Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 192 The Chosen People

Ou Yang twitched his fingers, wanting to fight the enemy to the death, but his body was affected by the low temperature, and his reaction was much slower than usual. He was only a beat too slow, and he lost the chance to fight back.

The enemy was in no better shape; they had been hiding under the snow for too long, and their faces were all pale and they were shivering.

Not only that, enemies also emerged from the left and right sides, some more than ten meters away, others seventy or eighty meters away. I counted them roughly, and there were more than twenty of them.

Ou Yang's heart sank, but he was not completely desperate.

If the other side's goal wasn't to kill the three of them, there would be no need to make things so complicated; they could have just shot them all.

The problem is that this isn't necessarily a good thing; consider the possibility of living a life worse than death.

The leader, Old Mi, said with a grin, "We've finally found you. Surrender now."

Ouyang wanted to refuse, but with dozens of dark gun barrels pointed at the three of them from all directions, what other choice did he have?

He pursed his lips, silently put down the pineapple, picked the 191, and finally two Glocks.

Ya'en stared wide-eyed, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Where did this guy get so many guns?

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei had it much simpler: one a submachine gun and the other a pistol.

Several old Americans took the trio's weapons, and Yann smiled and waved, "Let's go."

The three men, escorted by a group of old Americans, headed towards White Maple Town, their hearts heavy with sorrow.

Ouyang suddenly smelled a faint spore scent, immediately sniffed, and discovered that the scent was coming from an expressionless old man.

Ya'en asked, seemingly casually, "Are all of you immune?"

Ouyang asked absentmindedly, "What do you want?"

He deliberately moved closer to the other person, sniffing carefully, but couldn't smell any spores.

With a new target in mind, the familiar scent reappeared.

It's faint, but very clear.

Ou Yang was a little confused. What exactly was going on?
Ya'en maintained his smile: "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"

The person's attitude wasn't bad; on the contrary, it was quite friendly.

Instead of feeling relieved, Ou Yang became even more wary: Could this person be a smiling tiger?
The landmines he laid killed and wounded several enemies; no matter how you look at it, the other side shouldn't have had this attitude.

The group continued on in silence, and finally arrived at White Maple Town as darkness fell.

Yann took the trio directly to the town hall. As soon as they entered, a bearded old man named Mike came out to greet them: "Hi, Yann, you found them? What a pleasant surprise."

“Hi, Mason,” Yarne replied, “I did not fail you.”

"Alright," Mason said. "You go back and rest. Leave the rest to me."

“OK!” Yann readily agreed and turned to leave.

Mason tilted his head upstairs: "Come with me."

Like Yann, he was unusually amiable and walked ahead on his own, leaving the three of them behind.

They weren't afraid the trio would run away at all.

Zhu Yiming's heart pounded: "What's wrong with these two old Americans?"

Ouyang was equally unsure: "I don't understand it either."

The two of them looked at Jiang Yuwei together, and Jiang Yuwei immediately glared back: "You don't know, but I do?"

Mason led the three men upstairs and knocked on a door.

Ou Yang looked up and realized it was Jedi's office.
"Come in," a gentle voice came from inside the house.

Mason pushed open the door, bowed respectfully with his hand on his chest, and said, "Father, we have found three immune individuals."

"Oh?" The gray-haired priest behind the desk looked up. "Please let them in, my child."

Mason touched his chest in a gesture of respect again, then turned and gestured for the three of them to come in.

From which nook or cranny did this priest suddenly appear?

Ou Yang was completely stunned, but what is meant to be will be. He steeled himself and was the first to walk into the office.

The priest was a white man with a deeply lined face, around sixty years old.

Upon seeing Ouyang, the priest, though somewhat surprised, immediately smiled and said, "An Easterner? That's quite impressive... Please have a seat."

The three exchanged glances and sat down together.

Ou Yang was a little worried. The other party had specifically mentioned Asians. Could it be that he had encountered a racist?
He immediately preemptively asked, "Who are you people?"

The priest continued to smile, his contradictions concealing a hint of arrogance: "We are God's chosen people."

What the hell?
The three men looked at each other, and Ouyang almost thought he had misheard: "Is he teasing me on purpose?"

"It doesn't seem so," Jiang Yuwei said. "Look at his matter-of-fact expression!"

"I don't think so either," Zhu Yiming agreed. "Where did this lunatic come from? Or is he just having a relapse?"

