Chapter 2

After sending the message, Feng Yi's face turned red.

He wasn't just borrowing a "little" money.

For ordinary people, borrowing 50,000 or 100,000 was already quite difficult, but what he needed to borrow was a sky-high amount for most people.

Thinking about it, Feng Yi sighed deeply, rubbed his face hard, and added a few more words: "It would be better if you could advance the payment. Writing an IOU and pressing a fingerprint is also fine. I will go to Yangcheng in three days to handle the clan genealogy. If what you said is true, it shouldn't be hard, even if it is, I will complete it. Out of the one hundred million, can you advance a part of it to help me out of a bind?"

He thought he would be ignored, but unexpectedly, he received a reply very quickly —

"Advance payment is not possible, but I can lend you some personally. No IOU is necessary. Please wait."

Feng Yi organized his thoughts and typed: "The amount I need to borrow is not small..."

Before he finished editing this reply, he received a bank notification SMS, showing that 30 million had arrived. It was just enough to pay off his debt.

The bank card number was written on the agreement he signed earlier, so it wasn't strange that the other party knew the card number.

The other party had investigated his information and observed him for over a month, knowing the amount of his debt, so it wasn't strange that they matched the amount.

But...

Such a large amount of money transferred so quickly?

No need for counter operations or other quick channels?

Feng Yi took a deep breath, searched for the nearest ATM on his phone, and went to check the balance in his account.

Indeed, 30 million had arrived!

It wasn't a fake message!!

And, the old butler just said "I will lend you some personally"?

Feng Yi tightly gripped his phone, lost in thought.

Is this a butler?

A butler who lends 30 million as easily as 3,000?

Ordinary people would ask a few more questions even if borrowing 3,000, but the old butler lent the money so easily?

At this moment, in Feng Yi's eyes, the profession of butler seemed to shine with a dazzling golden light.

Of course, this also meant that the inheritance left by the great-aunt he had never met might be unimaginably large.

With a complex mood, Feng Yi sent a text message to the old butler: "Aren't you afraid I'll run away with the money?"

Butler: [Smile]

Feng Yi: [Obedient]

While sending cute emoticons on his phone, Feng Yi was also extremely cautious.

The old butler wasn't afraid he would run.

He couldn't run.

Maybe the newly synthesized zodiac had a location function. Even if it didn't, the person who could use such technology was definitely not simple.

Realizing this, Feng Yi let out a deep breath and went to the parking lot to drive home.

Thinking too much was futile; he needed to solve the immediate problem first.

He had scheduled to pay compensation to the few companies he had agreed to cooperate with tomorrow. Feng Yi planned to go home and sleep to replenish his energy.

He hadn't slept well for a week, and today's events were too shocking, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. However, the heavy burden on his chest was temporarily lifted, making him feel unusually relaxed, and his breathing became smoother.

Upon returning home, he immediately went to sleep.

Although it was daytime, he slept soundly until the doorbell woke him up.

The visitor was not a debt collector but his college classmate Wu Ji, who lived in the same building.

"Are you okay? I called you over a dozen times, and you didn't answer or reply to my messages. I almost called the police!"

Wu Ji observed Feng Yi. Feng Yi looked like he hadn't woken up yet, but his mental state was much better than the past few days. Even in this state, his appearance still outshone most people, as expected of someone who was snatched by the barber shop Tony teacher to shoot ads in his first year of college.

Knowing Feng Yi was fine, Wu Ji felt relieved. Since they lived close and were very familiar, he didn't bother with formalities and went into the house, poured himself a glass of water, and sat down.

"Did you find the person who ran away with the money from your studio?"

Feng Yi hadn't told them too many details, so Wu Ji only knew that Feng Yi's studio partner had scammed him and fled with the money, leaving Feng Yi to pay a significant amount, though he didn't know the exact amount. From the past few days, it was clear that it wasn't a small sum.

"Not yet," Feng Yi said, "But I have a solution now."

"What, what solution?" Wu Ji stammered.

Feng Yi was now on the edge of the entertainment industry, and Wu Ji was afraid he would take the wrong path, as some paths were hard to retreat from once taken.

