As spring arrived, all parts of China began their spring plowing. Wherever there were people, there were traces of cultivation. Everyone knew that only by farming could they obtain food and survive. If they did not farm, everyone would starve to death. Therefore, even on the mountaintops, people were clearing land.
However, this spring, it still did not rain. The southern regions were fine, with a few scattered showers. In the north, however, there was not a drop of rain for three months. Due to the drought, locusts ravaged the land again. Countless locusts flew in the sky, devouring the crops that had just grown. Some people stood in the fields with insect nets, catching these giant locusts. After all, even small mosquitoes were a source of meat. After catching these locusts, they could also be used as food.
At this point, people who had experienced hunger no longer cared if the locusts were poisonous. Even if they were poisoned to death by eating these insects, they would still eat the meat without hesitation. After all, these insects were eating the food they relied on for survival. Now that there was no food, they could only choose the most extreme method: eating locusts, and if they died, they would all die together.
After a winter, these locusts, which had learned to survive the cold, were not only not frozen to death by the ice and snow but instead built nests underground and successfully hibernated. After winter passed, the insects emerged from the soil and laid eggs by the rivers or near water. These locusts only needed more than ten days to fully develop and transform into flying adults.
Suddenly, the entire north was thrown into chaos, especially in the northwestern region. This area was inherently barren and difficult to cultivate. With the additional disaster of locusts, there was no harvest, and refugees were everywhere. These refugees, who had lost hope of survival, could only flee south, begging for shelter.
Chang Jianyi had been closely monitoring the situation in the north. Upon learning that the north was in chaos, he immediately felt a sense of unease. If a large number of refugees continued to move south, their region would also be unable to provide more food.
"Vice City Lord, Dian Province is also requesting aid. I heard that a Butterfly Valley has appeared in their mountains. This Butterfly Valley is home to giant butterflies that are now causing havoc, continuously devouring crops and even eating people. They are requesting our assistance." While Chang Jianyi was worrying about the situation in the north, someone from the intelligence department reported another piece of bad news.
Upon hearing this, Chang Jianyi felt overwhelmed. He had not expected both the north and the south to be in trouble simultaneously.
"Didn't they already digest the plains in the south? They should have become very prosperous and possess various energy resources. How could they be requesting aid because of a Butterfly Valley? Are these giant butterflies truly insurmountable?" Chang Jianyi couldn't help but ask.
Previously, Dian Province had taken the opportunity to occupy the Mian Dian region, not only acquiring resources like oil and natural gas but also occupying a large area of plains suitable for grain production. As long as they could eliminate the mutated birds in the sky, they could easily produce grain. With energy and food, Dian Province would be very prosperous. Yet, at this moment, they were asking for aid, which indicated that they had encountered an unsolvable problem. However, if it were merely a crisis caused by butterflies, it should not have been so dire.
"According to the information we've gathered, the butterflies that have appeared in the south are indeed very troublesome. These butterflies not only eat people, but there are practically no edible parts on their bodies. Even if they were inedible, the powder on their wings is also poisonous. As long as you come into contact with it, you will experience hallucinations, which is incredibly terrifying!" The intelligence department then revealed all the information they knew.
"Why don't we call Shen Feng back at this time? Winter has passed, and troublesome insects have appeared everywhere. It's the perfect time to bring him back from North America to better deal with potential crises!" Chu Chaoyan suggested to Chang Jianyi.
Chang Jianyi was also very hesitant. However, after careful consideration, she replied, "We absolutely cannot call Shen Feng back casually. He is currently completing an important mission outside, as you and I both know. This mission is related to the future of Yuzhou and even the entire world."
Chu Chaoyan certainly knew what kind of mission it was. It was because they had learned important news at the research institute that the doomsday was brought about by aliens, and Shen Feng needed to verify the truth of this news, which was why he left China for North America to investigate the cause.
However, at this moment, Chu Chaoyan did not believe this news to be true. Even if a card was found in a meteorite, what could that prove? It was just a card, and it could have been fabricated by humans using the latest technology to mislead others. Yet, Shen Feng believed it wholeheartedly.
"Even if we don't call him back, at least notify him so he can plan his next steps, right?" Chu Chaoyan retorted.
"That's true. Then you should quickly go to the communication room and make a satellite call to inform Shen Feng about the situation in various parts of China, letting him think about his next course of action. If he can't find any information about aliens, then he should come back quickly. If he has a target, then let him continue searching," Chang Jianyi said helplessly.
Chu Chaoyan immediately went to act. She arrived at the communication room and began to make a satellite call, but it did not go through. It turned out that Shen Feng had gone to South America at this time. During the doomsday, satellites were precious resources, and many satellites had reached their retirement age and lost contact in orbit. The precious satellites were always flying in the Northern Hemisphere, so there was no signal coverage in South America. It was impossible to contact Shen Feng.
"Where on earth did this guy run off to? Why isn't the phone working? Did he elope with Xu Xing?" Chu Chaoyan thought to herself.
The reason Chu Chaoyan had such thoughts was that Shen Feng often went out before, and when he went out, he would usually bring a few attendants, with very few women among them. Besides her and Li Keyi, who were both married to Shen Feng, Shen Feng took Xu Xing with him to North America this time. Therefore, Chu Zhaoyan had to suspect if Shen Feng had feelings for Xu Xing.
