Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 207 We still have to go back
Ou Yang and the others looked at each other, a chill creeping down their spines.

Why would someone risk losing nearly half their money to jump off a plane?
That's dozens, even hundreds of lives at stake!

Let alone people, even chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs, if hundreds of them are piled together, can make people involuntarily look away.

Not to mention, these people are all well-trained paratroopers.

How much time, effort, and money does it take to train a qualified paratrooper?

Why would the forces behind the black market for organs be willing to pay such a huge price to send a group of people down?
Why would these paratroopers risk their lives to jump out of the plane in such terrible weather?

The more Ou Yang thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. It was as if a voice in his heart kept reminding him to stay away from trouble.

He immediately stood up: "Let's go, quick!"

Ouyang struggled to clear away the snow, leaving a trail of deep footprints.

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei followed closely behind, stepping in Ou Yang's footprints... This would save them a lot of energy.

The three men quickly moved away under the cover of the ice mound, but they hadn't gone far when they heard continuous, intense gunfire coming from the direction of the base.

The gunshots sounded like death knells, and Ouyang involuntarily quickened his pace.

After rounding an ice hill, a fierce wind suddenly came from ahead, like the sound of a flag being blown by the wind.

Ouyang stopped alertly, staring into the darkness ahead, trying his best to dilate his pupils to let more light into his eyes.

It was so dark that visibility was extremely poor. Although it wasn't pitch black, it wasn't much better.

Jiang Yuwei, who was following behind, bumped into Ou Yang's tense back. She immediately realized something was wrong and turned around to signal Zhu Yiming to stop.

After a moment, Ouyang relaxed and said softly, "It's alright, let's go!"

"Ouyang?" Jiang Yuwei raised her voice in confusion.

Ou Yang didn't say anything and continued walking on his own. After walking for a while, Jiang Yuwei and Zhu Yiming finally saw a parachute hanging on an ice mound that was more than half a person high. The parachute was rattling loudly in the wind.

On one side of the ice mound, a paratrooper lay sprawled, his body mangled to pieces, his blood staining the snow.

Ouyang didn't hesitate to wade through the snow and approach the paratrooper. He found two grenades and six magazines on the paratrooper, four of which were deformed from the fall, so he could only collect some bullets.

Judging from his equipment, he should have had at least two grenades, a pistol, and the corresponding ammunition, but Ouyang carefully checked and found only this much. He probably didn't know where he had dropped it.

"Seriously? That's all we got?" Zhu Yiming muttered in dissatisfaction.

He thought he had encountered a fully armed paratrooper and could change all his equipment.

"You should be grateful." Ouyang stuffed a handful of bullets into his pocket. "After falling from such a height, it's good enough if you have any usable ones left."

Zhu Yiming thought about it and agreed, so he obediently shut his mouth.

Half an hour later, the three were still circling around the ice mound, while the gunfire from the direction of the base gradually subsided.

Ouyang climbed to the highest ice hill nearby, turned the magnification of the optical sight to the maximum, and quietly observed the situation at the base.

There were no signs of human activity visible outside the building.

Ouyang felt a sharp pain in his tooth and turned to jump off the ice mound.

"How is it?" Zhu Yiming asked anxiously.

"I don't know, let's go quickly."

Zhu Yiming thought to himself, "Who's not leaving? Didn't you insist on seeing what's going on behind us?"

But I can only think these words in my heart; I certainly can't say them out loud.

Ouyang didn't care about the situation at the base. No matter which faction it belonged to, they were all American, and whatever happened was an internal matter for the Americans.

He was more worried about the enemy catching up—although the wind and snow were heavy, the footprints left by the three men in the snow were not so easy to cover up, and it would be troublesome if the enemy found them.

More than two hours later, the group finally arrived at the small hill near the dam.

The snow has stopped, but the cold wind continues to howl.

The morning star shines brightly in the sky.

Ouyang lay prone behind the ridge and observed the base again. This time, he finally saw several figures wearing snow combat uniforms.

They gathered in twos and threes in the open space, doing who knows what.

It was obvious that they had already done what they wanted to do, which was why they looked so relaxed.

Looking down from his vantage point, Ouyang carefully observed the snowfield and ice surface, but found no trace of anyone, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It's probably safe now.

However, in the snow, there were parachutes everywhere, one after another, fluttering in the wind.

Some were half-buried under the snow, some were hanging on the trees and vegetation, and some were being blown around by the wind.

Some of them must have been paratroopers who fell to their deaths, but many others were left behind after their parachute lines were cut and they drifted aimlessly.

