From Robinson Crusoe

Chapter 368 Car accident
There was no light along the highway at night. Looking into the distance, there were no streetlights, and even passing vehicles were rare.

Insects swarmed through the overgrown woods, and a wave of heat, accompanied by the calls of insects, birds, and other animals, overwhelmed Chen Zhou's senses.

The weakness he felt after the injection had not subsided, and the chill had devoured his great power, making him feel the vulnerability that an ordinary person should have for the first time in a long time.

Struggling to control himself, Chen Zhou took off his animal skin coat, revealing his filthy combat uniform underneath. He looked like a disheveled drunkard, shakily staggering forward along the road.

It was getting darker and darker when finally some vehicles started driving on the highway.

These cars have a design similar to that of the 1950s, with the body shape shifting from the staid classic cars to flowing lines, and most of them using independent round headlights.

They roared and sped away from Chen Zhou, their bright lights illuminating the scene, and no one noticed the "drunkard" cautiously observing from the roadside woods.

“I have almost no ability to protect myself now. I need to find a place to rest first, and then find out where ‘Ambrose’ is.”

As the vehicle drove away from sight, Chen Zhou pondered what to do next.

Fortunately, before leaving the prehistoric world, he took most of his portable survival tools and weapons with him, such as a multi-tool, a longsword, a firearm, and the light armor of the black-robed man.

Although we are in the wild right now, at least it is summer, so we don't have to worry about freezing to death while sleeping at night.

Without a strong physique to rely on, Chen Zhou felt insecure.

He cut down a small tree, trimmed its branches to use as a walking stick, and cautiously continued walking along the road in the direction the car was going.

He dared not step onto the road, fearing that members of the "murderer's" family might accidentally discover him, nor did he dare venture deep into the jungle—

Who knows, that family might own a castle or villa built in the dense forest. If he were to wander onto their territory, he would be walking right into their trap.

……

As he moved forward, looking at the dim woods, the long-neglected road, and the road signs that hadn't been replaced, Chen Zhou suddenly realized that it all looked like a scene from an American horror movie.

Unfortunately, horror movies have never been his favorite genre, and the vague term "serial killer" is too unremarkable.

With just a casual thought, images of Hannibal Lecter, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the masked killer with the screaming ghost face, Jigsaw, and the high-IQ criminals from Seven immediately popped into Chen Zhou's mind.

This includes both highly intelligent criminals and savage, violent, and antisocial personalities.

As he continued forward and analyzed the situation, using these individuals as hypothetical enemies, Chen Zhou gradually identified his strengths—

Whether it's Hannibal Lecter or other serial killers, they all share a common flaw: a severe lack of individual combat ability.

Even if they can achieve intellectual dominance, once they get into close combat, no killer could possibly be his match.

But this is a "gunfight suit" after all. It is said that no matter how good your kung fu is, you are afraid of a kitchen knife. No matter how good your martial arts are, you can be taken down with one shot.

Cold weapons cannot provide a decisive advantage. Even world boxing champion Mike Tyson could not withstand a fatal bullet. He did not know if he could seize the opportunity for close combat. Once the opponent discovered him and consciously held a gun to guard against him, his advantage would vanish.

The instructions for the defensive gene-modifying agent did not specify the exact extent to which the body's resistance to impact would be improved after modification, but it is likely that it would not be able to withstand large-caliber bullets. If one were shot in the head, there would probably not even be a chance to inject the regeneration agent.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhou felt a chill run down his spine.

Because he was dealing not just with a "murderer," but with an entire family.

In a country where guns are free, how could the other side not have a gun? This is extremely troublesome.

……

After walking for a while, Chen Zhou could no longer suppress the exhaustion that was seeping into his bones, so he finally decided to start a fire and rest on the spot.

It was around 1 a.m., and no vehicles had been passing by on the highway for a long time. The only sounds were the chirping of insects, and even the birds had gone to rest.

To guard against attacks from venomous snakes and wild animals, Chen Zhou cut down a patch of wild grass and built a campfire on the spot.

However, misfortunes never come singly; when you're down on your luck, even drinking cold water can cause problems.

The campfire had barely been lit, and before the dried meat on our bodies had even had a chance to roast, dark clouds began to obscure the stars and moon, and soon after, large raindrops began to fall.

