Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 257 Exclusion
To be honest, Ouyang had an urge, inside and out, to keep trying until he dialed the number again.

Since leaving Kamed, he hasn't had any contact with his superiors. If this continues, he'll be like a kite in the wind.

However, the phone has limited battery remaining and there's nowhere to charge it. It's impossible to keep searching indefinitely; we must cut our losses and conserve battery power.

Feeling utterly suppressed, Ouyang turned around and zipped up the tent door.

Jiang Yuwei's groggy voice came from the darkness: "Ouyang? Where have you been?"

"It's nothing, I'm just going out for a walk," Ou Yang replied casually.

He can keep this to himself; if word gets out, it will only cause one more person to lose sleep.

Jiang Yuwei crawled out of her sleeping bag and took out some tissues from her backpack: "Come out with me for a bit!"

"it is good!"

Jiang Yuwei didn't say where she was going, and Ou Yang didn't ask either.

Leaving the tent, Jiang Yuwei walked to the base of a large rock and leaned against it to deal with her physiological needs.

Wearing night vision goggles, Ou Yang turned his back to Jiang Yuwei and cautiously looked around.

This is a difficult issue to talk about, but one that must be faced. This is not the first time I have acted as a lookout for Jiang Yuwei.

At first, Jiang Yuwei was so embarrassed that she couldn't even open her mouth and had to secretly take care of herself. But in the wild, anything could happen, so she had no choice but to ask Ouyang for help.

Practice makes perfect, and now it's become second nature.

A few barks suddenly came from afar, and it sounded like there were quite a few of them. Ou Yang's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately became alert: "Are you done yet? Something's not right!"

He couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong, but it just felt a bit off.

"Almost done!" Jiang Yuwei quickly finished and stood up.

Before even returning to the tent, Ouyang could already see a group of dogs running through his night vision goggles, of varying sizes and breeds.

Among them were not only large dogs, but also several small pet dogs.

Regardless of their size, they all charged upwards like madmen.

The one running in front looks like a husky, and it's quite big.

They ran wildly across the rugged mountainside, charging straight towards us.

Ou Yang's eyes narrowed, and he raised his gun and fired without hesitation.

My intuition told me that something was wrong with these dogs.

With a thud, the husky fell to the ground, but the other dogs did not run away; instead, they continued to charge upwards.

Ouyang fired several shots and shouted, "Back to the tent, quick!"

Jiang Yuwei ducked into the tent, while Zhu Yiming, who had been awakened by the gunshot, had already grabbed his gun: "What happened?"

Before the words were even finished, a chaotic barking of dogs could be heard.

He was taken aback. What was going on?
Why are you arguing with a dog in the middle of the night?
Jiang Yuwei didn't bother to reply; she grabbed her submachine gun and headed outside.

As soon as the two crawled out of the tent, they saw a large dog climb onto a boulder and suddenly leap at Ouyang.

"Watch out!" the two exclaimed in unison.

Ouyang quickly turned around, smashed the dog's body with the butt of his rifle, and fired two shots, smashing the dog's head.

Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei immediately joined the battle. The three of them relied on each other and killed all the dozen or so dogs in a short time.

The smell of blood carried far and wide.

Zhu Yiming spat in dissatisfaction: "Damn it, I can't sleep here!"

The smell of blood easily attracts carnivores, and that's no joke.

But it was dark right now, and finding another place was simply not feasible. Besides, the three of them had already searched the entire area, and there was no suitable spot at all.

"It's nothing." Ouyang dragged away a dead dog and threw it far away.

The rest shall be handled in the same manner.

Even if wild animals were to appear, they would be lured away by the dead dog and wouldn't have any designs on the tent.

Back in the tent, the three of them were wide awake and started chatting about what was going on with the dogs.

The final conclusion was that these dogs must have eaten human flesh.

Ouyang didn't know how much time had passed, but he drifted off to sleep, half-awake and half-asleep until dawn.

When I got up and looked again, I saw that the dead dog that I had thrown some distance away had some bite marks on it, but it was a small animal.

Due to lack of sleep, none of the three planned to get up early and set off; they all wanted to go back to sleep.

Ou Yang was worried about the phone, so he turned on his phone and circled around for a long time, but still couldn't find a signal.

I climbed to a nearby high point and looked down into the distance, but I couldn't find anything that looked like a cell tower. In the end, I could only put my phone away in disappointment, and I kept wondering if I had hallucinated last night.

It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that the group resumed their journey, stopping and starting along the way until the sun began to set.

