27: Centipedes and cockroaches all appear

Outside the window of 2202, countless centipedes crawled on the glass.

Their long, slender legs wiggled rapidly, searching for an entry point.

Through the swarm of centipedes, one could also see cockroaches flying in the air.

Each one was the size of a baby’s fist, so dense they almost blocked out the sky.

A few cockroaches landed on the window, only to be quickly devoured by the writhing centipedes.

Despite having witnessed swarms of centipedes and cockroaches in her previous life, Jiang Fei couldn’t help but feel her scalp tingle, and she immediately checked the room.

Fortunately, she had previously sprinkled insect repellent powder in every corner and sealed all pipes, so no cockroaches or centipedes had snuck in.

Jiang Fei took out several packets of insect repellent powder and went to the adjacent 2201 through the connected door.

The insect prevention measures in 01 were not as good as in 02.

She was worried that Xiao Hua Lao would be scared.

However, as soon as Jiang Fei entered the living room, she saw Xiao Chuxia squatting on the ground, using a flashlight to search for insects, holding a pair of long chopsticks in her hand.

On the floor were two large glass jars that used to hold fruit; now one contained wriggling centipedes, and the other contained scurrying cockroaches.

Jiang Fei: “...You’re not afraid of them?”

This seemed different from what she had imagined.

Xiao Chuxia proudly raised her head: “I’m someone who’s eaten rats, so how could I be afraid of these little bugs!”

“Besides, they’re all treasures.”

“Centipedes can be used in medicine to fight bacteria and inflammation, reduce swelling, detoxify, and treat snake and insect bites.”

“Cockroaches, when ground into powder, can be applied externally to treat bedsores and burns, and taken orally to boost immunity and relieve stomach bleeding and ulcers.”

“I study Traditional Chinese Medicine and plan to try making medicine out of them.”

As she spoke, Xiao Chuxia used a slipper to squash a large cockroach she found.

The moment the cockroach was dying, it quickly expelled its ootheca.

Xiao Chuxia immediately picked up a flamethrower and burned the ootheca to ashes: “Don’t even think about leaving your offspring behind!”

Seeing a small patch of the floor burned black, Jiang Fei silently returned to 2202 to grab a backpack.

It contained 4 sets of protective suits, 4 pairs of gloves, and 4 protective masks that she had taken from the Supermarket warehouse.

“These are the protective suits I found when I went out to look for supplies earlier.”

“You put them on, and I’ll take you downstairs to catch them.”

Lest Xiao Hua Lao accidentally burn down the house.

Xiao Chuxia obediently put them on, and before leaving, she cleaned up the insects in 2202 and sprinkled insect repellent powder.

Jiang Fei, also wearing a protective suit, opened the door.

There weren't many centipedes and cockroaches in the corridor.

Jiang Fei used a flamethrower to kill them, sprinkled new insect repellent powder, and also gave Lu Yu a set of protective gear.

Lu Yu had already killed the insects in his home and was comforting the trembling Da Huang in his arms.

Jiang Fei took the opportunity to rub Da Huang’s head: “Was he scared by the insects?”

Lu Yu was a little helpless: “Yes, Da Huang is a male cat. He went to the litter box just now and was almost bitten by a centipede that crawled inside.”

“Meow!” Da Huang let out a disgruntled meow.

Enough, Master!

Doesn't he have any dignity?

Jiang Fei couldn't help but laugh: “So Da Huang was scared because he almost got neutered.”

Da Huang angrily turned his head and buried it in Lu Yu’s arm.

He wouldn't listen, wouldn't listen, the bipedal beast was lecturing!

Lu Yu chuckled and stroked Da Huang’s back, then, with one hand, he brought out a small box containing six or seven bottles of flamethrowers:

“There are too many cockroaches and centipedes now. It will be easier for you to clear them with flamethrowers. I still have a few bottles at home. Come get more if you need them.”

His neighbor had given him protective suits, so he couldn't return nothing.

Giving and taking is how relationships last.

Jiang Fei accepted them without ceremony: “Although we have protective suits, try not to leave the apartment building recently.”

“The protective suits can’t withstand so many insects biting.”

Lu Yu: “Okay.”

Xiao Chuxia, who was beside them, listened in confusion: “There aren’t that many insects.”

“I only found 5 in my house in total.”

Remembering that Xiao Chuxia’s room always had the curtains drawn, blocking the view outside, Jiang Fei gestured with her chin towards the distance: “Go to the window in the corridor.”

Xiao Chuxia went over, puzzled, and her little face instantly turned pale.

The centipedes on the glass were so dense they were countless.

“Miss... let’s not go downstairs, okay?”

She was afraid the centipedes would eat her alive!

“Too late.” Ruthless Jiang Fei forcibly dragged Xiao Chuxia downstairs.

