Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 249 The Highest Courtesy

Old Mi took the initiative to make overtures, which eased the tensions and led to a temporary agreement between the two sides.

The bearded man introduced himself: "My name is Berry, and what are yours?"

“Ouyang, you can call me Ou, he is Zhu, and she is Jiang,” Ouyang said.

"Hello!" Berry waved and then bowed slightly to Jiang Yuwei. "It's a pleasure to meet you, beautiful lady."

Ou Yang secretly rolled his eyes and cursed him as a scumbag.

Jiang Yuwei smiled and nodded, but showed no intention of leaving the armored vehicle.

One must always be wary of others. For safety's sake, at least one of the three people must remain in the armored vehicle.

Berry pointed to the wrecked little plane behind him: "I have to fix this little beauty. Want to come along?"

“Okay!” Ouyang nodded in agreement and followed Berry to the vicinity of the plane.

Berry grabbed a wrench, crawled under the plane, and started fiddling with it.

He was completely uninhibited, asking for pliers one minute and a screw the next, disassembling and reassembling repeatedly.

It looks very unprofessional.

Ouyang couldn't help but ask, "Did you really plant a bomb here?"

"Wow!" Berry grinned slyly. "Do you want me to say yes, or no?"

I want to hear the truth!

“My answer is, of course, that I was faking it.” Berry put down the pliers. “We’ve only just met. Even if it’s fake, I’ll definitely say it’s real, so!”

At this point, he shrugged again: "Why ask so clearly?"

Ouyang laughed too: "That's true... Can I fill up the car with gas now?"

“Of course, do as you please,” Berry smiled brightly. “However—”

He pointed to the still-unrepaired plane: "We can all take it and leave together, it doesn't really matter whether we add it or not."

“Let’s add him,” Ou Yang said with a smile. “Like you said, we’ve only just met, and I’m not sure if I’ll leave with you!”

The armored vehicle is the most important guarantee for the trio, and they will never abandon it just because they have a way out.

Berry laughed: "You're hilarious! I like sincere people!"

Ouyang also had a good impression of this big guy, but Chinese people are not as flamboyant as foreigners, so they wouldn't say it directly.

He gestured for Zhu Yiming to keep going, then added, "Isn't the military under a no-fly zone? Can't we still fly?"

“That’s true.” Berry nodded and continued fiddling with the plane. “But as long as it flies low and doesn’t leave the epidemic area, it’ll be fine. The military is busy and doesn’t have time to worry about whether it flies inside the epidemic area or not.”

His eyes shone with anticipation: "We can fly to the edge of the epidemic area and then find a chance to leave."

Ou Yang thought to himself that this was a good idea, but he didn't know if the military would give him a chance to leave. He subtly twitched his own hand, but he couldn't smell any spores. He didn't know if he was immune, uninfected, or still in the incubation period.

He asked curiously, "The edge of the epidemic area? Do you know where the boundary of the epidemic area is?"

Berry looked at Ouyang in surprise: "Of course I know, it's not a secret, why are you so excited?"

Ouyang suddenly pointed to the armored vehicle that was refueling: "What if we drive there?"

Berry immediately shook his head: "Too dangerous... never mind!"

He was halfway through his sentence when he remembered that it was an armored vehicle, which was much safer than an airplane!

"It's done!" Zhu Yiming's shout carried from afar.

Ou Yang waved to indicate that he had received the message.

Berry asked curiously, "Where are you from?"

“North,” Ouyang said.

"Kamed?" Berry immediately became interested, patted the plane and said, "If it weren't for this little beauty, I would have gone north with her long ago!"

"Thank goodness you didn't!" Ouyang recalled his experiences in Kamed with lingering fear. "The military blocked the roads to the north and sent everyone who had already gone north back. There were also several accidents along the way. Two-thirds of the town was burned down, and tens of thousands of people were stranded there... Sigh, anyway, thank goodness you didn't go."

The light in Berry's eyes disappeared: "I see!"

He didn't say anything more and continued repairing the plane: "So, we can't go north."

Ou Yang sighed, "I think the other directions are about the same... By the way, tell me about the epidemic!"

“Whoa!” Berry tightened a screw. “As for the pandemic, it’s definitely the worst in Bear State. I heard that several big cities are deserted, with only dangerous infected people left. The countryside is almost destroyed too. The survivors either fled into the mountains or are hiding in the wild. In short, it’s pretty tragic.”

