Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 245 The Devil and the Lamb

The night vision goggles weren't as clear as I'd imagined; I couldn't make out the faces of the two people. Judging from their builds, it was an adult woman and a child.

Ou Yang's eye twitched, and a deep sense of powerlessness suddenly welled up in his heart.

Zhu Yiming asked in a low voice, "What did you see?"

Ouyang took off the night vision goggles and handed them over: "See for yourself!"

Zhu Yiming's expression also changed: "Growth stage? Where did they come from? Are there any towns nearby?"

Ouyang carefully recalled the nearby map, then shook his head: "All the old Americans in the entire Mule South region are heading north. Does it matter if there are towns or not?"

Zhu Yiming thought about it and agreed: "What should we do? Kill them?"

Ouyang continued to shake his head: "Ignore them, let's talk about it tomorrow!"

Dealing with these two infected individuals is not difficult, but what if there are other infected individuals wandering around nearby? Wouldn't they all be attracted by the gunshot?
Looking at the time, it was almost midnight. Ou Yang rubbed his face and said, "It's about time. Let's switch shifts."

Zhu Yiming didn't stand on ceremony and carefully climbed to the back.

Looking at the two infected individuals, Ou Yang's thoughts slowly drifted away.

After searching this place all day, we didn't find a single hair on the infected person. We can conclude that there shouldn't be any infected people nearby, otherwise the strong smell of blood would have attracted them long ago.

So, these two just wandered over by chance.

Thinking of this, Ou Yang felt much more at ease.

He also wanted to dry the beef here, but even if the weather stays good, it will still take three to five days.

Although this road is not the only way to go north, it is one of the main passages connecting the north and south. In the coming period of time, there will definitely be many people passing through here!

Encountering one or two infected individuals or Americans is not a big deal, but encountering a large number of infected individuals or Americans would be a real problem!

No, we have to find a place further away from the highway!
Just as I was pondering this, the two infected people finally finished eating and stood up with their bulging bellies. However, they didn't go far; instead, they kept loitering around nearby, getting in my way.

Then, for some reason, these two guys developed a great interest in the armored vehicle. They swayed over, circled the vehicle from all sides, and even peered through the windows.

Separated only by a window, Ouyang's gaze, through his night vision goggles, fell upon the gaunt faces of the two infected individuals.

The woman was probably in her forties. She had a gash on her left cheek, cut by a sharp weapon, which made her already distorted face even more ferocious.

The child's face resembled the woman's by about 50%, suggesting they were mother and child.

Ou Yang couldn't help but sigh.

He had seen far too many similar situations along the way, and he had long since become numb to them, unable to feel any extra sympathy.

There was a time when sympathy and pity were the cheapest and most common things.

Having experienced so many separations and deaths, and witnessed so much joy and sorrow, for Ouyang now, sympathy and pity have become a luxury that must be suppressed in his heart.

He took off his night vision goggles, stared into the darkness outside the car, and pretended not to hear any noise outside. He stayed like that until dawn.

Throughout the night, countless small animals came out to grab a piece of the meat, gnawing away at the remaining beef until it was almost unrecognizable.

When Jiang Yuwei woke up, it was already daylight.

She remembered the shift change and immediately got up, complaining, "Ouyang, why didn't you call me..."

He was halfway through his sentence when he saw the infected person still lingering outside the car. His mind went blank for a moment before he came to his senses: "Where did they come from?"

The mother and son outside the car seemed to have heard Jiang Yuwei's voice and turned to look at her together.

In broad daylight, his withered appearance was much clearer than at night. His limbs and body were also extremely thin, clearly indicating that his body had been drained dry by the phantom lung bacteria.

Only her belly swelled up high, almost like she was six months pregnant.

That's because I ate several meals last night and felt so full.

Jiang Yuwei highly suspected that if these two ate another meal, they might burst their stomachs.

"I don't know where he came from." Zhu Yiming also woke up and briefly recounted his experience from last night.

Ou Yang suddenly pointed to the rearview mirror: "Look, there's a motorhome in the back!"

Jiang Yuwei immediately thought of that old man from last night: "You mean, that guy from yesterday?"

Ouyang nodded: "Let's go take a look!"

After saying that, he started the armored vehicle, and the silent engine suddenly roared.

The two infected people outside the car immediately perked up their ears and rushed up like lightning.

Ouyang lightly pressed the accelerator, and the armored vehicle quickly retreated until it was near the RV, leaving the infected far behind.

