Chapter 18: Blood Mosquitoes

Jiang Yan also picked up a batch of kerosene and alcohol while she was in the land of the rich.

Kerosene, aside from being used as fuel and for lighting, has plenty of other uses as well.

As for alcohol, its freezing point is minus 117 degrees Celsius, so in extremely cold weather, burning an alcohol stove isn’t a bad option.

In addition, when she visited those countries, she stocked up on some basic medicines, bought a thousand first aid kits, and got twenty AEDs.

As for prescription drugs, the regulations abroad are just as strict as back home.

She managed to get some through certain channels, but not in large quantities.

After rushing around several countries without a break, the 3.2 billion yuan in Jiang Yan’s account was now down to just a fraction of that.

But she’d bought everything she needed, and everything she could.

On the morning of July 6th, Jiang Yan, exhausted and with only two “small targets” left on her card and her space ring packed full of supplies, boarded a flight home.

*

The moment she stepped out of the plane, a wave of scorching sunlight and heat hit her in the face.

Jiang Yan frowned slightly.

She had checked the weather back home before returning, and there had been a local temperature report on the plane before landing.

She knew about the sudden heatwave in Anming these past couple of days.

But she hadn’t expected the actual temperature to feel even hotter than the forecast—much hotter.

Could the disaster predicted for August 8th be arriving early?

A bad feeling crept into Jiang Yan’s heart.

“Ma’am, welcome back to Anming. This way, please!” As soon as she stepped off the airstairs, a young man in a white shirt, black trousers, and white gloves came up to her with a warm greeting.

Ever since her mother sold the company, they hadn’t even kept a driver at home.

As a super VIP of the airline, every time she returned to China, she’d have them send a car straight to pick her up.

This time was no exception.

The young man politely took her small carry-on suitcase, and after she got into the business car, he hopped into the driver’s seat.

The car quickly left Anming International Airport and got onto the ring expressway.

“Ma’am, is the air conditioning comfortable?” the young man asked softly as he drove.

Jiang Yan gave a brief “Mm,” then glanced at the dashboard, her brow furrowing again.

Anming is famous for its pleasant, spring-like climate all year round.

July is usually the hottest month.

But even then, the temperature typically ranges from 18 to 25 degrees Celsius—very comfortable.

If you stood under a tree or in the shade, it could even feel chilly.

But right now, the car’s external temperature display read 38 degrees.

That was clearly abnormal.

Suddenly, something occurred to her. She took out her phone and checked the apocalypse warning posts she’d made on various websites.

As expected, several sites had already deleted her posts.

One site had even muted her anonymous account.

But on the country’s second-largest website, one post was still barely hanging on—the one she’d posted while in the Windmill Country.

The IP address shown was, of course, from the Windmill Country.

She skimmed through it. Most of the comments were mocking, though a few were quite hostile.

Most people just treated her warning as a prank for attention.

【@PrettyLittleGuo: The apocalypse is coming? Should I be panicking? *eyeroll.jpg*】

【@IAmQinShiHuangPayMe: The IP isn’t even domestic. Watch out for people with ulterior motives!】

【@Ahaha: Exactly! The “experts” haven’t said anything! There are some really bad people in society these days!! I dare the poster to show themselves. If you can predict the apocalypse, why not predict the date of your own death?】

【@FootScratchingBigGuyLovesNoodles: Damn, here we go again with the fearmongering. The rice I hoarded years ago is already full of bugs!】

【@HalfCute_baby: Just asking—does my insomnia from being broke have anything to do with this warning? If so, can I ask the poster for compensation?】

【@ThreeAndAHalfInchLegHair: If the apocalypse is coming, does that mean I don’t have to pay my mortgage, car loan, or any other debts? *doghead.jpg*】

【@MangosteenLovingKingJiji: Wishing peace for our country and people! *praying.jpg*】

【@AccountDeleted: Only an idiot would believe this】

【@SnailHomeHoarder: The weather’s been weird lately. Luckily, I’ve got a fridge and freezer at home, so I’m stocking up just in case. After the last food rush, I’m not taking any chances.】

【@TabooBreakerZhangDaming: If that’s the case, I’m taking my doomsday vehicle and hiding in the mountains! And bringing my dog. *grin.jpg*】

【.】

“Bang!!!”

Jiang Yan was reading intently when a loud crash against the windshield suddenly came from the front of the car.

At the same time, the business car screeched to a sudden stop, flinging Jiang Yan forward.

Luckily, the seats were spaced out and she was wearing a seatbelt, so she didn’t hit her head.

And since it wasn’t rush hour, the sudden stop didn’t cause a rear-end collision.

Jiang Yan had almost instinctively jumped into her space ring.

“Damn! What the hell?!”

The young driver couldn’t help but curse under his breath, then, realizing he had a passenger, quickly turned and apologized, “Sorry, ma’am, I hope I didn’t scare you. Are you alright? Did you hit anything?”

Jiang Yan replied, “I’m fine,” but when she glanced at the windshield, she froze. “What is that—?”

On the upper right corner of the windshield, a large, bloody mess mixed with black, segmented insect limbs was stuck fast, with thick red liquid slowly oozing down the glass.

At first glance, it was truly shocking.

The remains twitched slightly, then drooped.

It was hard to tell exactly what it was.

“Plop!”

The bloody mass finally slid down the window.

“Ma’am, please wait here a moment. The car was just hit by some kind of strange insect. I’ll go check it out.”

The young man took off his sunglasses and got out, set up a red warning triangle behind the car, then jogged to the front, snapping photos of the windshield and the ground before making a phone call.

He was driving a company car, and unless he could prove it wasn’t his fault, he’d be responsible for the damages.

Jiang Yan stared at the bloodstain for a few seconds, then pulled a medical mask from her pocket—or rather, from her space ring—and put it on before getting out of the car.

The sun was glaring, and she was already wearing a hat and sunglasses. Now, with the mask, she was wrapped up tightly as usual.

Even through the mask, she could smell a strange, bloody scent in the stifling air.

The moment she saw the thing on the ground, Jiang Yan’s scalp tingled and she instinctively took several steps back.

Because in that sticky red liquid, she could clearly see a long, slender proboscis unique to mosquitoes, along with shattered wings and several black, broken legs with white spots!"