After hearing this shameless theory, Shen Feng could only shake his head. He naturally understood the true intentions of these people. They weren't trying to obtain more grain to save more people; they merely wanted greater benefits. However, there was no point in exposing them now, as their faces were as thick as city walls.
Thus, Shen Feng said faintly, "Aren't you afraid I'll empty all your museums? Your history is already scarce. If the museum collections are taken away, you'll truly have nothing left to commemorate!"
"Mr. Shen, you jest. If you wish to take all the cultural relics, we will allow you to take them, as they are not important. We can obtain more relics from other countries in the future; it's only a matter of time. As long as we are strong enough, there is nothing we cannot obtain!" Tom said with a smile.
Shen Feng actually agreed with Tom's statement. He had heard that many museums in British and American regions had collections from other countries. The British Museum was a prime example, with half of its collections directly from Egypt. If they were to return the looted artifacts, their museums would go bankrupt.
However, these regional museums possessed an incredible thickness of skin. They themselves established museums by looting artifacts from other regions, yet they claimed it was for collection and the preservation of human art. Ironically, these countries were once powerful, and other nations were unable to reclaim their artifacts, only able to watch their cultural treasures being exhibited abroad.
Therefore, in the North American region, the mindset of these people was plunder. Although some artifacts needed to be returned now, they believed that as long as they remained powerful, they could plunder more artifacts in the future and still present themselves as civilized beings.
Otherwise, considering the history of North American countries spanning only a few hundred years, it was completely abnormal for them to possess such grand museums. There was only one explanation: the museum collections were predominantly from other countries.
"Since you've put it that way, I certainly won't be polite. All Chinese cultural relics I see will be taken away. However, I hope the locust eradication can be faster. Hurry up and have your cities increase investment and send more people to clear the locusts. I don't have much time!" Shen Feng said afterward.
"Rest assured, we will clear the northern regions of the Great Lakes as quickly as possible and will not delay your time, Divine Wind," Tom said earnestly.
Shen Feng and Xu Xing had already been in North America for two months. Now, Shen Feng began to worry about the situation at home. In another month, it would be early spring. Winters in the northern regions were relatively long, while winters in the south were shorter. Three to four months would pass, and various insects would likely appear by then.
"Then let's be quick! If something happens at home, I'll have to rush back," Shen Feng said helplessly.
Upon hearing Shen Feng say this, Tom understood Shen Feng's weakness: his family. It was no wonder he had heard about Shen Feng slaughtering a whole hillside before; it turned out Shen Feng placed such great importance on family affection.
"It's a pity that I can't use this to threaten Shen Feng, nor is there anyone who can kidnap his family!" Tom thought silently.
Shen Feng then contacted Yuzhou and learned that there was no danger in Yuzhou, which finally put his mind at ease.
"You don't need to worry about the situation at home. If we encounter any insurmountable danger, we will notify you. As for now, there are no major crises near Yuzhou. I will also organize spring farming, so you can rest assured!" Chang Jianyi said earnestly to Shen Feng.
After hearing his senior sister's reply, Shen Feng felt relieved. He knew that as long as the management of their home was entrusted to his senior sister, there would be no trouble. Over the past decade, his senior sister had proven her capabilities, and there would be no danger in Yuzhou.
"I didn't expect that investigating information about aliens would be so difficult. It's been over two months, and I still have no leads. I heard that the alien data was taken by an esper. It will likely be difficult to find him," Shen Feng also said to his senior sister on the phone.
There was a delay in their conversation because the distance was too great, spanning tens of thousands of miles. Even with excellent internet speed, it took several seconds for the other party's voice to be heard.
In the following month, the army continued its operations, clearing large tracts of open land in the northern regions of the Great Lakes. These places were once suitable for grain production, but after the apocalypse, no one cultivated them again. The land became overgrown with weeds and shrubs. However, with the right methods, these areas could be revitalized, as they were home to many large farms.
"I have a question. If you clear these lands and plant grain, what will you do if locusts arrive again? You know, locusts migrate, and especially in North America, with its vast plains, locusts will spread everywhere!" Shen Feng found Tom and inquired.
Tom explained, "If we couldn't deal with locusts, we wouldn't be clearing land on such a large scale. Let me reveal a piece of confidential information to Mr. Shen, but you must not tell anyone, as very few people know this!"
"You can rest assured about this matter; I will keep it confidential!" Shen Feng quickly promised.
At this time, pesticides had become largely ineffective against various mutated insects. This was because the insects had mutated, and their increased size had also enhanced their resistance to drugs. Subsequently, various insects evolved pesticide resistance, rendering pesticides useless.
