Chapter 161: Insect Attracting Grass
The homes of families living on lower ground were directly submerged by the rapidly rising floodwaters.
For the first five days of this ten-day period, the rain never stopped. Though it let up considerably by the sixth day, it still fell intermittently.
The humidity in the air rose rapidly. People woke up with wrinkled skin, and freshly washed clothes would never dry.
Not only that, but even the clean clothes stored in closets grew damp and clammy. It was like living in a tropical rainforest, and for many, their rheumatism flared up again.
Moira Lynch and her group were doing relatively well. After all, with all the nourishing things they had eaten, a little dampness couldn’t affect them.
Besides, they had collected a great deal of Water Fern Grass during the previous maritime competition game.
Water Fern Grass could expel impurities from the body, and dampness was considered one such impurity.
And with the current high humidity, Moira Lynch absorbed the Water Energy Stones she had collected earlier.
A person could absorb a maximum of ten Water Energy Stones.
Charity begins at home, as they say. Moira Lynch planned to save some for Snowy’s food supply and give the rest to Kai York and the other two.
Moira Lynch walked to the window to look at the scene outside.
Nourished by the rain, the plants outside seemed to change by the day.
In just ten days, the landscape had returned to the lush, vibrant state it was in before the great heat.
However...
Moira Lynch glanced at her phone. The great heat had started showing signs in March, lasting a total of four, almost five, months.
On the tenth day, the rain finally stopped.
Since the base was designed from the outset to handle all sorts of scenarios, the downpour caused no damage. In fact, it was the people who had left earlier who were now sick with regret.
Though they hadn’t been flooded, all sorts of weeds, nourished by the rain, were now growing wild everywhere.
Even before the rains began, Hugh Finch had told Chase Shepard about the coming insect plague.
Therefore, the moment the rain stopped, the base organized people to go out and pull weeds.
Moira Lynch naturally answered the call as well, except she didn’t leave her property. She would clear the weeds at home first.
Thanks to the continuous rain, the soil was thoroughly soaked, making the weeds exceptionally easy to pull. In no time at all, a pile grew behind her.
Looking at the mountain of weeds piled up behind her, she realized: ’This is perfect fodder for the cattle and sheep.’
Over the past few months, the chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep in her space—both Caelus and interstellar breeds—had multiplied rapidly.
Now, Moira Lynch could collect over a hundred eggs from her chickens, ducks, and geese every day. She also got plenty of milk from her cows and goats. It was too much to eat. They simply couldn’t get through it all.
With so much livestock, their feed supply was starting to run short. Moira Lynch had been planning to process a batch of the adult pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese.
’The plan hasn’t changed,’ she thought, ’but I need to collect this fodder, too.’
As for food, although the soil pollution problem hadn’t been solved, many edible wild vegetables had sprouted over the last few days, temporarily alleviating the food shortage.
If she tried to trade with food now, sales might be affected.
After thinking it over, Moira Lynch decided she would still trade with food for half her business, and use Repair Aloe Vera for the other half.
She would cut a stalk of Repair Aloe Vera into ten-centimeter sections, then list them in her shop, limiting sales to one hundred a day.
Just as she finished editing the information, Shane Rhodes and the other two men came out. They exchanged greetings and also began tackling the weeds in the yard.
Suddenly, Kai York let out a yell, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.
"What’s wrong?!"
"A b-bug! It’s huge!"
Kai York’s voice was trembling; he was clearly terrified.
Hearing his cry, Moira Lynch frowned. She had just scanned the yard with her spiritual power and hadn’t detected any trace of insects.
’Or have these insects evolved to the point where they can evade my spiritual power?’
Moira Lynch, Shane Rhodes, and Hugh Finch hurried over to where Kai York was standing.
"It’s right there!"
Following the direction Kai York pointed, the three of them looked over and were startled as well. It was indeed huge—about twenty centimeters long, a glossy green all over, with two antennae on its head and yellow and black spots dotting its body.
But Moira Lynch quickly noticed something was wrong. Her spiritual power still wasn’t detecting the fluctuations of a living creature.
According to the feedback from her spiritual power, this "bug" was actually a plant.
Just then, Patience’s voice chimed in at the perfect moment.
[Insect Attracting Grass: Continuously attracts insects to its location, while also accelerating their incubation and growth.]
’No wonder I didn’t sense anything,’ she thought. ’It’s a plant.’
The other three realized this as well and let out a sigh of relief.
But their relief was premature.
Moira Lynch turned to Kai York. "There’s something strange about this plant. Go inside and get the Learning Machine."
"Oh, okay."
Without another word, Kai York ran back to the house. He returned a moment later holding a device that resembled a tablet.
Once he returned, without Moira Lynch having to say a word, Kai York skillfully turned on the Learning Machine, scanned the insect-like plant, and information about the Insect Attracting Grass immediately appeared before them.
Reading the description and purpose of the Insect Attracting Grass, Shane Rhodes and the others immediately realized the gravity of the situation.
This Insect Attracting Grass was most likely the cause of the insect plague.
"Shane, you need to report this to the military right now," Hugh Finch said, his expression grave.
"The Insect Attracting Grass elsewhere can wait, but the ones inside the base must be dealt with first."
"Right."
"Wait."
Just as Shane Rhodes was about to leave, Moira Lynch suddenly called out to him.
"You should bring them the solution as well."
As she spoke, Moira Lynch held the Learning Machine in front of Shane Rhodes. Displayed clearly at the top of the screen was the latest search query: "Is Insect Attracting Grass poisonous? Can you eat it?"
And the Learning Machine’s answer was: non-toxic and edible.
Furthermore, eating Insect Attracting Grass could clear the body of parasites. For the next three days, any and all insects would give the person a wide berth. However, this only worked if the Insect Attracting Grass was immature.
Once the Insect Attracting Grass matured, its entire body would turn golden yellow. At that point, it would attract a massive number of insects.
Half a month after that, the golden Insect Attracting Grass would turn black, signifying that the seeds inside had ripened.
After Shane Rhodes left, Moira Lynch immediately pulled the immature Insect Attracting Grass up by its roots.
"One won’t be enough for us to eat. Look around and see if there are any more," Moira Lynch said to the other two men.
Eating the Insect Attracting Grass would make all insects avoid them for the next three days—a fact that would be crucial for the coming insect plague.