Chapter 15: Scorching Heat, Rat Plague

Jiang Si originally thought the natural disasters had just arrived earlier than in her past life, but now an unexpected rat plague had also broken out—something she hadn’t foreseen.

For the time being, all she could do was ask everyone to wait and observe.

If the rat problem truly became unmanageable, she’d lead the family out and find a safer place for them to live in the RV.

They cleaned up all the rat corpses and droppings in the house, thoroughly disinfected it from top to bottom with pesticide sprayers, and set up a nearly impenetrable defense in every corner a rat might squeeze into. Just like that, several hours passed, and dawn began to break.

The noise of the rat swarm gradually diminished, and soon they could hear cries for help from other villagers.

Because the room didn’t have ice blocks cooling it, and everyone was wearing thick protective suits, once the outside temperature hit 60°C (140°F), Grandpa listened carefully to the outside and said:

“These abnormal rats are still like before—they’re probably afraid of sunlight and have gone back.”

Jiang Si nodded and added thoughtfully:

“Or maybe it’s just gotten too hot even for them, so they’ve hidden away for now. They might reappear again at night.”

She went up to the second floor and opened a sheet-metal panel. Under the scorching sun, all she saw were skeletons picked clean by the rats.

The massive swarm of rats had vanished completely, as if they had never existed.

The house next door, belonging to Qin Shen, had all its doors and windows shattered. It was unclear if anyone there had survived.

As Jiang Si looked around, she spotted several survivors staggering out of their homes.

Some people, afraid that those bitten by rats might carry disease, dragged them out of their homes and threatened them with knives, forcing them away.

Old Grandpa Xu, who was barely hanging on, was thrown into a nearby field by Zhang Jing and Zhang Mayi. They didn’t even dare cover him with a piece of clothing before running off.

Old Xu had taken them in, yet this was how they repaid him. If he had a second chance, Jiang Si wondered whether he would still “invite wolves into his home.”

Soon, once it was confirmed that the danger had passed, families began sending one or two strong members out to scavenge the quieter homes—hoping to recover from the damage left by the rats.

Just as Jiang Si and Grandpa were loading the rat corpses onto a cart, planning to burn and bury them, a climbing hook suddenly flew into their yard, landing with a loud clank and catching onto the gate.

Moments later, an old man climbed over their courtyard gate using the rope.

Before he even saw that Jiang Si had her crossbow aimed at him, Lin Chenghua was already turning to his son, Lin Zu, and said with excitement:

“There’s definitely a lot of good stuff in Jiang Linhai’s house!”

But before he could finish the sentence, he spotted Jiang Si and Jiang Chengwu staring right at him—and the grin on his face froze instantly.

His brain went completely blank.

Lin Zu, still outside the gate and unaware of the situation, kept asking:

“Dad? What’s wrong? Why aren’t you moving?”

Lin Chenghua forced a stiff laugh and said awkwardly:

“You’re still alive, huh?”

Jiang Chengwu’s expression darkened.

Lin Chenghua immediately realized he’d said the wrong thing and tried to recover:

“It’s great that you’re okay! Last night was terrifying—I actually came here to check on you!”

His lousy lie was quickly followed by Lin Zu’s loud shout:

“Dad, come down! They’re not dead!”

Realizing he was busted, Lin Chenghua wanted to flee. But from this high vantage point, he could see that all of Jiang Si’s windows were intact, and their home showed no signs of damage from the rat plague. It was clearly far safer and better stocked than the salvaged mess that was his own house.

A sinister idea flashed through his mind.

He scolded Lin Zu:

“Shut up! I still have things to discuss with your uncle!”

Lin Zu was totally confused.

“Discuss what…? Weren’t we here for a zero-cost grab…?”

Jiang Si didn’t want to waste any more time with him and warned coldly:

“If you don’t want to die, then get lost!”

Lin Chenghua didn’t take her seriously and spoke to Jiang Chengwu:

“Old Jiang, don’t misunderstand me. I really came to discuss something important. City folks have flooded into our village, a lot of people have been killed, and now there’s this rat plague—it’s terrifying. Your house only has a few people, and three are women—pretty much useless in a crisis. It’s too dangerous. I can move my stuff here and we can unite to face the apocalypse together. Sound good?”

In reality, once they moved in, he was confident he’d find a way to eliminate the Jiang family and take the house.

Afraid Jiang Chengwu would flatly refuse, Lin Chenghua sweetened the deal:

“We still have thousands of pounds of rice and corn in our warehouse, plus all kinds of medicine. I’m not trying to take advantage—we just need to help each other. Together, we can definitely survive this.”

But Jiang Si remembered clearly how, in her past life, Li Cui had incited Lin Chenghua to organize the entire village to loot their home.

“Helping each other”? What a load of crap.

Jiang Chengwu wasn’t fooled either. Their home was clearly better in every way—cooler, more secure, and with a special defense mechanism. You’d have to be crazy to invite such a dangerous threat inside.

Without hesitation, he snapped:

“Get lost! I don’t have time for your nonsense!”

Lin Chenghua, sensing rejection, quickly added:

“My grandson is a doctor! He can save lives in an emergency. Having us here will only benefit you—better defense, safer water runs. We can seriously improve your survival chances!”

Jiang Chengwu scowled:

“Doctor, my ass! He’s a veterinarian! One more word and I won’t be polite!”

The blazing heat and Lin Chenghua’s scheming tone made Jiang Chengwu’s temper boil over.

Still refusing to give up, Lin Chenghua wiped his sweaty forehead and, despite popping a blister, gritted through the pain and said:

“A vet can still save lives in critical situations! Don’t underestimate us!”

Jiang Si finally ran out of patience. With a cold sneer, she raised her crossbow and let an arrow fly.

“Whoosh—!”

Lin Chenghua screamed in terror. He hadn’t expected her to actually fire. His eyes bulged wide, but it was too late to dodge. The arrow pierced through his shoulder, knocking him off balance and sending him crashing off the gate.

His pained screams echoed from outside the courtyard.

Jiang Si shouted after him:

“Go ask your vet grandson if he can fix that!”

Lin Zu held Lin Chenghua and screamed in rage:

“Jiang Si, you filthy bitch! Get out here! I’m gonna chop you up!”

The response?

A cleaver fell from the sky, slicing through the air and nearly hitting him square on the head.

Lin Zu’s legs buckled in terror. Trembling all over, he scrambled to drag his father away.

Problem solved.

Jiang Si and Jiang Chengwu, worried that burning the rat corpses might still spread disease, carefully chose an open field downwind for disposal.

But just as they were about to set the pile on fire, Lu Zhifeng appeared suddenly, carrying his daughter—and holding a gun.

Unlike crossbows or nail guns with a short range and weak long-distance impact, real firearms could easily kill from over 100 meters away.

Although he didn’t appear hostile, Jiang Si didn’t dare lower her guard. She quickly pulled Jiang Chengwu behind her and stayed alert—ready to deploy her riot shield if anything went wrong.