Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 262 Sentry Post, Sentry Post!
Around 10 p.m.

A crescent moon hangs obliquely in the sky, and a few floating clouds drift with the wind, quietly obscuring the cold moonlight.

On a large tree by the roadside, Zhu Yiming, straddling a branch, tightened his collar and muttered anxiously, "What time is it? Why is there still no movement?"

Leaning against the tree trunk and sitting on another branch, Ouyang whispered, "Good things come to those who wait, what's the rush!"

"How can I not be anxious!" Zhu Yiming crossed his arms. "How long are we going to have to wait?"

"If you can't handle it, go down and get some sleep. I'll wake you up if there's any movement later!" Ou Yang raised his binoculars; in the darkness, he could barely make out the outline of the sentry post.

Unlike in the past, the sentry post was completely dark and silent tonight. Even the drones that used to patrol there were nowhere to be seen, creating an atmosphere of impending doom.

Zhu Yiming immediately shook his head: "Forget it, I won't be able to sleep soundly down there either."

Ouyang put down his binoculars and inadvertently thought of Dallas again.

After receiving Luo Hui's call, Ou Yang immediately left the farm, but Dallas chose to stay, intending to continue taking care of his mother until her life came to an end.

Ouyang really didn't know how to comment on his choice.

From Dallas's perspective, taking care of a seriously ill mother is a matter of course, and no one can say no to it.

However, the old lady was a severely infected person who had entered the growth stage, a mobile source of infection that could release a large number of spores with every breath!
It doesn't cause any harm to Ouyang and others, but what about from the perspective of ordinary people?

This is a source of poison! The best course of action is to give it a quick death and then burn it all to the ground.

Dallas couldn't bear to do it and insisted on taking care of her mother, regardless of how many ordinary people would be harmed by doing so.

Thinking of this, Ouyang couldn't help but sigh.

He had nothing to say about Dallas, but even now, he still couldn't calm down.

Moreover, Dallas is just a microcosm of ordinary Americans. Under the pandemic, countless people are struggling to choose between family and conscience, even to the point of getting burned.

Similar situations have occurred before, and they will likely occur again in the future!
Suddenly, the roar of an engine came from afar, and Ou Yang immediately snapped out of his reverie: "There's movement!"

"Where? Where?" Zhu Yiming immediately stood up, but the night was dark, and he craned his neck to look for a long time, but still couldn't see anything. "Where is it?"

"Listen!" Ouyang closed his eyes, and the roar immediately became much clearer.

Zhu Yiming still looked puzzled: "What are you listening to? There's nothing here!"

At the same time, an armored vehicle slowly pulled up to the side of the road, directly north of the checkpoint.

The tank commander spotted outpost number 62 in the distance through the observation and aiming equipment and immediately relayed the order: "Everyone, check your weapons and prepare for battle!"

Inside the carriage, Nelson's heart pounded uncontrollably, his tension visibly palpable.

He took a deep breath, then another, but he couldn't calm down. The image of that tall and gentle figure immediately appeared in his mind.

Nelson clasped his hands together and prayed devoutly to the figure in his heart: "Priest, I am going to fight again, but this time, it is voluntary. May God bless us, and may justice prevail!"

Before each battle, he couldn't control his nervousness. In the past, the priest would comfort and guide him, but now the priest was gone...

Nelson was a private first class in the 71st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, one of countless ordinary soldiers in the U.S. Army.

Those familiar with the U.S. military might wonder, which unit is the 71st Mechanized Infantry Brigade?

This unit was indeed little known, as it was a temporary force urgently formed to contain the epidemic area and belonged to the National Guard.

The impact of Pneumococcus on American society is comprehensive, with infected people everywhere in the epidemic area and survivors struggling on the brink of life and death.

The situation in the safe zone wasn't much better; transportation was disrupted, supplies were scarce, and prices remained high.

Nelson is still a student, but due to the outbreak of the pandemic, his studies had to be interrupted, and his family's livelihood was also affected by the pandemic.

He never thought of joining the U.S. Army until he saw the generous benefits on the recruitment notice, which made him resolutely join and become an ordinary new recruit in the training camp.