"The situation in Lion State is also very bad, followed by Frog State, Mule State, and several states downstream of the Honeysuckle River, all of which have experienced large-scale outbreaks..."

Through Berry's description, Ouyang gradually sketched out the general situation of the United States in his mind.

Simply put, the situation in the south is much more serious than in the north, where the warm and humid climate is conducive to fungal growth, making the situation particularly severe.

The situation is particularly severe in the central region, mainly Xiongzhou and its surrounding areas, but the situation is much better further north, with only scattered outbreak areas in the east and west directions.

The epidemic areas in the central and southern regions have merged into one, covering a total area that accounts for half of the entire country.

In addition, Berry provided a little extra information.

In the northeast, the area is still under the control of the Yonex president; in the northwest, two-thirds of the territory is the base of the second-in-command, and the remaining third is at the behest of the Yonex president.

Then there's the Arab world, where there are rumors of an outbreak, but it's uncertain whether it's true or not.

Finally, there's Hawaii, which is not only far from the mainland but also behind a blockade line jointly set up by various countries, making it the safest place in the entire United States.

“That’s the place I most want to go!” Berry’s eyes shone with hope.

Shrimp Hawaiian...

Ouyang nodded: "It is indeed a good place..."

A muffled thud suddenly came from the direction of the main gate, as if something had hit the door.

Ouyang immediately turned around and pulled out his Glock in a flash.

On the other side, Zhu Yiming also quickly raised his rifle.

"Hehe, don't be nervous, put down the gun!" Berry quickly called out, "Laylie, is that you?"

A few seconds later, a thin little girl carrying a basket slowly moved from outside the door into the hangar, her big eyes full of fear.

Ou Yang and Zhu Yiming breathed a sigh of relief and put down their guns.

Berry crouched down and beckoned, calling out in a particularly gentle voice, "Lelly, don't be afraid, come in!"

The little girl glanced at Ouyang, then at Zhu Yiming, and cautiously entered the hangar. She deliberately took a detour, avoiding Ouyang and hiding behind Berry. Her little hand tugged at Berry's clothes, and she looked timidly at Ouyang. Ouyang's expression froze: "Am I that scary?"

Berry winked at Ouyang, signaling him to stop talking, then stretched out his strong arms and pulled little Leili into his embrace: "Hey, look at my little princess, what delicious treats she brought me!"

A faint smile finally appeared on Leili's face. She took a boiled potato from the basket and presented it to Beili like a treasure.

Berry didn't even peel the skin off; he took it and bit off half of it in one go, chewing it like he was eating some rare delicacy, while also praising little Leili.

"Sorry, you came so suddenly, we didn't prepare any food for you!" Berry said.

"It's okay, I'm not hungry yet." Ouyang magically pulled a piece of candy from his pocket and waved it at Xiao Leili. "Want some?"

The little girl looked at Ouyang with longing eyes and nodded vigorously.

Ouyang handed over the candy, but Little Leili looked at Berry. Only after Berry nodded did she snatch the candy away, happily jumping and skipping away on her short legs.

Berry watched the little girl walk away, his smile gradually fading.

Ouyang asked curiously, "Your daughter?"

“The neighbor’s kid,” Berry said.

"Why are you so... well, introverted?"

Berry sighed: "She used to be a very lively child. After the outbreak of the pandemic, her paralyzed grandmother was the first to get infected. Later, Riley witnessed her grandmother shoot her parents to death. Since then, the child has never spoken a word."

Ou Yang remained silent, his mind in turmoil.

Although I've long been accustomed to the various separations and deaths in the epidemic area, hearing such stories still makes it hard for me to remain calm.

Berry took a deep breath: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you this."

“It’s okay, I’m used to it,” Ouyang said.

Habit?

Berry seemed to be deep in thought.

The large-scale outbreak in Mule State is a recent event; even he, being in the eye of the storm, hadn't gotten used to it. How did this Easterner manage to?

His worries were written all over his face. Ouyang asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Berry shook her head: "No, it's nothing."

Ouyang smiled helplessly: "Just say whatever you want to ask."

Berry immediately changed his tune: "You really are from Kamed?"

Ouyang told the truth: "We escaped from Bear State, Brown Bear City."

"Huh?" Berry's eyes widened in shock. "A brown bear? Is it the brown bear I know?"

Ouyang smirked: "If you're talking about the place where the outbreak first occurred, then without a doubt, that's it!"

“My God!” Berry clutched his head. “You guys are really from Bear City? This is the first time I’ve ever heard of anyone escaping from that godforsaken place, Bear State… Wasn’t Bear State under military blockade? How did you manage to escape?”