The priest's smile remained unchanged: "Gentlemen, don't you think it's very impolite to the host to communicate in an unfamiliar language?"

Ou Yang thought to himself, given the current relationship between the two sides, does politeness really matter?

“I’m sorry,” Ouyang said, “I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

The priest smiled without saying a word, and Mason took the initiative to explain, his deep voice full of piety: "The plague is a blessing from God to purify the filthy world. Only those chosen by God can be immune to the disease and survive this disaster."

What the hell?
Ou Yang looked constipated, his toes almost digging out of their sockets in embarrassment. He had an urge to ask these two people directly if he believed their nonsense.

Fortunately, he still had reason and stopped his impulse: "Are you all immune?"

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei weren't much better off; they felt uncomfortable all over.

The priest smiled and nodded, without saying a word.

Maine continued to act as a mouthpiece: "Of course!"

Ou Yang asked in confusion, "Where are those people outside... clearing the tracks and defusing mines?"

He almost blurted out "low-class old rice," but thankfully he stopped himself in time.

The priest suddenly stopped smiling: "Humans? No, no, no, they are the untouchables destined to be eliminated and purged!"

Ouyang's mind, which had been stuck in a rut, suddenly cleared up: they were a group of immune individuals harboring extremism!
No wonder Yann and Mason acted so strangely and didn't care at all that the landmine killed people. It turns out that in their eyes, the immune people are superior, while the infected are not even human.

He asked curiously, "If I understand correctly, they..."

The priest frowned, and Ouyang immediately changed his tune: "I mean, those untouchables are all infected?"

The priest's brow relaxed, and he nodded slightly: "That's right."

No? You're so wrong!

Ou Yang was internally ranting. He had been observing the town for several days. There were only a little over a hundred people living in the high-quality rice area, but four or five hundred people lived in the low-quality rice area. And after so many days, not a single person had fallen ill. You're telling me these people are all infected?
And those escorts, they all smelled of spores, and you're telling me they're God's chosen people?
However, he finally understood why Eun and Mason had been so polite – it was because all three of them were immune to the virus!

However, the priest did not give him a chance to ask questions. Instead, he stood up and pressed his hand on the desk: "Would you like to join us?"

Ouyang really wanted to apologize and tell the other party that he was an atheist, but when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. No matter how stupid or foolish he was, he could guess that refusing to join would not end well.

So he stood up as well, and mimicked Mason's gesture, placing his hand on his chest in a gesture of respect: "It is an honor!"

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei quickly stood up as well, adopting a stance of mutual support.

The priest sat down again, but did not ask the trio to sit back down.

Ou Yang didn't care about any of that and plopped down without hesitation.

The priest was somewhat surprised and gave Ouyang a deep look, but did not correct him: "Mason, pass on the word and prepare for the ceremony."

“Your will is my command!” Mason patted his chest and left the office.

The priest crossed his arms and placed them in front of his abdomen: "Can you tell me about your experiences, my children?"

You're the one who's a child! Your whole family are my children!
Ou Yang cursed inwardly, but outwardly remained calm, briefly recounting his experience.

The details are naturally not disclosed; only the time and place are mentioned, just like writing a resume.

The priest nodded after hearing this: "And you?"

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei also briefly shared their own experiences.

The priest touched his dismount and pondered for a moment, then suddenly pulled a document from the table: "I think you should take a look at this!"

Ouyang took the document with a puzzled look and immediately realized it was a notice. The gist of it was that on the evening of September 5, Hurricane Ovidio would affect most of Bear State, and that there would be prolonged thunderstorms and excessive rainfall around Snowbear City. The military had taken over the Raimoni Dam on the Misu River and planned to release water at an appropriate time that afternoon.

Below this text is a handwritten time: 9.5, 17:00.

Ou Yang recalled carefully: "When the flood came that day, it was around 8 p.m., wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was a little after eight o'clock," Zhu Yiming said. "I remember it very clearly!"

Jiang Yuwei also confirmed this timing.

Ouyang's expression suddenly turned grim: "So, the flood wasn't a natural disaster, but a man-made one!"

He suddenly felt an indescribable weariness.

His biggest wish has always been to leave the epidemic area and return to society, but what has the US military done?
First they locked down the brown bears, then they locked down the bear state. But the lockdowns were nothing compared to what they did. To prevent people from leaving the bear state, they actually opened the floodgates.