There was still some time before dark. The three of them followed the rugged mountain path over a ridge. Ouyang, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and peered around for a while: "Look, there's a house over there?"

"Where is it? Where is it!" Zhu Yiming immediately perked up.

Last night's accident, though not dangerous, was quite frightening. Having a house to shelter from the wind and rain is much better than sleeping in the wild.

Following the direction Ou Yang pointed, they indeed found a small wooden house.

But after seeing the situation there, Zhu Yiming's expression instantly froze: "Ahem, Ouyang, um, don't you think this place looks a lot like a cabin in a horror movie?"

Ouyang thought about it seriously: "You know what, it's true!"

Although he couldn't remember the names of those movies, he could immediately recall several horror movies related to cabins.

Ou Yang suddenly felt uneasy, looking around repeatedly, as if something was secretly watching him from the shadows.

Zhu Yiming was the first to notice his unusual behavior: "What's wrong? What are you looking at?"

Ou Yang said with a serious expression, "Look, in movies, young men and women either encounter a psychopathic killer, or they encounter a ferocious beast; or they encounter a mutated virus; or they encounter zombies or demons or something like that..."

"A log cabin and young men and women—we've got the two basic elements!"

Zhu Yiming added, "You haven't even counted the phantom lung bacteria yet, there are three!"

Jiang Yuwei was furious and glared at them angrily: "Are you two ever going to stop?!"

"Hey, really? You're scared of this too?" Zhu Yiming looked astonished, his expression as if he had just met Jiang Yuwei for the first time.

"Alright, alright, let's stop talking about it." Ou Yang quickly stopped the conversation. "Come on, let's go take a look. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll sleep here tonight!"

Girls, after all, inevitably have some strange and unusual fears.

The three men prepared their weapons and cautiously approached the cabin. They found that although the place was somewhat old, the cabin itself was still relatively intact and there was no obvious damage.

After walking around the house, no other abnormalities were found.

Upon closer inspection, the door was locked tight.

Ou Yang pried open the lock without hesitation.

Although small, the house is complete in every way. It is small but divided into a living room, a kitchen, two separate bedrooms, and an essential bathroom.

Jiang Yuwei almost couldn't help but cheer. She was utterly fed up with the harsh environment in the wild.

But no one has been here for a long time. The ground and furniture are covered with a thick layer of dust, and there is a strong smell of decay. Some mushrooms have even grown in the damp corners.

While there was still time, the three of them immediately got to work, tidied up the cabin a bit, and then lay down to rest after dinner.

However, all three of them slept in the living room instead of staying alone in the bedroom, to avoid any accidents during the night.

cough!

The cabin isn't big, so if something happens in any of the bedrooms, the others can come to the rescue immediately. But being separated makes you feel unsafe.

Even if there is a comfortable bed in the bedroom.

The cabin had lights but no electricity. Jiang Yuwei found a kerosene lamp in the cupboard, but no one thought they should light it.

Dark spots are safer.

Under the shelter of the cabin, the three slept soundly through the night, and when they woke up the next day, they felt refreshed and relaxed all over.

Only Jiang Yuwei, with heavy steps and a pained expression, shuffled out of the bathroom, nervously wringing her hands: "My period started, can we not leave today?"

Zhu Yiming rolled his eyes: "I thought something was wrong, but it's nothing!"

“Yes, we’re not leaving today,” Ou Yang said, then added after a moment’s thought, “If it doesn’t work out, we can stay a few more days.”

Zhu Yiming raised an eyebrow: I didn't realize you were such a warm-hearted guy?

Then she added: "Warm men come after dogs!"
Since they weren't planning to leave, there was no need to rush to pack. Still for safety reasons, the three of them didn't use the cooking utensils in the cabin to prevent the smoke from attracting unnecessary attention.

After eating some self-heating food, the three of them huddled together, staring at each other, not knowing how to pass the time!

Zhu Yiming sighed with emotion: "Ever since we left Baifeng Town, we've been living on the sidelines. How long has it been since we've had this much free time?"

"That's right. I've been working non-stop all day long lately, and suddenly having some free time makes me feel uneasy." Ou Yang twisted his shoulders, giving the impression that he had energy but nowhere to use it.

After saying that, he took out his phone, but there was still no signal.

After a while, having nothing to do, Ouyang decided to go for a walk, and then he found a solar panel on the roof!

This excited him so much that he dashed out of the house in a flash: "I knew it! If there's a light, there must be electricity!"

Jiang Yuwei continued to rest, while Ou Yang and Zhu Yiming quickly found the battery pack hidden under the floor. The remaining power was not much, but it was enough for the phone to run.