Feng Yi thought for a moment and said, "I found a wealthy relative."

Wu Ji was half-believing, half-doubting.

"That's good. How much more do you need? I can help think of ways to solve it," Wu Ji said.

Last month, he had spent a lot of money on his shop renovation and had been busy, so he was also tight on cash. However, he didn't want to see Feng Yi take the wrong path.

Wu Ji's family had become wealthy from demolition. They used the demolition money to buy two apartments in the same building, one on the 5th floor and one on the 29th floor. His parents lived on the 5th floor, and he lived on the 29th floor, right below Feng Yi. Later, they took a loan to buy a shop at the entrance of the neighborhood and became a small boss after graduation. Although he was tight on cash, he could still come up with a few hundred thousand.

"Thanks, but I can solve the money problem myself."

Feng Yi knew Wu Ji's situation and didn't tell them the details. He could borrow a few hundred thousand from Wu Ji in an emergency, but 20 million was beyond what Wu Ji could help with. Moreover, this matter was complicated, and he didn't want to involve too many unrelated people.

Seeing that Feng Yi wasn't just putting up a front and his mental state was improving, Wu Ji didn't continue the topic.

"Alright, it's good that you can solve it... Oh, by the way, I'll be staying on the 5th floor for the next few days. If you need to find me, go to the 5th floor," Wu Ji said. "Recently, there's a rat infestation in the neighborhood... You know, the whole community is affected, and the owners' group has been arguing for days."

Feng Yi nodded, "I've heard a bit, but not much. I haven't been following the owners' group recently because of the studio issues."

Wu Ji continued, "Let me tell you. Recently, there's a rat infestation in multiple areas of the city. Last week, the two neighboring communities hired people to exterminate the rats, but the rats didn't die; they fled to other communities. Our community is the closest and has been hit the hardest. I heard a child was bitten by a rat, but I don't know if it's true. There are many rumors lately, and things are chaotic... Anyway, my parents are staying on the 5th floor and are really bothered by the rats. They can't sleep well at night, and the lower floors are even worse."

"You can stay with your parents on the 29th floor. Your place is also a three-bedroom," Feng Yi said.

Wu Ji waved his hand, "My schedule is different from my parents, and it's troublesome. I'll just switch for now and get through this rat infestation. By the way, have you seen any rats in your place?"

Feng Yi thought carefully and shook his head, "No, I might not have noticed."

"Rats are less common in high floors, but you still need to be cautious. I heard that even the 30th floor of other buildings has rats. They can climb into the building and move to higher floors even without using the stairs. A neighbor in the next building even took a video of a rat climbing the wall!"

Wu Ji clicked his tongue, "Rats are truly amazing creatures. You can see them in any building as long as there's food. They can climb windows, balconies, and even fly across!"

"The property management has contacted a pest control company and will conduct a major cleanup in the next few days. If you go out, make sure to close the doors and windows. Your steel mesh window should be fine, but check for any holes and block them. Check all the pipes and holes. If rats get in, it will be a big problem."

After Wu Ji left, Feng Yi checked the kitchen and didn't find any signs of rat activity. He had been busy running around and hadn't cooked at home recently, so the place was a bit messy with various documents and takeout trash, but there was no exposed food to attract rats.

Stretching, Feng Yi looked out the window at the night sky. He had slept through the day and into the evening.

He filled the bathtub and, feeling relaxed, decided to take a bath to unwind.

A screen was installed on the wall next to the bathtub. Feng Yi liked to listen to news from his subscribed channels while bathing. He was usually too busy to keep up with other things, so he would listen to the news while bathing, including political news, social news, and entertainment gossip.

Feng Yi closed his eyes, relaxed his body, and listened to the news playing from the screen.

"A world-renowned luxury leather brand XX has given up its stubbornness and, under pressure from multiple sides, has abandoned animal leather in favor of eco-friendly materials..."

"...A gang trafficking in wild animal skins was just dismantled in X City. Investigations have found that 50,000 animal skins have already entered the market, including crocodile and python skins..."

"...Extinct plants have reappeared! Our country's scientific expedition has discovered..."

These were not new to Feng Yi. Similar reports appeared every so often.

