This morning, Lansi was woken up early by Wen Yu.
According to Wen Yu, there was a manpower shortage, so even the reserve soldiers had been pulled into active duty.
Still half-asleep, Lansi yawned as he dressed.
"What about you?" he asked.
"I'm busy with something else."
Wen Yu's expression didn't look very good either.
Over the past few days, he had constantly been reassigned to different regions, leaving him with no excuse to openly stay near Lansi.
After getting dressed, Lansi pulled open the curtains and saw that the sky outside was still dark. A few stars were still visible overhead.
He opened the window and took a deep breath. The icy night air rushed straight into his lungs, making him shiver awake.
He couldn't help muttering to himself:
"Why are we gathering so early today?"
According to the instructors, the reserve soldiers were supposed to assemble at 6:30 in the morning.
It wasn't even four yet.
Complaining aside, Lansi didn't want to get himself into trouble. Though reluctant, he still followed the orders and headed to the assembly point.
Once he arrived, he discovered that it wasn't just his team present—all the reserve soldiers stationed here had been gathered.
Clearly, something major was happening today.
Lansi sighed quietly.
After a while, the instructor stepped forward and addressed everyone:
"The factory reported a huge shipment arriving this morning, and they're short on manpower. Your task today is to inspect transport vehicles and maintain order."
The reserve soldiers exchanged glances.
Since when did soldiers do this kind of work?
Apparently, they were just bricks to be moved wherever needed.
Soon, Lansi and his team were assigned to a checkpoint. Their job was to assist the original security staff in inspecting incoming transport vehicles for contraband.
"There are all kinds of contraband," the man assigned to receive them explained.
He was a scruffy-looking middle-aged man with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. While speaking, he watched the approaching transport trucks.
"Besides smuggled goods, the important thing is checking for mutated creatures."
Lansi curiously looked toward the vehicles driving in from the distance. The trucks thundered along the asphalt roads, making the cold night suddenly lively.
"Do you inspect this many vehicles every day?" he asked.
"Tsk, not usually. The harvest's been weird today."
The scruffy uncle sounded irritated.
"There normally aren't this many transport trucks… Tsk, tsk. It's not even migration season. Why are there so many schools of fish out at sea?"
The post-apocalyptic environment had changed the natural seasons.
September and October were especially strange periods.
Not only did land animals and plants begin entering dormant phases during this time, but marine creatures also became less active. Fish schools migrated unpredictably, making it the off-season for fishing.
Normally, boats wouldn't be running into large schools of fish one after another.
But today, the line of transport trucks was even busier than peak season.
Regardless, every truck entering the checkpoint had to be inspected.
Before long, everyone was overwhelmed with work.
The actual inspections were handled mainly by the professional inspectors. Reserve soldiers like Lansi mostly stood guard with rifles, maintained order, and occasionally helped out.
"Old Yang, looks like you had a pretty good haul," the scruffy uncle remarked while poking around inside one of the transport trucks with a detector.
Most of the transport vehicles were simply modified cargo trucks. A tarp would be thrown over the top, and fish would be dumped inside by the ton.
"Hah, who knows?" Old Yang, the truck driver, replied with a grin.
"Those fish were practically throwing themselves at the boats, like they were being chased by something. Everyone's catch was incredible today."
Judging by their casual conversation, Old Yang and the scruffy uncle seemed to know each other well.
He winked at the scruffy uncle.
"Looks like you're doing pretty well now, even bringing reserve soldiers with you."
The "reserve soldier" he referred to was Lansi.
The scruffy uncle rolled his eyes.
"You mean the brat behind me? What can he even do? The smell of milk hasn't even dried off him yet."
Lansi: "..."
He didn't mind people talking badly about him, but could they at least not do it right in front of him?
Fortunately, the transparent visor of his helmet hid his expression. Otherwise, the two middle-aged men in front of him would probably have teased him for quite a while.
"Today's harvest is more than just that."
Old Yang lowered his voice mysteriously.
"I heard one of the boats caught Snow Mountain Crabs near the coast. They say they hauled in an entire boatload."
"Snow Mountain Crabs?"
The scruffy uncle looked unconvinced.
"You're telling me someone caught a whole ship full of those things? Are you joking?"
Snow Mountain Crabs were one of the ocean's mutated crab species.
Unlike other mutant crabs, their mutation had not developed in an aggressive direction, but rather in flavor.
After mutating, the crabs became enormous and snow-white, while their taste became extraordinarily delicious.
