Chapter 84

“There are locusts near Wanjia Village. They haven’t swarmed yet, but we’re not sure if we can contain them this time…”

“As long as they haven’t started swarming, we still have a chance. Let’s try to minimize the farmers’ losses.”

…

At 3:00 p.m. on August 5th, Zhang Guohai and several agricultural staff headed to the southern outskirts of Changshui County.

Zhang Guohai was the director of the Shaan’an Agricultural Bureau. With the locust plague worsening across Shaan’an, the Bureau had decided to support the research team’s efforts while simultaneously launching a self-rescue operation to combat the locusts.

Locusts sit at the bottom of the food chain and have natural predators like chickens, ducks, geese, and frogs. These predators could help control the locust population before they began to swarm.

“Sigh, how did it come to this?” Zhang Guohai let out a heavy sigh.

Modern agricultural technology had advanced to the point where locusts could be detected before swarming through scientific monitoring. After the acid rain swept through, a large number of plants and animals died from corrosion. According to tests by the Ministry of Agriculture, the environment created by the acid rain shouldn’t have supported a locust outbreak. No one expected the locusts to mutate because of the acid rain…

The Bureau’s goal this time was to contain the infestation in areas not yet affected and reduce losses for the farmers as much as possible.

“Director Zhang, is this the place?”

Half an hour later, the group arrived at an abandoned factory. It was an old facility covering over thirty mu, with red brick and concrete grounds. A white sign hung at the gate: Xingyue Breeding Farm.

“This is it!” Zhang Guohai confirmed as he decisively got out of the car.

His task was to visit breeding farms in Changshui County and see if he could gather ten thousand ducks to prevent the locusts from spreading around the county.

The others followed him out of the vehicle.

“Who’s there?” An elderly gatekeeper poked his head out and asked.

“We’re from the county Agricultural Bureau. We contacted the factory director earlier,” Zhang’s assistant said, handing over their credentials.

“Hold on a moment.” The gatekeeper checked the ID and made a call on the internal line.

Half a minute later, a man in his early forties walked out from the factory. His skin was tanned, and when he saw Zhang Guohai, he greeted him warmly with an outstretched hand. “Director Zhang!”

“Factory Director Zhao.” The man was the head of Xingyue Breeding Farm. Zhang Guohai had met him a few times during past field inspections.

“How’s the preparation coming along?” After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Zhang got straight to the point.

“We’ve got five hundred ducks. The broiler chickens were already sold,” the director replied.

After the county Agricultural Bureau decided to launch the locust self-rescue operation, they called every breeding farm in the county. They wanted to borrow chickens and ducks. Since it was an emergency, there might be issues with deferred payments… but after the Bureau explained the situation in detail, every farm agreed without hesitation.

The locust plague was now headline news across Shaan Province. More than just a government initiative, this was about protecting their homes and livelihoods.

After a full day of phone calls, the Bureau managed to secure 5,000 ducks and 8,000 chickens. Zhang Guohai was responsible for transporting and organizing them.

Half an hour later, the county staff arrived at the breeding facility. Most of the cages were empty, except for a group of ducks quacking noisily on the southern side. Zhang Guohai inspected the ducks and then herded them onto the transport trucks. The ducks had a strong odor, but no one seemed to mind—instead, they felt it was the pure, earthy scent of life.

By 3:50, the ducks were loaded onto the vehicles. These were adult ducks, about two years old, with grayish-brown feathers. Each had a red ribbon tied around its leg—the signature of Xingyue ducks.

“Sigh.” The middle-aged factory director looked at the ducks and sighed.

Xingyue Breeding Farm was the largest in Changshui County. At its peak, it had 30,000 meat ducks and 20,000 egg-laying ducks.

But with the global crisis, the farm’s scale had shrunk drastically. Unable to afford proper feed, he had to resort to feeding the ducks lettuce and wheat. These couldn’t compare to professional feed. To cut costs, he had to keep selling off chickens and ducks… and now, in less than half a year, only 500 egg-laying ducks remained.

The factory director stared blankly at the departing truck. Zhang Guohai thought he was worried about the number of ducks and reassured him, “We’ll make sure every single one of them comes back.”

The director looked a bit embarrassed. “It’s not about the number… If it’s for the country, take them all!”

Time was of the essence. Over the next ten hours, Zhang Guohai visited seven more breeding farms through the night. After a long night of gathering from here and there, by August 6th, the county Agricultural Bureau had finally assembled 12,000 chickens and ducks—80% of Changshui County’s total poultry.

On the afternoon of August 6th, Zhang Guohai led the Chicken and Duck Army straight to Wanjia Village in Changshui. Wanjia Village was near Wangjia Village, where the locust outbreak had begun on the 3rd. While the situation in Wanjia wasn’t as severe yet, locust larvae were already crawling over the fields and corn stalks.

