Chapter 106: Mice Are Not for Eating

Chu Peipei looked at the two chickens and said, “These chickens sure grow fast!”

As she spoke, she even swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Zhao Ping’an’s mouth twitched. “You can’t eat them yet! They’re still just chicks!”

Chu Peipei looked confused. “Huh? But you told me to pick one…”

An Nan couldn’t help but laugh at her expression.

Just now, from the look in her eyes, it was as if she could already see a sizzling, juicy roast chicken.

Zhao Ping’an explained, “I meant for you to take one home and raise it. It can help you get rid of cockroaches in your house!”

Raise it?

Chu Peipei suddenly realized: That’s right! If I keep it at home to get rid of cockroaches, I won’t even need to feed it extra grain.

And once it’s grown, I can eat it then.

As if he could read her mind, Zhao Ping’an reminded her, “In another month or two, it’ll start laying fresh eggs for you every day. When the time comes, you can choose whether you want eggs or chicken.”

Chu Peipei’s eyes lit up. “Eggs?!”

Then I’ll keep it for the eggs first, and only eat it when it stops laying!

Not a bit goes to waste!

She happily picked the one that looked the most docile. “I’ll take this one!”

“But I’ve never raised a chicken before. I’m not sure I can do it…”

An Nan said, “Just watch out for mutant rats. Don’t let them bite your chicken to death.”

As she spoke, she took out the rat poison and realgar powder she’d found earlier and handed them to Zhao Ping’an and Chu Peipei.

Chu Peipei took a look at the items. “Why is there realgar?”

Zhao Ping’an seemed thoughtful. “Idol, are you worried there might be snakes?”

It’s not just a worry—there will be snakes.

But An Nan couldn’t say that directly, so she just said, “You know how it is—where there are pests, there are always snakes, bugs, rats, and ants. Now that we’ve got bugs and rats, I’m really worried snakes might show up too. I happened to have some realgar at home, so it’s better to be prepared.”

Chu Peipei shivered. “If there are snakes, that’s just too scary! I’ve never even seen a real snake in my life.”

Zhao Ping’an frowned. “What An Nan said isn’t impossible.”

“Snakes aren’t afraid of water. Since these cockroaches and rats survived the floods, snakes definitely can too… The sudden appearance of all these pests makes me think the temperature is about to spike again, which is why they’re all rushing indoors. Animals are always more sensitive to nature than humans.”

An Nan looked at him with newfound respect.

He was right. Not long after these disgusting things appeared, the temperature soared to 60 degrees Celsius.

In her previous life, everyone was so busy dealing with pests that no one realized what it meant.

This Zhao Ping’an really was an apocalypse expert—he could always predict what was coming.

Zhao Ping’an continued, “Snakes hate high temperatures even more. If the rats and cockroaches are coming inside, there’s a good chance snakes will too.”

Chu Peipei was creeped out by his words.

“You mean, the temperature might get even higher, and there could be a snake infestation too?”

Her voice was trembling. “How are we supposed to survive that? That’s just overkill! Way too scary…”

An Nan said, “Zhao Ping’an’s analysis makes sense. We should all stay in as much as possible for now. If the temperature gets any higher, it could literally roast us alive.”

Then she asked, “How did your search for oil go?”

Chu Peipei replied, “Pretty well. We’ve found most of what we need. There are more and more people out looking for oil now, so there’s not much left.”

Zhao Ping’an nodded. “We were just saying on the way back that we’ll go out one more time tonight, and then stop.”

An Nan did a quick calculation in her head. The extreme heat wouldn’t hit until tomorrow or the day after, so one more trip tonight should be fine.

She nodded. “Just be careful and wear your thermal suits. After tonight, don’t go out again.”

Both of them nodded.

Zhao Ping’an looked at the realgar in his hand. “I’ll spread this outside the door and on the windowsills as soon as I get back! But hopefully, we won’t need it…”

Just thinking about slippery, tongue-flicking snakes was terrifying.

An Nan reminded him, “Be careful with the sewers, too.”

Those snakes, bugs, and rats might not just come in through the doors and windows.

Chu Peipei looked at the hen, rat poison, and realgar powder in her hands, feeling a little embarrassed.

“You both brought out such useful things, but I don’t really have anything special at home…”

An Nan was about to say something when she saw Chu Peipei’s eyes light up.

“Oh, right! I can help you both with your health as thanks. After tonight’s oil run, I’ll come over every evening to give you acupuncture and help regulate your qi and blood.”

If you don’t have enough supplies, offer your skills!

An Nan swallowed back what she was about to say.

Health treatments?

Who could say no to that!

She immediately replied, “No objections here!”

Zhao Ping’an said, “I don’t really need anything, but if you have time, could you take a look at my mom? If you can help with her mania, I’d give you all my chickens.”

Chu Peipei quickly shook her head. “No way! I can’t take care of that many.”

The three of them were chatting happily when suddenly, a wailing cry came from downstairs.

“Dad! Dad, wake up!”

“Honey! Don’t die, please! If I’d known, I never would have let you try eating that rat…”

It was the family in 1001 on the tenth floor.

The people who’d run out of their apartments in disgust at the swarms of cockroaches and rats were the ones who still had some food left.

The truly desperate, when faced with those disgusting creatures, had only one thought: Can we eat them?

They were simply starving.

Especially the family in 1001, who had a child.

After some discussion, the husband tried eating a rat, and the wife tried a cockroach. If nothing happened, they’d feed some to their child.

That way, they wouldn’t have to go hungry anymore.

But not long after the man ate the rat, he started foaming at the mouth and convulsing, and soon stopped breathing.

The woman and child were terrified, crying uncontrollably.

“Honey, wake up! How could this happen?? I saw people from Yuenan eating rats on Douyin all the time, and they were fine!”

The woman’s cries were heart-wrenching, but she didn’t know that rats are naturally riddled with bacteria.

And these fat mutant rats were even worse.

They’d eaten too many rotting corpses and flood-soaked garbage—the bacteria levels were off the charts.

Forget eating them—even a bite from one could be deadly.

The three on the fourteenth floor listened to the cries from below, their hearts heavy, and none of them felt like chatting anymore.

Especially An Nan, who remembered that her dog Fugui had just bitten a rat and gotten blood all over its mouth. She rushed home in a panic.

No way! I have to wash my dog again!

She couldn’t let Fugui catch some terrible disease.

She hurriedly pushed open the door—only to find her home in a state of high tension…"