Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 255 Southward! Southward!

Ouyang was very cautious and parked his car at a safe distance from the cordon.

However, although a frame was welded to the roof, the overall shape did not change much. The US troops on the blockade line recognized it as an armored vehicle at a glance and immediately became alert.

First, an American soldier set up a machine gun and fired a long burst at the armored vehicle. Then, a loud thud was heard behind the blockade line as a mortar shell flew toward the armored vehicle.

The three people were having a lively discussion in the car when the car was suddenly hit by a bullet, and they immediately stopped talking.

Before we could figure out what was happening, the shell that landed in front of the car exploded with a bang, sending mud flying all over the car and smearing the windshield!
Ouyang's expression changed immediately. He quickly shifted into reverse and drove away from the trouble.

As soon as the armored vehicle drove out, several shells fell from behind in quick succession. If it had been a little later, the armored vehicle would have been blasted into wreckage.

Zhu Yiming's face turned pale: "Do we have to be so sensitive? We're at least six or seven hundred meters away from the blockade line, aren't we?"

Ou Yang said in a low voice, "Do you think the US military will reason with you? What can they do if they just fire a couple of shots at you because they don't like you?"

Jiang Yuwei said with a headache, "With the US military's blockade so tight, how are we going to get through?"

Ouyang felt a headache coming on: "Let's try a different direction."

There are not only guns on the blockade line, but also artillery, though they are far away. If they were closer, there would definitely be more methods available.

Those are US military vehicles, not US police; their equipment is on a completely different level! Let alone a mere police armored vehicle, even an M1A1 wouldn't be able to break through the blockade.

Since there's no hope of charging forward, changing direction is the only option.

Ouyang also knew that since the US military was putting so much effort into sealing off the epidemic area, it must be because all the channels leading to the outside world were blocked. No matter how many times the direction was changed, there could be no exceptions.

But he still clung to a sliver of hope and drove the armored vehicle for nearly 100 kilometers to reach another southbound highway.

Unsurprisingly, they were also stopped by the military checkpoints.

With only half a tank of diesel left and nowhere to replenish it, they were not allowed to continue searching for weaknesses in the blockade.

"What should we do?" Zhu Yiming asked.

Ou Yang gritted his teeth: "Since the car can't get through, let's walk!"

Half an hour later, the armored vehicle stopped outside a large supermarket.

Inside the parking lot, several cars were overturned, and two other cars were burned to their skeletons, with charred remains still visible on the seats.

Besides that, there was trash and packaging bags everywhere.

The supermarket doors were wide open, but you couldn't see what was inside.

In movies and TV dramas, such places are usually quite dangerous. Once you enter, you're bound to encounter an accident. So Ou Yang and the others didn't rush to get out of the car. Instead, they turned off the engine, opened the hood, and fired a shot into the sky.

The crisp sound of gunfire carried far and wide, breaking the surrounding silence.

A moment later, a group of infected people rushed out from some corner, but because the gunshots had already dissipated, they couldn't find their target and could only wander aimlessly around the parking lot like a swarm of headless flies.

Ou Yang and the others waited patiently, and after more than twenty minutes, the number of wandering infected people gradually decreased.

Some found a shady spot to lie down, some hid in deserted corners, and some simply disappeared without a trace, embodying a carefree and unrestrained spirit.

Ouyang fired another shot, and the infected rioted once again, but in the end, the result was the same.

The three of them were basically certain that there were no special infected people here, so Ouyang put the big pineapple on the roof of the car and began to clear out the wandering infected people.

The continuous gunfire attracted more infected people, and even those who had disappeared reappeared.

Using firearms against the clumsy infected was a one-sided massacre; in no time, the armored vehicle was surrounded by the corpses of the infected.

After emptying a belt of ammunition, Ouyang retreated back into the vehicle to rest.

He didn't feel tired, but the red-hot gun barrel needed to cool down for a while.

A few minutes later, Big Pineapple continued firing until the second belt of ammunition was used up.

At this point, Big Pineapple's ammunition belt was completely exhausted.

The bodies outside the vehicle were piled up like mountains, and very few infected people were still able to move.

After switching to a rifle and firing two more magazines, there wasn't a single infected person who could stand up in sight.

The armored vehicle bypassed the pile of corpses and stopped outside the supermarket entrance.

Jiang Yuwei was looking at cars again, while Ou Yang and Zhu Yiming covered for each other as they entered the supermarket.

The supermarket was deserted, and an unsettling smell filled the air.

