Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 258 Cold and Hot

Dallas snorted coldly, all his dissatisfaction and rejection written all over his face: "Just say it, what exactly is your purpose!"

His gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, as if it could pierce through people's hearts.

“Dallas!” the old lady scolded impatiently, then turned back with a kind smile. “Don’t mind him, my Dallas meant no harm, he’s just a little sensitive.”

At this point, the old man became somewhat downcast: "A few days ago, a group of people who had escaped from the epidemic area came to my place, but they were impulsive and violent and had a conflict with us, so Dallas is a bit sensitive."

She didn't say exactly what kind of conflict occurred, but it was certainly not a pleasant experience.

“I understand completely. We were too presumptuous.” O’Yan looked at Dallas. “We have no other purpose. We just want to stay overnight. We just need a place to shelter from the wind and rain. A barn or a stable will do.”

Dallas was about to speak when the old lady interrupted, "How can we let guests sleep in a place like that? We have guest rooms."

"No, no, that's fine. Any place will do," Ou Yang quickly refused.

Doesn't he want to sleep more comfortably?

Of course I do.

But Dallas is already very sensitive. Will the arrival of three outsiders cause any unforeseen trouble?

In comparison, barns and stables are better choices.

"That won't do!" the old lady refused. "Dallas, take our guests to their rooms!"

Dallas snorted angrily, but said nothing more, and obediently escorted the three people to the guest rooms, two rooms in total!
Before leaving, Dallas warned with a stern face: "Don't wander around tonight, stay in your rooms!"

After saying that, he was about to leave.

Ouyang immediately called out to the other person: "Hey!"

Dallas stopped, turned around, and looked at Ouyang with wary eyes.

Ouyang said earnestly, "I'm sorry, we don't intend to cause trouble for anyone, and we're certainly not your enemy."

Dallas, expressionless, turned and left: "It's getting late, go to sleep."

Ou Yang smacked his lips and turned to look at his companion: "This guy is interesting!"

"Forget it, he acts like someone owes him eight million." Zhu Yiming sprawled onto the bed, groaning contentedly. "It's just for one night anyway, I'll put up with it!"

Jiang Yuwei pulled out a self-heating ration: "Are you hungry? Have something to eat."

Dallas provided two guest rooms, but since they were unfamiliar with the area, the three of them didn't plan to separate. They quickly ate something and then slept in one room.

Before going to bed, Ouyang moved a cabinet to block the door.

Harmfulness is not allowed, and defensiveness is necessary!
No matter how harmless the old lady may seem, Ouyang will not let his guard down.

To be honest, Jiang Yuwei really wanted to take a good shower and wash all her clothes, but after thinking it over, she finally gave up.

Behave yourself and don't cause any trouble at this time!

However, before the three of them could fall asleep, a strong wind suddenly blew up outside. The little noise was enough to send chills down their spines; it could easily be used as sound effects in a ghost movie.

Jiang Yuwei felt a sense of familiarity upon hearing it.

When I was a child, the wind always made this sound in winter.

Zhu Yiming peered out the dark window: "Has the weather changed?"

Ouyang leaned against the windowsill and looked out, but all he could see was darkness: "I can't see anything!"

He opened the window a crack, and warm, fresh air immediately rushed in.

With the windows closed, Ou Yang nodded: "Looks like the weather's about to change..."

Boom——

A rumbling thunderclap approached from afar, sweeping overhead.

"Wow, there's even thunder?" Zhu Yiming sat up abruptly. "What month is it?!"

"You're making a fuss over nothing. Have you ever seen thunder in winter?"

"have you seen?"

“Of course, and more than once!” Jiang Yuwei proudly raised her chin.

Ouyang couldn't help but laugh. What was there to be proud of?
"And that's not all!" Jiang Yuwei was in a good mood and started talking non-stop. "The climate has been weird for the past few years. The winter temperature is getting higher and higher every year. One year in December... I forget if it was mid-December or late December, it rained all day long. It wasn't so bad when it rained, but the next day the roads were covered with a thick layer of ice. All the cars parked outside were covered with a layer of ice. Some of the unlucky ones were completely frozen in the ice and couldn't be dug out."

