Chapter 83 Boundary Line

It was too dark yesterday, and they couldn't see the whole picture of the south city clearly. But now, as they walked along, everything around them was clearly reflected in everyone's eyes under the gloomy sky. Compared with Lucheng, this place looked cleaner, without the messy piles of garbage and the traces of various fights, but it was also depressed and dilapidated.

Wild grass and other plants grew out along the cracks in the road and the corners of the walls, occupying every corner of the city little by little and covering up all traces of human beings. Judging from the situation here, the people in the south of the city should have been evacuated for some time. There are not many corpses on the road, which shows that the evacuation should be orderly.

This gave them more confidence in the Nanjiao Military Academy.

But the good times did not last long. After walking for more than an hour, human corpses gradually appeared on both sides of the street. Some of the corpses had not yet rotted, and their exposed hands, feet and bodies were covered with dense gray scabs.

It's a gray scab patient!

There are also people with gray scab in the south of the city!

Come to think of it, how could it be possible that in the same city, there are so many patients in the north but none in the south!

This was probably one of the reasons why the small group of troops in the south of the city who held out to the end evacuated with the remaining people. They should have discovered that the patients with gray scab had a tendency to prefer water, so they wanted to evacuate to a place that was far away from the river and had a smaller area and more solid buildings for easier centralized management and treatment.

But this new disease came with great force, and people kept dying during the evacuation...

Everyone was a little frightened and moved closer to each other, but at the same time, they wanted to go forward to check, because they had all come into close contact with such patients, but had never seen what the patient looked like when the disease deteriorated to the end.

In other words, they want to know at what stage of the disease the patient will die.

Finally, Shu Fu, Chen Fa, Lu Zheng and Xu Tingfeng came forward to check.

It was still raining heavily today. The corpse closest to them was lying on the sidewalk by the roadside, face down, with half of its body uncovered. The gray scabs on its body were constantly washed by the rain, making it look exceptionally smooth. The cracks on it were faintly visible, and the flesh and blood underneath could be vaguely seen.

This man's hair had fallen out and his scalp was covered with gray scabs, which made him look extremely strange.

After everyone checked for a while, Xu Tingfeng suddenly frowned: "Strange, why is the flesh under the gray scab still red?" As he spoke, he thought of something and poked the corpse on the ground with the tip of the stick in his hand.

As soon as these words came out, Chen Fa was the first to react. He stood sideways in front of Shu Fu and took her back two steps.

Almost at the same time, Lu Zheng stretched out his hand to block Shu Fu on the other side.

Both of them were tall, and Shu Fu, who was less than 165cm tall even with waterproof boots, had her vision completely blocked. She jumped twice before she could see what was happening in front of her.

The "corpse" moved. The patient with gray scab was not dead at all. It was just that the disease did not occur during the day. He fell down directly after being caught in the rain at night. Unlike the north of the city, there were no special people here to deal with these patients during the day and bring them back to the building for resettlement, so they mistook him for a corpse just now.

The gray scab patient was obviously not as aggressive as he was at night, and his reactions became sluggish again. Even when disturbed, he only moved his body slightly and then lay there again.

Chen Fa thought of the fisherman who had left the team and had not returned overnight. If he had really gone to the southern suburbs with them last night, he would have passed by this area. The gray scab patients at night were not as quiet as they were during the day. If they met him, they would be in great danger...

The four men all looked unhappy after returning to the team. Many of the motionless "corpses" lying nearby were probably patients with gray scab who were not yet dead. They should have been abandoned here by the evacuated team, which meant that the troops in the south of the city were also helpless against this disease and had to abandon them.

After hearing their speculation, the others also felt heavy-hearted. After all, no one knew the cause of the disease and each of them could become a patient.

After suffering from a high fever, he would become speechless and unable to recognize his relatives. Then gray scabs would begin to grow on his body. Every night, he would fall into the pain of his whole body breaking apart. This would happen over and over again until he finally became neither human nor ghost...

Everyone set out again towards the southern suburbs. This time, they walked more carefully. When they saw a "corpse" lying on the side of the road, they immediately adjusted their direction and went around it.

They walked for more than two hours and finally left the city and entered the suburbs.

