Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 212 Hard Currency
The sun was high in the sky when trucks sped by, leaving trails of swirling snow dust.

The driver had changed from Zhu Yiming to Ou Yang. Jiang Yuwei wanted to try driving, but both men refused.

Trucks are not only wide but also heavy, and even with power steering, they are not as easy to drive as one might imagine.

With snow on the road, the two of them were really worried about leaving the car with the female driver.

"This is discrimination!" Jiang Yuwei waved her little fist and shouted indignantly.

Not all female drivers are road hazards; at the very least, she believes her driving skills are acceptable.

“Protest denied.” Ouyang lightly applied the brakes and slowly made his way around the bend. “We’ll talk again when we get to a place without snow.”

"It's you guys who won't let me drive, not that I'm being lazy!" Jiang Yuwei volunteered mainly to show her willingness to share the hardships, rather than because she was genuinely interested in driving a truck.

Ou Yang saw right through her little scheme: "You're just being hypocritical, getting the benefit but pretending to be innocent!"

"Then I'll drive!"

"You should rest for a while!" Ou Yang politely declined.

As they were talking, a small town appeared ahead. Ouyang immediately slowed down and stopped the car, raising his rifle to observe the situation in the town.

American highways mostly run through cities and rarely bypass towns, and the small town ahead was no exception.

Through the scope, Ouyang discovered that the snow on the street was very smooth, with only two lines of footprints left by some unknown animal, and no other traces.

In addition, the houses along the street either had their doors wide open or their windows were broken, and the whole town was lifeless, with no signs of human activity in sight.

"It seems like there's no one here," Zhu Yiming said.

There are countless small towns like this in Xiongzhou, but this is Luozhou. Is the epidemic outside Xiongzhou this serious as well?
Ou Yang nodded: "Get ready to pass, you two be prepared!"

The snow is too thick to see the true condition of the road surface. If someone lays nails on the road and punctures a tire, then there will be no way to cry.

"Don't worry." Zhu Yiming hugged the rifle to his chest and yanked the bolt handle to load the bullet.

Besides the rifle, there was also an MP7 placed beside his leg.

Jiang Yuwei also sat up, ready for battle.

She often watches American post-apocalyptic dramas, and whenever she enters a small town or a gas station, she always encounters some kind of accident, usually involving infected people or robbers.

Art originates from life, and there must be a reason why Americans film it this way.

The truck gradually increased its speed and roared into the town.

Ouyang was highly focused, his eyes scanning the area ahead like radar.

He was prepared to never stop, even if he got a flat tire, and he would drive the car out even if it meant using the rims!

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei remained on high alert until the truck drove out of town, at which point the three of them quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Leaving the town did not mean safety. Zhu Yiming still held the rifle, but he had removed the bullets.

The journey continued, and the snow on the road became thinner and thinner. More than half an hour later, the truck encountered the second town on this trip.

The place is full of ruins, and at the entrance of the town, there is a horizontal bar with a dozen or so people hanging on it, swaying precariously in the wind.

It's somewhat like the pirates who hanged themselves outside the harbor in the Middle Ages.

The three of them were a little nervous, feeling like a few masked old Americans might jump out from the roadside at any moment.

There was only a thin layer of snow on the road, but the surface was smooth.

As the truck drove into the ruined town, deep in the desolate ruins far from the highway, one could vaguely see shadowy figures peeking out.

But from beginning to end, no one stepped forward.

Moreover, although the old rice farmers in the town gave up the road, they blocked off all the side roads on both sides of the highway, clearly refusing entry to outsiders.

This wasn't the first time Ou Yang and the others had encountered this situation, so they didn't think there was anything wrong with it. On the contrary, they believed that it was best not to interfere with each other.

Everyone knows that Old Mi wouldn't be so obedient if he weren't worried about contracting pneumococcus from outsiders.

Deep down, Ouyang really wanted to drag out the residents of these towns and ask them: Don't you know that the spores of Pneumocystis are spread through the air?

Staying at home is useless; you need a filtration system!

What? No?

That makes it simple: either get infected and become a zombie, or survive and become immune!
A little after ten o'clock, after driving for more than four hours, the truck encountered its first larger town.

Oyan couldn't remember what this place was called, but luckily there was a road sign that read: Welcome to Kamed.

Kamed is much larger than the towns mentioned earlier, bustling with people as far as the eye can see. Outside the town, there is a particularly large flea market with stalls selling rice that seem to stretch as far as the eye can see. It exudes a vitality and prosperity that transcends the pandemic.

As Ouyang drove his truck slowly closer, before he even entered the city, a group of Americans jumped out and blocked the road.