A moment later, the distinctive roar of helicopters could be heard in the distance, and two Chinooks appeared in the faint light of dawn.

They landed slowly on the runway, and the strong downdraft blew the snow off the landing area.

The paratroopers quickly boarded the plane, and the Chinook took off and flew away.

However, after flying only a few hundred meters, a muffled explosion like thunder suddenly came from the direction of the base, and thick smoke billowed from several buildings.

There was no visible flame, only increasingly thick black smoke.

Ouyang remained motionless, observing quietly. Not a single person had escaped alive from any of the buildings.

His heart sank, and he immediately had a bad feeling.

Zhu Yiming asked in a low voice, "Has everyone left? What do we do now?"

Ou Yang glanced in the direction of the dam: "Let's go take a look over there."

Zhu Yiming asked in confusion, "What are you looking at?"

Ouyang adjusted his direction and carefully observed the situation over there.

The dam itself appeared normal. On an open space on the south bank, dozens of vehicles of various sizes were parked. There was another open space on the north side, but it was surrounded by a tall iron fence, inside which stood a tall iron frame—a substation.

Surprisingly, several transformers suspended in the air had corpses hanging from them, already charred by the electric current.

Ouyang immediately remembered the sudden power outage at the base last night!

It appears that someone dumped a body on it, causing a short circuit and a power outage.

The fighting at the base was so intense last night, but there was no movement at all from the dam direction. Ou Yang suddenly wanted to know if there had been an accident at the power plant last night!
"What did you figure out?" Zhu Yiming asked.

“I didn’t see anyone.” Ou Yang put away his gun and pondered deeply.

"Any ideas?"

“There are cars over there. I’m planning to go over and see if I can get one,” Ou Yang said.

He originally planned to wait until the weather warmed up before setting off, but plans are always subject to change. With such a mess, they couldn't possibly go back to White Maple Town and stay there for another two months, could they?
Being forced to leave is what it means.

While in Baifeng Town, the three of them were well prepared and could leave by car at any time, provided conditions allowed.

But things were different here. They even had to steal the clothes they were wearing, and they had neither supplies nor transportation.

Want to go?

"It's not that easy. Are you sure?" Jiang Yuwei asked worriedly.

"No," Ou Yang said truthfully.

"Let's talk about the car later," Zhu Yiming said, rubbing his rumbling stomach. "Isn't there food? Let's eat first and then talk about other things, okay?"

Half an hour later, under the bridge.

The entrances on both sides of the tunnel were sealed off with snow bricks. A small bonfire was burning in the center of the tunnel. The three people sat around the bonfire, each with a can of food that had just been heated.

Jiang Yuwei ate slowly and delicately; Ou Yang was preoccupied and couldn't eat; only Zhu Yiming wolfed down his food without a care in the world.

"What are you thinking about? You're not even eating properly?" Zhu Yiming asked in surprise.

Of all things, eating is the most important. He always believed that when eating, one should eat wholeheartedly and properly, and even if the sky were to fall, one should still eat properly.

Jiang Yuwei glanced at Ou Yang: "What, still thinking about the car?"

“No.” Ou Yang shook his head. “I initially thought this black market was set up by some private organization or conglomerate, but the more I think about it, the more suspicious it seems. What private organization would have so many paratroopers?”

Zhu Yiming stopped chewing: "What do you mean? Are you saying this place was created by the US government?"

Ou Yang nodded: "Even if it isn't, there must be a very close connection."

He pointed to the survival kit under Jiang Yuwei's buttocks: "This is what I found on the helicopter, and this rifle, it's standard issue for US military pilots!"

Zhu Yiming suddenly felt that the canned food in his mouth no longer tasted good, and he was extremely annoyed: "Can't we wait until we finish eating before talking about these disgusting things?"

"Okay, okay, let's eat first, we'll talk after we finish eating!" Ou Yang readily agreed, but his mind was still preoccupied with other things. "First the survival kit, then the paratroopers. If the black market and the Mi Palace aren't connected, I'll change my name!"

Zhu Yiming sighed helplessly: "Ou Yang, are you worried that I'm eating too much, or are you possessed?"

Ou Yang snapped out of his daze and gave an awkward laugh: "Never mind, let's eat!"

Zhu Yiming sighed, "What's the point of eating? I've lost my appetite."

That's what he said, but his appetite came quickly too. He finished a whole can of food in no time, and then ate several large pieces of biscuits with glucose water before patting his belly contentedly.

Ou Yang couldn't help but say, "Goodness, you can eat so much even when you have no appetite. If you did have an appetite, this little bit of food might not be enough for you!"