It was raining heavily, and the road ahead was unknown. Everyone was very tired. The clothes under the raincoats were already soaked, and the shoes were heavy because they were covered with mud. But no one complained of being tired, and no one slowed down their pace without permission. Everyone still gritted their teeth and persisted.

The big guy was very grateful to Shu Fu for the painkillers and took good care of her along the way. He wanted to help her carry her backpack and asked her if she wanted to sit on the tricycle as well. She was not heavy anyway, so it didn't matter if he stepped on her or not.

But later she found that Lu Zheng was paying attention to and taking care of her all the way, and seemed to understand something, so she stopped coming closer.

They walked for more than twenty minutes. There were fewer and fewer buildings around them, and the surrounding vegetation was dense and the trees were tall. They saw a road sign on the side of the road with the words "Military Academy" on it, which meant that they were not far from their destination.

There was no place to shelter from the rain nearby, so everyone encouraged each other and kept moving forward.

There was a three-way intersection ahead. To the right front was the main road, leading to the hills and mountains not far away, where the military academy was located. The other road was a small path, heading towards the dense forest nearby. At the end of the forest, the shadow of another mountainside could be vaguely seen.

Another sign appeared at the intersection. Lu Ce ran a few steps forward to check it out, then ran back happily, indicating that there were still two kilometers to go!

The crowd continued to move forward and soon passed a three-way intersection. As Shu Fu was walking, he suddenly froze and then stopped.

She stretched out her hand to test and soon confirmed it.

It's a barrier.

During this period, she left the small town of Hexi, went to Lucheng, left Lucheng, went to the Salt Lake, and then went all the way to Youcheng, hundreds of kilometers away. This series of actions made her almost forget that she was not free.

At this moment, in the southern suburbs of Youcheng, which is infinitely close to Xiangzhou Province, less than 2 kilometers away from their destination, she was stopped again.

Compared with Lu Zheng and Chen Fa who successfully walked out of the barrier, she is still an outlier.

The others soon noticed Shu Fu who had stopped. Chen Fa, Chen Yuezhen, Lu Zheng, and Lu Ce all turned around and walked towards her.

"What's wrong? Is Shu girl feeling unwell?"

"Did you sprain it?" Chen Fa supported her arm.

Lu Zheng gestured to the tricycle that had stopped in front of him and said, "Actually, you can sit on the sidecar. If you don't feel comfortable letting Da Kuai pedal, I'll do it."

"I can ride a bike too. I'm very good at it!" Lu Ce said hurriedly.

In front, other people also stopped and looked back. They didn't know what was going on, and when they saw Chen Fa and Lu Zheng standing there, they became worried.

"Are you okay?" Xu Tingfeng and Yue Dong also came over.

After so many times of being trapped in a maze, this was the first time Shu Fu truly felt that she was not alone. Even though she was an outlier in this world, she was an outlier who had friends and was cared for by others.

She smiled and said calmly, "I'm sorry, I can't continue walking with you. I actually... have other important things to do. I can only accompany you here."

"What?" Lu Zheng didn't understand.

Chen Fa didn't understand either: "What do you have to do? I can accompany you to finish it first, and then go to the military academy together."

"Well, you two have to wait for me for a moment. I have something else to say to you." After she said this to Lu Zheng and Chen Fa, she looked at Chen Yuezhen and Lu Ce and apologized to them one by one.

Of course Lu Ce didn't want to: "But I want you to go with everyone! What's so important that we have to do it at this time? We are almost there, there is a place to rest, and there should be hot food. Can't you take a rest before you set off?"

Compared to the others, Chen Yuezhen was the first to accept it: "Don't be like this, she must have something important to do, and we are not her responsibility. But Shu girl, the world is difficult now. If we really separate here, it will be difficult to meet again in the future."

After all, they don’t know whether the situation will get better after going to the military academy, and if they continue to move south, they don’t know which city they will go to.

"I know. But after I finish my business, I will continue to move to the southwest. I also have friends in Xizhou Province. I have an agreement with them to meet there, and I want to make an agreement with you as well."

