HLM -Chapter 1254 Either the Locusts Die or I Live

“In drought years, rivers and lakes shrink, lowlands are exposed, providing more suitable sites for locusts to lay eggs. On the other hand, plants grown in dry conditions have lower water content, and locusts feeding on them grow faster and reproduce more vigorously…”

Wang Bo no longer wanted to listen to these explanations. He turned off the TV, stood up, and paced anxiously.

Eva, her belly big with child, came over and handed him a cup of coffee, speaking gently: “Don’t worry, darling. The locusts haven’t migrated south yet. Maybe the Ministry of Agriculture will soon find a way to deal with them.”

Wang Bo said worriedly, “You know, New Zealand is too small. It won’t take long for the locusts to migrate south. Sunset Town is far too tempting for them. We have vast pastures, we have water sources—they’ll definitely want to come here.”

Eva said, “But they can’t lay eggs here. They won’t want to stay in Sunset Town—that’s their nature. They only want to destroy this place.”

Indeed, during the Anti-Japanese War, the Chinese compared the Japanese to locusts, and there were many similarities.

For example, the Japanese then frantically plundered China’s wealth and resources and killed Chinese people indiscriminately—they didn’t aim to permanently live on Chinese soil. Similarly, locusts also have a natural hatred for beautiful, verdant areas. They must lay eggs on land where vegetation cover is below 50%. If a place is lush and green with no exposed soil, locusts cannot reproduce.

However, they will destroy those lush areas, devour all the greenery, leaving the land bare—thus creating a place where they can survive.

That night, Wang Bo didn’t rest. He led his farmers and cowboys in preparation for battle. He ignored New Zealand government regulations and had already prepared several illegal methods for exterminating the locusts.

New Zealand had many efficient, low-toxicity, low-residue pesticides, but none specifically targeted locusts. This posed a challenge for farmers and ranchers.

Fortunately, Motak had a solution. He had once stocked a suspension made from pyrethroids and mineral oil emulsions. When sprayed, it could attach to airborne dust, enter the locust’s body, and kill them.

Seeing this insecticide, Wang Bo was ecstatic. He patted Motak on the shoulder and said, “You’ve done a great service, buddy. I want to reward you. But how did you think to stock this insecticide?”

Motak smiled wryly: “It was all divine providence. I considered that our newly developed farm might attract pests, so I prepared it. I never expected locusts would be so rare in Sunset Town, so it went unused until now.”

This suspension acts as a contact insecticide. Diluted with water and sprayed, it can linger in the air and penetrate the locust’s body through contact with its surface or appendages, corroding the wax layer or blocking spiracles, ultimately killing the pests.

But after the initial excitement, Wang Bo faced two problems: First, the supply wasn’t enough. Motak had anticipated some pests, but not a full-blown locust plague. Second, how to spray it? The farm was huge, ideally requiring an agricultural plane. Previously, they had rented planes, but now—where could they rent one? Every farm and ranch needed planes urgently.

Fortunately, Sunset Town had the Heracles Super Fire Truck. Mixing the pesticide with water and spraying it from the fire truck was possible, though less effective than a plane. It was the only feasible solution, so Wang Bo decided to use it. Soon, the fire truck rumbled into action.

Father Bo also offered advice: “Going back twenty or thirty years, our hometown also had locust plagues, especially during the ten-year disaster. Locusts really ran rampant then.”

Wang Bo asked, “How did you deal with them?”

His father racked his memory: “I remember using DDT powder, sprinkled on weeds and crops, then using parathion on hay, letting it dry, and burning it to smoke them to death.”

Wang Bo smiled wryly—this method wouldn’t work. Both DDT and parathion are banned in New Zealand due to high toxicity.

A day later, the locust swarms arrived in overwhelming numbers, splitting into two main routes. One headed north to devastate the North Island, the other south toward Sunset Town, Queenstown, and Dunedin.

Wang Bo raised the banner: “Either the locusts die, or I live!” He demanded his subordinates “fight to the death”: “We must withstand this damn assault and kill them all!”

Peterson reminded him, “Boss, the slogan doesn’t make sense. ‘Either the locusts die or I live’—isn’t that the same thing?”

Wang Bo replied, “Of course I know what it means. I mean we kill the locusts so we can live!”

Peterson laughed awkwardly: “Right, boss.”

Seeing the crisis, the New Zealand government and the Ministry of Agriculture finally convened an emergency parliamentary session to discuss temporarily relaxing strict controls on pesticides and some highly toxic chemicals to kill the locusts.

Wang Bo was so furious he almost spat blood. Meetings at times like this? Democracy has its flaws—everything requires a discussion, wasting precious time.

Little Meng’s eyes were sharp. Flying in the air, it spotted the incoming locust swarms.

All birds are natural enemies of locusts. Without orders from Wang Bo, Little Meng led the kea parrots into battle.

Since defeating the tui birds, the keas were confident. Under Little Meng’s leadership, they felt invincible. Seeing the small locusts, they charged aggressively.

The locusts were horrifyingly numerous, already split into multiple groups. Looking out, Wang Bo saw only specks—every one of them a flying locust.

It was like a sandstorm. When the swarm arrived, the sky darkened.

The countless wings of the locusts beat the air, creating a deafening buzzing that made ears ache!

Little Meng led the parrot squadron into direct combat with the swarm. No weapons were needed—the parrots had absolute advantage in head-on clashes. Dealing with locusts was easy.

But the swarm’s sheer numbers were terrifying. The locusts were reckless, not avoiding predation, relentlessly crashing into Little Meng and the parrots.

The Commander, perched on Wang Bo’s shoulder, folded his wings and muttered: “Ah, just watching this hurts!”

It really did. The keas finally experienced what it felt like for a sheep being swarmed. With so many locusts hitting them in succession, weaker parrots could even be knocked over in midair!