Modern agriculture relies on fertilizers and pesticides. Fertilizers provide sufficient nutrients for crops to grow, while pesticides kill various insects and prevent pest infestations. Both are indispensable. Without fertilizers, agricultural output would decrease, and without pesticides, crops could even fail entirely.
In ancient times, North America was actually an uninhabited place. Even Native Americans did not wish to live there because, despite the numerous plains, these areas were unsuitable for agricultural production. It was only in modern times, with the advent of various high-tech methods, that the North American plains became the world's granary.
Tom explained in a low voice, "At this time, the killing effect of pesticides on insects has become very low. To ensure we are not harmed, we must have a good way to kill locusts. In our laboratories, we have developed a bacterium that specifically infects locusts and does not harm humans."
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng immediately understood. No wonder these people wanted to obtain the land; it was because they had a way to prevent their agriculture from being destroyed by locusts – by releasing bacteria to kill insects. This was too simple.
"Alright, I was ignorant. I didn't expect your technological means to be so advanced that you've already devised a solution. I was worrying unnecessarily!" Shen Feng shook his head helplessly.
After the exchange, Shen Feng understood their methods. Their approach was highly efficient in clearing land, but at this moment, Shen Feng clearly recalled many past events.
Xu Xing also took Shen Feng aside and expressed her inner thoughts. "City Lord, these North Americans are too wicked. Hundreds of years ago, they used bacteria and viruses to kill a large number of indigenous people. Now, they are still using the same methods to kill locusts. Although I don't like locusts, their methods are too cruel."
"This is the gap between people. Perhaps we regard them as humans, but they don't regard us as humans. This is the disparity in the world. In any case, let's quickly complete the mission, get the information, and then search for the meteorite and alien data!" Shen Feng said helplessly at this time.
Present-day North America is actually the result of large-scale migration of foreign populations. The indigenous people were long gone, killed by smallpox, viruses, or various other means. Bacteria and viruses caused far greater casualties than firearms. Hundreds of years ago, many Europeans were exiled here. To seize land, these people gave blankets used by smallpox patients to the indigenous people. The indigenous people, thinking they were gifts, accepted them. Little did they know that people in the tribes would die in droves; it was too tragic.
Of course, even knowing this, Shen Feng could do nothing to stop it because it had nothing to do with him. He was merely a passerby. Even if he wanted to uphold justice, it was unlikely anyone would support him.
As spring gradually arrived, the ice and snow in various parts of North America began to melt. At this time, many locusts underground also began to awaken, and the eggs laid earlier started to develop. This was the season for spring plowing, but the locusts also became active at this time.
Across China, there was a certain understanding of natural disasters. The so-called Four Great Natural Disasters were nothing more than floods, droughts, locusts, and man-made disasters. The latter, man-made disasters, were as destructive as natural disasters when humans turned against their own kind.
The other three great natural disasters were floods, droughts, and locust plagues. These three disasters would directly lead to famine, and once famine occurred, scenes of widespread starvation would appear everywhere.
Not only Chinese people feared the appearance of locust plagues, but other countries did too. However, in North America, they were unconcerned because they had found a way to deal with locusts. On this day, the army suddenly began distributing gas masks to the soldiers.
The soldiers had no idea what these gas masks were for, as they felt they had no use for them. However, they still dutifully put them on.
The high command of the army knew that they could no longer use pesticides to deal with locusts because pesticides had lost their effectiveness. To quickly resolve the locust problem, they needed the latest and fastest methods, the simplest of which was bacterial attack.
When everyone in the army had put on their gas masks, planes appeared in the sky to spray pesticides. The soldiers, seeing the planes in the sky, thought it was just the usual pesticide spraying. However, they didn't know that someone was spraying bacteria.
Capitalists in North America would not care about human lives. Many laboratories had conducted experiments on their own people, and these incidents were only revealed to the public decades later through declassification. They were so cruel to their own people, so naturally, they had no scruples when dealing with locusts, which were not their own kind.
After the bacteria developed by the laboratory were sprayed, locusts in the surrounding areas began to die, especially in areas like the Great Lakes, where a large amount of bacteria had been artificially sprayed. As soon as locusts appeared here, they would be infected by the bacteria and die.
Originally, the locusts had begun to proliferate, but now, locusts around the Great Lakes were dying in large numbers. Ultimately, no locusts dared to approach this area again.
Seeing that the mission was completed, Shen Feng immediately found Tom and asked who had stolen the required information.
Tom's answer was very simple: "Information about aliens has always been known only to the higher-ups; ordinary people have no access to it. When Washington was breached, an esper stole the sealed data from the laboratory, including various information from the cards in the meteorite. This esper is extremely powerful; even organizations in various regions dare not provoke him. His ability is to control viruses, and within a ten-mile radius of him, no one can get close. He has now fled to the Amazon rainforest to hide. If you want to find him, you'll have to go south!"