Chapter 155: Parasite
She confirmed she wasn’t mistaken. The sprouted tree had miraculously come back to life.
’Could this mean the extreme heat is about to end?’
At that thought, Moira Lynch’s first reaction wasn’t joy. The end of the extreme heat didn’t mean the end of the apocalypse; it was merely the beginning of a new disaster.
And what’s more terrifying than a disaster is an unknown one.
Moira suddenly recalled checking the temperature earlier today. It had dropped compared to before. Perhaps this was a sign that the extreme heat was about to end.
She looked again at the sprouted tree before her and was surprised to find that there were no Extremely Hot Mushrooms growing on it.
’If the temperature starts to drop, the Extremely Hot Mushrooms will disappear too.’
Thinking of the animal organs, sea urchins, and starfish she still had in her space, she decided to save some of the organs as food for her animals and trade the rest for Extremely Hot Mushrooms.
What Moira Lynch didn’t know was that because of her decision, the entire world began to frantically collect Extremely Hot Mushrooms.
At the same time, it made everyone realize once again just how terrifyingly vast SoySauceDrunkard’s supply of goods was.
In just five minutes, all the organs, sea urchins, and starfish in Moira Lynch’s space were gone.
After all, people from all over the world were making trades, so lasting five minutes was already quite impressive.
In addition, Moira Lynch decided to release one thousand Soldier Food Vines every day, specifically for trading for Extremely Hot Mushrooms.
’If the temperature really is starting to drop, then the Extremely Hot Mushrooms should disappear soon as well.’
On the way back, a gust of wind blew past. Kai York closed his eyes in enjoyment and sighed, "It’s been so long since I’ve felt a breeze this cool. On Caelus, I mean."
Moira Lynch took off her Chimefin scale to test it but didn’t feel it was that cool. ’It’s probably because I was blessed by the Snow Sprite. I’ve become particularly sensitive to heat now.’
’Or maybe I’ve just gotten used to the good life.’
After all, ever since the extreme heat began, Moira Lynch hadn’t really suffered at all. She was even living more comfortably than before it started.
Still, this wind was indeed much better than before.
The wind before was like it had just passed through Mount Pyre, hot enough to scald a layer of skin off your face.
When they returned home and entered the courtyard, they saw several of the dogs on guard duty constantly rubbing their bodies against the pillars behind them.
"What’s wrong with them?" Shane Rhodes asked.
Moira Lynch also sensed something was wrong. She released her spiritual power to ask them and received a one-word answer: itchy.
"They say they’re itchy?"
"Could it be fleas?" Kai York said.
Moira Lynch frowned slightly. "I dewormed them, both internally and externally, when they first arrived."
However, Moira did detect the movement of bugs on them, though she couldn’t tell if they were fleas.
Hugh Finch seemed to have thought of something. His expression turned grim as he said, "I need to perform a divination immediately. Don’t disturb me until I have a result."
Without waiting for anyone to respond, he turned and headed for his room.
To avoid getting any on herself, Moira Lynch took protective measures before approaching one of the dogs.
Parting the yellow fur, she was met with the massive visual shock of densely packed little bugs inside.
Moira couldn’t help but shudder. As if she’d been electrocuted, she pushed the dog away and quickly took several steps back.
Seeing her reaction, Kai York and Shane Rhodes walked over. "What’s wrong?"
Moira Lynch didn’t speak, only pointing at the big yellow dog not far away.
The two of them parted the dog’s fur, and they too were startled by the sight underneath.
Kai York suddenly cried out, "Oh no! My Pip!"
Shane Rhodes observed the bugs more closely, frowning in thought. After a moment, he shook his head. "No, I can’t place them."
"Can’t place them? What do you mean?"
Shane Rhodes replied with great seriousness, "I was very interested in insects for a while, so I learned a lot about them. But in my memory, I can’t find anything similar to these bugs."
"Is it possible you’ve either never seen one, or you have and just forgot?" Moira Lynch asked.
However, Shane Rhodes shook his head firmly. "I wouldn’t forget. Based on their appearance, these bugs look like a combination of ticks and fleas."
A new species!!
Just then, a group of fully armed people walked toward them, led by a man they had never seen before.
They stopped in front of Moira Lynch and Shane Rhodes.
The leader looked at the big yellow dog at Moira Lynch’s feet and said in a grave tone, "All animals in the base are now infected with an unknown parasite. We need to take them all away. Please cooperate with our work."
After all, Moira Lynch was the only one in the entire base who raised so many animals, and all of them were plump and healthy. Countless people had been eyeing them greedily.
Knowing this, Moira only had the animals act as watchdogs and never let them leave the house.
After an inspection, it seemed only the dogs were infected, as Moira Lynch kept the stray cats inside the house.
Although they weren’t infected, the leader still gave them a stern warning: if they noticed anything amiss, they were to notify them immediately.
Before the man left, Kai York called out to him, "Can I find out more about those bugs?"
As they were major clients who had made two consecutive large trades with the base, the man revealed some information.
"This species of bug was only recently discovered. They feed exclusively on blood and reproduce very quickly. We haven’t found a cure yet. For now, they’ve only been found on animals, but we can’t rule out the possibility that they could be harmful to humans."
Then he leaned in and whispered a warning to Shane Rhodes, "I see you’re keeping a lot of pets here. You’d best get rid of them quickly, before you put yourselves in danger."
Shane Rhodes smiled and thanked him, "I understand. Thanks for the warning."
After the men had left, Shane Rhodes looked at Moira Lynch without speaking, but she understood what he meant.
Moira Lynch’s public-facing ability was being able to talk to animals. If she got rid of all the animals, her ability would essentially become useless.
However, she had already thought of a solution for this.
"Coincidentally, I broke through to the third level not long ago. I can put them away for now."
Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Shane Rhodes’s eyes, but he didn’t intend to press for details. After all, everyone had their own little secrets, including them.
At that moment, Kai York came out holding his Ragdoll Cat. The man and his cat both looked at Moira Lynch.
Kai York spoke first. "Moira, can I leave Pip with you?"
Moira Lynch readily agreed, as it was no big deal anyway.
She took all the cats back to her room. After checking every single one and confirming they had no parasites or eggs, Moira Lynch moved all the animals, including Blackie and Shadow, into her space.