Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 196 Lion State Refuge
hours ago.

Under the pitch-black night sky, several helicopters swept across the wilderness with a low roar. Directly ahead of the group of helicopters, a dam stretched across the river, and the scattered lights on the top of the dam guided the aircraft's course.

As the aircraft flew over the dam, the frozen lake stretched as far as the eye could see. On the south bank of the lake, a large cluster of buildings came into view—it was all darkness to the naked eye; one had to wear night vision goggles to see the ground clearly!
The helicopters landed one by one on the open ground in front of the buildings, where the ice and snow had long been cleared away, and yellow H-shaped markings were painted on the smooth concrete ground.

The open space in the distance was filled with planes of all sizes, including helicopters and small regional jets, numbering at least twenty.

Is this place an airport?
Before the spinning propellers had even stopped, a group of fully armed thugs rushed up, opened the cabin door, and dragged the terrified prisoners off the plane one by one.

Jiang Yuwei and Zhu Yiming were no exception.

The cold wind at dawn made everyone shiver.

The scene was somewhat chaotic, with the rioters using ruthless, primitive violence to maintain the meager order.

Those who cooperate obediently will at most be pushed a few times, while those who are not so obedient will inevitably get a beating.

Nearly a hundred prisoners were taken by the mob into a nearby square building that looked like a hangar from the outside.

The thugs herded everyone into a room about the size of a classroom, and after kicking the last few prisoners inside, the heavy door slammed shut.

A commotion broke out in the crowd, and everyone had a bad feeling. Several old Americans pounded on the door, but the thugs outside did not move, and their eyes, hidden behind gas masks, showed no emotion.

As the commotion gradually subsided, the group looked at each other, completely bewildered, unable to figure out what the rioters were up to.

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei had been hiding in a corner ever since they entered the room, trying their best not to attract the attention of others.

Unfortunately, while Americans verbally forbid discrimination, discrimination is everywhere in daily life. White people look down on Black people, and Black people look down on Asians.

Zhu Yiming had heard a saying that the reason why Easterners have the lowest status is because Easterners are more intelligent than white and black people. The more abstract and complex the field, the more it belongs to Easterners. However, the achievements in these fields are often difficult for the general public to understand, which is somewhat of a case of being too highbrow and unpopular.

White and Black people are different; they are particularly good at simple and direct things, such as basketball, football, and movies. Simple and direct things often have excellent virality and can provide emotional value to most people.

In Eastern terms, it means that it's not easy to learn good things, but it's easy to learn bad things.

Of the nearly one hundred prisoners, only the two of them were from the East. Perhaps most Americans wouldn't bother them, but if one of them did, the other Americans might not care.

There was no hope of getting anything from the thugs outside.

They can only rely on themselves.

Just when everyone was confused, Zhu Yiming suddenly realized that his fatigue was rapidly easing and he felt much more energetic.

He immediately looked at Jiang Yuwei: "Something's not right, it looks like there are spores!"

They were attacked by thugs in the middle of the night and taken to a helicopter. They were terrified the whole way and are still uneasy. The tension and fatigue are not going away anytime soon.

Although Zhu and Jiang, unlike Ou Yang, could not directly smell the spores, they could deduce the presence of spores in the air by observing changes in their bodies!

They immediately covered their mouths and noses with their elbows, desperately imagining themselves as martial arts masters who could take on a hundred opponents.

This is the experience shared by Ouyang.

The two of them didn't know if it would work, but at this point, they had no choice but to try anything.

A moment later, Jiang Yuwei showed signs of hallucination, and Zhu Yiming also felt the scene before him becoming blurry.

But they both quickly returned to normal, and all the psychological suggestions were in vain.

It goes without saying that the enemy must have stopped attacking on their own initiative.

Jiang Yuwei's first reaction was that this place had a much deeper understanding of fungi than the makeshift teams in the epidemic area, even knowing exactly how many spores could cause hallucinations.

A moment later, the door slammed shut, and fully armed thugs shouted, "Come out! All of you come out! Hurry up and keep order!"

The captured Americans were just as unwilling to leave as they were to enter before, but the situation was beyond their control. Under the coercion of violence, the Americans had no choice but to slowly and reluctantly make their way out.

Unsurprisingly, many more people were beaten by the rioters.