The leader was a guy with a full head of curly hair who looked like a Mexican.

He leaned closer, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and patted the car door: "Hey, where are you guys from?"

Ou Yang rolled down the car window: "We came from the north."

"Lion State?"

“I guess so,” O’Yan said. “Near the border between the two states.”

Curly-haired boy pointed to the town: "Going to town?" He then pointed to the flea market: "Or to trade something?"

Before Ouyang could speak, Curly added, "Whatever you need, I can help, but the price is different for going into the city and going into the market!"

"What?" Ou Yang was astonished. Wasn't this blatant robbery?

“I want to keep going straight, what’s the price?” Ou Yang asked, frowning.

Curly laughed when he heard that: "That depends on what price you're willing to pay."

Ouyang's brow furrowed into a fleshy knot: "Just tell me, how many cuts?"

It's obvious that this guy doesn't have any official status. To put it nicely, he's an intermediary; to put it bluntly, he's a middleman who takes advantage of his local connections to rip off outsiders.

In the past, Ouyang would never have wasted words with such a person, but those in this line of work are all well-informed, and exchanging a few more words is beneficial for understanding Kamed, and even the entire Mule State.

"A rice knife?" Curly-haired man immediately grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

Old Mi, who was with him, was also smiling happily.

After laughing enough, Curly shrugged and said, "Here, even using a rice knife to wipe your butt is too hard. We need something else."

"for example?"

"Gold, jewelry, leaves, medicine, beautiful women, handsome men, anything goes!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei quietly shrank back.

Ouyang stroked his chin: "I plan to change some things first."

"Wow, I know this well. What do you need?"

“No need,” Ouyang said. “I’ll just wander around by myself first.”

"Are you sure?" Curly chuckled, his gaze falling on Ouyang's combat uniform. "You guys are from the military, right? I think what you need most is some more ordinary clothes!"

Ou Yang raised an eyebrow: "And then?"

The three of them were wearing U.S. Army winter combat uniforms, but they had no insignia on them, so the other side must have thought they were U.S. Army deserters.

“You need my help,” Curly said confidently.

Ouyang shook his head again: "I don't have any of those things you mentioned."

Curly wasn't going to let this deal slip by: "Anything else is fine too!"

Ouyang thought for a moment and said, "I have a bottle of red wine..."

"Yes, yes, absolutely!" Curly nodded eagerly, afraid that Ouyang would change his mind. Ouyang added unhurriedly, "How about three outfits?"

Curly's expression froze: "Are you kidding me?"

Ouyang tentatively raised the stakes: "What about the other two bottles?"

"Three bottles, one bottle for a different set of clothes!"

"No way! I only have two bottles. If you don't agree, I'll find someone else!"

Curly gritted his teeth, stamping his foot in anguish, "Fine, two bottles it is, deal... Anything else you need?"

“It’s not needed for now,” Ou Yang said.

“Okay, please give me a little time.” Curly pointed to the open space outside the market. “You can park your car over there!”

"Okay, thank you!" Ouyang replied politely, carefully driving the truck to an empty space and parking it.

The place is filled with vehicles of all types, including dozens of RVs and countless luxury cars.

But there really was only one truck, and the SUV behind it attracted even more attention.

"Let's go." Ouyang grabbed his weapons. "Let's go down and take a look!"

After saying that, he took out a mask and put it on his face.

Jiang Yuwei really wanted to say that she would stay in the car and not go down with them, but a woman's innate desire to shop overcame her reason, and she very much gave up the idea of ​​staying behind.

The three got out of the car and before they even entered the market, several flamboyant women swarmed around them like flies to blood, striking all sorts of seductive poses. One even grabbed Ou Yang and Zhu Yiming's arms and rubbed her chest against them, saying, "Sir, wanna play? I only need a loaf of bread."

Ouyang sneezed several times from the stench of the cheap perfume. He tried to pull his arm away, but the other person held on tightly and refused to let go.

Zhu Yiming, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying himself with a sly grin.

Jiang Yuwei stepped forward with a stern face and pushed aside the girls surrounding Ou Yang: "Get out of the way!"

The woman staggered a few steps, her face immediately changing color: "Bitch..."

Before he could finish speaking, the dark muzzle of a gun was already pointed at him.

The woman's face turned pale and then red, but in the end she didn't dare to curse anymore.

Several tall, sturdy American men approached, but seeing the rifles in the three men's hands, none of them dared to speak.

They've been dealing with weapons since childhood, and with just a glance, they can tell that the Easterner's gun has a 30-round magazine and immediately determine that it's a military automatic weapon.

