Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'

"He's gone mad, truly mad," the Head of the He Family, He Haiqin, who was also He Jiaqing's father, sat on the sofa, shaking his head repeatedly. He couldn't fathom what Lu Dongjun was up to.

He Yuxiu straightened her clothes. "I don't care if he's gone mad or turned into a fool, I'm going to burn down his house right now!"

He Haiqin stopped He Yuxiu, saying, "Elder Sister, don't be hasty. The real intentions behind this aren't clear yet. I'll send someone to investigate thoroughly soon. Lu Dongjun isn't a brilliant man, but he hasn't become *that* foolish. Even if he isn't afraid of offending all the major families, he shouldn't offend the people from the Outside Provinces. We must thoroughly investigate why he was able to cause trouble at the train station."

「...」

That very night, the whole of Greenwater City was in an uproar. Both the Ma Family and the Chu Family had gathered their men, ready to demand an explanation from Lu Dongjun.

Lu Dongjun waited in his mansion for them to come, but after two days of commotion, no one dared to show up.

Why didn't they come?

First, because Lu Dongjun was an Eighth Layer Martial Cultivator. As long as he was prepared, anyone entering his mansion was practically walking to their death.

Second, another power had remained silent: the Border Defense Envoy had not yet made a statement.

Lu Dongjun had seized goods at the train station, and some of the disaster relief grain had been purchased with the Border Defense Envoy's money. His actions were tantamount to slapping the Border Defense Envoy in the face.

Yet, the Border Defense Envoy had no reaction to this matter at all.

This baffled all the major families; even Monkey Qiu couldn't decipher Lu Dongjun's intentions.

At dawn, a journalist arrived at Lu Dongjun's mansion. Lu Dongjun welcomed the interview with composure.

"Regarding the grain at the train station, please be assured," Lu Dongjun stated. "I, Lu, will definitely deliver these grains to Hai Chi Ridge, not a single grain less. On top of that, I will add a personal token from myself, Lu Dongjun—I will even double the amount of grain sent."

The journalist was puzzled. "Mr. Lu, then why did you detain the grain?"

"Because it wasn't the right time to send it," Lu Dongjun patiently explained. "Hai Chi Ridge is suffering from an insect plague, with insects everywhere. Previous batches of disaster relief grain were sent. Were they any use? None at all! As soon as the grain landed, the insects consumed it completely, and the disaster victims didn't get a single bite. Sending more grain there now would be like feeding the insects. When the grain is truly needed, none will be available. That's no way to provide disaster relief!"

Hai Chi Ridge was indeed suffering from an extremely rare insect plague.

These insects were a type of mosquito, one that specialized in eating grain.

In the past, nobody would have believed that grain-eating mosquitoes could exist. Mosquitoes feed through a needle-like proboscis and are not equipped to eat grain.

But this was truly happening.

Black-skinned, white-spotted mosquitoes appeared in Hai Chi Ridge. These mosquitoes didn't feed on blood but specialized in eating grain.

Once hatched from their eggs, the larvae of these mosquitoes fed only on water fleas and could reach full size in a single day.

On the second day, they pupated, and by the third day, they became adults and started consuming grain.

Take white rice, for example. These mosquitoes could bore a hole into a grain of rice, excrete an acid that liquefied the rice from the inside out, then they would suck it dry, leaving an empty husk.

A single mosquito could eat two grains of rice in a day, which might not sound like much.

But on the fourth day, newly matured mosquitoes could mate. Immediately after mating, a female could lay over a hundred eggs.

On the fifth day, the female mosquito could lay eggs again, over a hundred more.

With such efficiency, a mosquito's lifespan was roughly ninety days. For over eighty of those days, a female could lay eggs, meaning a single female could produce over eight thousand eggs in its lifetime.

Could all these eight thousand-plus eggs survive?

About eighty percent of them would survive.

These mosquitoes were poisonous; from egg and larva to adult, all stages were highly toxic. Birds, beasts, fish, and other insects dared not eat them. Without natural predators, their population could snowball.

Throughout Hai Chi Ridge, these mosquitoes were everywhere. They could smell the scent of grains—rice, millet, wheat, corn—they would devour any grain they found.

Hai Chi Ridge tried everything to deal with these mosquitoes: using smoke, poison. Some places even hired practitioners of Poison Cultivation to use techniques, sometimes killing hundreds of thousands at once.

Was it useful?

Basically useless.

Hundreds of thousands meant little to these mosquito swarms.

In one village, even if every mosquito was killed, the next day, swarms of new mosquitoes would fly in from outside the village and devour all the grain.

Some villages guarded their stores strictly, preserving a little grain, just hoping that by the time winter came, these mosquitoes would disappear.

Who could have thought these mosquitoes were not afraid of the cold? But now it was already winter, and the number of mosquitoes had barely decreased. Nearly all the grain in Hai Chi Ridge had been devoured by these mosquitoes.

This was the territory of Food Cultivators. A Food Cultivator who didn't eat for a day could lose their life.

Countless people had died in Hai Chi Ridge, and these black-skinned mosquitoes had come to be known as Clan-Exterminating Mosquitoes.

The reporter asked directly, "Mr. Lu, the Clan-Exterminating Mosquitoes are rampant, and people are dying every day in Hai Chi Ridge. Do you intend to just keep waiting?"

Lu Dongjun shook his head. "Of course, I won't just wait. I will mobilize the full strength of the Lu Family, and within one month, these pests will be completely exterminated."

CLICK! CLICK!

The photographer continuously pressed the shutter. His words carried significant weight.

The major families of Puluo State had expended countless resources and, to this day, had found no way to deal with these mosquitoes. And Lu Dongjun claimed he would eradicate them within a month?

The reporter also grew nervous. "Mr. Lu, are you the one in charge of the Lu Family now? Does what you just said represent the entire stance of the Lu Family?"

Lu Dongjun stood up. "My elder brother has entrusted the family's heavy responsibilities to me. This is the important task my elder brother has given me. Regardless of how those despicable individuals try to stir up trouble, my brother's trust in me will not change. When trouble arose in Hai Chi Ridge, my Lu Family would never stand by indifferently, nor would we merely send a few carts of grain to show our concern and then wash our hands of the matter. I must save Hai Chi Ridge; I must save the countless suffering and starving people. This is my duty as a member of the Lu Family, and it is my responsibility as Lu Dongjun!"

CLICK!

Lu Dongjun's resolute expression and posture were captured on film.

「...」

After the reporters left, Lu Dongjun called over Wan Jinxian. "So, is this plan actually reliable?"

Wan Jinxian handed a glass jar to Lu Dongjun and said, "Master, take a look. Not a single mosquito in this jar is alive. This is a method I've poured my heart and soul into developing. If one mosquito gets the disease, any mosquito that touches it will also die. It will spread contagiously. Within half a month, the mosquitoes of Hai Chi Ridge will surely be eradicated. By that time, you will be the god of Hai Chi Ridge, and Hai Chi Ridge will be your exclusive territory. The urgent matter now is to quickly liquidate our businesses in Greenwater City, converting everything into real gold and silver. We must relocate. The turmoil in Greenwater City can no longer hinder you."