It was said that if you dipped the crab meat in lemon juice, it tasted unbelievably refreshing. Without any freezing, the flesh remained crystal-clear, like pure snow from a mountaintop.
That was why people called them Snow Mountain Crabs.
These crabs were notoriously difficult to catch. They were rare, grew slowly, and because of their rich meat and incredible flavor, they were extremely popular among the wealthy districts.
A single mature Snow Mountain Crab could sell for several thousand credits.
For fishermen, catching more than a dozen in an entire year was already considered a blessing. Catching an entire boatload at once was almost impossible.
"Well, that's not my problem. I'm just repeating what I heard."
Old Yang shrugged carelessly.
"If you don't believe me, just wait here. If there are Snow Mountain Crabs in the next truck, you'll find out soon enough during inspection."
The scruffy uncle rolled his eyes again, waved him off, and let the truck pass.
After that, Lansi continued inspecting transport trucks alongside the scruffy uncle.
More and more vehicles lined up behind them, and even after dawn broke, the morning convoy still hadn't ended.
"Damn, I'm exhausted."
Because they were short-handed, the scruffy uncle had no choice but to drag Lansi fully into the work.
Looking at the endless line of trucks, he clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
Lansi didn't feel much better either.
He stared at the truckloads of fish with a complicated expression.
Of course, his feelings weren't complicated because he considered himself a fish.
Rather, he suddenly remembered the casual thing he had told Will yesterday—
"Just get something delicious."
Could it be because of that sentence that the fishing boats suddenly had such ridiculous harvests?
But Lansi quickly dismissed the thought himself.
Leaving aside the fact that Will was human, who in the world would feed someone this way?
The idea sounded ridiculous even to him.
After working nonstop for so long, Lansi was covered in fishy odor from constantly handling schools of fish.
Sweat dripped down his face, his eyes had gone dull with exhaustion, and he had long since tossed his helmet aside.
If he weren't a mermaid, he felt certain he would hate fish from this day onward.
The other reserve soldiers stationed there were just as miserable. The sun had risen, the air had become scorching hot, and everyone had removed their helmets and thrown them aside.
At around nine in the morning, Lansi suddenly heard commotion coming from the back of the convoy.
He looked over together with the scruffy uncle—and froze.
One of the transport trucks was completely filled with snow-white crabs.
A whole truckload of Snow Mountain Crabs rolled beneath the cargo net, lively and vigorous.
"My god… it's actually real."
The scruffy uncle muttered in disbelief.
Then he waved at Lansi, who was still inspecting another truck.
"Come on. I'll show you something good."
Lansi looked at the snow-white crabs from afar and unconsciously swallowed.
Well… they really did look delicious.
This entire truck of Snow Mountain Crabs instantly caused a commotion at the checkpoint. Many people stopped what they were doing and gathered around the vehicle to stare at the crabs inside.
"Damn, what a haul. With this many Snow Mountain Crabs, they're going to make a fortune."
After admiring the crabs for a while, the scruffy uncle walked toward the driver's cab and shouted to the man inside:
"Save one for me to try later, Old Li!"
The driver poked his head out after hearing the call and grinned at the scruffy uncle.
His eyes were red, swollen, and bloodshot. His expression was dull, almost like an addict's.
The moment Lansi saw him, he instinctively frowned.
Weren't transport truck drivers supposed to be screened carefully?
What if this guy was drunk?
The man the scruffy uncle called "Old Li" was a driver in his twenties. He had a protruding belly, a scruffy beard, thick brown hair, and wore a greasy old cap year-round.
If even Lansi could sense something wrong, then the scruffy uncle naturally noticed it too.
The smile on his face slowly disappeared.
The next second, however, the scruffy uncle suddenly laughed heartily at Old Li.
"Just joking around. I'll inspect the truck first—hold on a minute."
Old Li nodded stiffly.
As his neck moved, it made a faint creaking sound.
The scruffy uncle acted as though nothing was unusual. While dragging Lansi aside by the collar, he casually moved away from the cab window.
At the same time, he quickly waved the surrounding spectators away.
"Alright, alright, show's over. If you're done looking, move along already. Don't block the trucks behind."
The crowd grumbled noisily, complaining that the scruffy uncle was stingy and didn't know how to share good things, but eventually dispersed.
Once they reached the truck's blind spot, the scruffy uncle grabbed Lansi's collar tightly and spoke in a low, serious voice:
"Put your helmet on."
"Huh?"
Lansi looked confused.
"That driver's been parasitized. I need to deal with him."
The scruffy uncle's expression darkened.