Even the most blazing campfire couldn't withstand the torrential rain; the flames on the grass were quickly extinguished, turning into a steaming pile of black charcoal.

Chen Zhou straightened his clothes, squatted under the tree, and looked at the road under the rain. For a moment, he looked more like a homeless vagrant.

"Damn it, when it rains, it pours."

With declining physical fitness, immunity may also decrease.

If I catch a cold from getting caught in the rain, things will get even worse. I might have to buy medicine, which could easily attract unnecessary attention…

"The Tribunal of the Rift really went to great lengths to make me a slave."

"You guys are ruthless, giving me a hard time right from the start. But it's fine, I'll just hide in the wild until the side effects wear off. I don't believe you can send that killer out there to find me."

Chen Zhou shrank further under the tree, muttering to himself.

But before he could finish his harsh words, thunder rumbled in the sky shrouded in dark clouds, followed by a burst of lightning.

Before Chen Zhou could react, a bolt of lightning struck a large tree in the woods across the road, snapping off a branch. The thick branch, still bearing leaves, crashed onto the road with a loud crash, black smoke rising from the struck spot.

"Fuck!"

Upon seeing this, he dared not stay under the tree to shelter from the rain any longer, and quickly moved a few steps, exposing himself completely to the rain.

The torrential rain quickly soaked him to the bone, and the chill within him further tormented him, filling him with genuine fear.

The hypothermia caused by the torrential rain, combined with the side effects of the modification drug, could very well be fatal to him.

"No, I need to find somewhere to take shelter from the rain right away."

I don't know when this torrential rain will stop. If I really try to stand in the rain all night, I might lose half my life.

Even if I had regeneration potions, I couldn't waste them in a place like this; they're my trump card that could turn the tide.

Just as he was thinking of continuing along the highway in hopes of finding an abandoned hut or town, Chen Zhou suddenly heard the roar of a car engine.

Immediately afterwards, two beams of white light shot out from the curtain of rain formed by water droplets, and a rugged Chevrolet drove up from a distance.

Whether it was due to poor visibility from the rain or the driver being intoxicated, the vehicle did not slow down at all, even in such weather, and sped along at about 80 miles per hour before crashing, unsurprisingly, into the tree trunk that had just been chopped off and fallen onto the road.

With a muffled thud, the car engine shut down instantly, and the bright headlights went out. A smell of burning material filled the rain, and the world returned to darkness.

Chen Zhou was stunned for a moment, watching helplessly as the car crashed into the tree trunk.

After the engine was turned off, he waited for several minutes, but no one opened the car door.

Suspecting that the driver might not have been wearing a seatbelt and might have died or been seriously injured and unconscious in the accident, Chen Zhou began to consider this possibility.

He planned to use the car to avoid the rain and gather some intelligence, such as which country he was in, which state he was in, what era it was, where Ambrose was, how big the town was, and whether there were any well-known families there.

……

After patiently waiting for a while, and seeing that no other vehicles appeared on the road, Chen Zhou drew his long knife and cautiously approached the Chevrolet while crouching low.

To ascertain the condition of the driver and passengers, he first went to the front of the car.

The car's bumper and grille had crashed solidly into the thick tree trunk, causing severe deformation, and both headlights were completely shattered.

The curved windshield was covered in cracks, but it did not shatter.

Since 1930, automotive glass has adopted a double-layered structure. When the glass is impacted, the broken fragments will stick to the PVB film and will not fly out.

This technological improvement has greatly increased vehicle safety and saved drivers' lives.

Peeking inside from the outside, Chen Zhou saw the driver lying on the seat with his neck crooked and his face covered in blood, and there was no airbag deployed on the steering wheel.

However, although there was no airbag protection, judging from the appearance, the driver's injuries should not be serious. The amount of bleeding was far from fatal, and there was no significant deformation of the body. Overall, the injuries were still within an acceptable range.

The rain was getting heavier, and fearing he might fall ill, Chen Zhou was eager to find shelter.

He tried to pull on the car door, but couldn't open it.

The car doors were locked from the inside.

But this didn't stop Chen Zhou; he simply picked up a long knife and smashed the glass.

