Rebirth: I Am Super Rich in Apocalypse-Chapter 403: The Secret of the Flower Bud

"That’s indeed the case, but such matters are hard to say.

Think about it, search and rescue operations are very difficult now, and besides, there aren’t many people left alive.

It makes sense to start with the nearest ones; the rest probably haven’t had their turn yet!"

Jhiang Yuan sighed. She had thought the same before but recently felt that something was increasingly amiss.

"That said, have you considered that if it’s nationwide,

it can’t possibly involve just these few people? I always feel that our location is just a branch and not a very important one."

"Sister Yuan, why bother with all that? Our life isn’t bad at the moment.

Not to mention having food and drink, even the cultural environment here is quite different from that at Changming Village before.

We should enjoy the quiet days as long as they last."

Indeed, she decided not to worry about it anymore.

Even if something went wrong, couldn’t they just enter the space?

Moreover, life was fairly stable now; they should cherish it.

These days, Song Yi had been busy going to Half Moon Lake with Jiang Yuan.

Researching back and forth, but in the end, there were no significant results.

And that red insect seemed to have been a temporary outbreak.

It hadn’t appeared again, which should be a relief, but Jhiang Yuan still felt uneasy.

That day, Song Yi returned very late, too late for dinner.

They sent him a bucket of instant noodles as a reward.

It was already nine in the evening, and he wanted to see Jhiang Yuan.

He asked Squad Leader Cheng to call her, which startled her.

But he didn’t care and even reminded her to be safe.

At this hour, many people would be resting, given the lack of entertainment options.

Song Yi must have known and wouldn’t have urgently sought her out without a good reason.

Jhiang Yuan didn’t dare to delay and wrapped herself in her clothes before stepping out.

The men’s and women’s dormitories were located on opposite sides of this underground base, with many offices and laboratories in between.

There was also a huge workshop area they hadn’t entered, unaware of its specific purpose,

although they passed by because the place was large.

In the center was a hall-like area, accessible from all directions, where they could go anywhere.

It was also the place where they agreed to meet this evening.

Song Yi had arrived early and smiled when he saw Jhiang Yuan.

These busy days, he realized he had missed her quite a bit.

"Song Yi, what happened?"

"Don’t worry, come here, sit down."

There was a table with two chairs nearby, previously used for registration.

People usually manned it during the day, but Song Yi had cleared them out now.

Jhiang Yuan, puzzled, still obediently sat down.

"It’s quite late, I didn’t wake you, did I?"

She really wanted to roll her eyes. He was fixating on such things after she was already up—what was the use, it was pointless.

"Get to the point, my kid’s still waiting for me."

"Alright, alright, here’s the thing, we’ve been to Half Moon Lake these past two days. You know about this, right?"

"Yes, did you find anything?"

"Yes.

We discovered that it’s almost spring there now, even more so than during our last visit.

Today, we found a flower bud there about to bloom.

A researcher, intrigued, prodded the bud with a cotton swab.

Do you know what was inside?"

Song Yi looked intently at her with a serious expression, making Jhiang Yuan very angry!

"Just spit it out already, stop beating around the bush!"

"It’s not that I’m being mysterious, it’s just that this situation is so incredibly bizarre.

Inside that petal, there was actually a larva, all pink in color.

We suspect it belongs to the same species as the larger one."

"What on earth?"

Jhiang Yuan’s eyes widened in disbelief, finding this all too frightening.

"Are you saying the insect was inside the flower bud?"

"Yes..."

Song Yi answered decisively, obviously not joking—nobody would make light of such an issue.

"My God, did any of you get hurt?"

As she said this, she was visibly nervous, scrutinizing the person before her.

She didn’t realize it, but she was really starting to care about Song Yi.

"Don’t worry, we’re all fine.

That insect was just a larva, not very big, and someone had already damaged the bud, so it wasn’t very lethal; we killed it."

Thank goodness, Jhiang Yuan patted her chest in relief.

"But didn’t you say that the flowers there were about to bloom?

That’s not just one tree. If they all succeed, there could be thousands, perhaps even more, insects."

Just thinking about its fierce appearance that day frightened her.

The area was not far from Half Moon Lake. If the larvae were to grow, it likely wouldn’t be safe here either.

"Yes, so tomorrow they’re probably going to eradicate those larvae.

Jiang Yuan has already filed a report; it should be out by tomorrow.

They are short-staffed, very likely they’ll need to pull people from other places."

"Really?"

If that were the case, then she would want to go and see for herself.

It wasn’t out of curiosity, she just felt that only by watching them being eradicated could she feel truly at ease.

"It’s true, it just depends on the specific policies tomorrow."

Song Yi didn’t want her to go, but he didn’t want Jhiang Yuan to be unhappy, so he didn’t say it outright.

Taking part tomorrow would be voluntary; it was her choice to make.

"But why did that elder sister suddenly get infected with the insect?

Did she escape from Half Moon Lake too, or did she come into contact with it through some medium?"

"I don’t know about that, but she worked in the power supply area."

This area has electricity, generated by burning coal.

If that elder sister worked there, it would indicate that the place is usually warm.

"So maybe the insect was already on her.

Perhaps because she was often in a warm environment, the insect was awakened prematurely.

It’s like at Half Moon Lake, where only when the buds open does the insect grow.

It doesn’t work if it’s too early."

Song Yi nodded; he and Jiang Yuan had come to the same conclusion.

"Heavens, does that mean the people who were in contact with her are also in danger?

Or rather, people who were in the same place as her might carry the insect as well.

It’s just that it hasn’t erupted yet, so we can’t even begin to suspect it."

Song Yi sighed, Jhiang Yuan was right.

"That’s exactly why I had to call you out here.

We must be careful lately; we don’t know if we also have the insect.

We must also keep an eye on other people around us.

If any abnormalities occur, we must quickly get away.

The insect only emerges after it has fed enough, and I’m afraid that the person nearby might become the next host."