Chapter 601: Animal Gift Pack

Seeing the residents in the group chat mention the Tricolor Parasitoid Wasp, Melody Summers grew curious and searched for news about it.

She clicked on the latest report about the Tricolor Parasitoid Wasp published by an official account. It stated that because the wasps had very high environmental requirements, they would die off as the floodwaters receded. Government departments were arranging for specialists to dispose of the wasp carcasses and to disinfect the surrounding areas.

The news report included a picture of countless Tricolor Parasitoid Wasp carcasses being stuffed into special plastic bags, ready to be hauled away for incineration.

After reading the report, Melody Summers looked up at the sunshine outside, feeling as though the natural disaster that had lasted for three years was finally coming to an end.

Once the floods receded and the government finished the cleanup and disinfection, the disaster victims could return home, and all industries could gradually resume operations.

And in this life, she wasn’t sure if her rebirth had triggered a butterfly effect, but the epidemic brought on by the floods wasn’t as aggressive or widespread as in her previous life.

After the medical center on the back mountain treated a few batches of patients, the reconstruction department ramped up its public awareness campaigns, urging people to focus on prevention. Thanks to everyone’s collective efforts, the epidemic was quickly brought under control. Melody Summers had been paying close attention recently and noticed that few residents in the community group chat were mentioning symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, or high fevers anymore.

As for what Robert Lancaster had mentioned about "someone researching a new type of virus," and the "zombie-like" virus carried by the resident in 1404... Melody Summers had no leads on that so far. But since the country was already researching it, she chose to trust her country.

All in all, aside from not having a chance to deal with the Walshs yet, Melody Summers had been living a comfortable life. No one was disturbing her family’s peace, her body showed no signs of infection, and with Roman Rhodes and Sophie Thorne both discharged from the hospital and recovering well, everything was heading in the right direction!

After breakfast, Melody Summers entered her space and began a new day of packing and shipping orders.

Her goal for the day was to hit 10 billion and exchange it for the animal bundle she’d been dreaming of. As she watched human society slowly begin to recover from the natural disaster, she thought, ’It’s time for the animals to come back, too.’

Before she started shipping, Melody Summers checked her account balance of over 9.9 billion and smiled in satisfaction.

—This was the fruit of her hard work shipping orders all this time!

Due to the changing situation and the government’s macroeconomic adjustments, the price of Gold had recently shown a slight downward trend. To sell the Gold she had accumulated for the highest possible price, Melody Summers decisively chose to sell it off promptly.

So, a couple of days ago, Melody Summers sold a pile of Gold she had previously mined through a trading platform. Combined with some Jadeite and diamonds she unearthed later, she had crazily raked in over a billion in just over half a month, leaving her just one final push away from 10 billion.

With that thought, Melody Summers put away her phone, rolled up her sleeves, and got ready to pack and ship!

The freshly picked celtuce and lettuce were still dewy, and they were delicious with a simple stir-fry. The cauliflowers and broccoli were plump, each one the size of a soccer ball. The tomatoes had a soft, mealy texture and almost no acidity, earning rave reviews from customers. Every time she listed a few hundred pounds, they were snatched up by eager buyers.

The fruit trees in the forest, nourished by the stream over many years, produced better quality fruit with each new harvest. The cherries she picked today were each half the size of an egg, with a sweet and crisp texture. Sold together with fragrant, juicy peaches, they were currently the two most popular fruits in The Arcadia Shop.

To celebrate the sunny day, Melody Summers slaughtered a few small Bama miniature pigs. She cleaned the organs and left them for the Leopard, which loved to eat them. The remaining pig heads, trotters, ribs, and pork belly were listed for sale.

Watching the Leopard devour the organs, its eyes shining with delight, Melody Summers stroked its head and began packing the pork for her customers.

To thank her buyers for their support, she also tucked some potatoes, green beans, and sweet potato noodles from the Arcadia processing factory into each package. They could be used to make a one-pot stew that would taste second to none!

After several hours of hard work, the day’s orders were finally all shipped.

Once everything was shipped, Melody Summers stretched lazily and sat back on the grass with Albus, eating cherries while scrolling through customer reviews.

[User XXX: I finally managed to snag some cherries! You’re the only one in the city selling them. The other cultivation centers all say it’s impossible to grow cherries in the current conditions. The shop owner is a god.]

[User XXX: Five stars! I couldn’t buy tomatoes this good even before the cataclysm. They taste just like the ones from my childhood, from the era before GMOs, high-tech ag, and pesticides!]

[User XXX: I can’t believe I got the ribs! Autumn is just setting in, so I’m going to make some rib soup to warm up my kid. Thanks for the extra veggies, shop owner!]

[...]

Melody Summers was gleefully scrolling through the reviews when Albus suddenly leaped up. He jumped onto her lap and exclaimed excitedly:

*"Host! Look at the account balance! Just now! We hit 10 billion!"*

Melody Summers jolted at his words and immediately switched to her account balance page. There it was: a neat and tidy 10 billion, sitting in her account, radiating a golden glow.

"This is great!" Looking at the long string of numbers, Melody Summers was ecstatic. She scooped up Albus and dashed toward Odyssey Station, ready to exchange it for the "Animal Mega-Pack" she had longed for!

...

Standing before The Trading Floor at Odyssey Station, Melody Summers excitedly pointed at the "Animal Mega-Pack" option on the exchange list and said to Albus, "White, quick! Help me transfer the funds! I want to redeem this!"

Albus nodded from the side:

*"Understood, Host!"*

*"System check in progress. Verifying account balance..."*

*"10 billion has been deducted..."*

*""Animal Mega-Pack" redemption successful!"*

*"Congratulations, Host, on obtaining the ’Animal Mega-Pack.’ This item is non-refundable once redeemed!"*

*"Package Function: Once this package is activated, animals that went extinct during the cataclysm will return to Terra."*

*"Note: To ensure ecological balance, the Animal Mega-Pack includes a bonus vegetation restoration function. All plant life destroyed in the cataclysm will experience accelerated recovery."*

"...Wait a minute!"

Considering the current situation, Melody Summers said with some concern, "Can you hold off on activating this package for now? ...You know everyone is starving right now..."

In the three years since the cataclysm began, most people had survived on disaster relief food like sand vine cakes, mushrooms, and wood ear fungus. With no fat in their diets, their craving for fats and protein had long since reached its peak.

Just imagine: a group of ravenous people suddenly seeing an animal appear on their doorstep. What would they do?

—They’d kill it and eat it on the spot, of course!