What follows is a series of rigorous training sessions. Typically, the U.S. Army's basic training for recruits lasts for six months.

However, after only a little over a week of intensive training, Nelson was assigned to the 71st Mechanized Infantry Brigade and sent to southern Muscovy to carry out blockade missions.

Initially, everything went smoothly.

Nelson and his comrades drove to the designated location, set up a checkpoint to block the road, and their daily task was to guard the checkpoint and not allow anyone to pass through.

It was easy and not difficult at all. Faced with fully armed American soldiers, the civilians who tried to pass through the checkpoint had no choice but to turn back.

Moreover, all they need to do is block the road; as long as they don't pass through the checkpoint, the American soldiers stationed there won't have to worry.

In addition, both personal protective equipment and barracks protection are very thorough, so as long as you don't do anything reckless, there is no risk of infection.

But the situation soon changed. One night, a mob that could not get through attacked the checkpoint and killed a sergeant.

Nelson knew the sergeant's name, but they hadn't had much contact and had barely exchanged a few words.

The enraged commander immediately ordered that anyone who dared to approach the outpost at night be shot dead.

From then on, the gunfire at the outpost became more and more frequent. At night, everyone, both inside and outside the outpost, was on high alert, ready to fire at the slightest sound.

Within days, the mob had left dozens of corpses outside the checkpoint.

Nelson didn't want to fire on ordinary Americans, but the mob didn't care. Anyone at the checkpoint wearing combat gear was their enemy and target.

He was forced to return fire, personally killing two mobs.

Afterwards, Nelson lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep, his mind filled with the scene of him shooting down the mob.

In search of inner peace, Nelson sought out the army chaplain and confided his troubles.

The pastor patiently explained and repeatedly emphasized the dangers of those infected and the necessity of locking down the affected areas.

Thinking of his family back home, Nelson's restless heart gradually calmed down.

For a period of time, the U.S. military's tough stance did have a positive effect, and fewer and fewer civilians dared to approach the checkpoints, even during the day.

Everyone naively believed that no one would dare to approach the checkpoint again, including Nelson.

However, one night, the alarm suddenly sounded, and a large number of armed mobs stormed the checkpoint. The commander ordered everyone to fire freely and eliminate all the mobs that dared to approach the checkpoint.

Gunfire raged all night. At dawn, the attack ceased, and hundreds of rioters' bodies piled up like mountains. Some had their intestines ripped out, some were torn to pieces, and some were incomplete.

Many of them were just teenagers. Under the rising sun, Nelson stood on the sentry post, his rifle slipping from his hand and falling to the ground: "What have we done? What have we done?"

He didn't get an answer because others had the same question.

As usual, the pastor comforted everyone, but when Nelson asked him why he did this and why there were no other ways to stop the spread of the epidemic, the pastor fell silent.

After a long pause, he answered in a low voice, "This is the price we have to pay, because we have no better way."

Nelson couldn't understand why such a large and powerful country like the United States couldn't come up with a better solution.
Is it that you don't have it, that you don't want to, or something else?
However, he soon had no time to think, because the mob returned and launched another attack on the checkpoint.

This time it was larger in scale, involved more people, and lasted longer.

The battle ended the following morning, with thousands of corpses piled up.

Those who haven't experienced it firsthand can never imagine how brutal the battlefield is.
The US military also suffered more than 20 casualties.

Several of them were neither injured nor killed, but their protective masks were torn off during the battle, exposing them to the spore-filled air.

The commander did not hesitate to confiscate their weapons and expel them from the outpost.

The priest tried to stop them, but the commander remained unmoved. As a result, the priest took off his mask and became one of those expelled.

With his only source of emotional support gone from the outpost, Nelson's world collapsed.

The commander also knew that the priest's role was irreplaceable, so he immediately announced to everyone that the new priest was on his way and would arrive at the outpost soon.

The commander tried everything to boost morale, but morale continued to decline.

Nelson felt that although he was not yet infected, he was no different from a severely infected person; they were both just walking corpses.

Everyone was talking about it, speculating about what kind of person the new pastor was and discussing whether they could trust him.

However, before the new pastor arrived, a new wave of challenges arose.

