Apocalypse Chapter 63: Rain

Chapter 63: Rain

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The heavy rain lasted for the whole day. When it finally stopped, the temperature dropped to just over twenty degrees. People, who had been tortured by the scorching heat, could finally venture out joyfully in broad daylight. Groups of people left their houses and walked around the base, each person’s face showing a genuine smile.

The sky after the rain was a clear blue, and under the blue sky, the fields of Spark Base stretched endlessly. The thirsty land had finally quenched its thirst, displaying a fertile gray-black color.

Although Jiang Rong had said that this rain was acid rain, everyone found after the rain fell that the acidity of the rainwater was not high. Coupled with the large amount of rainfall, it was enough to dilute the acidity. Therefore, everyone was not worried that the rain-soaked land would be abandoned; instead, they seized the time to sow seeds.

The heavy rain washed away the remaining black stains on the buildings and plants in the base, and the whole base became thriving. At this moment, everyone could see the difference in Spark Base.

After months of renovation by everyone, the roads in Spark Base were wide and clean, completely unlike the congested and dilapidated roads elsewhere. Ornamental saplings were transplanted at intervals on both sides of the roads, and it was believed that soon they would provide shade for pedestrians.

The poorly built houses in the base had been demolished by espers, leaving behind clean and sturdy structures. Solar panels had been installed on the roofs of every household, ensuring the basic electricity needs of the residents.

The fields near the village were neatly arranged, without a single weed. At intervals in the fields, there were wide ditches. The river network and ditches were interconnected to ensure that every piece of land could be irrigated with sufficient water.

If there was any shortcoming, it might be that the water flowing in the channels was gray-black in color, as if it had been diluted many times by black rain. The rainwater carried a faint odor, not very pleasant. However, compared to the smell of decay, this odor was negligible.

During this time, the espers in the base had no desire to go out at all. Whenever they thought of the desolate scenes outside the base, they lost the motivation to leave. Their base was still the best for them. As long as they stepped into the base, they felt alive again.

As seeds were sown one after another, shades of green emerged from the ground. The people in the base carefully nurtured these fragile little ones, hoping they would grow successfully.

Thanks to the D City Seed Company, the first batch of vegetable varieties planted included more than eighty. They were all acid and cold-resistant crops, even if the weather turned cold, they wouldn’t die instantly.

Every resident in the base received a piece of land, and after sixty percent of the plants grown in the land were handed over, the rest could be kept for themselves. With this rule in place, the residents were full of enthusiasm. They wished to put down roots in the fields, hoping that their vegetables would grow plentifully and well.

In less than half a month, Spark Base was filled with pleasing greenery.

Jiang Rong also received several packets of vegetable seeds. His family carefully planted the seeds. With Xiaoheng and Xiao Hao continuously watering and fertilizing, the seedlings began to emerge one after another.

When Chu Qiang came over from the vine-covered path, he saw Jiang Rong’s family busy in the field. “Xiao Jiang, Master Guan, what are you busy with?”

Jiang Xiaoheng smiled and looked up, greeting warmly, “Uncle Chu, Daddy is teaching me and little brother about vegetables. Uncle Chu, guess how many kinds of vegetables we have in our family?”

Chu Qiang chuckled. He was the one who had sent the seeds to Jiang Rong’s family, so how could he not know what vegetables were in their garden? Watching Jiang Xiaoheng’s proud little face, Chu Qiang exaggerated, “Oh, Uncle doesn’t know! How many kinds of vegetables does your family have?”

Jiang Xiaoheng happily extended ten chubby fingers, “We have eight kinds!”

Chu Qiang laughed even more, “But Xiaoheng, you’re showing ten fingers. So your family has ten kinds!”

Jiang Xiaoheng corrected seriously, “No, Uncle Chu, look, my thumb is bent, it doesn’t count. We have only eight kinds.” Then he proudly listed the vegetables, “We have lettuce, celery, leeks, water spinach, Chinese cabbage, baby bok choy…”

Jiang Xiaoheng would say the name of a vegetable, and Jiang Hao would nod earnestly beside him. The two children were obedient and serious, which amused Chu Qiang greatly.

