoes take flight and flee for their lives, while a patrol squad chased closely behind, screaming, “Shoot it! Shoot it!”?
Qiu Jie had certainly never seen it.
But he was seeing it now.
After drinking the beverage, the insects were physically repelled, unable to get within several meters of a human body.
But the humans could absolutely seize the opportunity to chase the mutant mosquitoes.
Three meters was the repellent radius.
But it was far shorter than the spray gun’s effective range.
Swoosh—
Swoosh—
In previous rainy seasons, civilians in protective suits had never fired their weapons this fluidly.
Faced with the lethal threat of mosquito eggs or swarming mutants, it was incredibly difficult to overcome the primal instinct to flee.
Even if they managed to pull the trigger, their hands would shake from sheer terror.
Terrified of being stung, they were inevitably preoccupied with self-preservation.
With a divided focus, their aim was notoriously poor.
But this time… upon realizing the mosquitoes truly couldn’t get close, the conscripted citizens of Seed City were thoroughly invigorated.
“Don’t run!”
Qiu Jie watched with his own eyes as Rhode—who had looked utterly despondent while receiving his gear—transformed into a completely different person, brandishing his spray gun and charging after a massive swarm of freshly hatched mutant mosquitoes.
…
It was hard to say who the real prey was right now.
…
“Commander, as of this moment, everything is proceeding smoothly.”
At 4:00 PM, as the city’s conscript patrols swapped shifts, Keith delivered a comprehensive status report on Seed City directly to Yves’s desk.
The rainy season had officially begun just after eight in the morning.
At ten, twelve, and two o’clock, Yves reviewed Seed City’s data and status every two hours.
Only two hours remained until the standard gate-closing time.
The daylight hours of the rainy season’s first day were drawing to a close.
Seed City’s rainy season had never gone this smoothly before.
—The citywide insect eradication was running flawlessly. With the aid of the Chinese Restaurant’s beverages, the patrol squads had successfully purged all currently known mosquito eggs within the city.
Only two conscripted civilians had been injured: one tripped on some stairs because he was chasing mutant mosquitoes too zealously.
The other was injured because the tea’s repellent duration had expired, yet he got too carried away and kept chasing, only for a mutant mosquito to turn around and sting him.
Outside the city, the situation across the four walls remained firmly under control.
The South Wall Special Strike Team had seen two more awakenings, bringing their total to four.
Captain Mori reported that the energy spikes of the mutant organisms outside the South Wall were well within manageable limits. They had already eliminated two mutants that evolved to B-rank, and no new ones had been spotted.
Mori’s assessment was that no reinforcements were needed. The onset of the rainy season was the perfect crucible to trigger awakenings in the rest of her squad.
Yves approved the request.
The East, West, and North Walls hadn’t encountered any large-scale beast surges.
The West Wall was led by Dark Star’s Shelley and Hall; the North Wall by Zhou Xue; and the East Wall by Heixi.
Up to this point, all incoming reports indicated they had only encountered scattered E-rank mutants, all of which were swiftly dispatched.
The route outside the West Wall leading to the Chinese Restaurant was also guarded by Awakeners.
Three Awakeners were deployed there: the Red Flag Society’s [Piercing] and [Seduction], alongside Dark Star’s [Petrification].
When necessary, they coordinated with the city guards to clear mutants along the path.
Beverly’s submitted report confirmed no high-tier mutants had appeared. Mutant mosquito swarms and lower-tier beasts had been handled without issue.
Citizens heading to the Chinese Restaurant were dining and working normally.
The only minor hiccup had occurred in the Black Fields quarantine sector.
A few stalks of mutated iron black wheat had violently lashed out and injured personnel, but they were quickly put down by the stationed overseers.
The injured overseer and convict had been sent for medical treatment, and the situation was contained.
Everything was looking up.
Yves finished reviewing all the reports.
Without a doubt, this was the smoothest onset of a rainy season Seed City had ever experienced.
The beast surge had been strangled in the cradle by Boss Ling before it could even form, and the mosquito swarms… with the restaurant backing them, were easily eradicated.
The Commander finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He had stayed up all night again, but the results made it entirely worthwhile.
Knock, knock, knock—
Rapid, urgent knocking suddenly battered the office door.
Mo Zeya, bearing one large and one small silver star on her shoulder, pushed the door open, her expression fraught with tension.
She spoke rapidly, “Commander, an urgent dispatch from Firefly City.”
With that, Mo Zeya presented a bloodstained envelope with both hands.
The blood on the parchment had already dried and turned black.