“This is insane—so many locusts!”

“It’s the middle of summer, and this is disgusting.”

…

Just like in Wangjia Village, the villagers in Wanjia were using fans and pesticides to drive away the locusts. Though the infestation wasn’t as bad, each corn stalk still had fifty or sixty larvae crawling all over it—a nauseating sight.

Zhang Guohai stepped out of the vehicle. He’d seen plenty of locust-infested scenes over the past few days, but each one still left him shaken.

The transport trucks pulled over by the roadside. Once everything was ready, a staff member turned to Zhang Guohai. “Director Zhang?”

“Release the ducks,” Zhang ordered without hesitation.

The chickens and ducks stumbled off the trucks, looking around in confusion before charging straight into the cornfields in the hills. Each duck could eat up to 200 locusts a day, and each chicken about 70. The poultry fought fiercely, and soon, the locusts noticeably thinned out in the distance.

“Looks like there are fewer now.”

The villagers watched the Chicken and Duck Army with rapt attention.

They were true sons and daughters of Shaan Province. Most families raised their own chickens and ducks, only going into town occasionally for supplies. They’d spent a lifetime raising poultry, but this was the first time they found them so endearing.

“I’ve got three chickens at home—I’ll go get them.”

One man ran home to fetch his birds. With the current food crisis, chickens and ducks were scarce, and these had survived on bran and vegetable scraps.

“I’ve got three ducks.”

“I’ve got five.”

…

Seeing the man bring his chickens, the other villagers followed suit.

When the plague first hit, they’d thought about using chickens and ducks to fight it, but the scale was too overwhelming for their small flocks. Now that the government was taking the lead, they felt more hopeful than ever.

In no time, the villagers had gathered over 200 chickens and ducks. Most had markings on their legs to help identify them after the locusts were dealt with.

“Thank you,” Zhang Guohai said, a little stunned.

“What are you thanking us for?”

The villagers waved it off. Just like the breeding farms, they knew—if the locusts were left unchecked, a whole year’s hard work in Shaan Province would go to waste!

The villagers were experienced. While watching the ducks, they also used nets and other tools to catch locusts, helping the Agricultural Bureau manage the poultry’s range. The cornfields quickly became a hive of activity.

Over the next two days, Zhang Guohai and the other staff stayed in the cornfields. The locusts caused damage day and night. Right now, the swarms were still small, but if they grew any larger… the cornfields wouldn’t last another two days.

…

“Shaan Province News: From August 5th to 7th, 23 counties and districts including Changyun, Linxia, and Wanzhou launched chicken-and-duck locust control operations. Initial progress has been made.”

“Shaan Province Agricultural Bureau: With temperatures continuing to rise, local governments must take preventive measures before the locusts swarm.”

“Locusts: The ultimate plant killers.”

…

As Zhang Guohai worked to control the locusts, the news spread across all of Shaan Province.

“Looks like it’s under control.”

“Using chickens and ducks before the swarm starts seems to be working.”

“I’ve been following the news these past few days—never seen anything so disgusting.”

“Let’s get this over with quickly. No more disasters, please.”

Right now, the entire internet is focused on the disaster in Shaan Province. Everyone has only one hope: no more disasters, please!

…

“It’s under control.”

While the whole country was watching the situation in Shaan Province, in Wangjiazhuang Village Brigade, a village cadre was intently watching the news.

Wangjiazhuang is about thirty kilometers from Wanjia Village. Word had spread about Wanjia Village’s success in using ducks to control the locusts. Although the locust outbreak in Wangjiazhuang wasn’t as severe, the village still planned to rent a batch of chickens and ducks to try their luck.

“I went to check yesterday—those ducks were eating with impressive skill.”

The village cadre had come to deliver lunch to the research team. Since it wasn’t mealtime yet, he started chatting with the idle researchers. But after rambling on for quite a while, not a single researcher responded.

He turned to look at Xiang Qingchuan, who was currently staring blankly into space, holding a cup of goji berry tea.

The cadre wondered if he’d said something wrong. Just then, Xiang Qingchuan seemed to snap out of his daze and muttered, “The ducks… might not work anymore.”

Biological locust control is usually done before the swarm stage. At the first sign of the locust outbreak in Shaan Province, Longxia had considered using biological methods in areas where the swarms hadn’t yet formed. But due to the unknown mutations in the locusts and the national poultry market not yet recovered, no official decision had been made.

On August 3rd, after confirming that the locusts weren’t carrying any viruses, Longxia approved small-scale biological control efforts.

The goal of biological control was disaster relief.