However, there were two kinds they couldn’t remember. Jiang Xiaoheng looked to Jiang Hao for help, “Little brother, what are the other two vegetables in our family?”

Jiang Hao responded vaguely, “Bro… bro…”

Jiang Xiaoheng’s eyes lit up, “Right! We also have broccoli and lettuce! Eight kinds, not more, not less.” 

Jiang Hao nodded in relief, “Mm-hmm!”

Chu Qiang pointed to the largest chili tree in the vegetable patch, “Xiaoheng, you missed one. Your family also has a big chili tree.”

The two children obviously forgot about the biggest chili tree. They looked at each other with wide eyes. Chu Qiang felt satisfied, “Oh, our Xiaoheng and Xiaoheng can’t count, how pitiful.”

Jiang Hao and Jiang Xiaoheng’s faces instantly fell, Chu Qiang had successfully “attacked” the two kids, feeling satisfied at the moment. Jiang Rong glanced at Chu Qiang, “What’s going on?” 

Chu Qiang rarely appeared at this time, and seeing him dressed formally, Jiang Rong knew something was wrong. Chu Qiang dropped his playful mood with the children, “Do you know what’s happening in Dongxiang Village? They’re having a problem with grubs.”

Dongxiang Village was famous for its flowers and trees. Almost all the ornamental plants and fruit trees transplanted in the base came from Dongxiang. Grubs in Dongxiang? 

Jiang Rong frowned, “What are grubs?”

Guan Shao guessed, “Probably some kind of pest?”

Jiang Rong put down the flower hoe in his hand and straightened his clothes, “Let’s go see for ourselves.”

Hearing that Daddy was going out, the two children’s eyes lit up. Jiang Xiaoheng grabbed Jiang Rong’s clothes and coquettishly said, “Daddy, can we go together?” 

Jiang Hao also followed suit, his eyes shining as he looked at Jiang Rong, “Mm-hmm!”

Jiang Rong smiled and nodded, “Sure, go wash your hands and spray some floral water, we’ll leave soon.”

The two children cheered and quickly ran back home from the vegetable patch, “Lele, Junjun, we’re going out to play!” 

Lele and Junjun responded, and the huge tiger lazily walked towards Jiang Rong’s parking lot. Seeing Junjun also leaving, Little Fairy and Little Guaiguai followed suit. Two equally sized balls rolled out in the courtyard, one green and one red, skillfully turning corners and following Junjun’s footsteps.

Chu Qiang chuckled, “Xiao Jiang, why don’t you get a heavy truck driver’s license? Your whole family makes such a commotion when you go out; the pickup truck can’t handle it anymore.”

Chu Qiang’s small pickup truck was already struggling with Little Guaiguai; now adding Little Fairy and Junjun… it far exceeded the pickup’s capacity, and its tires would burst sooner or later.

As soon as he finished speaking, Guan Shao calmly looked at Chu Qiang. Chu Qiang touched his face, “What’s wrong, Master Guan?”

Guan Shao said slowly, “I can drive a heavy truck. Help me pick a suitable one?” 

Chu Qiang was right; the current vehicles were not suitable if the whole family wanted to go out.

Chu Qiang twitched his lips, “Seriously, Guan Shao?”

Guan Shao never joked. He silently picked up the bucket from the ground and tidied up the vegetable patch. “Let’s go.”

Dongxiang Town was southeast of Spark Base, about thirty-eight kilometers from Fishery Village. With the road built by the espers, it only took Jiang Rong’s family about ten minutes to reach Dongxiang Town.

As the heavy truck slowly approached, the townspeople crowded around. They gathered around the truck in amazement, “Wow, the espers really came!” 

“Is that the mutated tiger? Hey? What’s that green thing? Eyries cactus?”

After getting off the truck and carrying the two children, Jiang Rong saw the villagers looking at the two pink children and envied them, “Such well-behaved children! They’re so cute!”

