Chapter 33.1: Cockroaches (End)

“You just said you needed boric acid?”

It was only after the car drove into a narrow alley, and no sign of the giant cockroach was visible behind them for the moment, that Everly spoke up and asked James.

Running away was impossible. At this point, it seemed the biggest boss in this movie was this giant cockroach; the smaller cockroaches seen earlier were just its byproducts. Cockroaches can reproduce asexually, and even the immature ones were terrifying. If left unchecked, Everly suspected that given a little more time, once the giant cockroach reproduced again, the entire U.S. might be in trouble.

Where would they even escape to then? It was better to take action while the cockroach population hadn’t fully developed yet, and while the movie’s protagonists were still around—risking everything for a chance at victory.

“That’s right, we need boric acid. Mr. John, do you know where we can get some?”

“I’m heading to a place where we can get boric acid,” Old John replied. He flicked the steering wheel, heading deliberately toward the western part of the town.

James nodded and began explaining his plan to everyone.

“I’ve read relevant papers. A cockroach’s exoskeleton is a composite of chitin and protein. Its outer layer is a cuticle containing hydrophobic lipids, which reduce water loss and provide surface protection. Let’s assume this new breed of cockroach we’re facing also has these features. In theory, the hydrophobic layer on the exoskeleton is the most vulnerable part. Once it’s compromised, the cockroach will die from dehydration. Some commercial cockroach poisons that use boric acid as the main ingredient exploit this principle. However, because boric acid takes at least 48 hours to kill a cockroach through dehydration, it’s too slow. That’s why initially, I didn’t even think in this direction…”

“Then what?” Diana couldn’t stand her boyfriend’s habit of stopping halfway and leaving things hanging. She slapped his thigh and pressed him for an answer.

“Then I saw the giant cockroach being burned by fire. I thought, even if it has evolved some resistance to flames, high temperatures will still cause water molecules to evaporate. That effect is just being blocked by the hydrophobic layer of its exoskeleton. If we first use boric acid to destroy that hydrophobic layer, then roast the giant cockroach with fire to accelerate the evaporation of the water inside its body, we might actually have a chance to save the townspeople before they’re all killed!”

“How long do we roast it for?” someone asked.

“Obviously, the longer the better.”

Everly nodded. The plan sounded solid. And considering the one proposing it was James, the movie’s male lead, its feasibility instantly shot through the roof. That said, the giant cockroach was extremely lethal—one encounter was enough to kill someone on the spot—so carrying out the plan would require even greater caution.

Fortunately, Old John, a former detective who had spent his life maneuvering around all kinds of criminals, was exceptionally good at devising combat plans.

“First, we get the boric acid. Then, follow my instructions…” He paused briefly, then came up with a rough plan on the spot.

Everyone sprang into action immediately.

Boric acid was a commonly used preservative, often applied to wood for fire resistance and anti-corrosion. Some households even bought small amounts to prevent pests. On the western side of Lemot Town, there was a carpenter’s workshop. The front door was open, but no one was inside—no one knew whether the owner had been killed or had evacuated. The group entered the tool room and successfully found the boric acid powder they needed—two full large plastic barrels.

On top of that, Old John discovered that the workshop’s machinery ran on gasoline. Since they were still short on fuel for burning cockroaches, he promptly “requisitioned” that as well.

Next came the time-critical preparation phase.

The group loaded the materials onto the truck. Old John quickly started the engine and drove to a narrow alley on the northwest side of town.

The alley ran between two rows of houses, just wide enough for the cockroach mother to crawl through. The houses on either side had protruding balconies, which happened to block the top of the alley, preventing the giant cockroach from taking flight once it entered.

These houses were among the first built when the town was established, so they were quite old. Recently, they had been undergoing underground pipeline upgrades. To reorganize the messy layout of pipes, a large pit had been dug in the middle of the alley, with dense pipes and wiring on both sides.

Old John planned to use this pit to “barbecue” the giant cockroach.

While the cockroach itself wasn’t nearby, he had James go with another team member to search nearby shops for bed sheets and waterproof tarps matching the road color. Meanwhile, he and Everly went to a butcher shop and a repair shop, bringing back ice blocks, a bucket of cow’s blood, and high-pressure car-washing water guns.

After a flurry of intense preparation, around 6:30 p.m., the operation officially began.

The first to move was bait—Old John himself.

He rode a motorcycle donated by one of the surviving townspeople, smeared with the bloody, stinky cow blood from the butcher, looking like a fierce and imposing berserker. Following the disturbances caused by the giant cockroach, he executed a flashy front-wheel drift while the cockroach was chasing pedestrians, positioning himself between it and a few townspeople.

“Hey! Big stinky bug, come chase me if you dare!”

Old John provocatively raised the insecticide in both hands and sprayed it fiercely at the cockroach mother. Sure enough, even though it had evolved resistance, the giant cockroach still had a physiological aversion to the smell of insecticide. John’s actions successfully enraged the massive creature. Its two antennae thrashed violently, its mandibles snapped open and shut with a “click-clack,” and in an instant, it locked onto John as its target.

“Perfect, bring it on!” Old John reacted instantly. Seeing the danger, he tossed the bottle aside, gripped the handlebars, and twisted hard—“Rrrrrrummm!” The motorcycle roared, lunging forward just in time to dodge one of the cockroach’s massive legs smashing down.

