236: midges

“I heard that Miss Jiang’s Supermarket has hundreds of items, but Young Master Mo hasn’t used any of the Mo family’s supplies recently. On his own, he couldn’t possibly provide that much inventory,” Father Mo said with a smile, his gaze sharpening, as if he could see through everything.

The Mo family’s supplies and Mo Yan’an’s personal supplies were stored separately.

Outsiders didn't know how much Mo Yan’an had, but he, as his father, knew clearly.

It wasn’t enough to continuously supply the Supermarket.

Jiang Fei calmly fabricated a story: “Young Master Mo only provided a small portion; the rest of the goods were supplied by my boss.”

“Young Master Mo cooperated with me because I once saved his life during an earthquake. He allowed the small Supermarket to bear the Mo family’s name so that no one short-sighted would come looking for trouble.”

“Old Mr. Mo, you really don’t need to worry. My boss only wants gold and isn’t interested in the capital.”

Father Mo frowned slightly.

No wonder Ping'an only accepted gold; it turned out someone was instructing her from behind the scenes.

In this current world, to still have live aquatic products, rare tropical fruits, and all sorts of daily necessities, her boss must be someone of considerable background.

“The Young Master is back.”

A voice from outside interrupted Father Mo’s thoughts.

Mo Yan’an, who had received the message and arrived, took off his gas mask.

“Goddess Sister Jiang Fei, what were you two talking about?”

“About the source of the Supermarket’s goods.” Jiang Fei briefly repeated the conversation content, to prevent Mo Yan’an from accidentally spilling the beans.

Hearing her invent a boss, Mo Yan’an understood.

Goddess Sister was starting to trick people again.

“It’s getting late, I’ll send someone to take you back.”

“No need, I drove.”

Jiang Fei politely bid farewell to Father Mo and left the courtyard.

As soon as she left, Mo Yan’an helplessly said to Father Mo: “Dad, you’ve given me power, so you should rest well at home and not interfere with what I do.”

“Jiang Fei is my Benefactor, and her boss can even help us transport weapons at a critical moment. If she gets upset, all my efforts for so long will be in vain.”

Half an hour ago, Su Liuyuan and the others went to Villa No. 1 and informed him that his father had arranged to meet Goddess Sister, so he rushed over by car immediately.

Although he knew his father had no ill intentions and was just curious, his sister didn’t like others prying into her secrets.

It was better for his father and sister to have less contact.

Father Mo, a man in his forties, now looked like a child who had done something wrong, guiltily rubbing his nose.

“I just wanted to see what Jiang Fei looked like, to make you so attentive.”

“Since it’s related to the armory, I won’t interfere.”

“Remember to help me buy a few more ornamental fish from the Cultivation Park when you have time. The last batch you sent all died.”

Mo Yan’an: “...Okay.”

After he became an adult, his father handed over the management of the Mo family to him, under the guise of—

The child has grown up and should share the worries of his old father.

So, he toiled away, while his father spent every day engrossed in raising fish.

He raised one, and it died; he was bad at it but addicted.

Perhaps tomorrow he should buy crucian carp and snakehead fish from Goddess Sister’s Supermarket. At least if his father killed them, they could still be eaten.

—

Meanwhile.

Jiang Fei had just driven her pickup truck out of the Mo family’s intersection when she saw a commercial van parked by the roadside.

A man wearing a gas mask leaned against the car door, a walkie-talkie in one hand and a gun in the other.

Recognizing Lu Yu’s commercial van, Jiang Fei stopped and rolled down the window: “Why are you here?”

“Su Liuyuan contacted me on the walkie-talkie, saying the Mo family’s patriarch invited you for a meeting. I was worried, so I came to wait for you nearby.”

“If anything happens, and you call for help, I can go in immediately.”

The corner of Jiang Fei’s mouth, hidden by her mask, unconsciously curved upwards: “Come on, let’s go to my place for dinner.”

