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“Watermelon is so delicious that even bugs love to eat it.”
"Okay, stop playing around, Nanyuan, and investigate this carefully for me."
The ZAT team's mission is to investigate whether the incident is related to the monster.
"Were there any signs before?"
Most of the melon fields affected by insect infestations are concentrated near Mt. Okuma outside Tokyo.
"About a week ago, there were signs of small-scale volcanic activity on Daxiong Mountain." Moriyama checked the previous report. "After that, some melon farmers said that they occasionally saw some black bugs in the fields, which would drill into the watermelons. Pesticides were useless."
“Black bugs that are not afraid of pesticides?”
It sounds quite uncomfortable.
Chapter 410: Wild Silkworm
"What are those black bugs? They are not afraid of pesticides. Have you investigated their detailed information?"
"Of course, the local farmers reported it to the Agricultural Cooperative. Experts later went to take a look. The insects looked a bit strange, and they might be invasive species."
Moriyama searched and soon found the previous agricultural cooperative investigation report. As the "full-area fence" of ZAT, it has the right to retrieve all official investigation records.
"Invasive species? Which country are they from?" Araki walked to Moriyama and wanted to look at the report, but found a lot of professional text.
So he immediately gave up the idea of reading the report himself. There were too many words, so he didn't want to read it!
It's not that I can't understand it, Aragaki has a college degree, but it's just a bunch of dense academic terms, which is annoying to read.
"It's not a country, it's an invasive alien species."
"Alien? Monster?"
If it really is a monster, then it is the responsibility of their ZAT team.
"Not necessarily. Not all alien creatures are monsters." Captain Asahina, who had been resting with her eyes closed, spoke up.
He was old, already in his early forties, and his energy was not as good as before. He felt sleepy at noon, and just as he dozed off, he heard the conversation between Moriyama and Araki.
"Monsters are a definition we give ourselves. We used to be afraid of any alien creatures we saw, but sometimes they are no different from creatures on Earth."
It's just a pest. Even if it comes from an alien planet, it's still a pest.
"Araki, you and Kotaro go investigate. Take some samples from the scene. The data in the report is just data. Since you are not afraid of the ordinary pesticides prepared by the Agricultural Cooperative Institute, let's see if our ZAT team can prepare the corresponding insecticide."
"understood."
Such a mission is not difficult and does not require large-yield weapons. Moreover, Mount Okuma is an active volcano on the branch of Mount Fuji, located in Nagano Prefecture, very close to Tokyo, equivalent to the suburbs of Tokyo.
So Aragaki and Kotaro did not fly a plane, but went to the scene in a patrol car.
The weather in June is already getting a bit hot because of the bright sunshine.
At the foot of Daxiong Mountain is a green melon field, a scene of a good harvest.
"Hey, sir, are you here to buy some melons?"
A melon farmer who was harvesting melons in the field saw the ZAT patrol car parked on the side of the road and took the initiative to come over to say hello.
It is common for passing vehicles to stop and buy a melon when they see a melon field.
But Aragaki and Kotaro didn't come to buy melons.
"Let's investigate, old man. I heard there's an insect plague in the melon field?"
"Hey, who said it wasn't!" The farmer wiped the sweat off his face with the towel around his neck and pointed to a melon field behind him. "Don't be fooled by the fact that the melons in this field are full. Three or four out of ten are infested with worms, and many are completely hollowed out."
"so serious?!"
This loss is nearly half.
"Who says it's not true? Besides, there have been a lot of earthquakes around Daxiong Mountain this year."
As he was speaking, the ground began to shake again.
It was an earthquake, the amplitude was not too large, but it was easily felt. Although there was no report from the Earthquake Bureau, the islanders had experience with earthquakes and judged that it was probably about 3 or 4 on the Richter scale.
“Has it always been like this here?”
"It started this spring. Daxiong Mountain seems to be angry, with several earthquakes every day. It's not so bad at this time, but sometimes it's in the middle of the night and makes it hard to sleep."
If an earthquake occurs in the middle of the night, you always have to leave your room to take shelter. Don't take any chances. If it happens several times in one night, you really can't sleep.
Adults cannot work and children cannot study.
“There haven’t been earthquakes in Daxiong Mountain in previous years?”
"I haven't encountered one in previous years. I heard that it erupted more than a hundred years ago, but since my grandfather's generation, Big Bear Mountain has been very calm."
This is not surprising. Geological activities are like this. A few hundred years is really just a nap. No one knows when the movement of the plates will affect which part of the surface.
Earthquakes are caused by the collision of plates and the rupture of strata under strong pressure.
Plate tectonic shifts are caused by the flow of magma in the mantle.
The flow of magma is due to the convection formed by the high temperature of the mantle near the center of the earth and the low temperature near the crust, which causes the cooled rock to sink and the hot magma to rise.
Just like boiling water that keeps heating up after it has been boiled.
The ultimate reason for all of the above is the high temperature of over 6000℃ at the center of the earth.
If the earth is human, then the earthquakes are the pulse of the heartbeat. Although it brings some troubles to human beings, it is proof that the earth is still alive.