Once, twice, three times...

His physical weakness greatly reduced his destructive power. Car doors that he could usually pull off by force now required smashing the glass to open, and it took more than ten smashes.

With the impact of the long sword, numerous cracks quickly appeared on the car window, and then Chen Zhou opened an irregular notch.

Pulling his sleeves out to cover his palms to avoid being cut by the glass, Chen Zhou reached inside to find the switch and opened the car door.

Based on the position of the car's steering wheel, Chen Zhou was able to determine that he was most likely in the United States.

Not only because of the car's brand and model, the environment and the signs, but also because the car is a left-hand drive vehicle.

In about 30% of the world's countries, cars drive on the left, which means they are right-hand drive vehicles. Among most right-hand drive countries, only the United States has English as its primary language and such a vast territory.

Opening the front right door, sheathing the cumbersome long knife, Chen Zhou unceremoniously plopped down in the passenger seat and began searching for useful items, including food, medicine, and newspapers and documents that could provide useful information.

The car door wasn't closed, and raindrops were still seeping into the car.

However, Chen Zhou, who was soaked to the bone, didn't care at all. He didn't mind the driver's blood-covered face and reached out to touch the man's clothes first.

He quickly found a wallet in the driver's pocket, which contained the driver's identification, several US dollars, and photos of the driver and his family.

Without any hesitation, Chen Zhou pulled out the US dollars and stuffed them into his pocket. He then casually tossed the wallet onto the front seat and began searching the other storage spaces.

This old-fashioned car has a very outdated design; it lacks door storage compartments, and all you can find on the doors are door handles and window rollers.

In front of the passenger seat, there is a vehicle registration certificate, a pair of old gloves, and a small box controlled by a metal hinged cover, which contains a cigarette case and tools such as wrenches and pliers.

There was some storage space under the seat, but when Chen Zhou bent down with great effort, he found that there was nothing underneath.

"It seems that's all there is in the front. Let's check the back row."

Unwilling to accept only a small amount of money, Chen Zhou closed the car door and leaned over to crawl into the back seat.

He glanced at the car as he walked past it and saw that there was only one driver and no other passengers. With the driver unconscious and no one around, his behavior became increasingly unrestrained.

However, after squeezing most of his body through the narrow gap between the front seats, Chen Zhou was able to see the back row clearly and discovered that there was another passenger in the car—

A little girl, who looked to be under 10 years old and wearing a brown coat and wrapped in a blanket, was timidly holding a pink toy rabbit and squatting in the corner under the left rear seat.

She was also injured in the impact, with obvious abrasions on her forehead and the bleeding appearing to have just stopped.

The little girl had tears in her eyes and looked at the uninvited guest who had barged into the car with a look of panic on her face.

When Chen Zhou's gaze met hers, making her realize that she had been discovered by bad guys, she finally couldn't control her fear and burst into tears.

Not wanting to harm innocent bystanders and worried that the little girl's cries would wake the driver, Chen Zhou could only put a finger to his lips and fiercely remind her—

"Shh!"

The disheveled homeless man was tall, strangely dressed, and acted violently, groping around after getting into the car.

Everything about Chen Zhou makes it impossible for him to be associated with the word "good person".

Faced with such a person, the little girl was more obedient than ever. Even though she couldn't control herself, she kept her mouth shut and twitched as she shrank deeper into the corner under the back seat.

"now it's right."

Praising the little girl's sensible behavior in broken English, Chen Zhou finally managed to get to the back row with a burst of effort.

Compared to the empty front seats, the rear seats of the car have much more stuff on them.

Besides the little girl's change of clothes in the luggage, Chen Zhou also found a large bag of food, including boxes of milk, cream biscuits, and bags of salted peas and candy, all of which were supplies he urgently needed.

Having eaten "dark cuisine" in the prehistoric world for nearly half a year, where even salt was bitter, he was extremely excited to finally see food meant for humans.

Before he could even sit properly, Chen Zhou had already bitten open the milk carton and the biscuit box, and was happily devouring them under the little girl's terrified gaze.

The sweet food nourished his taste buds and replenished the nutrients he desperately needed. At this moment, even the bone-chilling cold was dispelled.

(End of this chapter)