Because there were no lights, except for the area near the entrance, the rest of the supermarket was shrouded in darkness. Only by wearing night vision goggles could one see the situation inside.

The shelves were empty, the floor was a mess, and a pile of human bones lay scattered near the checkout counter.

It goes without saying that it was a victim who had been completely devoured by infected individuals.

The two entered the supermarket and easily found several shopping carts.

That's right, they didn't come here to replenish supplies, but to prepare some useful tools for the journey ahead!

Having achieved their goal, the two should have left immediately, but Ouyang thought for a moment, then gestured for them to continue, and cautiously walked deeper into the supermarket.

These large supermarkets are comprehensive shopping centers that not only sell daily necessities such as food, clothing, and household goods, but also various types of bullets!

Ouyang didn't have many bullets for the M500, so he wanted to see if there were any left here.

They didn't find any bullets, but they did find several strollers in the corner!
The two were overjoyed and immediately forgot about the shopping cart.

There's no other reason than that the majority of the trip was spent trekking through the wilderness. With such small wheels on the shopping cart, walking on unpaved roads or even in the wild, you can imagine how difficult it was.

Strollers have larger wheels and are better able to adapt to complex terrain.

Of course, it's only slightly better than a shopping cart; it's not really that much better.

Ouyang suddenly remembered that he had briefly owned a STEED tactical handcart!
The two walked around again, but didn't find anything new. Before leaving, Ouyang grabbed a few more skis and some ropes from the sports area.

Zhu Yiming was completely bewildered: "What are you going to do with this thing? Is it even useful?"

The latitude here is even lower, so spring has already arrived, flowers are blooming, and everything is coming back to life.

"You'll see when the time comes!" Ouyang stuffed the spoils into the stroller. "Let's go!"

The two men left with their loot, and the armored vehicle once again drove towards the blockade line.

This time, however, instead of heading towards the checkpoint, they simply parked somewhere far away from the US military base.

It was getting late, and they decided to spend the night there.

The days are quite warm this time of year, but the nights are still cold and dewy, making camping a troublesome and dangerous activity.

But after nightfall, a small group of old Americans appeared nearby. They left the road in droves and headed south into the wilderness.

Having witnessed this scene by chance, Ou Yang suddenly began to doubt whether his decision to wait until tomorrow to leave was the right one!
Crossing the blockade line, no matter the era, is always done at night when visibility is low. Who would walk in broad daylight under the sun? But he only thought about it and didn't intend to change his mind.

The next morning, the three men got ready, and Ouyang stepped on the gas, driving the armored vehicle off the road.

Ouyang didn't want to abandon the car until the fuel was completely exhausted.

The road was not easy to travel on; not only was the speed slow, but it was also extremely bumpy. After a full half hour, a rural dirt road suddenly appeared ahead!
Ouyang was overjoyed and quickly drove the armored vehicle up, continuing south along the dirt road.

Half an hour later, the low fuel warning light came on on the dashboard. The three men prepared to abandon the vehicle, but the armored vehicle continued to drive for more than an hour before finally running out of fuel.

Ouyang patted the steering wheel, said goodbye to his old friend, and the three of them got out of the car and began loading various supplies onto the stroller.

Food and water are of utmost importance and must be loaded first.

Then each person had a sleeping bag, and the three of them shared a tent.

Weapons are also essential, but we currently have too many and must make significant reductions.

First, there's the DP-28. Although it's powerful, it consumes too much ammo, so we'll skip it.

The AWM was great, but Ouyang was extremely reluctant to give it up.

Submachine guns are also good, but considering their power and range, they have to be abandoned. Jiang Yuwei keeps the MP7 for self-defense.

Finally, Ouyang left behind five guns: an M27, a Remington, an M500, a G18, and a G43.

The Remington and M500 were carried on my person purely for defense against zombies.

After much deliberation, Ouyang finally decided to keep the Glock 18 by his lap and the M500 tucked into his waistband.

After all, we mostly deal with ordinary infected people. As for encountering super zombies... well, it's hard to say whether we'll ever encounter super zombies again in the future!
Zhu Yiming, on the other hand, uses rifles, Remingtons, and Glocks.

He really wanted to bring the Desert Eagle, but when he tried it on, it was too heavy and didn't fit his hand well, so he had to give up in the end.

Jiang Yuwei's situation is much simpler: an MP7, a handgun, and a close-range handgun.

In addition to the stroller, each person also had a backpack filled with their most important belongings.

This includes some bullets, three days' worth of food and water, medicine, water purification tablets, and the like.

Oh, and there's a roll of toilet paper too!
Without this thing, chrysanthemums would suffer.