This time, it wasn't just the mob; expelled comrades and priests were also among them.

After witnessing the tragedy in the epidemic area, they chose to join the mob.

Upon learning of this situation, the commander immediately labeled the traitors, led by the priest, as traitors and decisively ordered the firing.

But soldiers are human too, and the vast majority of them, like Nelson, were new recruits who had only undergone a short period of training before being sent to the battlefield.

If the number of rioters attacking the checkpoint was small, it might not have been a big deal. But in order to survive, thousands of rioters launched an attack regardless of their own lives. Outside the checkpoint, there were mountains of corpses and seas of blood, with countless bodies piled up like mountains. It was simply a living hell!
Veterans might not care, but for soldiers like Nelson, the psychological pressure was immense.

When the commander ordered the firing again, a new recruit named Veri, unable to bear the torment of his conscience, refused to fire on the mob, publicly stating that this was not a blockade but a massacre, and encouraged others to stand up with him and resist the tyranny.

Many newcomers, including Nelson, are eager to try.

In times of chaos, harsh measures are necessary. At the critical moment when the mob was about to launch an attack, Viri incited others to disobey orders, which offended the commander. He demanded that everyone return to their battle positions immediately and obey orders unconditionally, or face military law.

Furthermore, the commander loudly questioned everyone: "My family is in the epidemic area, and they have all been killed by the infected. Do you also want your family members to die tragically at the hands of the infected?"

Veri still refused, and the commander immediately raised his gun.

However, before he could fire, another person opened fire first, blowing the commander's head off with a single shot.

Nelson fired the shot.

The commander's eyes were filled with disbelief, and it wasn't until the body fell that Nelson realized what he had done.

Intense fighting broke out instantly. The American troops at the outpost split into two factions: one decided to hold their ground, while the other chose to give up. The American troops, who were originally in the same trench, engaged in fierce fighting, and countless innocent souls died at the hands of their own comrades.

Taking advantage of the situation, the mob launched an attack and seized the checkpoint in one fell swoop.

Fortunately, Nelson was unharmed, but Verri was hit by seven bullets and died on the spot.

The priest was also hit by a stray bullet and died with his eyes wide open.

Most of the blockade faction were killed on the spot, while a few were captured or scattered.

After occupying the outpost, the mob immediately organized to clean up the battlefield, collecting all the usable weapons, including various light weapons, two tanks, eight armored vehicles, more than a dozen other military vehicles, and a large amount of military supplies.

The mob quickly organized, took over the equipment, and soon armed themselves with the stolen weapons, forming not only an armored unit but also hundreds of infantrymen.

It was only at this point that Nelson discovered the mob was far more organized than he had imagined, and that the proportion of veterans was surprisingly high.

Any one of them could easily beat this newbie.

If their equipment weren't so poor, these people wouldn't have had much trouble attacking the outpost.

A bearded man in his forties met with Nelson and his group, hoping they would join the side of justice.

Nelson asked curiously what the mob planned to do next: simply occupy the checkpoints or continue south.

The bearded man answered very confidently that he would continue south.

Nelson did not answer immediately, but instead said he would think about it.

The bearded man didn't make things difficult for him, and the mob didn't stop either. Instead, they immediately regrouped and left the checkpoint.

Nelson followed the team into the epidemic area and witnessed firsthand the infected at different stages, as well as the hardships of the survivors. His heart was shaken as if by an earthquake.

After daybreak, everyone hid. Nelson was also assigned a bed, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter what he did. As soon as he closed his eyes, the civilians he had killed would jump out one after another, endlessly looping in his mind.

Unable to sleep any longer, Nelson finally sat up, rubbed his face vigorously, and sighed: Okay, you guys win!

Amazingly, after he made the decision to join, those disturbing figures never appeared again, and Nelson slept soundly until evening.

The team then assembled and set off, heading straight to outpost number 62. The attack would begin shortly afterward.

Nelson knew he was about to meet his former comrades-in-arms again, and he couldn't help but feel nervous.

The commander's roar echoed in my ears: "Distance 2640, ready...fire!"

boom--

The battle officially begins.

Nelson took a deep breath and gripped his rifle tightly: Here I come!

(End of this chapter)