Zhu Yiming closed his eyes behind the wall and said, "That's where you're wrong. Sharpening your axe won't delay your work. If you don't eat and drink your fill, where will you get the strength to work?"

"Don't sleep, let's go check out the dam in a bit!" Ouyang said.

After a whole night of tossing and turning, all three of them were exhausted. However, the environment inside the bridge was too harsh. Eating something and making a fire were not a problem, but if they wanted to sleep, they could only lie on the ice and snow. At most, they could find some dry grass and branches to lay down, but the chances of catching a cold were very high.

Survival kits contain emergency medications, but illness strikes suddenly and recovers slowly, so don't take your health for granted.

"It's nothing," Zhu Yiming said. "I'll just take a nap."

Ouyang finished the rest of the canned food in a few bites: "Let's go right away!"

Zhu Yiming didn't even open his eyes, leaning against Ou Yang and saying, "Let me sleep for a while!"

Ouyang quickly helped him up: "Hey, hey, don't sleep here, let's find somewhere!"

"Let him get some sleep," Jiang Yuwei couldn't help but advise. "He's not getting enough sleep, his concentration is poor, and his reaction speed is slower than usual. It's too much to push him."

Ou Yang sighed helplessly, "Alright then...you should get some sleep too."

His left shoulder was occupied by Zhu Yiming, and he gestured with his eyes that he still had his right shoulder.

Jiang Yuwei smiled and sat down next to Ou Yang without any hesitation, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.

Ouyang tried to hold on for a while, but his eyelids kept drooping, and when he opened his eyes again, several hours had passed.

The campfire had gone out, and I felt a little cold, but not very noticeably.

Zhu Yiming had somehow drifted to the other side and was fast asleep against the cave wall.

Jiang Yuwei remained leaning against him, her breathing light and even.

As if sensing Ou Yang's gaze, Jiang Yuwei's breathing suddenly became erratic, and she then opened her eyes.

Ou Yang smiled and asked, "How did you sleep?"

Jiang Yuwei shook her head: "My back aches and my whole body feels like it's falling apart."

Ou Yang said in a low voice, "Even if we can't find a motorhome, we still need to get some mats or something."

He nudged Zhu Yiming and said, "Still sleeping? Get up!"

Jiang Yuwei chuckled to herself, "A parachute would be nice."

"What?" Ouyang didn't understand.

"I mean, make a few hammocks out of parachutes."

"Great idea!" Ouyang praised.

Regardless of whether the hammock is comfortable or not, at least you don't have to sleep on the floor. Moreover, this thing is small and lightweight, so it's not much trouble to carry around.

Zhu Yiming rubbed his sleepy eyes: "What idea?"

"It's nothing, haven't you had enough sleep yet? Wake up!" Ou Yang grabbed a handful of snow and helped Zhu Yiming wash his face.

"What the hell?! Are you trying to freeze me to death?!" Zhu Yiming exclaimed.

Ou Yang grinned mischievously: "Are you awake yet?"

"I'm scared of you!" Zhu Yiming wiped the snow off his face, his teeth itching with hatred, and grabbed a handful of snow to retaliate.

"Stop!" Ou Yang immediately interrupted, "We're talking about serious matters, stop fooling around!"

Zhu Yiming complained, "You're a hypocrite!"

Ouyang glanced outside the cave; the sun was high in the sky, probably around noon. "Check our equipment. We'll be setting off soon!"

Ou Yang's M27, Zhu Yiming's M416, and Jiang Yuwei's GUA-5A finally reached the point where everyone had a gun.

Although the three guns are different models, they are all AR series and their magazines are completely interchangeable.

There were two other pistols. Ou Yang handed his own to Zhu Yiming, saying, "Here, take this one. I'm not used to using it."

He prefers Glock, but unfortunately Pam took the previous one.

But it doesn't matter, there are plenty of these, getting another one won't be difficult.

Aside from weapons, there was a small amount of food, enough to make the next meal uncertain; nine magazines, three per person on average; several rice knives; and a few gold coins…

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei were both a little stunned, turning the gold coin over and over in their hands, even weighing it in their palms.

Generous portion!

"Where did this thing come from?" Zhu Yiming asked in surprise.

This isn't just a small gold bar that's only one ounce; it's a real gold coin!

“It’s in my survival kit,” Ou Yang said.

He suddenly froze, thinking of the crashed helicopter, his face changing rapidly like a dye vat: "We still have to go back to base!"

Zhu Yiming was extremely surprised: "Why go back to that godforsaken place?"

Ou Yang chuckled mysteriously, "It's a secret!"

(End of this chapter)