In short, if an accident occurs and you have to abandon the stroller, you can at least survive for three more days with the supplies in your backpack!
Everything that needed to be reduced was reduced, and everything that could be carried was carried, so everyone's load was within a reasonable range.

However, the three of them could only take a small portion of the supplies. Every single one of them felt reluctant to part with the remaining supplies in the carriage, as if they were being slowly cut apart.

“Let’s go, stop looking,” Ou Yang said.

Zhu Yiming sighed and kicked the skis strapped to the side of the stroller: "What's the point of bringing this thing?"

"Just in case." With that, Ouyang pushed the stroller and set off first.

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei glanced reluctantly at the armored vehicle and silently followed behind Ou Yang.

From now on, we'll have to work on two legs!
Zhu Yiming quickened his pace and walked alongside Ou Yang, asking, "Where are we roughly located now?"

Ouyang thought for a moment and said, "We should have already left Mule Prefecture. Judging from the direction we're going, this place is either Mo Prefecture or Ma Prefecture. If we continue southeast, it won't be long before we enter Ke Prefecture... Once we pass through Ke Prefecture, we'll reach Xiushidun!"

Zhu Yiming's eyes lit up: "How much further?"

Ou Yang pursed his lips: "About a thousand kilometers, roughly."

"How much?" Zhu Yiming was completely dumbfounded. A whole thousand kilometers? Was this some kind of joke?
Although he believed that walking on two feet was only temporary and that the three of them would eventually be able to get a vehicle, his heart still jumped uncontrollably.

"What are you doing?" Ou Yang glanced at Zhu Yiming. "It's only a thousand kilometers. Have you ever heard of the Long March?"

"Can that be the same?"

"It's all up to human effort." Ou Yang turned to look at Jiang Yuwei. "Sister Wei, what do you say?"

Jiang Yuwei smiled and said, "Let's go!"

"Fine, fine, I can't argue with you two, okay?" Zhu Yiming raised his hands in surrender.

Having just recovered from a serious illness, he was already quite tired even though he had only walked for a short while.

Fortunately, Ouyang didn't intend to launch a forced march at the beginning and soon announced a rest.

The three of them drank some water and ate something, and set off on time ten minutes later.

The vehicle moved in fits and starts, and at first it could still say a few words, but after a short time it got too tired to talk anymore. At most, it would only last an hour or so. Zhu Yiming's legs were sore, numb, and swollen, and he felt like he hadn't covered as much distance as the armored vehicle had covered in five minutes.

Look at Ouyang, he doesn't show the slightest sign of fatigue.

This guy is a monster, you can't compare!

Looking at Jiang Yuwei, she remained steadfast and silent throughout.

Zhu Yiming couldn't help but wail in his heart: Big sister, don't push yourself so hard, can't you just call out a few times and rest for a while?
But no matter how long they waited, Jiang Yuwei remained silent.

If not a single woman makes a sound, how can a grown man like him complain about being tired and miserable?
There's no other way but to keep going.

Throughout the journey, Ouyang walked at the very front, his hawk-like eyes warily observing his surroundings.

Without the protection of armored vehicles, he felt particularly insecure.

Suddenly, the sound of flowing water came from ahead. Ou Yang took a few quick steps and immediately saw a small river with a steel bridge connecting the two banks.

Ou Yang stepped onto the bridge and glanced down at the area below, his gaze instantly freezing.

Several bloated corpses were floating in the river.

Several other bodies lay scattered haphazardly on the shore, some face down and some face up.

If it were just a corpse, that would be one thing; the three people had long since become desensitized and would not experience any discomfort.

However, centered on the corpses on the shore, a large area of ​​mycelium had already covered the ground, creating several mottled gray-white patches on the predominantly green grass.

Upon noticing that Ou Yang was acting strangely, Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei immediately looked down from the bridge, their brows furrowing in unison.

"This river flows out of Luozhou, right?" Jiang Yuwei asked.

“Even if it’s not Mule State, it must be some other epidemic area,” Ou Yang said.

Zhu Yiming asked with dissatisfaction, "Didn't the US military lock down the epidemic area? Is this how they did it?"

Ouyang's gaze fell on the lower reaches of the river, where patches of mycelium came into view, some of which had already merged into one.

He originally thought that since the US military had put so much effort into sealing off the epidemic area, it would at least delay the spread for a while. He thought that if the US was given some time to catch its breath, it might be able to get through it.

Looking back now, the US blockade was a joke full of loopholes!
(End of this chapter)