The rioters then led the group to an area the size of two basketball courts, where a group of staff members in protective suits were already waiting.

A thug dressed in a U.S. military combat uniform was in the center, directing: "You, to the left; you, to the right..."

The group was randomly scattered by the rioters. The men had their heads shaved, the women had their hair cut, and doctors carefully treated any injuries or frostbite.

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei were hanging at the very back. As soon as they entered, they heard a voice broadcasting on a loop: "This is an official shelter established by the Lion State government. We will provide you with food, shelter, and security. Please don't worry and follow the instructions of the staff..."

The old folks reacted differently to the broadcast. Some breathed a sigh of relief, their suppressed emotions bursting forth like a flood. Others were suspicious and refused to believe it. Still others were half-believing and decided to observe for a while longer.

No one cared what they were thinking, and no one came forward to explain; only the rioters stared at the crowd with indifferent eyes.

Zhu Yiming was a little confused. Wasn't the shelter on an island? Oh, right, that was a shelter set up by the Mi Palace. This was just a state-level shelter.

Soon it was Zhu Yiming's turn. The staff member, who acted as a barber, not only cut his hair short but also shaved off his beard, making him look clean and refreshed.

Jiang Yuwei also cut her hair into a short bob.

She didn't care about her hair, but the staff's skills were too trendy. They just cut it short in a few strokes, leaving no layers and the ends uneven, like a dog had chewed it.

Jiang Yuwei really wanted to take the scissors and cut it herself.

But at times like this, no matter how much resentment you have, you can't say it out loud, so you can only obediently keep this hairstyle that ruins your appearance.

After the haircuts, the "Lion State authorities" provided each prisoner with a clean set of clothes, including underwear, shoes, socks, cotton-padded coats, and more.

Next, the officials meticulously divided everyone into groups: men went left and women went right, each walking down a different path. Then they were thoroughly washed and put on the new clothes they had just received.

Many people have been wandering in the epidemic area for several months, during which time they have not had enough to eat or wear, and have no time to take care of their personal hygiene, let alone take a bath.

Solving the hygiene problem is not the end.

The shelter arranged comprehensive physical examinations for everyone, including height and weight tests, routine blood and urine tests, and heart, liver and kidney function tests. Several people who reported suspected health problems were even given MRI scans.

Zhu Yiming couldn't help but complain, "Isn't this a bit too exaggerated?"

But that's just how exaggerated Old Mi is; he completes every single task meticulously.

After all the checks were completed, the rioters... Lion State National Guard members distributed GPS wristbands to the rescued elderly man and finally escorted him to his room.

A private room! It's not big, but it has a clean and bouncy bed, as well as a TV and a game console!

Except for not being able to go out, everything else is normal!
Some elderly people protested, but staff explained that this was because everyone had just come from an epidemic area and it was impossible to tell whether there were infected people mixed in, so everyone had to be separated and observed for a period of time.

Zhu Yiming felt that this reason was too far-fetched. They couldn't even distinguish whether someone was immune or not. They were just using spores to distinguish them.
Isn't this funny?

Jiang Yuwei shared the same thought.

But they don't represent everyone else; many Americans think the shelters are very well thought out.

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei were each assigned a room. One of them was in the men's section and the other in the women's section. Although they were not far apart, they could not see each other, let alone get together to discuss anything.

However, things soon took a turn for the better. The so-called shelter, which had said that everyone had to be quarantined in the morning, suddenly started playing pleasant music in the afternoon, and then everyone was suddenly... The guards called everyone out of their rooms and ordered them to stay in the indoor venue for at least an hour!
There was no concealment or ambiguity; it was simply a mandatory one-hour activity.

Any sport that is beneficial to both body and mind is acceptable.

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei reunited and each recounted their own experiences.

Calling this a refuge doesn't quite match what you see, but calling it a prison is also quite different.

The two discussed it for a long time, but couldn't come up with a convincing solution.

They didn't want to cause trouble, but trouble just kept coming to them.
A young American man with brown hair suddenly approached, interrupting their conversation: "Hey, are you two a couple?"

"No!" the two said in unison, with an unusual tacit understanding.

"That's wonderful!" Old Mi smiled brightly and extended his right hand. "I'm Novan, is it an honor to meet you, beautiful lady?"

