87: When it's mealtime, go to the sewers and catch a few.

"Why can't they be cooked before eating?" Gu Xiheng asked with a strained grimace.

"Because once this creature encounters high temperatures above fifty degrees, its body produces a substance with a strange aroma. This substance is highly toxic; eating it is certain death," Academician Wang explained.

"Is that so?"

Academician Wang continued, "According to my research, these Bloodthirsty Worms must be eaten alive!"

Gu Xiheng narrowed his eyes and said word by word, "Must be eaten alive?"

"Yes!"

"Whole?"

"No need for that. Just remove the head and eat the body."

...Gu Xiheng's stern face almost turned green, and he quickly walked out of the laboratory.

When he announced this news to everyone in the Safety Tower, those who hadn't seen the Bloodthirsty Worms were delighted, while those who had turned as green as Gu Xiheng.

What was going on? In the previous life, there were no reports that Bloodthirsty Worms were edible.

Ai Yue was a bit puzzled. During her days wandering outside in her previous life, she had seen people die instantly with blood flowing from their seven orifices after eating Bloodthirsty Worms.

People had tried them both raw and cooked; without exception, they died upon contact.

Was it because of the heads? Would eating their heads also lead to death?

Yes! That was very likely the truth!

Just then, heart-wrenching screams could be heard from various parts of the Safety Tower.

It turned out that some people, hearing that Bloodthirsty Worms were edible, acted on impulse and forgot how dangerous they were, eagerly uncovering the sewer openings.

Unexpectedly, a large number of Bloodthirsty Worms swarmed out. Caught off guard, people were covered by them. By the time they thought to spray insecticide, it was too late; they turned into desiccated corpses in the blink of an eye.

Having tasted something delicious, the Bloodthirsty Worms became even more frenzied, crawling onto people like crazy. Just as things were about to spiral out of control, the soldiers of the Safety Tower arrived.

In a short while, the room was crawling with Bloodthirsty Worms.

The soldiers led everyone out of the room, placed a massive fine-mesh iron cage at the door, and used insecticide to systematically drive the Bloodthirsty Worms into the cage.

It went smoothly. Soon the iron cage was full, and a soldier quickly sealed the sewer opening.

The remaining people cleaned the room. Once not a single Bloodthirsty Worm remained, they took the initial victim's corpse and the massive iron cage back to report.

In one morning, they rescued civilians while capturing enough Bloodthirsty Worms for the entire base to have a meal.

After being processed by professionals, the stunned Bloodthirsty Worms were delivered to everyone in portions at noon.

Those who were originally ambitious and ready to feast lost all their enthusiasm when they actually saw the disgusting worms and realized they had to eat them alive; they couldn't help but feel a wave of nausea.

In the Western District of the Safety Tower, in a room shared by twenty people.

A man who was skin and bones said to his son opposite him, "Eat. This is meat. How long has it been since we've had meat?"

The boy swallowed hard, looking at the ugly, dormant thing in his hand. He really couldn't bring himself to eat it; he'd rather eat maggots.

But maggots were a hot commodity in the Safety Tower. Everyone wanted to eat them, but the daily supply was limited. The father and son, with their weak bodies, couldn't compete for them at all.

"Dad, I... I really don't want to eat it. I'd rather starve to death," the boy said, close to tears.

"What nonsense! You must eat. Have you forgotten? When the maggots first appeared, who could stomach them? But look at now—you can't even get them if you want to. These Bloodthirsty Worms are the same. Today you despise them, but tomorrow they'll be the most precious thing, and you won't be able to eat them even if you want to." Seeing his child still couldn't do it, the man decided he had to set an example.

"I'll eat first to taste it, then you eat!" The man pinched the head of the Bloodthirsty Worm, closed his eyes, steeled himself, and bit down.

Squelch! Green juice filled his mouth, and the man's face instantly crumpled like a bitter gourd.

This taste was simply soul-stirring; there was nothing more revolting in the world.

The man gagged and wanted to spit it out, but seeing the anxious look on his son's face, he tightly covered his mouth and swallowed it whole.

To his surprise, after the meat hit his stomach, his whole gut felt warm and very comfortable. His body, which had been somewhat lethargic, instantly felt more energetic.

He said excitedly, "Son, eat quickly! This is good stuff, better than meat."

The boy made a face and was completely unwilling to eat. He had seen his father's expression while eating; it looked as if he had eaten a dead child.

"Be good. This really is good stuff. The taste is indeed hard to describe, but it's really good for the body, just like eating a Great Restorative Soup." As he spoke, the man picked up another worm and swallowed it quickly without hesitation.

Seeing his father eat, the boy spent a long time mentally preparing himself. With trembling hands, he pinched a worm, imitated his father, closed his eyes, and bit down with determination.

Despite the long mental preparation, he was still so stimulated by the extreme taste that he wanted to vomit. The boy's father was quick, covering his mouth and sternly ordering him to swallow.

The boy could only comply. As the Bloodthirsty Worm entered his stomach, he also realized that it was indeed a good thing for the body.

He grit his teeth and ate another one.

Just like that, the two of them quickly finished all the Bloodthirsty Worms.

Their bodies felt an unprecedented sense of relief; it was simply too comfortable.

Soon, more and more people ate the Bloodthirsty Worms, and more and more people discovered their benefits.

People weren't stupid. Seeing such great benefits, no one despised the taste anymore. No matter how bad it tasted, they would force it down.

Everyone joined the ranks of catching Bloodthirsty Worms. Some even caught and ate them simultaneously, regardless of their hideous mouths and wriggling bodies.

In the face of the benefits brought by the Bloodthirsty Worms, their other flaws were not worth mentioning.

Ai Yue also discovered the miraculous effects of the Bloodthirsty Worms, but thinking of the various delicacies in her space, she really couldn't bring herself to eat them.

After trying a few times, she decisively gave up. Having lived a second life, it was better not to make things hard for herself.

Li Shilan and her husband didn't eat them either.

Only Ye Rui, not wanting to add to her family's burden, took the initiative to accept three portions of worms.

After eating them, she found they were indeed beneficial to the body, so she wasn't as repulsed by eating such disgusting worms anymore.

The Bloodthirsty Worms certainly never expected that after waking up once in many lifetimes and wanting to come out for a nice meal of blood...

Who would have known? Humans weren't afraid of them at all. They even started fighting over who they belonged to. It was too much; humans were truly ferocious!

Although Bloodthirsty Worms were dangerous and some people were accidentally sucked dry during the capture process, it still couldn't stop the waves of people coming forward.

No one knew where so many Bloodthirsty Worms came from underground. After a period of time, no matter how much they ate, they couldn't finish them; it felt like their numbers never decreased.

Over time, people became accustomed to it. When it was mealtime, they would go to the sewers to catch a few Bloodthirsty Worms to eat.

If one day the Bloodthirsty Worms suddenly disappeared, people would probably be very sad.