Chapter 19: Chapter 19 High Temperature
The mosquito's head must have fallen off and then got crushed by the wheels of a car.
But the creature that resembled a mosquito was as big as two adult hands!
In Jiang Yan's memory, mosquitoes actually can't withstand high temperatures or cold.
Generally, when temperatures rise above thirty degrees or drop below ten degrees, mosquitoes would die off because they stop reproducing.
Could this be some new species she didn't recognize??
Jiang Yan took out her phone, snapped a long-distance photo and after scanning her surroundings for any of its companions, she quickly got into her car.
She shut the doors and windows with one fluid motion.
The young man finished his phone call, took out cleaning equipment and several bottles of mineral water from his trunk, and washed the bloodstain off the windshield before he too hurriedly got into his car.
"Ma'am, sorry for the delay," he wiped the sweat off his forehead, apologized, and then quickly started the vehicle.
Jiang Yan: "It's fine."
She just searched the picture online to compare, and the search results showed that this species had Aedes-type body characteristics.
Aedes mosquitoes are most adept at spreading yellow fever, dengue fever, and encephalitis.
But in reality, there's no mosquito of that size.
The world's largest mosquito is the Holorusia mikado with a size of up to 35mm, and it only feeds on nectar, not blood.
And the amount of blood spilled just now was at least 500cc.
If these were indeed mutated mosquitoes, one could only imagine the kind of disaster humanity would face.
After all, if mosquitoes could mutate, then other creatures were likely to as well.
Jiang Yan searched to no avail, so she simply posted the photo anonymously online:
#Help, #UnknownSpecies, Found a creature resembling a giant mosquito, do you recognize it? And she tagged several science influencers and official science academies.
"Ma'am, that insect certainly looked like a mosquito, but mosquitoes absolutely cannot grow to that size, what do you think?"
The young man, still with a sense of horror, finished speaking and then suddenly "huh"-ed in surprise, saying, "How strange, why does the temperature keep rising today?"
Hearing this, Jiang Yan glanced up.
Indeed, the external temperature displayed on the dashboard had skyrocketed to 40 degrees!
And it was around five in the afternoon now, not the hottest part of the day.
The online discussions about high temperatures and rising temperatures had suddenly become more frequent.
If Anming, with its normally mild climate, was like this, then those cities known as the four furnaces would be even worse.
It looked like the apocalypse was likely to come early.
Jiang Yan rubbed her temples and closed her eyes, beginning to ponder what preparations she still hadn't made.
*
Returning just in time for the evening rush hour, the roads were congested more than usual.
By the time Jiang Yan got back to Shallow Bay, it was almost seven o'clock.
Not far from the front entrance of the district, an ambulance and several police cars were parked, their red and blue lights flashing nonstop.
A crowd of Shallow Bay District residents, frightened and talking animatedly among themselves, surrounded the vehicles, with men, women, old, and young among them.
The entrance to the district's underground parking lot was cordoned off with police tape.
Combined with the constantly rising temperatures, this scene made people feel unnerved.
Seeing this, Jiang Yan got out of her car early.
The air outside was unbearably hot.
Even in her full gear, Jiang Yan felt it was getting hard to breathe as she walked faster.
Just as she reached the entrance of the district, she heard the crowd of onlookers loudly discussing.
"My God! It's terrifying! They say the person was sucked dry!"
"The blood hole on her body, it was as big as my son's fist!"
"I heard it was a mosquito as big as a human face that bit her, and all her blood was sucked out!"
"Don't stir up panic. An adult has at least 4000ml of blood, how could it all be sucked out!"
"The point is it's not just one, big brother, it's a bunch of them!!!"
"A bunch??!! Could it be that the mosquitoes have mutated?!"
"Crap, I've heard that only female mosquitoes feed on blood; it can't have laid eggs in there after feeding! Good Lord, it's someone from Building D; looks like we can't go over there in the future!"
"God! Could it really be that the apocalypse is coming!! Look how hot it is today!! I don't remember Anming ever being this hot before!! That's right, I saw a post with a warning; wow, that person is amazing, they actually predicted it!!!"
"Where is the post, that person is so impressive, dig it out, I want to see it!"
"It seems to be posted by a foreigner, pretty awesome, wait, let me see if it's been deleted."
"..."
Despite sweating profusely, a group of people were still discussing the situation with great fervor.
Jiang Yan felt a chill in her heart.
So, the Blood Mosquito that she encountered on her way earlier was not an isolated case...
Soon, several medical staff members in full Protective Clothing, escorted by the district property manager and security guards, quickly walked out of the district carrying a medical stretcher.
The person on the stretcher was covered with a white cloth from head to toe.
Behind the medical staff were a few community police officers and a short-haired woman who looked like an official worker.
The woman with short hair, looking somber, glanced at the crowd that refused to disperse and raised her voice:
"Residents, with the weather being so hot, don't stand around chatting; head home quickly! Make sure to close your doors and windows tight! Also, tell your parents to stay in for the next few days and not come out for square dancing."
Outside the main entrance of Shallow Bay District, by the fresh produce supermarket, there was a fairly large square.
Usually, by seven thirty, the sound of square dancing would punctually begin to swell in the area.
"Boss, what exactly happened?" someone in the crowd asked loudly.
The short-haired woman dodged his question and said, "Mister, nothing has happened. With temperatures this high, it's easy to get heatstroke! You guys should head home now!" After speaking, the short-haired woman added another sentence:
"Residents, let me remind you all, please don't spread rumors, don't believe rumors, don't create rumors! Whatever there is to know, the authorities will announce officially through official channels as soon as possible!"
Jiang Yan didn't stick around to hear more; she pulled her suitcase and quickly headed back to Building A where she resided.
If Blood Mosquitoes were also found in her district, it was clearly unwise to remain exposed outside.
Most people, though, hold a hope against hope mentality, always thinking that the mosquito bites were isolated cases.
The building identified with Blood Mosquito presence was Building D.
It was immediately sealed off, with workers in Protective Clothing and carrying disinfection equipment hurrying in and out.
The entrances of other buildings looked as usual.
Most people could not possibly become vigilant and cautious instantly because of temporarily rising temperatures or the appearance of Blood Mosquitoes.
Jiang Yan belonged to the minority; she didn't stop until she returned to the 32nd floor.
She lived in 3201 and glanced at her few neighbors' doors out of habit before entering.
The door of the neighboring 3202 was still tightly closed as if uninhabited.
The Door of 3203 was half-open, with two Beer crates from some outer shore placed outside, haphazardly filled with empty beer bottles.
The sound of men and women's boisterous voices and the clinking of glasses could be heard coming from inside.
Judging by the noise, they seemed to be celebrating a child's birthday at home.