When Chang Haojie arrived in the northern Dabashan Mountains, he soon encountered refugees fleeing south from the north. These refugees were willing to cross the Qinling and Dabashan Mountains to go to the Sichuan-Chongqing region, knowing that only in the south was there a supply of grain.
The clothes on these refugees were almost all tattered, and even those who were dressed neatly were covered in patches. Most of them were dusty and grimy, with no color left on their bodies, and their faces were full of numbness.
“What’s happening in the north now? Where are you from? I heard that many locusts are ravaging the northern regions. Is it really that serious?” Chang Haojie grabbed a refugee and asked for information.
The refugee initially did not want to answer, but seeing the many soldiers following Chang Haojie, he realized that this person in front of him was likely not ordinary. Although he looked very young, with so many soldiers as his protection, this fellow must have a high status, so he could only answer.
“We are from Yinzhou. Originally, we wanted to farm in the northern river regions, at least to irrigate the crops with river water. But we didn’t expect that as soon as spring arrived, locusts would emerge from the ground. Wherever there was a river, you could see dense crawling insects. The grass and trees by the river were eaten clean. These insects then flew into the sky, becoming locusts, flying everywhere.” The captured refugee said honestly.
“There’s nothing that can be done about it. Who told the north to have droughts year after year without rain? As long as it doesn’t rain, locusts will fly everywhere and cannot be controlled!” Chang Haojie also sighed.
Last year, the regions of Yuzhou had already faced locust attacks. At that time, people proposed various solutions. Some suggested that everyone should catch locusts and eat them to cope, but this approach was clearly not feasible. Others proposed spraying pesticides everywhere, but the locusts evolved resistance and could withstand the pesticides. In the end, rain was the only solution to the locust problem.
The north had been experiencing drought for five years. During this long period, it was impossible to rely on the weather for farming. Rain could only be obtained by extracting deep groundwater, but it turned out that the foundations of the land were starting to collapse due to deep groundwater extraction, which could easily trigger earthquakes.
Farming was already difficult, and it required extracting groundwater to obtain sufficient water sources. Then, when the locust outbreak occurred, farming became a dead end. People without enough food could only flee everywhere.
At this moment, the refugee cautiously asked, “After we flee to Sichuan-Chongqing, how will we be treated?”
Chang Haojie then said, “Don’t worry, as long as you come to our place, we will not turn you away. However, you will need to work to earn enough money. The simplest is to go to the屯田 (tun tian - farm reclamation). Our original areas have mechanized operations and basically don’t need it. But you have many farmlands in the mountains that agricultural machinery cannot access, and can only be cultivated by human labor. At that time, you will have to live in the mountains!”
“That’s good, that’s good. As long as we can farm in the mountains, it’s better than having nothing!” When the refugees heard that they could only live in the mountains, they all smiled. They were never afraid of hard work; they were afraid of having no home. Now that they had a stable place to live, they were more than happy.
“This young master, your attire is extraordinary, and your demeanor is outstanding. You must be a very noble person. May I be so bold as to ask, if we settle in Sichuan-Chongqing, will we face the danger of locusts?” A refugee came closer and asked in a low voice.
“You can rest assured about this. As long as we are here, locusts will not be able to move south!” Chang Haojie said confidently.
Wang Xiqiang did not refute this statement because he knew it was true. Although Chang Haojie’s abilities were not as good as Shen Feng’s, the range of influence was still very large. At that time, many surrounding areas would be covered by a dense fog, and locusts would not be able to enter these areas because the ground would be too moist, which is not suitable for locust growth.
The refugees then headed south, all with the hope of survival. Even if they faced hard work in the future, they felt it didn’t matter. As long as they could have a stable life in the future, it would be the happiest thing.
While Chang Haojie was heading north, Qu Zhaoqian and Luo Hui had already driven south. The task for these two was very simple: to support Yunnan Province and find a way to eliminate the butterflies in Butterfly Valley. This task was both easy and difficult, because it was said that the butterflies had a very poisonous powder on their bodies, which had hallucinogenic effects. Once humans inhaled it, they would hallucinate. If they got too close to this place, many people would lose their combat power.
The two quickly arrived in Yunnan Province and were warmly welcomed, as receiving support at this time was a very fortunate event.
However, when the two began to inquire about the situation in Butterfly Valley, the person in charge of the reception seemed hesitant, as if it were inconvenient to speak directly.
