"AAAAAHHH!!!"
A high-pitched scream suddenly erupted from downstairs. Countless rats were scaling the base of their house's walls as if it were flat ground. Jiang Si and Jiang Chengwu exchanged a look, quickly locked all the second-floor doors and windows, and rushed downstairs.
As soon as they got downstairs, they saw innumerable fist-sized rats scurrying everywhere. Big Black was constantly pouncing on and biting them. Jiang Linhai was desperately bracing the bathroom door; through the transparent tempered glass, they could clearly see a writhing mass of rats about to fill the entire bathroom ceiling. Meanwhile, Grandma, clutching a small puppy, and Mom were on the coffee table, screaming and doing a frantic tap dance.
There was a two-centimeter gap under the bathroom door. The rats, as if they could shrink their bones, poured out endlessly from the gap. They latched onto Jiang Linhai's ankles and even tried to crawl up his pant legs.
The moment Jiang Linhai forcefully shook the rats off, the bathroom door began to BANG, as if it were about to explode.
If the rats were allowed to swarm into the house, between their destructive power and the germs they carried, the house would be completely ruined.
Reacting instantly, Jiang Si shoved a bottle of rodenticide at Jiang Chengwu, then ran to the front of the bathroom with another one. She shouted to everyone, "Get to the side room, quickly! I'll block the door, hurry!"
The potent rodenticide was indeed effective. The rats that tried to pounce on Jiang Si immediately scurried away the moment they got a whiff of the smell.
Under Jiang Si's cover, the others successfully made it into the room. Jiang Chengwu continuously sprayed the rodenticide, forming a protective circle around them.
"BANG! BANG! BANG!"
Just as the bathroom door was about to give way, Jiang Si conjured a huge double-door refrigerator and braced it firmly against the door.
Fearing the rats might still squeeze through, Jiang Si, without a second thought, conjured a safe, a sofa, cabinets, cement, and bricks, piling them on top of, in front of, and all around the refrigerator.
Although the bathroom door was secured, a good number of rats had already gotten into the house.
Jiang Si tossed several more bottles of rodenticide to the others. Under their covering spray, she took out glue traps, snap traps, extermination cages, and rat poison from her space, covering the ground around them without leaving a single gap.
The large extermination cages were the fastest and most effective. After placing poison inside, the rats leaped into them one after another, filling the entire cage in no time.
The rats stuck on the glue traps and caught in the snap traps squealed nonstop, their sharp claws and teeth tearing frantically in an attempt to escape.
Jiang Si sprinkled rat poison around them. They were stupid enough to eat whatever was offered, and as they ate, they gradually stopped moving.
After what felt like an eternity, all the rats inside the house had been caught by Jiang Si.
A single glance revealed countless dead rats, foaming at the mouth, scattered around furniture that had been chewed to splinters. From outside the door and in the bathroom, the sounds of scratching and gnawing from the invading swarm were enough to make one's whole body tremble.
Thankfully, all of their extra doors and windows had been sealed shut, and the remaining ones were made of steel. The swarm of rats outside could only smell them and fret anxiously.
Jiang Si looked down. Except for herself, who was unbitten thanks to her tall boots, everyone else had been bitten by the rats.
Jiang Linhai's injuries were particularly severe. There was barely an unbitten patch of flesh on his calves and ankles, the blood-soaked wounds a testament to the rats' viciousness.
Rats themselves can transmit several diseases, most notably the plague, hemorrhagic fever, and rat-bite fever.
The plague can cause high fever, profuse sweating, splitting headaches, paralysis of the limbs, and bloodshot eyes. In severe cases, it can lead to loss of consciousness, internal bleeding, multiple organ failure, and is directly life-threatening.
The three major plague pandemics in history directly resulted in the deaths of 135 million people.
The symptoms of hemorrhagic fever and rat-bite fever are slightly milder. Hemorrhagic fever mainly manifests as conjunctival hemorrhage, skin bruising, and congestion in the face, neck, and chest, creating a "drunken" appearance. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are common symptoms. With medication, it can take one to two months to fully recover.
Rat-bite fever, on the other hand, causes swelling, redness, and ulceration at the site of the bite. A noticeable rash appears on the torso, which can merge into patches and form hard plaques. If the inflammation isn't treated in time, the mildest outcome is having the necrotic flesh scraped away; the most severe is direct amputation.
If any family member contracted one of these diseases, they would suffer immensely.
Jiang Si kicked the dead rats aside, took out several large pump-action water jugs from her space, and handed soap and clean water to everyone. "Wash your wounds repeatedly with soapy water and then clean water for fifteen minutes. Then, squeeze out as much blood from the wound as you can!"
"I'll help Dad first!"
Jiang Linhai, enduring the intense pain, shook his head. "I'm fine, Dad can do it himself. You take care of your own wounds first."
Jiang Si put on gloves and a mask and said in a tone that brooked no argument, "I'm not hurt. Your wounds are all swollen and starting to fester! Any more delay and you'll need both legs amputated!"
That shut Jiang Linhai up. After Jiang Si finished cleaning his wounds, the sight of the mangled flesh made her nose sting. She took out a bottle of alcohol and said, "Dad, brace yourself. I'm going to pour."
The wounded area was simply too large; dabbing with cotton swabs wouldn't do any good.
"Dad's fine. Pour it!"
Jiang Linhai closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. The moment the alcohol was poured, a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the entire house. He almost made Jiang Si spill the alcohol in her hands.
Jiang Si held his legs down firmly. "Don't move!"
An entire bottle of alcohol was poured over the wounds. The pain made the veins on Jiang Linhai's forehead bulge, his face contorting as he grimaced. He looked just like a squid sizzling on a hot plate.
The wounded area was so extensive that Jiang Si ended up pouring three full bottles of alcohol before stitching him up with a needle and thread. Only then did she let go of Jiang Linhai, who was drenched in a cold sweat.
Ideally, they should have been injected with vaccines for epidemic hemorrhagic fever and tetanus. But since Jiang Si hadn't encountered a massive rat outbreak in her past life, she could only give Jiang Linhai and the others tetanus and rabies shots for now.
To prevent any potential complications, Jiang Si also had them take a bottle of penicillin.
After all that was done, Jiang Si finally had time to tend to Big Black. A piece of flesh had been bitten off the tip of its ear, and it had other wounds all over its body.
Its injuries were no less severe than Jiang Linhai's, yet it had been sensible enough not to make a sound.
Jiang Si was afraid that treating the wounds would hurt it, causing it to bite her reflexively, so she gave it an anesthetic injection.
Big Black was out in a second. Jiang Linhai, who had just been stitched up with over twenty stitches while wide awake, looked at her, his face a mask of existential doubt. "Sisi, you had anesthetic?"
Jiang Si froze, torn between laughter and guilt. "I was in such a hurry just now that I forgot."
Jiang Linhai: "..."
Once Big Black's wounds were treated, the family members, now in hazmat suits, had already collected all the rat carcasses in biohazard bags. The house was still a mess, covered in rat droppings, urine, and chewed-up debris. Fortunately, all the food and valuables were in Jiang Si's space, safe from contamination.
Everyone looked at Jiang Si and said worriedly, "The germs left in the house could be transmitted through the respiratory tract and aerosols. Ugh, with so many rats outside, when will it ever be safe to let some fresh air in?"