Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 183 Barren Mountains
Time flies, it is already December and the weather is getting colder.

At daybreak, Zhu Yiming woke up from his sleep, pulled his nightcap down to cover his ears, and tucked his neck into his sleeping bag, covering his whole body tightly like a silkworm in a cocoon, leaving only his eyes and nose exposed.

Zhu Yiming looked at the time and lay lazy in bed for a while. It was not until six o'clock in the morning that he reluctantly got up and opened the car window a little, allowing a gust of cold air to come in through the window.

Trembling, he lit a greasy pine stick and added a few pieces of firewood into the stove. After a moment, the firewood was lit, the flames swayed and jumped in the furnace, and the warmth from the furnace gradually spread.

The temperature in the car rose quickly. Zhu Yiming put the frozen kettle on the stove. After the water boiled, he made himself a cup of hot instant coffee.

Take a sip, and a warm current flows into your stomach, warming you from the inside out.

At seven o'clock, Ou Yang, who was sleeping in the back, did not get up, and Jiang Yuwei, who was sleeping on the bed above, did not move either.

Zhu Yiming turned on the radio, adjusted the frequency according to the number recorded in the address book, and called softly: "The Elf King is calling the Knight's Dragon. Please answer!"

There was only a rustling noise on the radio, and no response at all.

"Knight's Dragon, can you hear me?" Zhu Yiming continued to call.

His voice was not loud, but the carriage was so small that both Ou Yang and Jiang Yuwei could hear it clearly, but the two of them seemed to be deaf, curled up in their sleeping bags and had no reaction.

When Ou Yang heard Zhu Yiming call himself the Elf King for the first time, he was speechless and Jiang Yuwei was also extremely surprised.

What the hell is this? Why don't you call yourself the Monkey King?
Zhu Yiming was also a little embarrassed and repeatedly said that this was just like choosing a nickname when chatting online, and there was nothing strange about it.

Ou Yang couldn't help but complain: "It's not strange to choose an online name. I just think that you are so old and still call yourself the Elf King. Isn't it too childish?"

It’s okay for a child in his teens to have such a childish online name.

Jiang Yuwei immediately agreed.

But the two of them were only surprised for a while. After getting used to it, they naturally became desensitized and it was no longer a big deal.

Zhu Yiming called repeatedly, but the other party never responded.

Looking at the time, it was the time period we agreed on yesterday; looking at the frequency, there was no problem either.

It seems I can't get in touch with you today.

Zhu Yiming was not discouraged and drew a question mark on the booklet recording the communication frequency.

As time went on, the number of broadcasts received became fewer and fewer, and they all avoided talking about the situation in the outside world.

The people who can still be contacted now are all radio enthusiasts. They are not soldiers and do not have such a strong sense of context. Even if we make an appointment, they will say that they may not be free.

Therefore, loss and reconnection of radio connections are very common and do not mean that something has happened to the other party.

Zhu Yiming could only silently wish the other party safety.

Seeing that the time was almost up, he adjusted the frequency and continued calling: "The Elf King is calling the Void Fortress. Please reply!"

"Void Fortress, can you hear me?"

“Is anyone on this band?”

There was still no answer on the radio, and Zhu Yiming suddenly began to wonder if there was something wrong with the radio.

He knew only a little about radio, so he had no problem using it, but he was powerless to repair it.

Zhu Yiming checked the time and was about to change the frequency band when a familiar voice suddenly rang out from the radio: "Elf King, Void Fortress received!"

"Thank goodness, Void Bastion, are you okay?"

"I'm still alive, so that's good."

"How are things going over there?" Zhu Yiming glanced at the address book. The other party was in Lion City, the capital of Lion State.

"It's terrible." Void Bastion said in a tired voice, "There are infected people everywhere. Last night, a group of zombies were found in the nearby blocks. Everyone is scared."

"It's terrible." Zhu Yiming said insincerely, "How was it resolved in the end?"

"Someone called the police, but before they arrived, the zombie was beaten to death by nearby residents."

"How are the bodies disposed of?"

"I'm not sure about that. No one dares to get close to a zombie, even if they're wearing a mask."

"I understand!" Zhu Yiming asked a few more questions, but didn't get any useful information. Seeing that time was almost up, he finally told the other party, "I'll give you a piece of advice. It's best to find a place where there's no one to hide.

The Void Bastion was silent for a moment: "I will."

After the exchange, Zhu Yiming let out a long breath.