Over forty years ago, volcanic activity increased globally, both on land and under the sea, becoming particularly active.

In addition, small and large forest fires frequently occurred.

Accompanying this was nearly two decades of climate anomalies.

The prolonged climate anomalies made even the most oblivious citizens realize something was wrong.

For example:

Rain, heavy rain, continuous heavy rain.

The emotional changes of ordinary people in these three scenarios:

Indifferent → A bit annoyed → Starting to panic

Continuous heavy rain was just one phenomenon during the climate anomaly period. Sometimes it was continuous drought or abnormal temperature changes.

When people take a shower, they can feel a one-degree Celsius change in the shower temperature, and a one-degree increase in body temperature is noticeably uncomfortable. Imagine how much more sensitive some species are to temperature changes.

Continuous temperature anomalies were catastrophic for some species, and those that couldn't adapt faced extinction.

The impact on agriculture was also significant.

During those twenty years, for the first time in history, global seed banks were opened.

The "doomsday seed banks" established by various countries were opened one after another.

Under the pressure of survival, new technologies were rapidly developed, and human life quickly stabilized.

However, global species continued to go extinct at a rate that made biologists' hair stand on end.

Tens of thousands of species appeared on the extinction list each year, and the rate was increasing.

Evolution and extinction are part of the ecological balance, but this extinction rate was a clear sign of disaster, making people's backs shiver.

Top scientists from world-renowned institutions published their views, and many supported the "Sixth Mass Extinction Turning Point Theory" —

[Geological history has seen at least five mass extinctions. Previously, we were in the early stages of the sixth mass extinction, but now we may be at a turning point. Whether we avoid the sixth extinction or enter the middle stage will be determined by data.]

Thus, the "Sixth Database" was established.

Due to the rapid extinction rate and the sharp decline in biodiversity, the "Sixth Database" needed to collect data, which was a matter of survival. Relevant laws and regulations, such as the Wildlife Protection Law, Plant Protection Law, and Environmental Protection Law, were revised, and new regulatory organizations were established.

The newly revised series of laws and regulations were called the "strictest protection laws" by the public.

Fortunately, after nearly two decades of climate anomalies, the climate finally returned to normal, but the Sixth Database did not provide a conclusion.

Data collection needed to continue, and the strictest protection laws would remain in effect until a conclusion was reached.

The conclusion of the Sixth Database might take decades or even centuries.

Has the climate anomaly period truly passed, or is it just biding its time?

No one knows.

However, with the "Sixth Database," if there is another climate anomaly period, there will be a warning, and preparations can be made in advance.

But for most ordinary people, it doesn't matter!

As long as it's not an instant disaster like a meteor, even if it is proven that we are in the sixth mass extinction period, humans won't go extinct so quickly.

This lifetime might not see any progress in the Sixth Database, let alone a mass extinction period that could last thousands or even millions of years.

There's no point in thinking about it. It's better to think about what to wear tomorrow, if there are any new games, where to eat, drink, and have fun, or buy things...

Or think about how to handle "whether to buy a house or rent with this salary," "how much more to save for a family trip," "the teacher called the parents again because of the child's school"...

Mass extinction is something that big figures need to worry about; it's too distant for ordinary people.

Although it's a bit regrettable that some delicious foods can no longer be eaten and some hobbies have to be abandoned, life still goes on.

Feng Yi was born in the year the climate returned to normal.

Older people always said he was born at a good time.

Whether it was a good time or not, Feng Yi didn't know. Many young people like him had not experienced the climate anomaly period and had not felt the various anxieties of that time. However, they could feel the disruption of the food chain caused by the destruction of the ecological balance.

For example, the rat infestation.

And the proliferation of cockroaches and mosquitoes.

Their natural predators were weakened during the climate anomaly period, and these resilient creatures became increasingly rampant.

Feng Yi refreshed his social media and saw a celebrity post an overly radical statement for a public figure —

"The ones who should die don't, and the ones who shouldn't die do."

The accompanying image was a photo of a cockroach being smashed with a shoe.

The top comment below:

"When you find one cockroach in your house, there are already many more hiding."

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