Without looking back, John gunned the bike and sped ahead.

This was the first time the giant cockroach had ever been so provoked. It swung its head in a disturbingly human-like manner, snapping its mouthparts angrily with “click-clack” sounds. Its thick cockroach legs moved in a single stride, chasing after Old John on the motorcycle.

Using his intimate knowledge of Lemot Town, John threaded through narrow alleys, the low buildings on either side limiting the cockroach’s ability to take flight, allowing him to maintain a consistent distance of about two body lengths ahead.

Like a kite leading its tail, he guided the rampaging cockroach straight to the trap at the alley entrance. John turned sharply, driving both himself and the bike into the alley.

As he passed the alley entrance, John called out loudly, “Target in position! James, stay hidden!”

“I’m hiding real good!” From the back of the pickup parked at the alley entrance, James whispered, shivering among the ice blocks.

To prevent the giant cockroach from detecting the hiding James as it passed, John had thoughtfully given him some ice blocks to hug, lowering his body temperature and keeping him concealed.

The move worked perfectly. As the giant cockroach passed the pickup, it didn’t spare a glance for the living human in the back—of course, it might also have been that Old John’s “aggro skills” were just too strong. Either way, James was safe.

Once the cockroach followed John into the alley, James executed the plan they had rehearsed. With a swift motion, he shot out of the pickup’s rear compartment, leaped into the driver’s seat, and started the engine.

“It’s coming!”

Everly, standing on the balcony of the second floor on the left-side house, nodded to Diana across from her. Both women readied their tools, tense and alert.

As the motorcycle roared past beneath the balconies, Diana raised her hands and cut the rope with a sharp “snip!”

At the end of the rope hung a massive glass fish tank, filled with a high-concentration boric acid solution. The timing was perfect. As the tank fell, the giant cockroach was just passing under the balcony. The heavy glass, along with the boric acid inside, crashed onto the cockroach below.

At the same time, Everly’s hands moved with lightning speed. She aimed her high-pressure water gun at the spot where the solution had landed and sprayed furiously.

The water from the gun, of course, was also boric acid.

Boric acid isn’t strongly acidic. Even at this high concentration, when it hit the giant cockroach, it didn’t produce smoke, corrosion, or other dramatic effects. At most, it dulled the glossy shine of its exoskeleton. For a moment, the cockroach hesitated, confronted by the sudden wetness and the two lean “meat lumps” above. But it quickly made a decision: continue chasing the big, blood-scented target ahead.

Meanwhile, the motorcycle racing in front was fast approaching the pit.

Above the pit, a layer of stitched-together bed sheets had been laid. The grayish-white sheets blended with the alley floor, and in the dim light, it was almost impossible to notice anything unusual.

The motorcycle roared up to the edge of the pit. Old John focused, crouching low on the bike as he accelerated to maximum speed, heading straight for the ramp placed in front of the trap.

“Whoosh!” The bike shot up the 30-degree slope, continued forward, and thanks to inertia, both wheels left the ground. It soared through the air in a sharp, arching trajectory before crashing hard onto the ground on the far side of the pit.

“Nice! Perfect!”

From the balcony above, Everly, who had watched the whole maneuver, couldn’t help clapping her hands in excitement.

During this entire bait-and-trap operation, the most dangerous role was Old John’s. Not only did he have to act as bait, luring the giant cockroach from a street away into the alley, but he also had to ride his bike over a pit filled with gasoline. Any mistake could have cost him his life. Yet he succeeded. This retired detective proved with his actions that his skills had not dulled—he was still an incredible warrior and a solid backbone for everyone.

Now, the hardest part was over. All that remained was to “invite the target into the trap.”

Drenched in cow blood, Old John dismounted the motorcycle and stood with legs apart at the edge of the pit. He pulled out the last two cans of insecticide strapped to his waist and sprayed furiously in the direction of the cockroach.

The giant cockroach naturally hated the smell. Old grudges and new rage surged within it, intensifying its hatred for the old man. As it ran, it flapped its wings frantically, attempting to lift off from the ground. But the narrow alley restricted its movement. No matter how hard it beat its wings, it only managed to slightly speed up its crawling.

Finally, to the anticipation of everyone watching, the giant cockroach crawled over the ramp—and its foot landed squarely on the bed sheet covering the pit!

Beneath the bed sheet was empty. At the bottom of the deep pit, a waterproof tarp had been laid, and on top of it was all the fuel they had gathered along the way.

The giant cockroach, caught off guard, tilted forward and toppled into the pit. The fabric on the ground wrapped around the dense spines on its legs, tightening with every struggling movement and further preventing it from climbing back out.

But this was only temporary. The cockroach mother had only fallen into this trap because of a momentary lapse. Once it stabilized itself and tore through the fabric, it would quickly regain mobility and continue its assault on the shouting Old John.

Would Old John give it that chance?

Of course not.

From behind, the pickup that had been tailing the giant cockroach since it entered the alley accelerated with lightning speed. Like a giant lid, it surged forward, barreling over the top of the pit and coming to rest squarely in its center, pinning the massive cockroach beneath it. Old John’s beloved truck had been heavily modified, far heavier than a normal pickup. The immense weight pressed down on the cockroach, holding it completely immobilized.