The epidemic in Lion State has been going on for some time. The first infected person was discovered in Lion City. Now it has spread to four large cities and more than a dozen small and medium-sized cities.

The situation seems very serious, but in fact it is not the case at all. From the beginning to now, the epidemic in Lion State has always been under strict official control.

To put it simply, wherever an infected person is found, they will be isolated there, and every effort will be made to eliminate the hidden dangers in the bud.

At first glance, it seems unbelievable that spores can be solved through isolation?

But that’s actually what happens, and the effect is pretty good.

The reason is simple. The brown bear epidemic broke out in July, the hottest time of summer, and the environment was suitable for the growth of fungi everywhere.

Now that winter has arrived, fungi cannot grow outdoors at all and can only survive indoors at a suitable temperature.

Seasonal changes have significantly reduced the number of spores, resulting in fewer sources of infection and naturally fewer people infected.

However, the situation in Lion State is getting more serious day by day. Many infected people who are trapped in illusions are wandering around until they freeze to death on the streets.

It's similar to freezing to death from being drunk, and both people take off their clothes before dying.

Some zombies still have more instincts left and will actively approach warm places or even break into residents' homes.

Lao Mi's houses are mostly made of wood, and there are many cases of infected people destroying doors and windows. In order to ensure safety, Lao Mi, who lives in Lion State, has to nail the doors and windows shut with wooden boards.

Various firearms are selling like hotcakes.

Lao Mi is not satisfied with protecting himself. They formed patrol teams based on communities and streets, patrolling the streets day and night. Once they found an infected person, they would kill him immediately without mercy.

Upon hearing this news, Ou Yang immediately commented: "Isn't this the Lion State version of a hunting organization?"

According to what Zhu Yiming learned, the hunting organization in Lion State used too violent methods, and killed innocent passers-by as infected people several times, causing quite a bit of trouble. The people of Lion State strongly demanded the disbanding of the civilian patrol team and the establishment of a more professional and strictly managed hunting team by the government.

In short, the situation faced by the Lion State is similar to that of the Bear State, but there are more differences. The Bear State's experience in fighting the epidemic is of little use to the Lion State.

Zhu Yiming continued to adjust. Just as he found the frequency, an anxious and frightened voice came from the radio: "Is there anyone on this frequency band? Is there anyone on this frequency band?"

Zhu Yiming immediately responded: "I am the Elf King, what happened?"

"Elf King? That's great!" The other party was overjoyed, but kept his voice low, "I'm at 276 Eucalyptus Street, there are zombies outside the door, please save me!" Ou Yang sat up at the back of the car.

At the front of the car, Jiang Yuwei also poked her head out from behind the curtain.

Zhu Yiming whispered, "Sorry, I wasn't at the young lion, why didn't you call the police? Hurry up and call the police!"

"I've already reported it, but the damn police refused to come..."

Suddenly, the sound of doors banging and glass breaking came from the radio.

"Help, help—"

Bang, bang…bang, bang, bang…

"Ah...ah..."

"boom……"

After the continuous screams and gunshots ended, silence returned to the radio station.

Several people could easily imagine what had just happened on the other side of the radio station, and they were all feeling a little depressed.

Zhu Yiming sighed deeply and drew a cross behind a string of numbers in the address book.

Turning to the next page, I saw a lot of crosses behind the strings of numbers.

Ou Yang and Jiang Yuwei no longer had the mood to stay in bed, so they ate some biscuits with the coffee made by Zhu Yiming, and considered it breakfast.

Ou Yang wiped his mouth and opened the car door, and a cold air poured into the car.

He immediately released the drone, which flew out of the camp from the reserved snow cave and quickly gained altitude to observe the surroundings.

No problems were found near the camp, so the drone continued to expand its patrol range. Just a few minutes later, it suddenly found two rows of footprints on the hillside in the direction of Baifeng Town!
The footprints were located on a gentle slope, just over one kilometer away from the camp.

Because it snowed last night, the marks were covered by snow. We could only confirm that they were human footprints, but we couldn't tell which was in front and which was behind.

Ou Yang controlled the drone to fly farther. After crossing the ridge, the footprints were completely covered by snow and disappeared completely.

The footprints at the bottom of the slope also disappeared.

Zhu Yiming couldn't help scratching his head: "Why is there no beginning or end?"

Ou Yang said nothing and continued to operate the drone for inspection.

Although he had been hiding in the forest for more than two months, he never dared to relax, and did not think it was safe here.

There is never a shortage of smart people in this world, and there are actually quite a few smart people hiding nearby.