"Really?" Zhu Yiming had heard of warm winters, but the Northeast was notoriously cold, so how could it rain in December?
“It’s not just once. In recent years, it has rained twice every winter.” Jiang Yuwei was lost in her memories. “It’s strange. Most of the winter is not very cold, but you never know when the temperature will suddenly drop to minus thirty degrees. In my hometown, the coldest temperature can be as low as minus forty degrees.”

"So cold? Won't you freeze to death?" Zhu Yiming couldn't imagine what it would be like to be at minus forty degrees Celsius.

"It's not that bad, but I've only experienced this kind of extreme cold once in my life," Jiang Yuwei said. "I usually try to stay home as much as possible, and if I have to go out, I have to be completely bundled up. When I'm outside, the tip of my nose goes numb the moment I take a breath, and it only comes back to normal when I exhale..."

Another muffled thud interrupted Jiang Yuwei's words.

Ouyang said quietly, "If it weren't for global warming, the pneumoconiosis bacteria would still be sealed in the ice caves of Alaska."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yiming and Jiang Yuwei both fell silent.

After a moment, Zhu Yiming broke the silence: "Do you think that if the climate continues to be this abnormal, other ancient microorganisms might emerge?"

"Probably not," Jiang Yuwei said. "It's possible that ancient microorganisms might appear, but the chances that they happen to be the kind that can infect humans and are extremely deadly are not high."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Phantom lung bacteria are just a special case."

"I hope so," Zhu Yiming said.

Ouyang took over the conversation: "I don't know what will happen to microorganisms, but extreme weather could very well cause global climate change... Have you seen the movie called The Day After Tomorrow?"

"no!"

"I didn't... what was it about?"

"It's probably due to global warming, which has caused a sharp drop in temperature..."

"Wait a minute!" Zhu Yiming quickly called out, "Global warming, how could it cause temperatures to drop?"

"I actually know that, it's just a bit complicated to explain." Ouyang carefully sorted through his memory. "You know about ocean currents, right?"

"I know!" x2.

"Ocean currents are a very complex system. From the equator to the poles, there are warm currents, and from the poles to the equator, there are cold currents. But this ocean current... well, how should I put it? This thing is also called the thermohaline circulation."

Because it has been so long, I can't remember it very clearly anymore. Ouyang can only continue to explain based on his own understanding: "The general idea is that it is maintained by temperature and salinity, from the tropics to the polar regions, and then from the polar regions back to the tropics. The reason why winters in Europe are so warm is because the North Atlantic Current constantly transports heat to Northern Europe!"

"And then?" Zhu Yiming asked curiously.

Ou Yang thought for a moment and said, "Ocean currents are the circulation of seawater, so do you think this thing can't be destroyed?" "Can you stop being so mysterious?" Jiang Yuwei couldn't help but urge him on.

"Let me put it this way, this thing is much more fragile than you think. It is said that there was a large lake in North America in the past. Because of the breach of the dam, a large amount of fresh water flowed into the ocean, which diluted the salinity of the seawater. Then the cycle was broken, and the result was a significant drop in global temperature. I can't remember exactly how long it lasted, but it was quite a long time. It seems that the Ice Age was also related to this."

freshwater?

salinity?

Zhu Yiming immediately extracted a few key words: "You mean that rising temperatures will cause polar ice caps to melt, and large amounts of fresh water will dilute the salinity. Once ocean currents are cut off, there will be a global cooling, and we may even enter an ice age?"

Ouyang nodded: "Mostly correct!"

"What the hell!" Zhu Yiming was completely dumbfounded. "What kind of situation is this? The result of global warming is actually global cooling?"

“I also find it quite unbelievable.” Ou Yang didn’t forget to deflect responsibility, “But I saw all of this online, and I don’t know if it’s accurate or not.”

"You've said whether it's right or wrong," Zhu Yiming said with a smirk. "I just hope this kind of thing doesn't happen. If it does, let it happen after I'm dead!"

Ou Yang couldn't help but look at him with surprise: "Your awareness is quite high, isn't it?"

"Of course!" Zhu Yiming struck a pose of arrogance. "After I die, who cares about the deluge!"

A pattering sound came from outside the window as large raindrops pounded against the glass. Moments later, a torrential downpour began.

A bolt of lightning suddenly exploded in the sky, illuminating the earth washed by the torrential rain.

Ou Yang subconsciously took two steps back, then suddenly remembered the iron bridge in the downpour and muttered to himself: With such heavy rain, won't there be a flood?

