Volume 1, Chapter 62: A drop of water trying to put out a cartload of burning firewood.

While Lin Yifan was diligently crafting medicines, Chen Yunu was currently in deep discussion with several core guild members.

"Guild Leader, what should we do now?! Several of our members have already gone offline."

"The mosquito repellent has been distributed, but the quantity is limited."

"Are we just going to watch them go offline like this?! It's so pathetic!"

"There's nothing we can do! We can barely manage to protect ourselves; we simply can't help that many people."

"Why don't we go ask that major player? I feel like he must be the number one person in our district. If he's willing to step forward, maybe more people can survive!"

……

Chen Yunu frowned as she looked at the messages from her veteran partners. Taking a deep breath, she sent a solemn reply:

"I want to save people, and I know you all want to save people too, but we truly lack the capability. Our guild was able to get off the ground this quickly thanks to that major player."

"Therefore, I can go ask him about saving people, but if he has no such intention, I hope you all will understand."

"Do not attempt to use moral blackmail against him. From what I know of him, he is definitely not someone who can be manipulated by moral pressure. If we anger him, the losses will outweigh the gains."

Afterward, she sent a message to Lin Yifan:

"Lin Yifan, do you still have any [Potent Mosquito Repellent] over there? The mosquito calamity has been underway for less than an hour, and already four to five thousand people have died. So many human lives—it is truly tragic."

"If you still have [Potent Mosquito Repellent] or the materials to make them, I hope you can craft some more and hand them to me to save people."

"Rest assured, I certainly won't let you work in vain! I've attracted quite a few members this time, and because these are life-saving graces, their loyalty is quite high."

"I believe we will soon accumulate a batch of precious materials, and I will repay you with an equivalent amount using those supplies. Do you think this is feasible?"

Upon seeing the message, Lin Yifan raised an eyebrow slightly. He hadn't expected Chen Yunu to be so kind-hearted.

However, this matter actually suited his plans well. He currently didn't wish to stand out too much, nor did he have any interest in being a solitary savior.

Yet, if he wanted the rewards, he had to ensure as many people survived as possible, and letting Chen Yunu handle this task was the most appropriate approach.

Human lives were at stake; every minute delayed would result in the deaths of vast numbers of people.

Daring not to waste any time, Lin Yifan immediately agreed and began hand-crafting the [Potent Mosquito Repellent].

Perhaps due to an increase in his proficiency, while he previously could only hand-craft them one by one, he was now able to produce three or even five at a time, which significantly saved time.

As soon as he finished a batch, he immediately handed it over to Chen Yunu. Fifteen minutes later, he had completely utilized all his materials to finish production.

Even so, there were only a little over 2,000 portions of [Potent Mosquito Repellent]. For the number of survivors in District 10086, it was still just a drop in the bucket.

Yet Lin Yifan had no other alternatives. His materials were entirely exhausted; even if he wanted to save more people, he was powerless to do so.

No matter how unwilling he felt, even a clever housewife could not cook a meal without rice.

At least, his own conscience was clear.

A clear conscience was one thing, but when he turned to look at the quest rewards and thought about failing to obtain them, a pang of regret clutched at his heart.

No, he had to complete this quest!

Lin Yifan gritted his teeth. After a brief turn of thought, an idea suddenly formed in his mind.

He directly opened the chat channel. The time was already 10:00 PM.

Usually at this hour, many people had already rested, since searching for supplies during the day consumed a massive amount of physical stamina.

If they didn't rest properly at night as well, they truly couldn't endure it.

Tonight, however, the chat channel was incomparably lively.

No, it could not be called lively; it was a miserable Shura field.

"To all my compatriots, my entire body has been bitten by mosquitoes, and I'm about to die. My name is Chen Shaojie, living at No. 13, Jinyang Street, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. My mother is Li Xiumei and my father is Chen Yonghua. If anyone happens to see them, please help me pass along a message: Your son is sorry!"

"My name is Li Songyun. My shelter has been overrun by mosquitoes, and I am about to die as well. My mother is Zhang Yuhong... Compatriots who happen to cross paths with my parents, please help me relay a message: Son misses you so much!"

"My name is Wu Liuyun, living at No. 13, Wuyun Street, Jinyun County, Zhejiang Province. My dad is Wu Langcheng..."

"My name is Chen Shaoqi, living at Hongyu Village, Baijiang County, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province..."

"My name is Li Dongsheng, living at Qingtian County, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province..."

Sentence after sentence of speaking out served as the final swan songs of each survivor.

Because immediately following their messages, their profile pictures would plunge into darkness.

Meanwhile, those who were still alive responded one after another:

"Chen Shaojie, my name is Chen Shaojie too. I've remembered your words; if I run into your parents, I will definitely deliver them!"

"Li Songyun, my surname is Li just like yours. I've remembered your words, and if I get the chance, I will surely deliver them!"

"Wu Liuyun, I am also from Jinyun County, Zhejiang Province. If I happen to run into your parents, I will definitely tell them what you said."

One memory after another—even across mere text, everyone's sorrow could be palpably felt.

Lin Yifan, who had thought his heart had grown detached and cold, finally found himself moved nonetheless.

The mosquito calamity had begun at 9:40, and it was now only 10:05. In a mere 25 minutes, the total population of District 10086 had actually plummeted to 70,000 people.

One had to remember that before the arrival of the mosquito calamity, there had been nearly 90,000 people. In such a short span of time, close to 20,000 had gone offline.

Yet when exactly would the mosquito calamity end?

Nobody knew, not even Lin Yifan himself.

If this disaster were to persist until tomorrow morning, how many people would still be able to survive?

Lin Yifan observed carefully and discovered that the victims were basically those whose shelters had not been upgraded to Level 2 and who lacked [Potent Mosquito Repellent].

They were all using ordinary mosquito repellent purchased from the "Heaven and Earth Society." While it had a minor effect, against such a massive swarm of mosquitoes launching a surprise attack, it was utterly useless.

If he wanted to protect these people, there were only two methods: one was to provide [Potent Mosquito Repellent], and the other was to upgrade the shelters to Level 2.

Whichever method was used, the required supplies would be an astronomical figure.

There were seventy to eighty thousand districts in total across humanity. Even if he protected everyone remaining in District 10086, could he really break into the top three rankings?

And even if he could actually make it into the top three, were those meager rewards worth expending so many supplies?

Lin Yifan did not know, but deep down, he still wanted to give it a try.

Moreover, the most crucial point was that even if he were willing, relying on himself alone meant he simply did not possess enough supplies to sustain it.

What should he do?

Just give up like this?

Of course that was impossible.