Ouyang perked up and climbed the tallest tree nearby without saying a word, trying to use the height to enhance the signal.

Unfortunately, he failed once again.

Ouyang just couldn't figure out where the signal came from last night!

After much effort, Ouyang still failed to achieve his goal and had to reconcile with himself and give up the idea of ​​finding a signal.

"If only we had satellite communication capabilities," Ou Yang complained helplessly. "I heard that our satellite positioning system can send text messages without a signal, but unfortunately, none of our phones have that function."

"What's the point of saying all this now?" Zhu Yiming rolled over and stared at the ceiling.

Ou Yang sighed, gave up, and simply lay down.

The original plan was to stay in the cabin for only one day, but Jiang Yuwei's condition was a bit serious, so the three of them decided to wait a few more days until Jiang Yuwei had fully recovered before leaving the cabin.

Two days later, the trio, after crossing a small hill, found that what lay ahead was no longer one mountain after another, but a plain that stretched as far as the eye could see, and a road that led to an unknown destination!
As we continued forward, the vegetation along the roadside became increasingly sparse, and the messy bushes were gradually replaced by neat rows of fields, but there were no houses in sight nearby.

It wasn't until several hours later that a few wooden buildings came into view by the roadside, including Mi-style country villas, barns, stables, and various agricultural machinery.

The farm was completely silent, without a sound or any sign of life.

Zhu Yiming asked in a low voice, "Is this place abandoned?"

"We'll find out once we go over there." Ouyang placed the gun in the most convenient position, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.

However, before they even got close, they heard a low bark coming from the direction of the villa.

The three people immediately stopped in their tracks.

Immediately afterwards, a middle-aged white man carrying a double-barreled shotgun walked out of the villa and coldly looked at Ou Yang and the others in the distance.

"Buddy, shut up!" Old Mi yelled in a high-pitched voice, and the dog immediately stopped barking, tucked its tail between its legs, and ran away.

Old Mi gripped his gun tightly and shouted, "Hey, how are you? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Ouyang responded loudly, "We want to find a place to stay for the night!"

Old Mi scrutinized the group's attire and immediately became alert: "You're from an epidemic area?"

Ou Yang subtly gestured to Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei to prepare for any unexpected events: "That's right, but don't worry, we are all immune."

Without hesitation, Old Mi pointed his gun: "I don't care whether you're immune or not. Go wherever you want, just don't come near my territory!"

"Hey, don't be impulsive!" Ouyang indicated that his side posed no threat.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

He could understand the other person's agitation; if he were in their shoes, he wouldn't have been any better off.

The fact that they didn't fire directly shows that they were being very restrained.

"I'm perfectly calm!" Old Mi growled in a low voice. "Step back!"

Just as Ouyang and the others were about to leave, an elderly woman with a wrinkled face came out of the villa: "Don't do this, Dallas."

Ou Yang's lips twitched. What's this guy's name? It sounds even more like a dog than Buddy's.
Dallas still held his gun, his chest heaving violently.

The old lady angrily shouted, "Dallas!"

Old Mi snorted and put down his hunting rifle.

The old lady smiled and invited, "Come on over, children."

Ouyang looked at the old lady, then at Dallas, and slowly walked to the front of the villa to express his gratitude politely.

"Please come in!" The old lady turned and went into the house.

Dallas gave Ouyang a cold look and followed him inside.

Ou Yang smelled a faint spore scent, and his expression immediately changed.

Following Dallas into the house, the smell of spores became even stronger.

The source wasn't Dallas, but the old lady. Judging from the concentration of spores, she was at least in the mid-stage of germination, the kind of person who was controlled by hallucinations for at least 12 hours a day.

The water on the stove had just boiled, and the old lady picked up the kettle and made a few cups of instant coffee: "Sorry, this is all we have right now."

“It’s already very good.” Ou Yang’s gaze towards her now carried a hint of pity and sympathy.

The old man turned around and brought over a plate full of cookies. "Try the cookies I baked myself."

"Thank you." Ouyang readily agreed, but his vigilance remained, and he didn't put either the coffee or the biscuits into his mouth.

The old lady smiled kindly and said nothing.

Dallas, as if in a huff, picked up a few cookies and ate them, then took a sip of his coffee.

Ouyang sighed: "I'm sorry, we've had some really bad experiences, so we're all a bit overreacting. Believe it or not, none of us are infected, and we pose no risk of spreading phantom lung bacteria."

(End of this chapter)