Even now, Ouyang still doesn't know exactly how many people were swept away by the flood that night.

He was eager to know what kind of sensation this news would cause once it was revealed by the media.

No, and it may not necessarily cause a sensation, because everything the US military does is to stop the spread of the epidemic. Americans in the epidemic area are indignant, but Americans outside the epidemic area will only applaud.

Unfortunately, the US military's actions failed to stop the spread of the epidemic. There may even have been infected people swept away by the flood, indirectly contributing to the spread of the epidemic.

Of course, the spread won't be too exaggerated; at most, cases will appear in a few downstream areas. The outbreak in South America is definitely unrelated to the floods.

In other words, what is destined to happen will happen, and the absence of a flood will not change that.

With extremely mixed feelings, Ou Yang put the document back on the table.

The priest smiled and asked, "Is there anything you'd like to say?"

Ou Yang shook his head: "My mind is in turmoil."

The priest said, “The others are dead, but you are still alive, which means you are God’s chosen people. However, you still need to go through the selection process to determine whether you are truly chosen.”

Zhu Yiming muttered under his breath, "They keep repeating the same thing over and over again, don't they get tired of talking in circles?"

Jiang Yuwei also whispered a reminder: "Will there be any problems with the ceremony?"

"When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it. If all else fails, we'll fight."

"Give me a break!" Zhu Yiming said. "At least you had a gun when you were first arrested. What are you going to use to fight them now?"

Ou Yang was dejected: "One wrong step can lead to eternal regret..."

Zhu Yiming rolled his eyes: "What time is it? You're still in the mood to act all high and mighty?"

The priest observed the three people's conversation but made no attempt to stop them.

A moment later, Mason knocked on the door: "Father, the parishioners have all arrived."

“Very good.” The priest stood up and walked out first.

"This way, gentlemen." Mason continued to lead the way, taking the three to the lobby on the first floor.

The hall wasn't very big. All the original tables and chairs had been moved out, and only something resembling a lectern had been set up in the west direction, where a group of old Americans gathered.

They were dressed differently, but the only thing they had in common was that they had half a burlap sack on their heads.

It looked similar to the way people in some parts of China wear mourning clothes, which almost made Ouyang burst out laughing.

His gaze swept across the crowd, when suddenly a pair of eyes in the crowd stared straight at him.

The two looked at each other, and Ou Yang saw a familiar face, his eyes twitching immediately: Lisa?

Lisa's pupils flickered with surprise and delight, but she quickly calmed down and made no sound or unnecessary movements.

Ou Yang was a little stunned, believing that the other party had already recognized him, but he didn't say anything either.

Even if he's not very bright, he knows that now is not the time to reminisce.

The priest walked onto the pulpit, and the parishioners below automatically lined up on either side, but everyone's position was very casual and not neat at all.

Ouyang and the others remained in the center at Mason's instruction.

The subsequent ceremony was simple. The priest first gave a rambling, enthusiastic but ultimately meaningless speech. Then everyone bowed their heads and prayed to heaven. After that, a basin of holy water, which no one knew where it came from, was brought out. They dipped their fingertips in it and casually flicked it to the left and right.

Next came the main event of the evening. The priest's gaze fell on Ouyang and the others, and he called them to the front of the stage. A female parishioner placed a tray on the table.

There were some white, thread-like substances on the tray.

Ouyang immediately recognized that the tray contained mycelium!

The priest's gaze was kind, but his eyes held only coldness: "Come on, eat it. Once you prove you are immune to the plague, everyone will accept you as a member of this big family!"

Eat it?
Zhu Yiming's eyes widened in disbelief. So these people were using this method to identify whether someone was immune?
That's fucking brutal!

Ouyang remained calm: "If we get infected..."

The priest interrupted, “Only the lowly and abandoned will be infected with the plague. Come on, it’s getting late.”

"Can this thing be eaten?" Zhu Yiming's heart was trembling.

Immunized individuals are immune to spores. If you eat mycelium directly, will you still be immune?
Ou Yang lowered his gaze and softly reminded, "Hold your breath and take it all in one breath!"

After saying that, he first picked up a pinch of mycelium, put it in his mouth without hesitation, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

It's just a few pieces of mycelium, no big deal!
(End of this chapter)