Moreover, these three men were armed not only with rifles, but also with submachine guns and pistols—they were practically armed to the teeth!

Ou Yang was freed, and the women surrounding Zhu Yiming hurriedly retreated.

Jiang Yuwei glared at Zhu Yiming, who was still fuming, and said, "You can go with them!"

"Hey, hey, how could that be!" Zhu Yiming coughed to cover his embarrassment. "This place is really damn messy!"

Ou Yang shook his head: "Let's go."

He knew this place must be a mixed bag, but he never expected it to be this chaotic.

As Ou Yang stepped into the market, he immediately saw an old man with several mobile phones in front of him not far away.

Looking further ahead, there are quite a few stalls selling mobile phones or other electronic products!
He immediately walked over and casually flipped through the pages: "Can it still be played?"

"Of course!" The stall owner was an old white man in his early forties, with a full beard and a haggard appearance.

How many cuts?

"I don't want a knife, do you have antibiotics? I need antibiotics!"

Ou Yang sighed, put down his phone, and prepared to leave.

He did have antibiotics. In addition to getting some from his survival kit, Jiang Yuwei also got a first-aid kit from New Eden.

But Curly listed medicines and gold jewelry together, which shows the value of antibiotics. How could he dare to casually reveal his wealth?
There are so many phone sellers, just switch to another one.

Just as he was about to leave, a smiling, balding man suddenly approached and pointed at the MP7 that Ou Yang was carrying on his back: "Sir, if I may ask, would you like to exchange this?"

Ouyang was quite surprised: "You want it?"

“Of course!” Mediterranean’s smile widened. “You need a cell phone, right?”

“That’s right,” Ou Yang nodded, “but one cell phone is definitely not enough.”

The implication is clear: Don't even think about taking advantage of me!
“Of course not!” Mediterranean nodded in agreement. “I think you also need a set of… well, more ordinary clothes!”

He suddenly lowered his voice: "Is there anything else you need? I can help you with anything!"

Ouyang...

So this is another middleman!
He thought for a moment and said, "An MP7?"

“Yes, one!” Mediterranean nodded. “At least two spare magazines, and the corresponding ammunition… It has to be a complete set to fetch a good price!”

Ou Yang suddenly wanted to know the value of those collectible gift guns in the car: "I want a specific brand of mobile phone, with enough talk time and data to meet my requirements. This MP7 is yours."

"No problem, I'll definitely find a reliable telecommunications company!" Mediterranean patted his chest and assured them.

The three people took turns naming the brands they wanted, and Mediterranean immediately looked troubled: "Why are they all small brands? How about three of the latest models of Apple products?"

“No!” Ouyang firmly refused. “I only use this brand.”

“Me too,” Zhu Yiming said.

Mediterranean wanted to say more, but several more brokers came up, not only trying to steal Mediterranean's thunder, but also constantly increasing their stake.

Mediterranean's face turned pale and then red, and he wished he could tear these unscrupulous business partners apart.

Only then did Ou Yang and the others realize that an MP7 was actually worth so much!

It's not just the MP7; people are also asking about rifles and magazines.

Ou Yang was somewhat dazed.

He always thought that food was the hard currency during the pandemic, but who would have thought that Americans would have a higher demand for guns and bullets than for food!

It turns out that weapons are the real hard currency!

The three men, each with several guns and a whole bunch of magazines, swaggered into the flea market like walking vaults!
These things on her body are already quite conspicuous, so how much are the things in the car worth?
The brokers were unwilling to give in to each other, but in the end they had to compromise and cooperate to win over Ou Yang's MP7.

So, Mediterranean stayed behind to guard Ouyang, while the others scattered to find suitable sources of goods. Before long, they brought back the cell phones and other supplies.

After verifying that the phone was working properly, Ou Yang readily handed over an MP7 player.

Having achieved their goal, the three immediately returned to the truck.

Before we even arrived at our destination, we saw a group of old Americans surrounding the truck. A young man with freckles on his face was pointing at the truck, excitedly talking animatedly.

Ouyang spotted Curly in the crowd, and his heart sank. He picked up his rifle and walked over: "Gentlemen, is there anything I can help you with?"

The freckled-faced man pointed at the truck: "Is this your vehicle?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"I'll take it," said the freckled-faced man. "Name your price!"

Wow, is this some kind of forced sale?
“Sure!” Ouyang readily agreed. After all, it was a found truck, and it was indeed too flashy. “Find us a suitable RV, and this truck is yours! But it’s just the truck, nothing else!”

The freckled-faced man curled his lip in disdain: "Tch, who cares? It's settled then!"

Ouyang...

If you don't care, why did you come here on your own initiative?

(End of this chapter)