I transformed into a cute girl and lived a carefree life in the apocalypse.

"I'm not in the mood, I just want to spend my time in the lab."

Jiang Lan turned her back and started to throw a tantrum. She felt that there were only two kinds of things in her life that were meaningful.

One is to dedicate your energy to accomplishing what you want to do in the laboratory; the other is...

"Or maybe Zimo, chatting with me would be helpful?"

Jiang Lan finally revealed her true colors, but Yan Ziming found her request adorably silly and couldn't help but laugh, "Alright, alright, the entire morning is yours."

"Just in the morning?"

Jiang Lan was not satisfied.

"Miss, I'm a very busy person too! It's not easy for me to spare a morning!" Yan Ziming said irritably.

"That!"

Yan Ziming stayed in the room and chatted with Jiang Lan for the entire morning. Before leaving, Yan Ziming checked on her physical condition one last time.

To be honest, Yan Ziming was very worried that Jiang Lan might have some lingering effects from being kidnapped last time. Mental effects were secondary; as long as she was alright, that was all that mattered. The key was that she was alright!

"Do you really want me to be diagnosed with some kind of illness?"

"No, it's just that in movies, there are often bugs laying eggs inside people and stuff... so I'm worried..."

"Eek—" Jiang Lan shivered. Yan Ziming's words made her feel a little scared.

Squeak...

The door opened without permission, and a bright green little girl walked in.

"Xiao Lan, it's time for the routine check-up." Luo Li didn't even glance inside when she came in; she was still looking at the report in her hand.

Snapped--

"Whoa! Who! Which bastard?! How dare they ambush me?!"

Luo Li covered her forehead and retreated rapidly, raising her paws like a frightened cat, ready to scratch the rude assailant who had ambushed her to death at any moment.

Yan Ziming rolled her eyes and scolded, "Couldn't you at least ask the people inside before coming in?"

Others might have to swallow their pride and endure this arrogant little girl, but Yan Ziming didn't need to. In terms of status, he was equal to her, and in terms of strategy, he was far superior.

Upon seeing that it was Yan Ziming who flicked her forehead, Luo Li immediately lost her temper, but her attitude was still not very good, "Tch, it's you, here to meet your little lover?"

"!!!"

Jiang Lan's face flushed bright red, as if steam was rising from it.

Sizzle...

A few flashes of electricity made Luo Li shudder, and she immediately tightened her mouth.

She had no doubt that this disrespectful woman would give her a "loving correction" in a special way the next second.

"Ahem, Xiaolan, you should go get checked out. I need to talk to her about something."

"Whoa whoa!"

Jiang Lan, terrified by Yan Ziming's words, hurriedly put on her slippers and left. She estimated that she would have to take seven or eight showers after the examination, and she would probably not be able to sleep that night.

Luo Li was unaware of all this. She had previously tried to persuade her, but now that she was being so proactive, it greatly surprised her.

"You made an appointment to come over at noon, right? There are some things I'd like you to take a look at."

“Okay.” Yan Ziming nodded; this was precisely her goal in coming to Bei’an.

Luo Li led Yan Ziming to the research institute near the edge of Bei'an City.

This place is heavily guarded, and its defenses are even more stringent than those of Jiang Lan's location. There are guards every ten steps, and all kinds of heavy firepower are readily available. The walls are piled up to seven meters high.

If you could see inside, you would understand why the security is so tight.

This is a prison, a prison for insect beasts.

13. The vigorous recovery movement (Part 1)

After the unexpected events that occurred in China, the international situation was also unsettled.

After receiving relevant intelligence from China, Russia immediately dispatched troops to inspect its former nuclear waste burial sites. Upon arrival, they discovered that the situation was exactly the same as in China: the sites had been hollowed out.

This incident alarmed the other major powers, who quickly conducted their own investigations, only to find that the results were somewhat different.

Nuclear waste storage facilities within the United States remain intact, as do those in the European Union.

"So you're saying this only happens in Asia...?"

Li Hao had a map on his desk, and he circled Asia with a pen as he fell into thought.

After the incident, the military explored several other sites where nuclear waste was buried, and the results were the same.

Furthermore, at a nuclear waste burial site, personnel had just disembarked from the plane when they were overwhelmed by insects that suddenly appeared from every corner, and the helicopter was even dismantled into countless fragments.