“Actually, the situation in Butterfly Valley is not very clear yet. You can ask the person in charge yourself in a few days.” The person receiving them did not answer directly.
“What exactly happened? Are these butterflies really that troublesome? Tell us quickly, we are here to support you. If you keep withholding the real situation, it’s clearly a lack of trust in us!” Qu Zhaoqian said excitedly.
“Actually, all the butterflies in Butterfly Valley have been eliminated by us, but…” The person receiving them was still hesitant, and did not reveal the real situation.
“You say you have eliminated all the butterflies in Butterfly Valley, isn’t that a good thing? What is there to hide? Are you afraid we will leak the news?” Luo Hui also seemed very confused.
“All the butterflies in Butterfly Valley were burned to death, but many butterflies escaped from the valley and flew to other places. These butterflies have scattered and are spreading to other areas. We can no longer control them!” At this moment, another person in charge appeared and explained the situation.
“How did you burn the butterflies to death? Quickly take us to Butterfly Valley to see, we need to know the specific situation!” Qu Zhaoqian sensed something was wrong. If the insects in a region began to spread, then the surrounding areas would suffer, especially pests like butterflies.
Many people saw the appearance of butterflies and thought they were very beautiful. Their first instinct was to assume that these insects were not pests because of their high aesthetic value. However, in reality, butterflies are thorough pests and cause great damage to agriculture.
Butterflies lay eggs and grow in cruciferous crops, ultimately leading to reduced crop yields.
Qu Zhaoqian was very worried that if the butterflies in Butterfly Valley spread everywhere, they might eventually move north to Sichuan-Chongqing and affect agriculture.
These few responsible persons did not dare to neglect the two. Although these two youths were very young, perhaps not yet 20 years old, and looked like teenagers, the responsible persons dared not be careless because these two were ability users. If they underestimated them, they would eventually pay the price. They immediately agreed to the requests of the two.
Then, a special truck arrived to transport Luo Hui and Qu Zhaoqian towards the Butterfly Valley in the west. They traveled for a day and a night, and finally arrived at the edge of Butterfly Valley in the early morning. Before even entering the valley, everyone could smell the burnt odor, which was very pungent and could be smelled from a great distance.
“Did you use fire to deal with these butterflies? That’s quite good. Even if the butterflies have a lot of pollen on their bodies, once they are burned, nothing will be left,” Luo Hui also praised.
“If a fire could kill all these hateful butterflies, that would be great. But we didn’t expect that during the plan, countless butterflies escaped from the valley, including particularly huge ones. With their wings spread, they could reach five meters. It can be said that these are the largest butterflies in the world, and they lay eggs very quickly. After they escaped, they had already spread throughout almost the entire Yunnan Province, and it was impossible to control them!” The person in charge said with a wry smile.
Then, the person in charge explained what had happened. It turned out that Butterfly Valley used to have a very large number of butterflies. It was once a tourist attraction because of the many species and large numbers of butterflies. Every spring and summer, these butterflies would fly everywhere in the valley, attracting many tourists.
However, after the apocalypse, many butterflies in the valley mutated. The direct impact of this mutation was that countless butterflies increased in size, and their harm to agriculture also increased. Some butterflies even ate people.
Therefore, Yunnan Province’s response measures were very timely. They proposed a solution: to use fighter jets to drop enough thermobaric bombs from the air. Just over twenty thermobaric bombs would be enough to exterminate all the butterflies in the valley.
Everyone enthusiastically supported the plan when it was formulated. However, when it came to the day of implementation, an accident had already occurred. When countless fighter jets appeared in the sky, they emitted loud noises. These noises directly affected the movement of the butterflies. It seemed that butterflies also had intelligence and judged that the fighter jets in the sky posed a great danger, so they fled.
The escape of the butterflies was unexpected by everyone. After all, everyone thought that since the butterflies had lived in the valley for several years, they would not easily leave. But the result was surprising. Not only did the butterflies leave the valley, but they also spread in all directions. At this time, the fighter jets dropped their ordnance.
After the thermobaric bombs exploded on the ground, they created countless dust and smoke, turning the entire valley into a sea of fire. Countless insects within this range could not survive, because when thermobaric bombs explode, they directly vacuum the air from the surrounding area, creating a high-pressure zone that prevents outside oxygen from entering. Most of the butterflies in the valley were burned to death, but almost half of them had escaped outside the valley. These butterflies moved without a trace, directly affecting agricultural activities in several surrounding areas.