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Do cockroaches bite people?
Seriously though, anything alive with a mouth can bite. Even a rabbit, if you push it hard enough, might take a chunk out of you. But if you heard that a rabbit from the next village bit someone's leg, you'd treat it as an oddball story and laugh about their terrible luck—because, honestly, rabbits biting people is pretty rare.
Same goes for cockroaches. They can bite, but it's super rare—and honestly, not a big deal, except for the gross factor.
So when Cobra got back to the base and ordered all those undercover agents—each with a pretty serious rank—to catch cockroaches, but only alive, not dead, everyone looked like they'd just eaten something nasty. Their faces showed exactly how little they cared. Not everyone saw things the way the Blade Attendant did; some folks had long lost patience with Cobra's weird antics.
But when it came time to actually catch those cockroaches, a bunch of people ended up at the infirmary, clutching their hands and grumbling that they got careless and got bitten.
"Weird, really weird." Cobra stared at the glass box full of cockroaches, then turned to the Blade Attendant, who looked thoroughly grossed out. "Looking at this pile of creepy crawlies, all wriggling together—what do you think?"
"Sir, I failed in my duty. I'll make sure the place is spotless next time!"
"Ha, true. We do run a coffee shop, after all. When you're in the food business, hygiene is a must!" Cobra said, full of sarcasm, then pointed at the glass box with a weird look. "But this time, it's a good thing we're not so squeaky clean. Don't underestimate these little guys. All big changes start small. And insects—they're the most sensitive, tiniest creatures out there."
Smack! Suddenly, one cockroach in the swarm spread its wings and went berserk, crashing into the glass over and over. It seemed to forget all its survival instincts, flying and smashing so hard that the glass rattled nonstop. Soon, it split open, oozed pus, and dropped into the pile, where the rest buried it in a frenzy until it vanished.
That kind of self-destructive behavior? Totally not normal.
"Looks like it got eaten by its own kind," Cobra chuckled like he was watching a comedy. "Fascinating creatures. What a show."
"Sir, could it be the chemicals?" Blade Attendant offered a theory. "Cockroaches that survive chemical exposure sometimes act weird—maybe this one's just an exception..." As he spoke, the glass box suddenly rattled again, even louder than before. The Blade Attendant's face twisted in surprise, because this time, several cockroaches took off at once, smashing into the glass until they dropped dead.
"No need to guess. Get me the Shanghai Center for Disease and Pest Control—pull all the recent data on insect attacks." Cobra took an exaggerated deep breath, pushed up his glasses, and grinned slyly. "Don't you think the air in Shanghai's been freakishly nice lately? PM2.5 has stayed below forty, and with air this good, every day feels great! But—how come I haven't heard about any big crackdowns on polluting factories or car restrictions lately?"
"Yeah," Blade Attendant replied automatically, then suddenly shivered as he realized something. "Are you saying... the air in all of Shanghai might be..."
"I didn't say a thing! Ask the folks at the Environmental Protection Agency what genius pulled off this trick. Clearing the smog this well? I'll make sure they get a promotion! Ah, I'm beat. Time for a nap." Cobra wandered off, humming as he went: "Why did that ninety-year-old grandma die in the street, why did that thirty-something guy suddenly jump off a building, why did the music festival turn into a joke, why did the cockroach go nuts and bash its head in—behind all this, is it human nature twisted, or some weird thing causing trouble? Hmhmhm, interesting, interesting... This world just gets weirder every day..."
While that mysterious department was running around just because the boss had a weird idea, two other people were on a serious mission: Bobby Brooks and Jasper Xiao.
"Hello, listeners! Welcome to the Traffic Radio Station. Fall is coming, insects are nearing the end of their season, but we've had a string of bee attack reports lately. Several beekeepers have ended up in the hospital, so all passengers... fizz... please be careful when... fizz..."
Inside a Mercedes, the two listened to the radio, but their faces showed zero interest in entertainment. When the static hit, Bobby slapped his leg and exclaimed, "That's it! That's the weird thing I was talking about!"
Radio static is no big deal, happens all the time, but Jasper Xiao looked dead serious. "You've run the experiments again and again?"