The situation is urgent and cannot be delayed.

This unfamiliar enemy immediately raised the alert level across China to its highest level.

After learning that their burrowing skills were almost maxed out, all the military administrative districts launched a comprehensive survey overnight, and fortunately, they did not find the swarm of insects under their feet.

However, several insect nests were subsequently discovered in some of the surrounding areas that had already been overrun.

Now, the whole country was mobilized. A superpower began to operate at full capacity in this regard. Satellites scanned the country again and again, frequently flying over China. Countless helicopters took off from military bases to conduct explorations in various parts of the country, not even missing some corners that had been deserted for years before the apocalypse.

Two days after this relentless search, a relatively clear result emerged before the Chinese leadership.

"The number of insect nests discovered nationwide is currently 247... Oh, according to the latest news, there's been one more."

When Li Hao presented this report to the higher-ups, everyone felt a sharp headache.

Have we already reached 248 without even realizing it?

These insect nests vary in size. The largest occupies an entire mountain forest and is estimated to contain over ten million insects and beasts, while the smallest is only half the size of a city and can hold no more than one hundred thousand insects and beasts.

"I think this number is still a bit low. I think that given the insects' reproductive capacity, the actual number should be far more than this."

Someone asked that question.

Two hundred and forty-eight insect nests, on average each one is just over three million, less than a billion, which is less than half the number of mutated species in China.

"That's because we haven't included the areas outside the country's borders yet," Li Hao said coldly.

Two hundred and forty-eight insect nests were discovered within China alone. How many more must there be in those tiny neighboring countries that were destroyed by the apocalypse?

Actually, if you ignore their burrows, these insects are quite easy to deal with. Even if their numbers increased by another billion, they would still be bombarded by the military's heavy artillery fire on the front lines without any suspense.

However, their intelligence is clearly not low. They are a highly organized race and are well aware of humanity's advantage in artillery. They will not appear on the front lines to be attacked, but instead dig pits at home, waiting for humans to jump in. This is the most troublesome thing.

Surely China can't just sit idly by and watch these insects continue to grow stronger?

If they cannot allow the insects to grow stronger, they will inevitably take the initiative to attack, and will inevitably fall into the insects' trap, and for a time they will be trapped in a dead end.

"Does anyone have any good ideas?" Li Hao looked around, soliciting opinions.

"Um... what would happen if we removed the mother worm?"

Li Haoyi's eyes suddenly lit up.

That's a great suggestion!

Without the queen insect, even if humans can't deal with them for the time being, they lose the means to continue growing.

In that case, even if humans ignore it, there will be no worries in the short term.

"I think the mother insect is at the very top of the hierarchy among these insects, and it is definitely not a class that can be easily replaced."

"Killing the mother insect is the same as eradicating their entire lineage!"

The conversation gradually moved in this direction, yielding many valuable results, and Li Hao nodded in satisfaction.

"To be honest, I'm also very curious about how the mother insect appears. Let's continue our research in that direction and each of you submit a report to me tomorrow."

After saying that, Li Hao announced the adjournment of the meeting, and officers of all ranks hurried back to prepare.

They cannot afford to relax even for a while in the future.

Removing the mother worm is a good idea, but theory is just theory. The mother worm is not so easy to remove. It must be surrounded by countless guards and its location is hidden. Mu Mu's encounter with the mother worm was purely coincidental. He doesn't know if he will have such luck again.

Moreover, after this incident of alerting the enemy, the mother insect will likely hide in more secluded places in the future, and may not even hide in the nest anymore.

Furthermore, even if the mother worm is removed, Li Haoyi does not want the remaining worms to cause trouble around China, so it is better to remove them as soon as possible.

How can I allow others to sleep soundly on my own bed?

What's more, there were a bunch of disgusting insects next to the bed.

All hope now rests on what significant results Luo Li and her team can obtain from the captured mother insect, as well as the insect eggs, which are invaluable materials that can help humans decipher their physical data.

.............

Meanwhile, the campaign to recapture Jiangning also began in earnest.

"Line up!"

"Armored Corps, 9th Division, in position!"

"All personnel are on board. Please provide further instructions!"