"There's a type of hermit crab that looks extremely similar to Snow Mountain Crabs. I'm guessing one got mixed in during the catch. And right now, it's attached to the back of Old Li's head."
Lansi's eyes widened in shock.
"Old Li is already dead. What's controlling him now is the hermit crab. I'll handle it in a minute. But if something goes wrong…"
The scruffy uncle stared directly at him.
"Go for the head. Either blow the head off or kill the crab attached to the back of it. Got it?"
Lansi nodded immediately.
Hermit crabs were among the most troublesome parasites in the ocean.
First, because they looked so similar to ordinary seafood that they were often mixed into catches unnoticed.
Second, because once they parasitized a human, they latched onto the back of the victim's head and inserted their tentacles into the brain. While consuming the brain matter, they used the nervous system to control the remaining body.
And worst of all, they reproduced incredibly quickly.
Once parasitized, the victim would instinctively seek out crowds under the hermit crab's control, using other humans as breeding grounds.
Only after confirming that Lansi had properly put on his helmet did the scruffy uncle finally approach Old Li again.
At this moment, Old Li still had no idea he'd been exposed. He merely stared stiffly at the scruffy uncle.
The scruffy uncle smiled casually.
Old Li was already dead. The head controlled by the hermit crab could only mimic vague responses to human behavior.
Seeing the scruffy uncle smile at him, Old Li smiled back as well.
The two men stood there smiling at each other.
Then, without warning, the scruffy uncle suddenly pulled out his gun.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several clean shots rang out in rapid succession as he fired directly at Old Li's head.
Old Li still wore that strange smile when half his skull was blown apart by the shotgun blast before he could even react.
Old Li's body slumped forward onto the steering wheel.
As he collapsed, the greasy cap on his head slipped off, revealing an eight-legged creature clinging to the back of his skull.
Half of the arthropod's body had already been blown apart. Blue mucus slowly oozed from the remains, and it was clearly dead beyond saving.
The scruffy uncle finally let out a breath of relief.
But before he could fully relax, the Snow Mountain Crabs in the transport truck suddenly began thrashing violently.
Crash!
The cargo net snapped open—perhaps because the driver had intentionally left it loose—and several white figures instantly leaped out of the truck, lunging toward the nearest people.
As the person standing closest to the vehicle, Lansi naturally became the first target.
He only saw a white blur hurtling toward him.
The thing slammed directly against the transparent visor of his helmet, then clung to it and began scratching frantically, producing harsh crunching noises.
Lansi was genuinely frightened for a moment.
His vision was almost completely blocked. All he could see was a blurry white mass writhing wildly in front of him.
Then he saw something long and sharp about to pierce through the visor.
Without thinking, Lansi ripped off his helmet and smashed it hard against the side of the truck.
Bang!
The hermit crab attached to the visor burst apart instantly.
"Idiot!"
When the scruffy uncle saw Lansi remove his helmet, he nearly exploded in anger.
While firing several more shots to eliminate the parasites nearby, he cursed loudly:
"Why the hell did you take your helmet off?! Trying to feed them your brain?!"
Only then did Lansi fully realize that the hermit crab had been trying to crawl into his helmet.
After understanding what had happened, he grimaced in disgust and shook the dead parasite off the helmet.
Then he quickly rushed over to the scruffy uncle, shoved the helmet back onto the man's head, and said:
"Worry about yourself first."
Please.
He was a mermaid. His reaction speed was far better than that of a middle-aged alcoholic whose hands already shook from drinking.
After forcing the helmet onto the scruffy uncle, Lansi immediately grabbed a baton nearby. Using his enhanced dynamic vision, he began smashing the jumping hermit crabs one after another.
A stick worked better than a gun.
Lansi silently came to that conclusion while batting the parasites through the air like baseballs whenever they tried to leap at him.
"AHHHHHHH—!"
The hermit crabs pouring out of the truck threw the entire checkpoint into chaos. The transferred reserve soldiers screamed in terror.
Fortunately, the inspectors stationed at the checkpoint were veterans who had survived countless dangerous situations. They recovered quickly, equipped themselves, and began trying to control the scene.
The reserve soldiers, on the other hand, initially ran around like headless chickens.
Only after being shouted at and guided by the inspectors did they finally come back to their senses. One after another, they dropped to the ground and hurriedly put on their helmets, terrified that a hermit crab might burrow into their skulls.
Afterward, they desperately tried to help.
For a while, the checkpoint became a chaotic mess of gunshots, swinging batons, and intermittent screams.