Chapter 22: The Host of the Insect Eggs

Song Yi ignored Jiang Yuan’s confused expression and continued speaking:

“Once the insect eggs enter the body, they don’t hatch right away. If they’re in a cold environment, they enter a dormant state. When they become active again, it’s devastating. Most people think it’s just a common skin condition, but in the end, it’s the host who suffers.

I feel like those green bottle flies and mosquitoes are very similar to the ones I saw over there—their bellies are swollen and purple, like they’re about to lay eggs.

Jiang Yuan, if you don’t have to go out, then don’t.”

Jiang Yuan felt a little uneasy after hearing that.
“Okay, don’t worry. I won’t go out. But what about you?”

After all, it looked like he was about to head out.

“To throw out the trash. After that, I won’t go out either.”

Fair enough. Jiang Yuan said nothing more and focused on spraying insecticide seriously.

Song Yi moved quickly. He was back in less than five minutes.

The building’s elevators still hadn’t resumed normal operation, yet he climbed up and down the stairs without even breaking a sweat. Clearly, his physical fitness was exceptional.

She reminded herself she’d have to train too—physical strength was literally the key to survival in the apocalypse.

“I’ll help you,” Song Yi said as he pulled out a can of insecticide from his pocket.

“Okay, then you can spray near the emergency stairwell. I haven’t done that area yet.”

“Alright…”

Jiang Yuan eyed him with a bit of curiosity. She had already suspected that this man wasn’t quite normal.
And what he had just said made her even more unsettled.

If what he said was true, then these mosquitoes might actually lay eggs inside human skin during this rainy period. When the extreme cold comes, the eggs would enter dormancy—and after the cold ends, could there be an insect outbreak?

That would be the true end of humanity.

She’d always wondered whether Song Yi had also been reborn, or at least knew something from the inside.

If he was telling the truth, then it meant that Song Yi had lived longer than her in the previous life—and knew more than she did.

Feeling unsettled, Jiang Yuan asked cautiously,
“Song Yi, do you think the insect eggs can still find hosts in this kind of heavy rain?”

Song Yi thought for a moment and quickly understood what she meant.
“In normal cases, the rain weakens them. The impact makes them less active. Wind helps too—but it’s not absolute.”

He didn’t need to finish his sentence; they both understood what it meant.

Regardless of whether it was just a kind reminder, she took it seriously. Hopefully, she was just overthinking it.

“Sweetie, I see a lot of people going out. Even the small convenience store downstairs has opened.”

They lived in Building 13, which was in the front part of the complex. Although they couldn’t see the big supermarket from their window, there was a convenience store across in Building 15.

The community had two rows of buildings in the front and three in the back.

During the extreme heat, the store had completely run out of goods, but word was that they restocked early in the morning. Now that the rain had stopped, some people were heading out.

“Is that so? Mom, Dad, let’s not follow the crowd. The weather’s better now, and we have plenty at home. No need to join the rush. I bet lots of people will be going out in the next few days.”

Qin Yue remembered the stockpile and shuddered.
“Yeah, with all this stuff, we could survive for ten years. No need to follow the crowd.”

Seeing her parents agree, Jiang Yuan was still uneasy and gave them a little warning.

“Also, the mosquitoes lately have been really unusual. The guy in 2102 told me he saw something like this when he was stationed abroad during military service…”

She exaggerated the story of the parasitic insect eggs to make her point sound even more convincing.

Jiang Xingzhi and Qin Yue were stunned and promised to be extra cautious.

After that, everyone returned to their rooms. Their building’s WeChat group was buzzing with activity.

0902: The neighborhood supermarket opened! Loads of rice, oil, and flour. Hurry and stock up!

0302: Any instant noodles? Suddenly craving some.

1301: Same here. I licked a seasoning packet for a week last time.

0902: Hahaha, savage…

1001: If you haven’t bought anything yet, go now. Fresh vegetables are in. I grabbed a bunch.

1301: Respect, bro…

1902: Yanghua Street stores are open too. Not just the supermarkets—tons of shops.

(Attached: a picture of grilled fish)

0902: Damn, bro, can you pack some for me?

1101: I want some too…

Seeing a familiar user ID, Jiang Yuan suddenly remembered that spatial storage. If that person ever found out, they’d probably regret it big time.

The rest of the group chat was peaceful, until someone finally mentioned something she was worried about:

0101: Our window sill is covered with flies and mosquitoes. Got bitten several times just swatting them away. The supermarket ran out of mosquito repellent. Any kind neighbor willing to lend me some?

Attached were two photos of scratched, bleeding arms—clearly from how hard they had been itching.

0502: Damn, that kind of looks like the blisters we saw before…

0902: Kinda creepy, to be honest. I still have half a bottle of repellent—left it at my door. Come get it.

After that, just a stream of thank-yous. Everyone else went quiet.

It felt like they had survived a catastrophe, yet the shadows of danger still loomed—it was as if the disaster had never really left.

Jiang Yuan looked out the window. The streets were full of people again, probably stocking up.

That sense of impending crisis was deeply ingrained in the mindset of the people.

The internet was fully back up, and electricity had been restored. She read many posts—few complaints about bites, but a lot about the lively markets.

Many posts showed long lines outside the few restaurants that were open.

On the first day after the extreme heat, people celebrated all night long.

But by 5 a.m. the next morning, the rain had started again. By 7 a.m., it was getting heavier.

By 9 a.m., it was pouring buckets.

Young people who had stayed out all night started panic-buying supplies from supermarkets before driving home.

Many who didn’t have cars were stuck—getting a cab in that rain was nearly impossible.

Online forums were soon flooded with posts begging for rides home.

Jiang Yuan calmly scrolled on her phone, while in front of her sat a bowl of homemade tomato and egg noodles, courtesy of her mom.

The eggs were from their stockpile, and the tomatoes had been frozen—didn’t cost a single cent.

Earlier that morning, she’d gone into her spatial storage to water her crops before coming out for breakfast.

Now, she was planning her next move, feeling a little excited.

With that spatial storage, she intended to pack away all her valuables—safer and more secure.

She had always loved buying gold jewelry. With all the bars and trinkets she’d accumulated, she had enough to fill a small box.