Jiang Yuwei instinctively felt that Nuowan was glib and not a good person, and refused without hesitation: "Sorry, I don't want to know you."

Novan's expression froze, his smile vanished quickly, and a fierce light flashed in his eyes: "Bitch, you think you're so great?"

Zhu Yiming's expression changed instantly, and without hesitation, he smashed a blindfold hammer into Novan's eye socket.

There were only two Asians here, him and Jiang Yuwei. If they didn't act assertively, all the Americans would think they were easy to bully, and countless troubles would inevitably arise in the future.

Novan screamed and covered his eyes, taking a few steps back.

The elderly people around them stopped spontaneously, forming a circle without anyone directing or interfering.

Who says only Easterners enjoy watching a spectacle? Americans are no exception, and some even seem to thrive on the excitement, constantly urging, "Go for it! Go for it!"

"Attack! Attack now!"

Novan roared and lunged at Zhu Yiming.

Although Zhu Yiming was not as good as Ou Yang, he had learned some basics from Lei Yong. He dodged Nuowan to the side, pushed and tripped him, and the troublemaker lost his footing and fell face-first into the mud.

From the crowd, several elderly people immediately rushed out and subtly surrounded Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei.

Old Mi, who was watching the commotion, immediately stepped back a few paces, and no one shouted or yelled like before.

Novan growled angrily, "Kill him!"

Just as the Americans were about to make their move, a piercing whistle suddenly rang out from outside the crowd. Several guards swept through the crowd, their sharp eyes scanning the scene like radar.

Without even asking what had happened, the leader simply said one sentence: "Take them all away!"

Then, the guards took away Zhu Yiming, Jiang Yuwei, Nuowan, and his companions.

An older-looking man, who identified himself as a supervisor, sternly questioned Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei about what had happened, and they told the truth.

Novan readily admitted it, but instead turned the tables and accused the perpetrator.

However, the surveillance footage proves that he approached Jiang Yuwei on his own initiative. Although we don't know exactly what he said, it is enough to prove who provoked him first.

"Give him a taste of his own medicine," the supervisor said.

The two guards obeyed and left, but it's unclear what lesson they taught Novan.

The supervisor didn't say anything, and Zhu and Jiang didn't dare to ask any questions. The guards wouldn't reveal anything either. In short, Zhu and Jiang never saw Novan again... or his cronies!
The supervisor did not let Zhu and Jiang leave immediately. Instead, he said very seriously, "I must let you know that fighting is a very serious matter here, and it is not allowed even if there is a reason for it!"

Zhu Yiming argued forcefully: "They provoked us first..."

"No matter who provokes us, we cannot fight, and we must not harm anyone else!" The supervisor's gaze was sharp.

Jiang Yuwei quickly tugged at Zhu Yiming: "Sorry, it won't happen again. We just arrived today and don't know the rules here yet."

The supervisor nodded: "I understand, but you can't break the rules. You two must be punished!"

Zhu Yiming pursed his lips and remained silent, while Jiang Yuwei immediately assured him, "We won't do it again!"

"And you?" the supervisor asked, staring at Zhu Yiming.

Jiang Yuwei nudged Zhu Yiming, who finally relented: "I was just trying to protect my companions, I didn't mean to break the rules."

"Very good." The supervisor's expression finally relaxed, and he signed his name in cursive script on a document. "I'm sentencing you two to seven days of solitary confinement. Any problems?"

"No!" Jiang Yuwei answered quickly.

"I don't have any either," Zhu Yiming replied after glancing at Jiang Yuwei.

"You two can leave now," the supervisor said without looking up.

The guards immediately took the two away.

Zhu Yiming muttered under his breath, dissatisfied: "What's going on here?"

Jiang Yuwei advised, "When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Don't take it to heart."

“That’s not what I meant,” Zhu Yiming sighed. “They call it quarantine, but they’re exercising one minute and letting us out for fresh air the next. What kind of quarantine is that?”

Jiang Yuwei couldn't understand it either, but she immediately remembered the spores that the other party had actively spread: "Isolation is fake, let's see if we get infected or not!"

Zhu Yiming found this reasonable, but a new problem arose: why did these Americans do this?
(End of this chapter)