Lu Yu got into the commercial van, put away the walkie-talkie and handgun, including the two bombs on the passenger seat.

Then, he started the car and followed the pickup truck ahead.

Back at Villa No. 11, Jiang Fei took off her gas mask.

There were sachets in the entrance hallway and special coil incense burning, so she didn’t have to worry about residual gray mist.

However, as she was about to take off her disposable protective suit, Jiang Fei accidentally glimpsed a black dot on her arm, and it was moving.

She quickly took out an empty cup and trapped the black dot that was about to fly away.

Looking closer, it was a midge as tiny as a sesame seed.

Commonly known as ‘xiaoyao’ (little biter).

They mainly appear during the transition from summer to autumn and are attracted to light.

She remembered before the apocalypse, when she went out at night, many would gather around the streetlights.

During the day, the ‘xiaoyao’ would swarm onto people.

Hair, clothes, eyes, nothing was spared.

It was no exaggeration to say that if you opened your mouth while cycling, you could swallow dozens of them.

Midges not only moved in swarms but also bit silently.

After being bitten, the skin would develop red spots, lumps, intense itching, and so on.

They could even carry viruses or parasites.

Extremely annoying.

But it was only August now.

Could this be the third stage of the gray mist?

Jiang Fei thought, took out insecticide, gave a bottle to Lu Yu, and the two began a thorough search for midges.

After clearing out the dozens of midges that had followed them inside, Jiang Fei used alcohol to disinfect herself and Lu Yu.

She sealed the discarded disposable protective suits before using the walkie-talkie to call Jiang Zhengkang and the others.

“Midges, what everyone commonly calls ‘xiaoyao’, have appeared in the gray mist outside. When you go out tomorrow, remember to wear thermal clothing, disinfect yourselves well, and don’t get bitten.”

After speaking, Jiang Fei took out some pre-made dishes from the Supermarket warehouse.

Stir-fried shredded potatoes with hot peppers, braised beef brisket, and a bowl of tomato and egg noodles for each person.

She also let out Da Huang.

Seeing Lu Yu sitting on the chair, Da Huang was a bit confused, hiding at Jiang Fei’s feet.

Who’s this?

Lu Yu spoke faintly: “Don’t you recognize me?”

“Meow, meow, meow!”

Master!

It almost forgot it had a master!

Da Huang immediately jumped into Lu Yu’s arms, showering him with affection.

Coincidentally, Jiang Fei at this moment took out a bag of minced meat and poured it into an empty plate.

Before Lu Yu could even pet Da Huang once, the orange cat dashed away to eat.

Jiang Fei also sat down to eat.

The two people and one cat sat around the dining table, inexplicably resembling a family of three.

—

Overnight, the number of midges increased significantly, making the gray mist even denser.

Although it was daytime, it was as dark outside as deep night.

Jiang Fei used tools to build a plastic shed in the entrance hallway by the door.

This way, midges that slipped in when the door opened and closed would be trapped in the shed, unable to fly indoors, making it easy to kill them all at once.

There wasn't much insecticide at the small Supermarket, so Jiang Fei put on her protective gear, intending to deliver some.

Less than two minutes after leaving, her face shield was covered with midges, obstructing her vision, forcing her to raise her hand and swat them dead.

After finally getting into the car, a large number of midges landed on the front windshield.

They were even more annoying than flies and mosquitoes.

Why couldn’t these insects go extinct?

Jiang Fei couldn't understand, so she could only continuously turn on the windshield wipers and drove to the small Supermarket.

Entering through the back door of the storeroom, Jiang Fei cleaned the midges off herself and took out 10 large boxes of insecticide, and 5 boxes of star anise and fennel.

Midges disliked the smell of star anise and fennel; they could be used for bathing or made into sachets to carry, both effective for repelling them.

Jiang Fei entered the first floor of the small Supermarket through the front door of the storeroom, and just as she was about to find Su Liuyuan to price the new products, a rumble—

Two commercial vans stopped outside the Supermarket.