Insect repellent powder had been sprinkled on the 21st floor, so the number of cockroaches and centipedes was still within Xiao Chuxia’s tolerance.

The further down they went, the more insects there were.

Centipedes crawled on the ground and walls, cockroaches flew in the air, leaving no room for people to live.

Fortunately, having experience dealing with rats, the people living on each floor’s corridor had made more bonfires to drive them away, but this could only fend off some of the insects.

Everyone still had to manually swat them to death.

Someone had been bitten by a centipede last night, and their exposed skin was covered in swollen red welts, crying with snot and tears: “Am I going to die?”

“Damn insects! When can we kill them all?!”

“Ah! A centipede crawled into my ear! Help me quickly!”

A man screamed and ran out of his room, but because he had his mouth wide open, he swallowed a flying cockroach.

The screams became even more ear-piercing.

The apartment building descended into chaos.

The smart ones had already gone to get curtains or bedsheets, wrapping themselves in layers upon layers.

On their exposed heads, some wore mesh trash cans, others plastic buckets with two small holes cut out.

Xiao Chuxia struggled to overcome her fear, waving a torch to drive away the cockroaches in the air.

Jiang Fei, on the other hand, was responsible for catching centipedes into glass jars.

After filling and sealing one jar, she started catching cockroaches.

Someone noticed Jiang Fei’s actions and, wearing a trash can on their head, came closer: “Can these insects be eaten too?”

He was the first person to obediently eat rat meat back then.

“No.” An idea suddenly popped into Jiang Fei’s mind:

“You can catch cockroaches or centipedes and exchange them with me for food.”

With free tools, why bother doing it herself?

Hearing this, the person found an empty bottle and started catching, while spreading the news: “Jiang Feng, cough, Jiang Fei said we can exchange these insects for food from her!”

Word spread like wildfire, and soon everyone on that floor knew about it.

The people who were originally fleeing now, like wolves seeing meat, frantically caught cockroaches and centipedes.

These were all food!

Just be careful not to get bitten!

Having found her tools, Jiang Fei stopped her hands and went upstairs to retrieve a box of bread as exchange supplies, but found Xiao Chuxia, who was waiting for her, staring at a certain open room.

Jiang Fei walked over to look.

Several corpses were piled in the room; they were Xiao Guan and the property management people.

Besides bite marks, Xiao Guan’s hands were gone, and one of his eyeballs was missing, occupied by a centipede that had crawled in.

Xiao Chuxia told Jiang Fei what she had just heard: “They said Xiao Guan climbed up yesterday and was severely beaten by the other surviving property management staff and left here.”

“Xiao Guan developed a high fever last night, couldn't move, and many centipedes crawled into his body. He struggled for a while and then died.”

“The other property management staff were all covered in rat bites and couldn’t escape the insects either, dying in the middle of the night.”

Xiao Chuxia felt a strange sense of irony: “Xiao Guan did save many refugees, but when he was in trouble last night, not a single person saved him.”

Jiang Fei was unperturbed: “Self-interest is human nature.”

In her previous life, she had already understood this.

Xiao Chuxia sighed for a moment, then began to inspect the centipedes and cockroaches people brought.

They were either squashed into pulp or chopped into pieces, their bodies incomplete.

Some even put cockroaches and centipedes in the same bottle, and the cockroaches had all been eaten by the centipedes.

In the end, Xiao Chuxia only collected three 500ml bottles worth.

Jiang Fei knew it wasn’t enough without Xiao Chuxia saying anything.

Scarce resources like medicine, of course, the more the better.

Those who didn’t get bread asked Jiang Fei: “Can we continue to exchange?”

“I will notify you tomorrow.”

With that, Jiang Fei and Xiao Chuxia went upstairs.

“I want to set up a supply point at the staircase entrance on the 21st floor. You go home first, and I’ll go ask Grandma Xu and the other household for their opinions.”

Ling Zhaorui lived on the 21st floor.

Setting up the exchange point here could not only protect both floors together but also prevent anyone from taking advantage of the chaos to scheme.

After all, she wasn't familiar with the residents on the 20th floor, and it would be troublesome if someone stabbed her in the back.

If the 21st floor didn’t agree to set up a supply point, she could always bring Ling Zhaorui up to the 22nd floor.

After Xiao Chuxia left, Jiang Fei took out a bag of Eight Treasure Porridge and several packets of insect repellent powder, then knocked on the door of 2102.

Old Mrs. Xu only opened the door after recognizing Jiang Fei’s voice.

Jiang Fei briefly explained her purpose: “The staircase entrance will be noisy then, so these supplies are my compensation to Grandma Xu.”

Old Mrs. Xu smiled kindly: “Why are you being so polite, child?”

“I’ll accept the insect repellent powder, but you take the Eight Treasure Porridge back. My family isn’t short on food.”

At this, Old Mrs. Xu frowned: “Little Jiang, could you do me a favor?”