"Don't worry, I will definitely take grandma there too." Not only because of Shu Fu, but also because it is the safest province in Hua Country now, and it will probably be the safest province in Hua Country in the future.

Lu Ce was still very reluctant to leave first, but Shu Fu still had something to say to Lu Zheng and Chen Fa, so in the end, after Shu Fu said goodbye to them one by one, Xu Tingfeng and Chen Yuezhen took him on the road first.

At the same time, they will slow down and wait for Chen Fa and Lu Zheng.

After the others continued to move forward, Chen Fa turned around and looked at Shu Fu: "What's going on?" She was with her every day, and she had never heard her say that there were other important things she had to do.

"Actually, I didn't want to leave you so soon. It's not that I don't want to leave now, but I can't." Shu Fu said, pointing to a place one meter ahead, "There is a barrier that no one can see. That barrier limits my range of movement."

"What?!" Chen Fa and Lu Zheng showed the same shocked expressions.

She did not explain in detail. After all, why was there a barrier? Why were she and Chen Falu Zheng so different as both awakened ones? She herself did not know the reason behind it.

She could only tell them the established fact, which was that she could not accompany them to continue heading south, let alone leave the Beidi Plateau and go to Xiangzhou Province.

Of course, it will definitely be possible in the future, but she doesn’t know exactly when.

"Since you can't leave, we'll stay with you." The three of them were silent for a moment, and Lu Zheng suddenly spoke up, "Lucheng, Salt Lake, and the area from Salt Lake to Youcheng is so large, we can always find a suitable place to live."

"Don't be silly. You can stay with me for one or two months, but can you stay for one or two years? The Northern Plateau is not a place to stay for a long time. There is a lack of water and food here. There is nothing but strange fish that come ashore and inexplicable diseases spreading. Later, there may be other more terrible disasters. Did you notice the water level of the river in Youcheng last night? The green belt along the river bank was flooded...

Although I know only a limited amount, I can tell you that in the near future, this entire planet will become an ocean, and most of the land will be submerged under the water. If the altitude here is not high enough, it will also be flooded... Only a few high mountains and high-altitude plateaus will survive, and the Fengshang Plateau where Xizhou Province is located will become one of the largest and safest lands on the planet. You should hurry up and move there before it is overcrowded!"

"But we have a raft, so we are not afraid of the water flooding the land." Chen Fa glanced at Lu Zheng and had already acknowledged him as one of his companions.

"Your raft is not strong enough. Let alone a tsunami several hundred meters high, your raft may not be able to survive any of the huge waves that occurred in the waters outside Louyun City at that time..."

Shu Fu looked at them and smiled again, "It's okay, don't worry about me. You have families to take care of, teammates who need you to accompany them, and you also have to recover your lost memories and figure out the truth of your existence in this world. And I also have things I have to do, don't worry, this is not the first time, I'm used to it..."

"So where are you going now?" Lu Zheng asked.

"I'm very lazy and don't want to go back. I should look for a suitable place nearby to stay first." Shu Fu said, and then took out the mobile phone in the waterproof bag, opened the downloaded map, and started checking it on the spot.

She didn't know if it was because bad luck had just happened and now it was good luck's turn. She soon discovered that there was a lake in the foothills where the path on the left of the three-way intersection they had just passed extended.

Judging from the topographic map, it should be a fairly large lake, located in the valley between several intersecting mountains. Because the mountains have raised the surrounding terrain, the altitude of the valley is not too low, so it will not be flooded so quickly.

She pointed to the lake on the map: "I live here!"

Lu Zheng was stunned at first, but then he remembered that she also had a raft, and he understood.

Finally, the three people agreed that Shu Fu would temporarily live at the lake at the foot of the mountain, and they would go to the military academy with the others to check out the situation there.

If the situation is good, it would be best if they could arrange to continue moving south. If not, they would return to the urban area of ​​Youcheng to see if they could find a larger car, repair it, get some fuel, and form a team to move south.

Of course, in either case, they would go to the lake tomorrow and tell her first.

Shu Fu thought this was a good idea: "Okay, even if the lakeside isn't suitable for living and I want to move to another place, I will wait until you come over. Also, I will prepare lunch for you tomorrow, so you don't need to bring any gifts!"