The earthquake in Okuma Mountain was causing a lot of disturbances, and Lingye's heartbeat was a little erratic, but it had nothing to do with the earthquake.
"How does it taste? If it's delicious, tell me."
In front of him was a confident young man with a turban on his head.
It’s hard to describe whether it tastes good or not. If there is no reference, it is definitely delicious.
But Ling is not concerned about this. The color, aroma and taste are all fine, but why does it taste weird when put together?
She felt a little uncomfortable and her face turned red. Could it be that "computer accessories" had been added?
"I think Chef Caibo's food is better. I vote for him."
"Ah? What!"
The boy was unwilling to accept this result. He was very confident in his work and had put a lot of thought into it.
"What's so surprising, Soma? You're almost 500 defeated, right?"
"Nonsense! It's 481 defeats!"
"Oh, don't you remember it clearly? 481:0. You never won once."
Soma Yukihira, he is the son of Chef Saiba.
Ling knew that Chef Saiba had a son who was in junior high school in Tokyo, but she had never met him. Chef Saiba had never brought him to the Oshima family before, so this was the first time.
As for why Chef Caibo's son did not have the surname Caibo, Ling did not ask, nor did she need to ask. It was probably because he married into the family.
"What does it feel like to taste this kid's food?"
When asked this, Ling didn't know how to answer for a moment. It's a bit hard to describe.
"I always feel like there's something beyond the taste buds. But it's so messy that I can't tell what it is."
After eating it, even my body felt a little bit strange.
"As expected of a young lady, you are really amazing."
Even Soma himself was confused and had no idea what the two were talking about.
Ingredients, seasonings, knife skills, and heat are of course all puzzle pieces that make up a dish. But for a top chef who truly pursues the scenery beyond the horizon of the food wasteland, he should also give the dish his own characteristics, just like his Shura Way.
This guy Soma is not a top chef at all.
His basic skills were still far from perfect, but somehow he also had the ability to give his dishes unique characteristics.
But Soma himself didn't realize this clearly. This kind of thing can't be understood just by saying it.
So how should I put it? The young lady's description was spot on: chaotic. Passive and mixed qualities were a mess.
It is impossible to take people to experience the bliss that real food brings. Instead, it feels like some forbidden substances have been given to them.
But no matter what, Soma has indeed mastered something that ordinary chefs will never be able to comprehend in their lifetime. If he can improve his basic skills and truly become a top chef, his achievements will be limitless.
At least I've gone further than my incompetent father.
"I plan to send this kid to my old school for further studies. After graduation, I will let him work as the head chef at the Sky Restaurant."
"Ah, Chef Saiba is planning to hand over that restaurant to Soma?"
"Although I am a little disappointed with the young lady's kindness, now that she has grown up, I can continue my journey. Of course, this is based on the premise that Soma can graduate successfully in three years. I will not leave during these three years."
"Speaking of which, that school is pretty strict. This kid might get expelled halfway through, and then he'll just end up washing dishes."
Of course, this was just what Saiba said casually. It would be too embarrassing if Saiba Seiichiro's son was expelled from Totsuki. He knew Soma's cooking skills better than anyone else. If he worked a little harder, he might be able to compete for a place in the top ten.
Ling had no objection to Chef Caibo's idea of handing over the restaurant to his son. It was originally given to Chef Caibo, and it was his right to do what he wanted with it.
If he could graduate from school, he would be handed over to the restaurant. If he was expelled, he would have to start as an assistant handyman.
As for Soma's own opinion? Of course, it was ignored.
Go to school and work hard. If you win, you can see the vast world. If you lose, come back and inherit the seven-star hotel at home.
In the melon field at the foot of Mount Okuma, Kotaro and Araki found several broken melons. The damage was more serious than the melon farmers had imagined. The melons that were thought to be fine actually had bugs inside.
It’s just that some of the watermelons have already been eaten away, while others are still in the larval stage.
The two caught several, from larvae to adults, and kept them in special boxes, which were enough samples for research.
"Deputy Captain, could the earthquake you mentioned be related to these weird bugs?"
"It's okay to have wild thoughts. As a member of ZAT, you should dare to make associations. But Kotaro, it's better to be down-to-earth when investigating. Regarding the earthquake, I remember there is an earthquake research institute here in Okuma Mountain. You can go there to consult about the relevant situation."
Any conclusions made by the ZAT team must be based on scientific investigation results.
The two hurried to the Earthquake Research Institute, but apart from the detailed records of recent earthquake data, they did not get much valuable information, so they hurried back to the base.
From larvae to adults, Kotaro and his friends brought back three worms, and in the watermelon field at the foot of Mount Oxiong, there were thousands and tens of thousands of worms.
The analysis results came out quickly.
"This worm is somewhat similar to a creature called 'Mang Silkworm' recorded in ancient times, but substances that do not belong to the Earth were found in the bodies of these three worms, so they are indeed alien creatures." Moriyama handed the report given by the scientific research department to Deputy Captain Araki.