There are more than twenty Lao Mi hiding in the town alone.

In addition, when hunting before, Ou Yang heard gunshots coming from the distance more than once.

The gunshots were not intense, just two or three shots in succession at most. It didn't sound like a gunfight, but more likely a hunt.

Ou Yang estimated that the other party also heard the sound of his shooting.

Both sides know the existence of the other, but neither knows where the other is hiding!
Ou Yang had no intention of contacting the other party, and hoped that the other party did not have such an idea, but the sudden appearance of a series of footprints was not a good sign.

He couldn't guess the other party's intentions, but in the face of a disaster, people's hearts were in turmoil, and the possibility of the other party taking the initiative to come and offer help was very small. It was more likely that there was some ulterior motive!

The possibility of the other party approaching the camp unintentionally is also not high.

However, Ou Yang was not too worried. He stayed in the camp all the time and the three of them were busy all the time.

The location of the camp was not chosen randomly. From the very beginning, the possibility of a long-term stay was taken into consideration. The surrounding trees are mainly coniferous forests, which provide good shelter even in the dead of winter. Unlike deciduous forests, the yellow leaves fall after the autumn wind, and no secrets can be concealed.

In addition, the camouflage of the camp was upgraded before the snow fell. At that time, the flaws could be seen from a closer distance, but once the heavy snow fell, the camouflage was immediately covered, turning the camp into a large snow pile, with a certain amount of space for activities under the snow.

It's like an oversized igloo.

Unless you jump on it and step on it, it is basically impossible to find the flaw.

The reason why it is basic is that there is a smoking stove on the snow pile, and the snow on the solar panels has been cleared. When the weather is fine, it can at least supplement some precious electricity for the RV.

The RV has its own generator, and Ou Yang also dismantled two from other RVs. In theory, there should be no shortage of electricity, but he has limited fuel and must use it wisely.

If the generator was started every few days, the fuel would have been used up long ago.

Furthermore, the camp is covered with snow and the interior space is relatively closed. If you start the generator under the snow, you might get carbon monoxide poisoning!
This thing is colorless and odorless. By the time you realize something is wrong, you will be unable to move and can only watch yourself being suffocated to death.

Ou Yang and Zhu Yiming had no experience in this area and had never thought about it at all, but Jiang Yuwei was from the north. From childhood to adulthood, she had heard countless cases of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by burning coal and firewood in winter. Her ears were already filled with them. When it came to heating, the first thing she thought of was to prevent poisoning.

This is also the reason why Zhu Yiming had to open the car window a crack before starting the engine.

There is no other reason, Jiang Yuwei forced him to do it.

More importantly, the three people had been staying in the car for several days, and the footprints and other things near the camp had been covered by snow. There was no trace of human activity at all, and the possibility of being discovered by the other party was very small.

The drone circled several times but found nothing unusual. Ou Yang was getting a little impatient.

Nowadays, electricity is in short supply and drones cannot fly in the sky all the time. He can only take pictures of the situation near the footprints, then retract the drone, save the photos on the computer, and then call up photos from different time periods for careful comparison, hoping to find some clues.

After comparing them, we actually found some clues - there was originally a shallow pit several meters in radius under the hillside, which was filled with snow after the snow fell, but in the photos taken a few days ago, a small depression could still be seen.

But now, the place where it should be concave is bulging a little bit.

The scope is not large and not obvious.

Ou Yang immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He should have gone over to take a closer look, but considering the potential danger, he gave up the idea.

Finally, Ou Yang, who was unwilling to give up, hung a grenade under the drone, flew to the suspicious location and threw the grenade. After a loud bang, the shock wave lifted the snow layer, and the bodies of two people who had lost their lives, a man and a woman, appeared on the screen.

The two of them were only wearing underwear, hugging each other tightly, with strange smiles on their faces, obviously frozen to death due to hypothermia.

"It's okay." Ou Yang breathed a sigh of relief. "It was just a false alarm."

Jiang Yuwei whispered, "Why are they here?"

"What's going on? Are you planning on writing a script about eloping and committing suicide for love?" Ou Yang retracted the drone. "Don't be silly. Our experiences aren't much more complicated than theirs..."

Zhu Yiming rubbed his head and said, "Hey, now that you mention it, it really is the case!"

"Seriously!" Jiang Yuwei slapped Ou Yang. "It's so cold, who's out running around in the wilderness in the middle of the night?"

Ou Yang and Zhu Yiming looked at each other: This is really a good question!

(End of this chapter)