The research team’s goal was also disaster relief.

Over the past three days, various regions in Shaan Province had begun using chickens and ducks to combat the locusts. While conducting their research, the team also closely monitored the changes in the poultry.

Everyone had hoped that the chickens and ducks would yield good results. But just one hour ago, the bioanalysis team released a report: in the same growth environment, the bodies of the disaster-relief poultry showed a slight increase in heavy metals.

The chickens and ducks had been eating pre-swarm locusts. Although the Agricultural Bureau had been optimistic, the birds still mutated.

The mutation seemed minor, but chickens and ducks are a vital link in the food chain. If their mutation spreads, the ecological consequences are unpredictable.

“Sigh.” Xiang Qingchuan let out a heavy breath. He had already submitted the analysis from both experimental groups to the higher-ups. Now, all they could do was wait for a decision.

At that moment, the authorities were faced with two options:

1. Continue using chickens and ducks for control.

This method only works on locusts before they swarm. As the locust population grows, the effectiveness of poultry control diminishes. Continuing would risk heavy metal accumulation in the birds and potential ecological damage.

2. Stop using chickens and ducks.

The consequences were obvious: without a man-made predator, the locusts would run rampant.

Both options were incredibly difficult. After careful deliberation, Longxia chose the second. One major reason was that between August 3rd and 7th, the locust population in Shaan Province had surged again. The poultry simply couldn’t keep up.

Once the decision was made, Longxia released the news to the public.

In addition to the poultry update, Longxia issued an important reminder: all regions nationwide must prepare for locust outbreaks. Areas near Shaan Province should harvest crops as quickly as possible.

“What the hell? I thought the locusts were under control—why are they back?”

“Another emergency harvest alert! I’m getting anxious just reading this.”

“Ahhh, don’t tell me we’re going to run out of food again!”

…

The moment Longxia News dropped, panic swept the nation. Everyone still remembered last year’s food crisis. Now, with rice and flour in stock and pasture seeds set to mature in October, things were finally looking up. A nationwide locust plague? That would be catastrophic.

“Crying. Heading to the supermarket to stock up on rice.”

“Too late, I’m already at the supermarket.”

“Ugh, these locusts can’t even be eaten or fried. So frustrating…”

…

Despite their complaints, netizens flocked to the supermarkets with practiced efficiency.

After a year of crisis, people had become pros at hoarding rice, flour, and vegetables. As they lined up in long queues, their minds drifted back to two years ago—when you could still buy grilled sausages, fries, and yogurt chips. Now, even a piece of pork knuckle felt like a luxury.

While Longxia battled an unexpected locust plague, the rest of the world wasn’t faring much better.

“August 7th: A large-scale locust outbreak hits the central coastal region of Mali, with 0.52 trillion locusts. Thirty million residents are trapped indoors.”

“August 8th: A Zhongnan locust swarm strikes Canpe Province, affecting 73,000 square kilometers…”

“Global Weather Alert: Between August 20 and October 20, the world will experience a significant temperature rise.”

…

The locust plague was the result of multiple factors: rising temperatures, drought-stricken land, and locust mutations.

According to the Shuilan Alliance, 52% of countries worldwide are currently facing locust outbreaks. Another 37% are still reeling from the ongoing Harma Storms.

Mali is the hardest-hit region. With a staggering 0.52 trillion locusts, it’s the largest locust outbreak in the past fifty years.

Located near the Shuilan Equator, Mali’s terrain is dry with little rainfall. The country has lost 87% of its green vegetation. If Longxia had crops for the locusts to devour, Mali had nothing—just locusts and barren land.

People started watching videos from Mali.

Outside the cities: With no crops, swarms of locusts clung to dead tree branches, gnawing at the bark. Beneath the trees lay layers of locust corpses…

Inside the cities: With no food, the locusts stormed into suburban towns. The skies and main roads were thick with them—a true apocalyptic scene.

The locusts in Mali might starve to death within two weeks, but for now, Mali was terrifying.

Over the next week, locust-related news flooded the globe.

At first, Longxia’s netizens had felt sorry for the chickens and ducks. But that sympathy quickly vanished. The country of Suerte, located near Mali and also close to the equator, suffered a locust outbreak just as severe as Longxia’s. To fight it, Suerte imported 30,000 ducks at high prices from around the world before the swarms formed.

At first, the ducks performed admirably. But after just ten days, many began showing signs of sluggishness and mental dullness—classic symptoms of heavy metal poisoning. While heavy metal buildup had been predicted, what happened on August 15th shocked the world.

A Suerte netizen posted a video:

In the outskirts of Suerte, a young farmer was filming a cornfield. Behind him, locusts were devouring the crops, and ducks had been released to help.

