Chapter 266: Li Si’s Special Medicine

Chapter 266: Chapter 266: Li Si’s Special Medicine

Xiaqing didn’t rush into action. Instead, she first sprayed a container of insecticide outside her treasured Green Light Spinach and Green Light sweet potato greenhouses. Only then did she grab a blade of grass crawling with a caterpillar and hurry to No. 9 Territory. She wanted to hear an expert’s opinion and find out what kind of Evolutionary Worms had suddenly emerged.

When she reached the path in the middle of the territory, Xiaqing saw Zhao Ze, Kuang Qingwei, Qi Fu, and Shi Du, all wearing Protective Suits, gathered around a short woman and asking her questions.

Surprisingly, the woman wasn’t wearing a Protective Suit or even a Protective Mask. She wore a white lab coat and glasses, had a fair, round face, and looked to be around thirty years old.

Hearing her cold, detached tone, Xiaqing confirmed this was the famous Li Si, Lord No. 9 of the Fiery Fire Team—someone she’d long heard about but never met.

"This is the larva of the Evolutionary Thorn Moth. Its egg stage lasts for more than six months, and the larval stage is only about three days."

Kuang Qingwei couldn’t believe it. "Fourth Sister, are you saying this little bug can grow up and pupate in just three days?"

Li Si nodded. "Correct. After maturing, the Evolutionary Thorn Moth larvae will crawl into the soil to pupate. The moths also lay their eggs on the stems and leaves of plants near the surface, making them very difficult to completely eradicate. If human skin touches the larva’s spines, it will cause intense pain and a burning sensation. Significant exposure can be fatal. After hatching, these worms eat nonstop. They grow to over three centimeters in two to three days, then burrow into the soil to pupate."

"Holy—crap!" Kuang Qingwei’s hand, holding the blade of grass, trembled. "My territory is full of these things, and there must be a lot more about to hatch. In just a few days, they could strip the whole place bare. Captain Tan!"

Tan Junjie nodded and turned aside to report the pest infestation within the territories under his jurisdiction.

Li Si examined the blade of grass Shi Du brought over and quickly made her assessment. "These are leaf-miner larvae. They’re less harmful than the Evolutionary Thorn Moth larvae, but they’re a favorite food for many species of birds."

The corners of Shi Du’s mouth, which had just started to curl up, immediately drooped. ’Bugs that attract birds are even more terrifying.’

As Xiaqing approached, Qi Fu was handing a corn leaf to Li Si. "Fourth Sister, what kind of bug do you think this is?"

Li Si pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses and observed it carefully for a few seconds. "This is a stem borer larva. Based on its physical traits, I can’t tell if it has evolved."

Zhao Ze’s eyes widened. "The corn has bugs too?!"

Qi Fu continued his questions. "Fourth Sister, a stem borer... isn’t that the same as a heart-borer?"

Li Si gave a precise answer. "Before the Natural Disaster, both this type of stem borer and another were known as ’heart-boring worms.’ They’re major agricultural pests. This kind of insect must be eliminated as quickly as possible."

Zhao Ze didn’t understand. "We built our pest-proof greenhouses a long time ago. When we planted the first crop, there were no bugs in the greenhouses. How come the second crop is infested?"

Li Si calmly replied, "If there are bugs, there must be eggs in the greenhouse. As for how they got in, we can only find out after a thorough inspection. The top priority right now is exterminating them. Otherwise, you’ll have a lower crop yield."

Seeing Xiaqing approach with a blade of grass, Zhao Ze glanced at the bug on it. "That’s an Evolutionary Thorn Moth larva. It’s poisonous, so be careful. It’s a good thing you found them early. Otherwise, this territory of ours would have been stripped bare by these things."

Kuang Qingwei quickly asked, "Fourth Sister, do you have a Special Medicine to exterminate these bugs?"

Li Si nodded. "Yes."

Assistant Liu stepped forward, a folder in his left hand and a pen in his right. Smiling, he got down to business. "Lords, if you need to buy the Special Medicine for pest control, you can register with me. I must inform you all beforehand: the Evolutionary Thorn Moth is resistant. The standard insecticide you receive from the Territory Management Department is ineffective against it. Our No. 9 Territory’s Special Medicine for pest control is patented. The price is a bit steep—two hundred points for five hundred milliliters—but it’s enough to spray and protect ten mu of land. Effectiveness guaranteed."

After hearing the price, the lords lost most of their enthusiasm for buying the Special Medicine.

Only Tang Huai was still asking, "Assistant Liu, is your Special Medicine only effective against these few types of bugs, or all bugs?"

Little Liu answered professionally and patiently, "It’s effective against the larvae of all Lepidopteran insects, with the exception of a very small number of resistant High Level Evolutionary Worms."

Hearing this, Tang Huai was not only displeased but also a little worried. "Will it kill cicada larvae too?"

Everyone...

Little Liu politely reminded him, "Mr. Tang, cicadas belong to the order Hemiptera, not Lepidoptera."

Li Si was even more precise. "If the cicada larvae hatch during or within three days after spraying, their activity will also be affected and reduced."

Tang Huai’s desire to buy the medicine instantly vanished. "Thank you, Fourth Sister. This medicine is too expensive. I need to consult with my lord first."

Tan Junjie walked over. "The investigation team has reported the pest situation to the Management Department. Territories 11 through 26 have also reported varying degrees of infestation. A helicopter will arrive in an hour and a half to spray an ’Evolved Version’ of insecticide. The spray zone will cover the territories and ten li of the nearby Evolution Forest. All lords, please return to your territories immediately to prepare. When the aircraft approaches, close your doors and windows and put on your Protective Masks. You must not open your windows or remove your Protective Masks for four hours after the spraying."

Hearing Tan Junjie deliberately emphasize that the helicopter would be spraying an improved insecticide, all the lords decided to wait and see how the extermination went before deciding whether to buy Li Si’s Special Medicine. Assistant Liu’s business-like smile began to falter.

"Xiaqing."

As the crowd dispersed, Li Si called out only to Xiaqing. Staring at Xiaqing’s reddened face, Li Si said in her cold voice, "Have stem borer larvae appeared on your farmland? Given Hui San Base’s conservative approach, even if this insecticide is an improved version, it will likely only be effective against one or two types of insects. It won’t kill the stem borers."

Xiaqing immediately nodded. "Thank you for the reminder, Fourth Sister. I’ll go back and check every single plant right away to pick off the bugs."

Li Si stared at Xiaqing’s back for a moment before returning to her own territory.

After returning to her territory, Xiaqing sprayed insecticide on the open ground around all her large and small greenhouses. The insecticide she used was the non-improved version regularly distributed by the base. Although it was less effective, spraying was better than doing nothing.

Not knowing how many helicopters there would be or where they would start spraying, Xiaqing naturally used every tool at her disposal.

After she finished spraying, Xiaqing went home to collect the pine cones she had been drying on her roof.

Before she had finished collecting the pine cones, Xiaqing received a call from Qi Fu. He wanted to discuss buying the medicine. "I found borers in my corn and green bean greenhouses yesterday," he said. "I sprayed insecticide, but it seems like the one we were issued isn’t very effective. What do you say, Xiaqing? Should we buy that Special Medicine from No. 9 Territory? I just feel uneasy."

Xiaqing asked, "Brother Qi, are you worried you’ll spend a lot of money on the Special Medicine and it won’t even work?"

"It’s not just that," Qi Fu explained. "I’m also worried that the medicine will be too strong and reduce the quality of the crops or seeds in the soil."