Chu Chaoyan then told Chang Jianyi the news and cautiously asked, "We can't contact Shen Feng now. What should we do next?"
"Since we can't contact him, we can only deal with the crisis ourselves. I don't know if we can successfully overcome the coming crisis!" Chang Jianyi said solemnly. Now, powerful insects had appeared in various places. These insects were either in swarms, or they were huge in size, or their bodies contained venom. As long as one touched them, their bodies would be corroded, and they would even be poisoned to death within a few minutes. These crises could only be handled by themselves.
"But now there are many strange insects appearing all over the country. With our strength, can we really stop them?" Chu Chaoyan couldn't help but ask.
Chang Jianyi shook her head and said, "If we can't withstand the insect attacks, there will definitely be turmoil everywhere. We won't be able to hold our high positions anymore. For our own sake, we must stabilize the situation. I plan to send you to Baidi City. If insects come from the east, they will definitely pass near the Yangtze River. At that time, you will need to block their advance!"
Chu Chaoyan nodded and replied, "No problem. If any insects want to go upstream to Yuzhou, I will definitely stop them!"
Chang Jianyi pondered for a moment and continued, "I will also send Chang Haojie and Wang Xiqiang to Daba Mountain to intercept the locusts moving south, and send Qu Zhaoqian and Luo Hui to Dian Province for support and to guard the south. Do you think there are any problems with my arrangements?"
"This arrangement is quite good. Three sides are guarded, but you haven't assigned anyone to guard the west, which seems inappropriate!" Chu Chaoyan did not feel there were any problems with the arrangement, only that the west was not guarded was inappropriate.
"It doesn't matter. The west doesn't need guarding at all because it's the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. No insects can reproduce on a large scale in the plateau region. Moreover, in Rongcheng, there are Guo Pinming and Jin Zijue. Guo Pinming is stationed there with the army, and Jin Zijue is a seventh-tier esper. The two of them can guard the western region," Chang Jianyi gave her answer.
"It seems so. Since you have already decided, I will pack my things and prepare to go to Baidi City. It's a pity that the Three Gorges are still in the hands of others. If they were in our hands, we wouldn't have to worry about the eastern region!" Chu Chaoyan said regretfully.
In fact, when the Half-Immortal was dying, he had given Shen Feng a plan to dominate the world, which was to first occupy the Three Gorges and then sweep through the two lakes regions. As long as this could be achieved, it would lay the foundation for dominating the world. It was a pity that Shen Feng later went against the plan, not only ignoring the Half-Immortal's advice but also entering Sichuan Province, which indeed led to the current situation of being confined to one area.
"There's nothing more to say. Let's hurry to defend. As long as we ensure that spring plowing proceeds smoothly and we can hold on until autumn, as long as we have food, Yuzhou and Sichuan will not experience turmoil!" Chang Jianyi said immediately.
Chang Jianyi saw this matter very clearly. The turmoil in various places was due to food shortages, which led to frequent rebellions. As long as she controlled food, the people below would not cause trouble. However, ensuring a sufficient supply of food was not easy. The Sichuan-Chongqing region had been cultivating land for a long time and had accumulated some food. But if this food was consumed freely, it would be eaten up within half a year.
Chang Haojie had recently gotten married, and at his age, it was not convenient to live with his sister and brother-in-law all the time. He eventually found a picturesque place to live in Yuzhou City, bringing Hua Jingran with him. As for the matters in Fengshen Palace, they were handed over to Li Keyi to manage.
Li Keyi was the strongest esper in Yuzhou besides Shen Feng. Under normal circumstances, she would not leave Yuzhou. After all, if someone launched a sneak attack, Li Keyi could kill them instantly. She was no longer interested in pursuing scientific research, but she could not be idle. It was just right to have her manage Fengshen Palace to prevent any accidents at home.
Upon learning of his mission, Chang Haojie was immediately excited because he couldn't wait to fight. Now that his sister had entrusted him with the important task of defending against the locusts in the north, how could he disappoint her?
Therefore, Chang Haojie immediately said to his wife Hua Jingran, "Wait for me at home. I'm going out to fight. When I come back, I will definitely bring you a beautiful gift."
"Gifts are no longer important. As long as you can return safely, that's enough!" Hua Jingran said quickly.
At the same time, Qu Zhaoqian and Luo Hui were also packing their things and preparing to go to Dian Province. Other places had insects, and Yuzhou might not care, but if there was danger in the surrounding areas, Yuzhou would definitely not stand idly by. Because if the surrounding areas failed to defend, these insects would quickly spread to Sichuan and Chongqing, causing losses. Yuzhou had to take this matter seriously.
Wang Xiqiang said to the two of them after hearing their destination, "You two be careful when you go south. If anything unexpected happens, you'll be one less person on the street tomorrow."
"You're completely talking nonsense. We're going south, which is already dangerous. Instead of praying for us, you're cursing us. You're really not a good person!" Qu Zhaoqian couldn't help but complain, thinking that Wang Xiqiang was a bad friend.
Luo Hui said, "It's just a bunch of butterflies wandering in the valley. What's the big deal? Once we two go there, we'll definitely wipe them out!"