The young man was documenting the scene when one duck suddenly staggered and collapsed. As he moved to check, a swarm of locusts pounced on the duck. Locusts don’t eat meat, but these used their sharp mandibles to tear the duck apart…

The man thought it was a one-off. But after circling the field, he witnessed three more incidents of locusts attacking ducks.

With the sky darkened by swarms and the air thick with dread, the man fled back to his house, locked the door, and uploaded the video.

“The locusts have evolved?”

“Dear God! This defies biological science.”

“These are terrifying creatures.”

…

Locusts are strictly herbivorous. Even in a plague, they wouldn’t attack animals so violently.

The video sent netizens into a full-blown panic. People feared the locusts—and feared the world might really be heading toward some sci-fi disaster scenario.

As the panic intensified, a biologist from Weir offered a professional explanation: due to excessive lead and mercury, the locusts were exhibiting sluggish movement and cognitive mutations. This had led to unconscious, instinct-defying behavior.

In humans, lead and mercury poisoning can cause dementia. In short, some locusts had gone mad from heavy metal exposure.

“Well, thank God.”

Netizens breathed a sigh of relief. Still, the video of locusts attacking ducks was too horrifying. It was a stark reminder of how heavy metal contamination could wreak havoc on the ecosystem.

…

“It still didn’t work.”

Back in Wanjiazhuang Village, the mood in the bio-research team was grim as netizens continued to discuss the locust plague.

Fifteen days had passed since August 1st, and they still hadn’t found a way to eliminate the locusts. Despite two weeks of containment, the locusts had broken through the blockade and were now spreading toward Shan Province and He Province.

So far, the locust plague had caused 320 billion yuan in economic losses. If it couldn’t be stopped, all of Longxia’s hard work this year would be for nothing.

“Take a break,” Xiang Qingchuan said after their latest experiment failed, signaling the team to rest.

For the past two weeks, they’d been trying to find a chemical solution to exterminate the locusts. Ultra-strong chemicals like super sulfuric acid could kill them—but would also destroy vast swathes of crops. A lose-lose situation. A win-win solution… didn’t exist. Not yet.

“Have some water.” Wang Xiangchuan stared irritably at the test data. Just then, Qin Yun brought over a cup of hot water.

“Thanks,” Wang Xiangchuan said, taking it.

They chatted quietly for a bit before Wang Xiangchuan sighed. “Sorry to keep you from your mission.”

According to the plan, Qin Yun had twenty agricultural experience missions to complete. But due to the locust disaster, aside from a week-long trip out, he had spent the past half-month working closely with the experimental team.

“No worries.”

Qin Yun smiled. A few days ago, he’d gone to Su Province to farm and harvest vegetables. Just like before, the mission progress bar hadn’t budged. He tried experimenting in other places too… still nothing.

These past few days, while working with the experimental team on the locust problem, he’d also been trying out various farming methods. But the system’s criteria were harsh—until he found the right method, it didn’t matter where he went.

After chatting for a bit, Qin Yun glanced at the white strands at Xiang Qingchuan’s temples and said, “We’ll find a way.”

Xiang Qingchuan was forty-seven this year. He had arrived in good health, but the white hairs had all appeared in just the past two weeks from sheer stress.

“Sigh, all we can count on now is the experimental team…” Xiang Qingchuan took a sip of water.

There were six major teams at the farm. The Biology Group had always had the lowest profile. While the other teams never said anything outright, the biologists had long been holding their breath, eager to produce something meaningful for Longxia.

This locust disaster was right up the Biology Group’s alley, and everyone in the team had thrown themselves into the research—but results had been disappointing so far.

With limited research conditions at Wangjia Village, the team had already sent their latest data and analysis to the main farm, asking colleagues there for help with testing. This was their final round of data analysis. If there was still no breakthrough, the Biology Group would hit a dead end.

“Get some rest,” Qin Yun said. He wasn’t great at expressing concern, but Xiang Qingchuan hadn’t slept in over a day and night. All he could do was remind him to take care of himself.

“Thanks.” Xiang Qingchuan could feel the sincerity in Qin Yun’s words.

“Team Leader Xiang!” Just then, a researcher came stumbling over in a rush.

“What is it?” Xiang Qingchuan asked.

“The experimental team has results!”

“What kind of results?” Xiang Qingchuan gripped his water cup, almost afraid to hear the answer.

The researcher, unaware of his hesitation, blurted out excitedly, “We’ve made a breakthrough!”

“What?” Xiang Qingchuan froze.

“We’ve found a breakthrough in controlling the locusts—a major one!”

Xiang Qingchuan collapsed into his chair, the tension of the past two weeks finally releasing all at once.