Reborn with Nothing but My Farm and Vengeance in the Apocalypse

Chapter 543: Chapter 543: The Three-colored Parasitic Wasp

Watching the report on TV, Melody Summers thought, ’The reason Caleb Summers inexplicably fell into a ditch and drowned was, in all likelihood, because he was being controlled by a Tricolor Parasitoid Wasp in his brain...’

Melody Summers frowned, lost in her own thoughts, and didn’t notice the expression on Grace Sutton’s face beside her looking increasingly unwell.

Staring at the screen filled with swarming, colorful, constantly wriggling insects, Grace Sutton tried to hold it in, but she just couldn’t control herself and subconsciously let out a retch: "GAG—!!!"

Grace Sutton’s retching startled Melody Summers. She quickly stood up to pat her on the back, asking with a worried expression, "Aunt Grace, are you okay? Are you feeling sick?"

Grace Sutton dry-heaved for a few moments before she finally caught her breath.

She raised a hand to wipe the tears that had formed in her eyes and shook her head. "I... I’m fine... It’s just so disgusting... These insects... they look just like maggots in an outhouse in summer..."

’And colorful maggots, at that!’

She wondered if the people who made the news were trying to get revenge on society; the camerawork was outrageous. The entire frame was filled with a dense mass of insects in a puddle.

There they were, a dense, writhing mass, appearing on the widescreen, high-definition, color TV!

Even though Grace Sutton was middle-aged and had seen her fair share of things, she had never seen such a disgusting sight!

She couldn’t help but think, ’No wonder those people from the south and east ends of the city would rather cram into hallways with others just to take refuge here—who could stand living in the same space as these things?’

’If Terra’s future is full of these insects, I’d rather just leave the planet!’

Seeing Grace Sutton’s pale face, Melody Summers quickly grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.

She poured Grace Sutton a glass of water and comforted her, "Don’t be scared, Aunt Grace. These things live in standing water. We’re on high ground here, so there aren’t any large areas of standing water, which means we don’t have them."

’Although these things seem to be swarming and running rampant, they actually have extremely strict environmental requirements. They have wings, but they don’t just fly all over the world; they only reproduce in places with large areas of standing water.’

’If this torrential rain hadn’t caused massive flooding, the Tricolor Parasitoid Wasp wouldn’t have proliferated like this.’

Hearing this, Grace Sutton asked hesitantly, "...So, does that mean once the floodwaters recede, these things will disappear?"

Melody Summers was taken aback by the question. ’Truth be told, I have no idea!’

’In my past life, the floodwaters hadn’t even receded before I was killed by the Lancasters, so I had no idea what happened afterward.’

Melody Summers lowered her gaze and said nothing. Grace Sutton didn’t notice anything unusual about her. She took a sip of water, composed herself, and said, "...I heard on the TV just now that these things can also control their hosts to attack other people. That’s just too terrifying..."

The thought of being parasitized by one of these insects and being controlled to either commit suicide or murder sent a chill down Grace Sutton’s spine. ’Are they even human anymore? They’re just like zombies from a movie!’

Then, as if remembering something, she quickly said, "Right! I remember now! A little while ago, two people acting erratically came to our door, trying to break in... The way they had those twisted faces and blank stares... I bet they were parasitized by those Parasitoid Wasps!"

Melody Summers was stunned again. ’There are parasitized people in The Metropolis Residences, too?’

Grace Sutton’s face was pale, and with a worried expression, she said, "Oh no! This is bad! When we were struggling, that man sprayed saliva at me! Will I get infected?!"

The more Grace Sutton thought about it, the more terrified she became. ’If I get parasitized by those disgusting, colorful maggots, I’d rather just die!’

Seeing Grace Sutton’s look of utter despair, Melody Summers quickly reassured her, "No, no, don’t worry, Aunt Grace. This parasite isn’t a contagious disease. You can’t get it that way!"

"They can only parasitize a body when they’re still in egg form. As long as you’re careful not to let any cuts or scrapes come into contact with the rainwater, you won’t be parasitized by the Parasitoid Wasps!"

After finally managing to calm Grace Sutton down, Melody Summers took out her phone and opened the community group chat. She wanted to see if there was any news about residents being parasitized by the Tricolor Parasitoid Wasp. After all, there was a chance that parasitized individuals would attack others, which was still somewhat dangerous.

But she didn’t expect that the moment she opened the group chat, she would be assaulted by a high-definition close-up of a "Tricolor Parasitoid Wasp":

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: [Image]"

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: [Image]"

"2-1408 Bella Grant: @3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two What is that thing?! GAG!!! So disgusting!!"

"4-1209 Goofing Off: @3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two Why would you post something like this in the group chat! It’s triggering my trypophobia!"

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: Sorry, neighbors. I just posted it to ask if anyone knows what this is and if they’re poisonous."

"2-1908 Coco: @3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two Haven’t you been watching the news? It’s a new species called the Tricolor Parasitoid Wasp. Just like the Sandvine Worms from before, it’s not poisonous."

"4-1209 Goofing Off: @3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two Aren’t those things only in the flooded areas? Where did you get that?!"

"3-805 Fruit Gummy: What a neat little thing."

"4-2009 Nina: Oh my god, don’t tell me we have these things in our complex now too?!"

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: Everyone, calm down. It wasn’t found in the complex."

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: A little kid who’s taking refuge here gave them to my Buddy. He had collected a lot of insects in a glass bottle, and when he saw my Buddy liked them, he gave her a few."

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: My Buddy thinks they’re pretty and insists on keeping them. I want to throw them out, but she won’t let me, so I posted it here to ask if they’re poisonous. If they are, I’m definitely getting rid of them."

"2-1408 Bella Grant: @3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two GAG!! If my son dared to bring something like that home, I’d throw him and the bugs out of the house together!! So disgusting!!"

"2-1408 Bella Grant: Thank god we don’t have those things in our complex!! Otherwise, I’d have to move out tonight!!"

"4-1209 Goofing Off: @3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two Even if they’re not poisonous, they’re disgusting enough. Besides, it’s a new species. There might be unknown risks that haven’t been discovered yet. It’s better not to let your kid play with them."

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: @4-1209 Goofing Off Okay, you have a good point. I’ll go throw them away right now!"

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: You guys think... you can eat these things?"