Although he was worried, he didn't say anything so as not to worry his two companions.

As it turned out, Ouyang had worried too much. The rainstorm didn't last long, turning into a drizzle in just over half an hour. However, the clouds in the sky did not dissipate; instead, there was continuous lightning and thunder.

Ouyang leaned against the window, looking up at the sky. Every now and then, he could see a bolt of lightning flash across the sky.

It was so big it stretched across half the sky, and even looked like it was about to crash to the ground.

The smaller ones are in the clouds, twisting and turning, going in all directions.

Ouyang gradually became engrossed in watching.

He had never seen so much lightning in a rainstorm before.

Yes, it is said that some places have special climates, with thunder and lightning for more than half the year, creating a very impressive scene.

You must see it for yourself if you have the chance!
At midnight, the rain stopped completely, and a crescent moon peeked out from behind the clouds.

Ouyang was finally able to lie down in peace and sleep soundly until dawn.

When Ouyang left in the morning, the old lady was already preparing breakfast. He politely greeted her but didn't plan to stay for breakfast.

The old man naturally refused and immediately summoned Dallas.

They didn't call me by name, they called me darling.

Ou Yang was quite surprised. Yesterday, the old lady seemed like a kind elder, but today she gave the impression of being deeply in love.

The age of these two is just too damn shocking.

He thought he must be seeing things, and turned to look at Jiang Yuwei: "My English isn't good, so is this word only used between lovers?"

“Family members are fine too,” Jiang Yuwei replied softly.

Ou Yang shook his head slightly: "No, look at the old lady's expression. It doesn't sound like she's calling her son, it sounds like she's calling her lover... What exactly is their relationship?"

The old lady was too old; just by looking at their faces, it was impossible to tell whether the two were related by blood.

The three people firmly refused the old man's offer to stay and left in a hurry.

Dallas followed behind the three, supposedly to see them off, but to the trio, it looked more like surveillance.

Perhaps noticing the strange expressions on the three people's faces, or perhaps because he had been holding it in for too long, Dallas suddenly said, "A group of people who escaped from the epidemic area came here before."

Ou Yang looked surprised. Wasn't this mentioned yesterday?
“Several of those people were infected, and that’s when my mother got infected,” Dallas said sadly. “Once she developed symptoms, she would treat me like my father.”

The three of them suddenly realized, and sighed with relief: So that's how it is!
Dallas bluntly stated, "I never intended to take you in from the beginning; I only did it reluctantly for my mother's sake..."

Ou Yang suddenly asked, "Have you noticed anything wrong with your body lately?"

Dallas's expression changed. "What are you trying to say?"

“It’s nothing,” Ouyang said seriously. “It’s a pity that your mother was infected, and there’s still no cure for the disease. But you weren’t infected, you’re really lucky.”

Dallas's expression gradually returned to normal: "Are you trying to say I'm immune to the virus? I already knew that."

That's what he said, but his expression visibly relaxed considerably.

Ou Yang sighed: "Spend more time with the elderly; her time is running out."

Dallas was taken aback: "How did you know?"

"How do you think we got out of here?" Ou Yang asked instead of answering.

Dallas looked conflicted: "Do you know how much time my mother has left?"

Without hesitation, Ou Yang gave his answer: "If I'm not mistaken, it will be about seven days, at most ten days."

Dallas was stunned: "So short? How could this be?"

Ou Yang advised, "The elderly are physically weak, and their illnesses progress faster than those of younger people."

Dallas seemed dazed, and it was unclear whether he had heard anything.

Ouyang wanted to pat him on the shoulder, but then thought better of it and gave up. Just as he was about to leave, Dallas's voice suddenly came from behind him: "Thanks!"

Ouyang turned around unexpectedly and saw Dallas with an awkward expression on his face.

He couldn't help but sigh: "We're leaving... By the way, can I do you a favor?"

"you say!"

"Is this no longer an epidemic area? Or rather, which direction should we go to get out of the epidemic area?"

The old lady herself was infected. We don't know if she had been in contact with outsiders in the past few days. If she had, then it's only a matter of time before the neighborhood is completely overrun.

“Keep heading south,” Dallas said. “I’m not sure exactly how far, but don’t get too close to the southwest; there’s a US military blockade there…and watch out for drones!”

Ouyang gave Dallas a deep look: "Understood, thank you."

(End of this chapter)