Berry, as if he had ADHD, paced around with his head in his hands. Before Ouyang could speak, he asked again, "From Bear State to Mule State, without wearing masks, you're immune, right? You must be immune, right?"

Seeing Berry's expression, Ouyang suddenly thought of the Blood Pact and immediately became wary: "We are indeed immune to Phantom Lung."

Berry grabbed Ouyang's hand: "That's wonderful, that's really wonderful... Can I entrust Demi to you? And Leili too!"

“What?” O’Yan was bewildered by Berry. “Do you know what you’re talking about?”

"Of course I know!" Berry's expression was solemn. He gripped Ouyang's hand tightly and refused to let go. He had so much to say but didn't know where to begin, and his cheeks were flushed red.

Ou Yang quickly reassured him, "Don't get agitated, let's talk things out!"

"I'm so sorry, I just couldn't hold it in!" Berry released Ouyang and wiped the sweat from his palms on his pants. "I've heard of immune people, but I've never seen one. I never expected to see one today!"

Ouyang was completely confused. It's just immunity, why get so worked up?

Thinking of the New Eden, I can't help but feel a little wistful: "Immunity isn't necessarily a good thing."

"What?" Berry didn't understand, but that didn't stop him from sensing that there was a story behind those words.

“It’s nothing.” This time it was Ou Yang’s turn to shake his head, not intending to mention the lung transplant at all.

Although the exchange between the two sides was relatively pleasant, lung transplantation is currently the only way to save infected people. What if the other party has ulterior motives?
No matter the occasion, it is a big taboo to speak too much with someone you don't know well. You can say as much as you want about things that aren't exactly secrets, but you can't say a single word about truly core secrets!

Berry wisely refrained from pressing further, and instead spoke in a tone as if giving his last words: "Oh, I don't know what the pandemic is like in your eyes, but in my eyes, once you're infected with pneumococcus, death is only a matter of time. Do you know what that feels like?"

Ouyang recalled his experience at the airport: "I can understand..."

“No, you can’t!” Berry suddenly interrupted. “The life-and-death experience you’ve had is completely different from the desperate waiting of being infected!”

Ou Yang remained silent, then nodded again: "I haven't experienced it myself, I can only imagine it."

Berry closed his eyes and took a deep breath: "But I, my wife, and other companions live in fear and anxiety every day. Maybe I'll be the next one to get infected. Do you understand that feeling?"

"Imagine."

Berry's gaze was unusually complex. Suddenly, he knelt on one knee in front of Ouyang: "Ou..."

"Hey, what are you doing!" Ouyang was startled and quickly helped Berry up.

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei, standing in the distance, craned their necks, curiously peering in: Why is he kneeling? He's kneeling on one knee, the only thing missing is a bouquet of roses!

There's some gossip going on, and it's big news!
Berry, relying on his height and size, insisted on kneeling, but Ouyang's arms were like cast iron, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lower himself even an inch. In the end, he could only stand up dejectedly: "Isn't this the highest form of etiquette in your East?"

Ouyang raised an eyebrow: You must have a very deep misunderstanding of Eastern etiquette!

“That was true in the past, but we have stood up for almost a hundred years now, and we kneel to no one except Heaven, Earth, and our parents.”

Well, proposals are an exception... but let's not go into that, let's ignore it!
"Really?" Berry was very confused. "How come it's different from what I know?"

Ou Yang thought to himself, "What you're seeing must be either Koreans or people from small countries. Those two places especially love kneeling before their fathers!"
“Okay, that’s not important!” Berry skipped over the subject. “Oh, I know this is very sudden for you and your companions, but I beg you, and your companions…”

"Wait, don't talk about begging or not, just tell me what it is."

Berry's eyes were filled with sorrow: "If I get infected, please take care of my wife Demi and little Lay!"

Ou Yang couldn't help but smile bitterly: "We can't even take care of ourselves, how can we take care of others?"

“No, no, no, you didn’t understand what I meant.” Berry quickly explained, but his voice was much lower than before. “If Demi or Little Lay is also infected, then let’s pretend it never happened. What I’m trying to say is, if Demi or Little Lay is also immune… whatever you ask for, I can agree to!”

He then patted the still-unassembled plane and said, "Or, I can send you anywhere in the epidemic area!"

Ou Yang's eyes flickered: This... isn't necessarily a bad thing!

(End of this chapter)