Chapter 633: Grasshoppers

Varden’s condition was even worse than Frelia’s. There wasn’t a single bird in the sky. Such a desolate land had long been devoid of human life; hoping to reunite with old acquaintances here was nothing but a fool’s errand.

Twenty days flew by in the blink of an eye, and the convoy had already entered the territory of Khoros. Liam Sterling said that Crystell City was just thirty kilometers away, and a few dozen kilometers beyond that lay the Tass Desert.

Their final destination was Eldoria, located southeast of the Tass Desert. The personnel who had flown out to survey the geographical environment had picked several potential sites, including the ruins of Crystell City. After countless surveys and comparisons, they ultimately chose Eldoria. The site was situated on an oasis between the Khoros Steppe and the Tass Desert, and due to earthquakes and tectonic shifts, a massive freshwater lake had formed between Eldoria and the desert. It was precisely because of this lake that the surveyors decided to make Eldoria the new base.

Upon entering Khoros, the convoy began to relax. The roads in Khoros were wide and the land was vast. Although there wasn’t much green grass on the steppe, there were plenty of various insects and grasshoppers. The children would go off in small groups to catch them, toss them into the fire, and eat them once they were roasted. The grasshoppers were crispy and rich in protein. It wasn’t just the kids; the adults liked them too.

"So many grasshoppers! And they’re so fat."

The children had already scattered to catch grasshoppers. Evelyn Ford was dozing in her carriage. Hearing the distant cheers, she opened her eyes for a look, then leaned back against the interior wall to rest again.

They would be in Eldoria soon. Evelyn Ford felt a hint of anticipation.

A few years ago, when they passed through Crystell City, they had encountered the first failed specimen and had also dug up quite a few fruit trees. Now, the fruit trees in her space had all borne fruit. Returning to the Khoros Steppe, she wondered what Crystell City had become.

"Mr. Ford, are you there?" A clear voice called out from outside the carriage. Evelyn Ford stood up and was a little surprised to see Lily West.

"What are you doing here?"

Lily West grinned and handed a cloth bag to Evelyn Ford. "Mr. Ford, I caught a lot of grasshoppers for you. They say they’re highly nutritious, and this is the only way I can repay you right now."

Evelyn Ford didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Lily, I have food. You don’t need to find grasshoppers for me. While they are edible, it’s best to wash them first, then squeeze out the saliva from their mouths and the waste from their abdomens."

Lily West was still trying to push the bag into Evelyn Ford’s hands. "Mr. Ford, please take it. I’ve eaten these grasshoppers; they’re fragrant and crispy, and taste wonderful. Ever since the convoy started giving us extra subsidies, I’ve been able to eat my fill every day. I caught these especially for you."

Meeting Lily West’s pleading gaze, Evelyn Ford had no choice but to accept the bag.

"Don’t catch them for me again. This is the first and last time, alright?"

Lily West nodded. She was already very happy that Evelyn Ford had accepted her gift.

Evelyn Ford shook her head with a resigned sigh. ’Grasshoppers might make a meal, but they’re a pain to prepare. The time spent catching them would be better spent reading my medical books.’

Opening the cloth bag, she took out two of the grasshoppers. Evelyn Ford studied them for a few seconds and sensed something was off.

These grasshoppers were different from ordinary ones. Their backs had intersecting red and green markings, their abdomens were an earthy gray, and they were much larger than usual.

After Lily West left, Evelyn Ford took the bag of grasshoppers back into the carriage to study them further. Many of them were still alive. Evelyn took out a large napa cabbage to try and lure them out, but the moment the cabbage appeared, the grasshoppers in the bag went wild, trying to scramble out. Evelyn quickly clamped the mouth of the bag shut and tied it tightly with a rope.

The grasshoppers inside the bag were like crazed bulls, ceaselessly beating their wings against the cloth. The sound of their vibrating wings was loud. Evelyn Ford set the bag aside and observed the ten or so grasshoppers that had gotten out as they frantically devoured the napa cabbage.

An entire, untouched napa cabbage was already torn to shreds. It seemed these creatures were the reason the steppe was devoid of greenery.

Evelyn Ford was finally witnessing firsthand the meaning of the phrase "a plague of locusts leaves nothing in its wake." Another name for grasshopper is locust. When they appeared in massive swarms, they would devour everything in their path—not just crops, but trees, grass, anything green would be eaten clean.

Since there were no crops on the steppe, the appearance of these grasshoppers didn’t pose a threat. Besides, with so many people in the convoy, if everyone caught just a few, they’d be cleared out in no time.

Evelyn Ford was just curious. ’Where did so many grasshoppers come from?’

Evelyn Ford pulled the curtain shut and, with a flash, entered her space. She had to test these grasshoppers for any bacteria or viruses.

When she emerged from her laboratory, Evelyn Ford breathed a sigh of relief. The grasshoppers weren’t toxic and were safe to eat.

Annie and Zoe came to find Evelyn Ford and immediately spotted the bag in her hands. The living grasshoppers were still beating their wings inside, the BUZZING sound rising and falling. Zoe thought there were bees in the bag and hid behind Annie, frightened.

"Auntie, bees sting, and it really hurts!"

"They’re not bees, they’re grasshoppers. They don’t sting."

"Can we eat them?"

Evelyn Ford nodded. "Of course we can. Come on, I’ll fry up a plate for you to try."

Evelyn Ford poured the grasshoppers into a basin, added cold water, and had the two children wash them. To deep-fry the whole bag of grasshoppers, Evelyn poured in half a bucket of oil. The others working in the cotton fields soon smelled the fragrant aroma.

"Two or three per person is enough. You shouldn’t eat too many; they can cause inflammation."

Zoe hadn’t expected grasshoppers to be so delicious. She started clamoring to go outside and catch more, and Annie looked eager to join in.

"There are too many people outside; you can’t go out yet. Once we get to Eldoria and settle in, you’ll be able to go out and play. You can even make new friends."

The two children were quickly placated. Evelyn Ford tried one of the golden, crispy grasshoppers. The taste was decent. ’No wonder everyone likes them,’ she thought.

When Quincy and the others returned to the wooden cabin, their eyes were immediately drawn to the large basin of grasshoppers in the living room.

"You went and caught these?"

"Lily West caught them for me. The steppe is swarming with grasshoppers; it’s a good thing there are no crops. But it’s strange... besides the grasshoppers, there aren’t any wild animals on the steppe. They couldn’t have all gone extinct, could they?"

Ethan Dawson shook his head. "I doubt it. Animals have keen senses and can detect danger long before it arrives. The animals from the steppe probably just migrated somewhere else. Once the environment returns to normal, they’ll come back."

Evelyn Ford thought Ethan Dawson had a point. The convoy would reach Eldoria in another two days, and everyone was in high spirits. The large basin of deep-fried grasshoppers was wiped clean, and even Quincy was tempted to go out and catch some himself.

"I can’t believe we’re back on the steppe," someone sighed. "If we had known it would come to this, we might as well have stayed and built our own shelter here back then."

"Who could have known?"