The RV door was open, and a body lay inside—it was Old Mi, the man who had demanded beef last night.

His body was covered in scratches and bite marks, and dried blood flowed from inside the car to the outside, leaving a purplish-black bloodstain on the road.

It was obvious that the two infected people were inextricably linked to this old man. The three of them quickly pieced together a clear cause-and-effect relationship in their minds—the man's wife and son were infected and had to flee their home to survive. They even harbored the illusion that the mother and son were not infected with pneumococcus and hoped that they would recover in the near future.

But their conditions worsened day by day, eventually progressing to the growth stage, shattering all their hopes.

The man refused to give up and continued to care for his wife and children, still hoping for a miracle even though he knew there was no hope.

However, he did not receive a miracle and ultimately died at the hands of his wife and children.

Ou Yang and Zhu Yiming are both men. Although they sympathize with Old Mi, that's all they feel.

Jiang Yuwei was different; she felt not only sympathy but also a great deal of sadness.

Women are definitely more emotional than men.

The infected man, his belly swollen, ran closer and closer. Ou Yang opened the door, got out of the car, and fired decisively, killing the two bodies.

He turned and went into the RV, then quickly came out again, carrying several packets of salt, two pieces of butter, and half a jar of honey.

They returned to their original location, placed the meat strips piled in the car on the rack to continue drying, and used the salt they had just obtained to marinate even more meat strips.

The weather was pretty good for the next few days. To speed things up, Ouyang even got some wood to start a campfire and roasted the meat strips like barbecue.

Later that day, the three men harvested their first batch of roasted beef jerky.

Ou Yang cut off a piece and put it in his mouth. It was a little salty, but that's okay. Saltiness makes it easier to preserve!
From then on, we were able to harvest a batch of dried meat every day.

On the fourth day, the beef, which had not been salted, was not yet completely dry, but it already showed signs of spoilage.

Despite his reluctance, Ouyang had no choice but to give up the remaining beef.

The dried meat that has already been made must also be carefully stored. Ouyang cuts it into finger-length pieces and carefully stores it in plastic bags.

Hundreds of kilograms of meat were used, but only a few dozen kilograms of dried meat were produced, which filled just three cardboard boxes.

Although there were some regrets, the three of them were still filled with a sense of accomplishment regarding their harvest. Even if they ate as much as they wanted, the jerky would last for a while, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they wouldn't have to worry about food for a long time.

Another morning dawned, the supplies that had been moved out of the vehicle were put back inside, and the armored vehicle resumed its journey.

An hour later, the three arrived at the first town of their journey.

The place was dilapidated and littered with garbage. Upon spotting the approaching armored vehicles, the few Americans on the street immediately hid, and the buildings along the street quickly closed their doors and windows.

Ouyang was certain that at this moment, every old man in every room was gripping his gun tightly.

Armored vehicles drove through the city without stopping.

The next two towns were similarly dilapidated, desolate, indifferent, and xenophobic.

It wasn't until the afternoon that we finally came across a small town that was somewhat more lively.

Before the armored vehicle even entered the town, a group of residents were seen gathered outside a house by the roadside. Some people saw the armored vehicle, but only glanced at it before looking away, continuing to stare at the house with resentment.

Dozens of old Americans, some cursing, some roaring, suddenly raised their arms and shouted: "Burn him! Burn him!"

More arms were raised, waving and shouting, "Burn! Burn! Burn!"

The shouts were initially chaotic, but they quickly became unified, with every old American's eyes filled with hatred and fanaticism.

Inside the armored vehicle, the three men looked at each other in bewilderment.

What's the situation?
The next second, a man dressed as a priest, who was about fifty years old, stepped forward, magically produced a Molotov cocktail, lit the cloth strip blocking the mouth of the bottle, and threw it hard at the window.

The Molotov cocktail smashed through the glass and fell into the room, instantly igniting flames and sending black smoke billowing out from the broken window.

The crowd cheered and raised their arms, and more Molotov cocktails were thrown into the house.

The door suddenly opened, and a man with half his body engulfed in flames rushed out, raising his revolver and firing at the crowd.

Gunshots rang out, and an old American fell to the ground.

Before the man could fire a second shot, several gunshots rang out from the crowd, and the man was knocked down in quick succession.

The elderly people around him turned pale and quickly retreated.

A Molotov cocktail was smashed next to the seriously injured man, and the raging flames quickly engulfed him.

Heart-wrenching screams echoed from the burning house. A haggard-looking woman rushed out, only to be shot down by Old Mi.

