??Chapter 486: 485. Drive them all out!_1
Chapter 486: 485. Drive them all out!_1
“We belong to Utopia.”
At night, beside the campfire, Singer said, explaining to Mont.
“Utopia, I know, is a large city-state.”
Mont’s face was lit by the firelight. Although not much older than Lu Ban, the hardships had aged him beyond his years.
“Right, a large city-state. We follow a democratic council system. Do you know democracy? In old tis, it was considered the best political system. Whenever there was a problem in the city-state, we would hold a council eting, and everyone would vote to decide.”
As Singer reminisced, she grew excited.
After thinking for a mont, Lu Ban felt that he probably belonged to the people of Shuangxin, so, in theory, he should know about Utopia. He did not interrupt but nodded along in agreent.
“There aren’t many people in our village; everyone listens to the village head.”
Mont spoke, uninterested in democracy or councils. In the Wasteland, villages could be destroyed by a sudden sandstorm or a passing swarm of insects, with most villagers living day by day.
“You could try it too, a single person’s judgnt might fail. Discussing together could lead to the best solution.”
Singer coaxed him earnestly.
But Mont just shook his head.
“Don’t talk about that anymore. Not all city-states follow such a system.”
Shuangxin spoke up.
“What other types are there?”
Lu Ban couldn’t help but ask.
“Well, so city-states are led by the strongest Saint, one person who can decide the fate of the entire city. So city-states are governed by several Saints together. Those city-states that have survived to this day all have sothing unique about them.”
Shuangxin explained with a smile, as the food cooking in the campfire began to sll inviting.
Lu Ban just wanted to eat.
He got his wish and received a bowl.
The food, made by boiling so hard substance until soft and then cooking it, was like soup, but thicker; it slled like food at least, though it looked rather lean.
Lu Ban picked up a spoon and slurped a mouthful.
It tasted like at boiled in water, no saltiness, no sweetness, and, of course, no gay taste—a bland boiled chicken breast might taste like this. Honestly, it wasn’t delicious.
But it was at least better than insect at.
Lu Ban wasn’t picky; eating was the priority. He quickly finished the food in his bowl.
“This is so good. Is this what you people from the big city-states eat?”
Mont ate only slightly slower than Lu Ban, and after finishing, he licked his lips as if to savor the aftertaste.
“These are foods that are easy to store, made by drying insects and adding flour. Fortunately, we can still grow crops where we are, so in the city, the food goes through more refined cooking.”
Singer explained.
“Ugh—”
Lu Ban almost vomited on instinct but managed to swallow the rising bile.
“What’s wrong, not feeling well?”
Singer patted Lu Ban’s back.
“No, I just choked.”
Lu Ban lied, against his better judgnt.
“Eat slower, it’s not like you’ve never eaten this before.”
Singer teased.
“We also eat insect at, but we roast it directly.”
Mont gazed at the campfire.
It was only at this ti that Lu Ban realized that the concept of an insect was not the sa as a swarm of insects.
To be precise, the vast majority of creatures active in the Wasteland were insects.
So of these insects had soft shells, like giant cabbage caterpillars, while others had shells as hard as steel, with wings, and there were insects that road through the desert sands, along with those that flew in the sky.
In short, they were all insects.
The creatures that Lu Ban and his team rode, similar to cals, were actually also a kind of insect.
The entire world had mutated towards insects.
But a swarm of insects is an entirely different concept, like, although having the appearance of insects, these creatures faithfully fulfill their ecological roles. Relying on these insects and the desert, humanity could form a complete and self-consistent biosphere, one that could continue to develop.
However, the swarms were destroyers of everything.
They devoured everything they saw, consuming all organic matter, producing endless gravel, turning the foreign domain from its original Wasteland into the desert it is now.
These swarms were like monsters created by so deity with the utmost malice, existing solely to exterminate all life in the world, rampaging through the wilderness.
The people of Utopia wanted to find the weaknesses of these swarms.
“We regularly send out a group of scholars, like us, to search for the swarms, to find the nests where these insects are born. According to our research, the swarms must have a nest, and within that nest, the Queen Bug is the originator of everything. If we can take care of the Queen Bug, we could eradicate this swarm of insects,” she explained passionately, as excited and animated as a geek discussing their area of expertise.
Deep into the night, Shuangxin and Lu Ban were responsible for keeping watch. She sat by the campfire, the light casting a unique glow on her profile.
She talked about the swarms with great enthusiasm and excitent, as if discussing her specialty.
“But maybe there’s more than one Queen Bug, or maybe these swarms are all one entity?”
Lu Ban noticed their research wasn’t as extensive as the information provided by Feng Yu and reminded them.
“More than one? No, that’s impossible, a swarm can only have one Queen Bug, but one entity… yes, these swarms act collectively, there must be so special way they communicate. I thought it was through pheromones or so sort of odor, but the idea that they are one entity is interesting…”
Shuangxin quickly beca lost in thought.
“Do you like insects?”
Lu Ban asked.
“No, I hate insects the most. My friends, my family, they all died because of insects. I despise these creatures,” said Shuangxin, clenching her fists.
“That’s why I study insects, to find out how to completely eradicate these creatures from our world.”
“That’s indeed an arduous task,” Lu Ban comnted.
There may not be few on the Wasteland with the sa ambition as Shuangxin, people who, like those who believe there is still hope for The Island, those willing to resist the Demonic Tide, still harbor hope in this despairing world.
Maybe the developnts to co will shatter their hopes, turn those lingering prayers into mirages, and destroy their Sanity in the profoundest way.
But such people still exist.
“We discovered ruins about a hundred kiloters northeast of here. Those ruins might be the location of the swarm’s nest. Our mission this ti is to investigate the local ecology and, if possible, capture so insects that are roaming outside for research,” Shuangxin continued.
“Insects that are roaming outside…”
If the swarm really was a single entity, then those insects on the periphery of the swarm weren’t just roaming outsiders; they were the vast creature’s tentacles, its most sensitive sensing organs.
If touched, wouldn’t it instantly attract a huge wave of insects?
Lu Ban felt it was necessary to persuade them.
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