Chapter 395: Frenzied Corpse Worms

The pungent smell of highly toxic pesticides was unbearable for the corpse insects. In an instant, they fell like raindrops to the ground. However, the number of insects was simply too overwhelming; “covering the sky and burying the land” was no exaggeration at all.

Xiao Tangjie wasn’t idle either, constantly refilling the mist blower with water and pesticide.

Lin Xue concentrated on driving and soon steered the car up the dead-end slope. But the old woman was standing at the edge of the slope. She couldn’t be rammed directly, which tested Lin Xue’s driving skills. She had to precisely control the speed, knock the old woman off the slope, and at the same time ensure the car wouldn’t plunge down the dozens-of-meters-high cliff.

“Die!”

Lin Xue mentally calculated the distance and suddenly stepped on the gas, speeding straight toward the old woman.

But the old woman suddenly raised her hand, and instantly countless corpse insects formed into a massive column, crashing toward the Humvee. Immediately, the front of the car was engulfed in darkness, completely filled with insects. In desperation, Lin Xue made a sharp turn, spinning continuously and using the toxic mist emitted by Shui Miao’s mist blower to create a poisonous fog zone.

Wave after wave of insects fell with a rustling sound, crushed under the wheels with a squishing noise!

The sound was incredibly intense!

No one knew how many insects had been killed or how many remained. Shui Miao just kept swinging the nozzle of the mist blower, watching large swaths of insects drop lifelessly to the ground, feeling a surge of exhilaration with every batch.

But not long after, Xiao Tangjie shouted, “We’re out of water and pesticide! What do we do!?”

Inside the car, there were only canned insecticide sprays left, which couldn’t compare to the mist blower.

Shui Miao’s heart sank, but at least the mist blower could blow wind, keeping the insects from getting close.

“I’ve got an idea!”

Lin Xue observed the outside situation and suddenly spotted the old woman’s position. She slammed on the brakes, stopping the car, rolled down the window, and fired her pistol in rapid succession at the old woman, emptying all the bullets. The old woman was shot off the cliff, and Lin Xue retracted her arm, rolled the window back up, while Xiao Tangjie quickly sprayed insecticide to kill the insects that had managed to get inside the car.

“Everyone, sit tight. We’re leaving.”

Lin Xue determined the direction and drove down the dead-end slope by memory, heading toward Baoshunfeng’s yurt.

“Aaaah…”

Behind the car, from the direction of the cliff, came another piercing, mournful roar. Upon hearing the roar, the corpse insects immediately gathered together, forming a massive black dragon under the night sky, closely chasing the Humvee.

“How is she still alive!?”

Lin Xue felt it was unbelievable. How could she still be alive? Lin Xue had clearly seen her fall off the cliff. Even if the bullets hadn’t killed her, she should have died from the fall.

“Bang!”

The Humvee suddenly jolted, shaking off many corpse insects from the front lights and windows. The windshield wipers finally had room to move. Lin Xue deliberately drove over rough terrain, violently jolting the car. Soon, the insects were shaken off. However, a large number of corpse insects still followed behind the car.

Shui Miao exhaled in relief, turned off the mist blower, and finally said, “She’s a dark being, probably already dead long ago. Ordinary methods are unlikely to kill her. I’ll have a way to deal with them tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Let’s first think about now. Let’s figure out how to shake them off first.”

Through the rearview mirror, Lin Xue saw again the terrifying scene of being chased during the day.

Inside the car, the smell of insecticide spray was everywhere.

Shui Miao glanced at the rearview mirror a couple of times but saw nothing—only pitch-black darkness. “Xiao Tangjie, call Xiaoshuang and the others now. Tell them to drive to Chengkou immediately. We’ll meet them there. Also, Lin Xuejie, the herdsmen lit funeral pyres tonight. Let’s go check them out. If they work, we’ll head there. If not, we’ll go directly to Baoshunfeng’s house. After that, we’ll hurry to Zema Lake in the east. I feel like these insects seem to fear water.”

Earlier, while using the mist blower, Shui Miao had noticed that the insects would fall to the ground as soon as they came into contact with water, their wings seemingly especially fragile.

“Okay!”

Lin Xue focused on driving, and from afar, she could already hear the barking of Daertu’s big yellow dog.

Several herders had received Daertu’s notice during the day and had lit funeral pyres. A series of black smoke rose into the air, and many corpse insects, upon smelling the smoke, scattered in all directions.

Lin Xue drove straight toward Baoshunfeng’s house. Baoshunfeng had returned and was sleeping soundly in a pile of women’s clothes, having not lit the funeral pyre.

“Hoo!”

“Bang!”

“Crash…”

The Humvee brushed against Baoshunfeng’s yurt, knocking over many things inside.

Baoshunfeng was startled awake, quickly crawling out of bed and running out the door stark naked, only to see a large swarm of black corpse insects flying toward him. His body was covered in perfume, which the insects were strangely familiar with. Normally, these insects didn’t bite the living, but tonight they had become especially frenzied. After a wave of insects swept over him, Baoshunfeng was gone—devoured by the corpse insects, not even leaving behind his excrement!

It must be said that Baoshunfeng bought some time for Shui Miao and the others.

Lin Xue had a sudden idea and turned off the car lights, driving toward the downwind southern direction under the moonlight.

This tactic indeed worked. The insects lost their target and scattered in all directions, biting randomly.

Daertu hadn’t lit a funeral pyre either. His several big yellow dogs were all bitten to death. Fortunately, Daertu acted quickly, setting his entire yurt ablaze. The corpse insects feared fire, which allowed him to barely escape with his life. Meanwhile, other households that had lit funeral pyres remained unharmed.

Shui Miao and everyone else spent the night heading to Wujiatun. The next day, they bought a large amount of pesticide in town before heading back together.

Because of last night’s insect plague, all the livestock—cattle, sheep, horses, and dogs—on the herders’ farms had been killed by the corpse insects.

Livestock represented everything for the herders. Without them, their livelihood was cut off. The herders were deeply saddened, gathering together to discuss what had happened last night.

Luckily, there weren’t many herders—only about a dozen people, including the elderly and children.

Baoshunfeng was dead, along with Daertu’s family. Only three households remained.

Daertu’s yurt had been burned down, and Baoshunfeng’s yurt had been gnawed to pieces by the corpse insects. He had moved into the yurt left by Shui Miao for the night.

After experiencing last night’s events, Daertu guessed that this incident was definitely related to Shui Miao. Otherwise, with the insect plague last night, everyone else had suffered, yet Shui Miao and his group had managed to escape unscathed. That clearly wasn’t normal.

The team leader, Batu Ge’er, was inquiring about the situation from several elderly herders.

Meanwhile, Daertu squatted at the entrance of Shui Miao’s yurt, puffing cigarette after cigarette. He was considering whether to inform the team leader that there was something suspicious about Shui Miao and his group, but he was frustrated by the lack of evidence.

A convoy of five vehicles returned.

Shui Miao was driving the Humvee at the front.

Before the Humvee had even stopped, Daertu suddenly stood up and, in front of the herders, pointed at Shui Miao inside the car and shouted loudly, “It’s this Shui Miao! It’s them who brought the insect plague! Last night, I personally saw them driving their car, luring in a large swarm of corpse insects, and then they disappeared. As a result, we all suffered, yet they remained unharmed. That’s the proof!”

In order to obtain Shui Miao’s yurt and drive Shui Miao and his group away, Daertu ultimately decided to stand up and oppose Shui Miao.