Jiang Rong patted the children’s heads and smiled, “Say hello to everyone.”

Jiang Xiaoheng waved to the crowd, “Hi everyone, I’m Jiang Xiaoheng, three years old this year. This is my little brother Jiang Hao, who is five years old~”

The childish voice of the children elicited laughter from the onlookers, easing much of the tension in Dongxiang Town. Jiang Rong spoke gently, “Everyone, go back to your tasks for now. If there are any developments, I will inform you.”

The mayor of Dongxiang Town also added, “Yes, everyone, disperse. So many people will interfere with the espers’ work!”

Upon hearing the mayor’s words, the residents quickly dispersed. Jiang Rong and his group followed the mayor and hurried towards the fields outside Dongxiang Town.

Accompanied by a big tiger, the mayor was a bit nervous. He spoke hesitantly, “Leader Jiang, as you know, Dongxiang Town is famous for its flowers and trees. After the flowers and trees were transplanted, everyone responded to the base’s call to plant vegetables and grains…”

Seeds from other towns had already turned into lush greenery, but the seeds from Dongxiang Town had been slow to sprout. Even the ones that did sprout were sparse, and the vegetables, just half an inch tall, would wither soon.

Experienced farmers concluded that this was the work of grubs. When they dug into the soil, they found a large number of grubs, far beyond what the villagers of Dongxiang could handle. So the mayor quickly contacted the espers, hoping they could help.

By the time Jiang Rong’s group reached the fields, as the mayor had said, the fields in Dongxiang Town were sparsely green, and many vegetable seedlings were visibly wilting.

As everyone watched, two tender green seedlings were dragged underground and disappeared from sight. The accompanying old farmer wielded a nail rake, and as he swung it, the surface soil was lifted. After digging more than twenty centimeters deep, a palm-sized white object was brought out of the soil.

Jiang Rong’s pupils contracted, and his whole body’s hair stood on end. He involuntarily clenched his fists, and sweat had already seeped out from under his vest. Chu Qiang even sucked in a breath of cold air, “Damn… so this is what grubs look like!”

The white object in front of them was palm-sized, and upon closer inspection, it was a curled-up white bug. The bug had a brown head with three rows of yellowish legs below it. Its body was plump and swollen, with its abdomen particularly large and deep black in color.

The bug’s tentacles were wrapped around two half-eaten seedlings. After being unearthed, it remained motionless, pretending to be dead on the surface of the soil.

The two children had never seen such a large bug before. They hid behind Jiang Rong, scared, but their curiosity made them peek out again.

The mayor was anxious, “Leader Jiang, what should we do? These bugs are all so big, there are thousands of them. Pesticides can’t kill them, and just when our vegetables finally started growing, they’re being eaten by these bugs.”

Jiang Rong’s face turned pale, his gaze blank as he stared at the grub on the ground. Chu Qiang didn’t fare any better; his face turned green, looking like he was about to vomit.

Guan Shao asked Jiang Rong with concern, “What’s wrong?” 

When he held Jiang Rong’s hand, he felt the chill emanating from his fingertips.

Jiang Rong murmured, “I’m afraid of bugs…” 

Grubs were his most feared insects, without a doubt. When Jiang Rong and Chu Qiang were kids, they were picking bamboo shoots, and there was some rotten straw in the bamboo grove. When they pulled out the bamboo shoots, the straw was also overturned. Dozens of fat grubs appeared under the straw, frightening the two children into wailing. Jiang Rong was even scared into a fever by the bugs, and it wasn’t until his grandmother asked a shaman that he recovered from the fever.

They thought the scariest thing they would encounter in their lives was the mutated rats, but unexpectedly, in Dongxiang Village, Jiang Rong and Chu Qiang encountered a childhood  nightmare. Just the thought of countless grubs underground made both of them uneasy.

Chu Qiang gritted his teeth, “So this thing is a grub…”

He had been careless, thinking grubs were like caterpillars. If he had known it was the white bugs that caused them nightmares when they were kids, he would have had others deal with them long ago.

 

 

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