The woman slowly collapsed beside the burning man, and was consumed by the flames just like him.

Ou Yang's expression suddenly changed: Have all these people gone mad?

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei's expressions were also extremely grim.

The gathered Americans dispersed, leaving only the priest, who walked with a smile toward the armored vehicle, with flames gradually engulfing the houses behind him.

The priest, with a smile on his face, calmly approached the armored vehicle: "Good afternoon, my children!"

Ou Yang rolled his eyes: You're the one who's my child, your whole family are my children!
"What can I do for you, Father?" Ouyang tried his best to maintain basic politeness, but his tone revealed an undisguised stiffness.

The priest still smiled, turning back to glance at the burning house: "Did we frighten you? Please rest assured, we are not thugs. This family has been possessed by a demon and can only be purified with fire!"

Ou Yang could hardly believe his ears. He turned to look at Jiang Yuwei and Zhu Yiming: "Demons? Purification? Does he think this is the Middle Ages?"

This is absolutely outrageous! You beat someone to death and burned them without giving any reason whatsoever, and you still think you're right?

The priest couldn't understand Mandarin, and his smile was somewhat stiff, but he still tried his best to maintain it.

He peered into the car: "Just the three of you? There's no one else, right?"

Ou Yang's tone turned cold: "What do you mean?"

The priest remained kind: "I just want to know if you have ever come into contact with a lamb possessed by the devil?"

"Sorry, we are atheists."

This time, the priest's expression changed, but he immediately smiled again: "The Lord will forgive you and will guide you lost sheep back into His embrace!"

Ou Yang almost laughed in anger. He had no intention of wasting time with this crazy religious lunatic, so he retorted crisply, "You're the lamb, your whole family are lambs!"

The priest bowed: "Thank you for the compliment."

I'm speechless... Ou Yang doesn't know what to say. It's like he took a slap on the left cheek and then offered his right cheek instead?
"Excuse me, could you please move aside? We're leaving," Ou Yang said.

He had originally intended to stop here and see if he could replenish his supplies, but now he didn't want to stay in this godforsaken place any longer.

The priest appeared polite on the surface, but beneath his seemingly peaceful exterior lay an extremely mad soul.

How dare he say that other people are possessed by demons?

On the contrary, Ouyang felt that the priest was the real devil, and the other old Americans were no good either, they were all the priest's accomplices!

If he hadn't failed to detect the spore odor, he would have assumed all of these people were infected.

"Sorry, you can't leave yet!" The priest's smile vanished, his eyes turning sinister.

Ou Yang ignored him completely, closed the car window, and tried to leave.

The priest immediately shouted, and the old men, who had just scattered, regrouped at an astonishing speed, forming a menacing block in front of the armored vehicle.

Ou Yang's expression changed drastically. He immediately shifted into reverse and quickly reversed, breaking away from the group of old Mis.

The priest and his followers did not give chase; they simply stood there quietly, watching the armored vehicle disappear into the distance.

Ouyang drove the armored vehicle directly out of town and parked it in an open space.

"What kind of nonsense is this? That priest must be up to something!" Zhu Yiming said indignantly. "The US is really strange. Not only are there many religious people, but there are also all sorts of weird sects. They all talk about God, but all they care about is business. Who knows what that priest was really like?"

Jiang Yuwei whispered, "It wasn't just one or two houses that burned down. That priest was probably using religion to fool Old Mi, claiming that he was possessed by a demon because of the pneumococcal infection."

Ou Yang said, "I guessed so."

Zhu Yiming looked constipated: "No way, is Old Mi really that easy to fool?"

Jiang Yuwei explained, "The lower the level of education, the easier it is to fool people, isn't that obvious?"

Zhu Yiming was confused: "Old Mi? Illiterate?"

"Don't think of Americans as something so lofty and noble. They've always focused on elite education, but the real elites are only a tiny fraction. The illiteracy rate is 21%, and the semi-literacy rate is 14%," Jiang Yuwei said with a sigh. "And even the real elites are religious. Do you think ordinary Americans would believe in religion? Are they easy to fool?"

"No way?" Zhu Yiming was almost dumbfounded.

There are certainly illiterate people in China, but very few are completely illiterate, and most of them are very old people.

As for young people... it's not entirely absolute, but the proportion certainly won't be that outrageous.

That being said, when it comes to being fooled, being educated doesn't make you immune; otherwise, how could there be so many scams?
(End of this chapter)