"Raft exchange meeting?" Chen Fa smiled and asked her to take out the car, saying that he would help her change the tire so that she wouldn't have to be so miserable and have to walk to the foothills over there alone.

"Car?" Lu Zheng was a little surprised until he saw the SUV that was supposed to have been left in the north of the city suddenly appear in front of him.

The car was originally strong and was reinforced later, like a piece of steel armor. It's a pity that the tires are still the weak point.

Chen Fa helped her change the tire while teaching her how to do it. Lu Zheng also helped and reminded her: "There is only one spare tire. If it breaks again, there will be no replacement for now. Be careful when you drive."

Shu Fu looked at the two of them and said, "Aren't you all wondering why I can put away such a big thing?"

"What's so strange about that? It's impossible that everyone's golden finger is exactly the same. You're still stupid and can't get out of the southern suburbs of Youcheng..." Chen Fa replied indifferently.

Shu Fu: ...

Lu Zheng turned his head and tried to suppress his laughter.

Lu Zheng put the replaced tire into his backpack and said that he would try to repair it if he had the chance.

Shu Fu took out a bucket of fuel and a soft rubber hose, and Lu Zheng helped her fill up the oil. The three of them said goodbye temporarily. Before leaving, Shu Fu gave them five bottles of that strange red liquid. Although no one knows what is in it, it is really effective against strange fish.

The reason for giving them these bottles is not only to protect themselves in case of emergency, but also to secretly hand over the liquid to the official if there is a chance, so that they can study and see if they can make a liquid with similar effects to deal with the strange fish.

"You actually still have..." Chen Fa was stunned, "How much did you take at that time?"

"Guess." Shu Fu smiled at her, turned around and got on the jeep.

Chen Fa also laughed. Judging from her expression, she was probably in big trouble.

The SUV turned around and headed towards the three-way intersection where they came from.

Lu Zheng and Chen Fa stood there, watching her car leave quietly until the SUV successfully turned into a fork in the road. Chen Fa said, "Let's go," and Lu Zheng turned around and followed her.

**

From the map on her phone, the lake she was going to was closer to Youcheng on the horizontal line.

In other words, if the invisible barrier that prevented her from leaving the southern suburbs of Youcheng was extended horizontally at a distance beyond the fork in the road, then the lake should be within the barrier, which is where she could reach smoothly.

The modified off-road vehicle drove very smoothly on the wild mountain roads. The car passed through the dense forest where the fork was located and wound up along the foothills. The "ghost wall" situation that she was worried about did not occur. In the end, it drove up the mountain road smoothly, bypassed the mountain, and came to a huge col.

A dark lake appeared in front of her. Because the weather was too cloudy, the color of the lake surface was also gray. In fact, the lake water was very clear, but it looked dim because there was no sunlight.

Probably because there are no people within a few kilometers, there is no garbage or ruins left by humans. This place does not look as depressed as the urban area. It looks like a very ordinary mountain lake before the end of the world.

The lake is zigzag-shaped as a whole, winding between several peaks. Behind the scattered peaks, you can see several other higher peaks. The top of the highest peak can even be seen covered with some snow.

It seems that it snowed on the Northern Plateau in winter.

On the side of the lake, near the gentle slope, there is a row of flat-roofed houses, which seemed to have been built in the past for fishing and resting.

Shu Fu climbed onto the SUV, took out a telescope and checked, and was relieved to confirm that the doors and windows of those houses were damaged and no one lived in them. However, if those houses were patched together and repaired, they could serve as her shelter for four hours every day when she could not use the raft.

She got back into the car and drove to a forest near the lake.

This patch of woods was not supposed to be near the lake, but due to months of rain, the water level of the lake had risen a lot, and many trees in front were submerged in shallow water, and the place where she parked her car had become a wetland.

The trees here are very tall, and many places under the branches and leaves are not exposed to rain. In other places, all kinds of flying insects and reptiles would have bred here, but probably because the altitude here is high and the temperature is low, the situation nearby is not bad.

Shu Fu put the off-road vehicle back into the "compressed display case", first opened the protective cover of the raft on the bracelet, and then placed the raft on the water.