281 Fungal City (Part 3)

◎Walk fast◎

Lin Xiaofeng felt an itch on the back of his feet. When he looked up, he saw the mold on Aunt Lan's face crawling up to her eyeballs. Lin Xiaofeng clenched his hand around the body bag and said, "Here it comes."

Lin Xiaofeng was observing from behind. Aunt Lan seemed to be walking with a slight limp, and one of her legs was not very agile. Xiao Wu seemed to be trying to make Aunt Lan happy on purpose. He was very energetic along the way and kept asking questions. Lin Xiaofeng felt a little annoyed, but Aunt Lan didn't feel annoyed, and even found it very interesting.

No matter how you look at it, they look like an ordinary mother and son. Are they the source of the pollution? Lin Xiaofeng has no experience and can't tell, but Aunt Lan's sudden appearance must have some purpose.

Aunt Lan and Xiao Wu reminded Lin Xiaofeng of the "strange stories" of the old world. It said that before the great disaster, many people kidnapped children. The traffickers usually kidnapped people who looked harmless, such as pregnant women or the elderly, to reduce the vigilance of the abducted targets.

They would ask if we could be taken somewhere, saying we were lost or had no food.

When you arrive, you find that there is a van waiting for you, and they take you away with a large sack.

Lin Xiaofeng had always considered this an old-world urban legend, seemingly unbelievable in her time. But it had planted a seed in her mind, making her unable to trust Aunt Lan.

Where exactly is Moon Street? Lin Xiaofeng didn't know the way, so he could only follow Aunt Lan. Aunt Lan seemed to be very familiar with this area and knew the way without a map.

As they were walking, a line of cars suddenly appeared on the side of the road. Lin Xiaofeng gently reminded them, "There are cars."

It would be much faster if she had a car. Lin Xiaofeng was very grateful to Zhu Ning for helping her learn how to drive.

But Aunt Lan and Xiao Wu were not excited at all, and shook their heads calmly.

Lin Xiaofeng unknowingly quickened her pace. Even if the car was broken, she could repair it. She clearly touched the car body, but she shrank her outstretched hand and almost screamed.

Inside the car was the body of a stranger. The man had one hand on the steering wheel, his mouth wide open, mold growing out of his tongue, and his body covered in a layer of furry mold. His facial features were no longer visible, and his entire body had doubled in size.

The mold extended from the body to the ceiling of the car, as if the driver and the car body were one, with no clear boundary at all.

Aunt Lan covered her mouth and stepped back, saying, "Xiaoxiao, stay away from me."

Lin Xiaofeng immediately staggered back. She looked at the car in front and saw the same situation. All the drivers were infected and their deaths were similar, with their mouths wide open and mold gushing out of their bodies.

Lin Xiaofeng didn't need to cover her mouth and nose because she was wearing a helmet, but she subconsciously raised her hands to cover herself and asked, "What's going on?"

Aunt Lan: "It was initially infected through the air conditioning and ventilation system. In the summer, people use the air conditioning a lot, and when it is turned on, mold spores are blown out, and many drivers die."

Lin Xiaofeng asked: "Why is the mall okay?"

Lin Xiaofeng came out of the mall, why didn’t he encounter anything?

Aunt Lan shook her head: "The outbreak happened at night, and the mall was closed."

Late at night, an unknown virus spread and drifted out from the air outlet of the air conditioner. In the hot summer, homes will definitely turn on the air conditioner to escape the heat, and drivers usually turn it on as well. After inhaling the mold, they felt dizzy, their heartbeats accelerated, and they wanted to vomit, so they pulled over to the side of the road.

But the mold soon infected the lungs and gradually spread throughout the internal organs. The driver suffocated to death. Even after his death, the mold did not stop spreading, and the corpse became a new breeding ground.

When mold infects the entire city, those who cannot afford air conditioning at home or the homeless are the last to be infected.

We are all ordinary people, the only difference is whether we are infected early or late. The hospitals were overcrowded during that period, and by the time they figured out the infection pattern, it was too late.

Judging from the way Aunt Lan and Xiao Wu were dressed, it might be because their family was poor or they just didn't have the air conditioner turned on. Lin Xiaofeng also understood why Xiao Wu wore a gas mask.

Aunt Lan sighed: "If one hand is infected, you can cut it off, but if it's an internal infection, there's no hope."

Lin Xiaofeng asked: "Auntie Lan, when did it happen?"

This is outside the wall, retaining the architectural style of the old century, and it must be more than eighty years old.

Aunt Lan shook her head. "I don't remember, maybe a few months."

Aunt Lan was particularly vague about this point and couldn't explain it clearly no matter how she was asked. Sometimes she said one month, sometimes she said a year. Lin Xiaofeng noticed that there was no time and place here, like an isolated city.

But when Lin Xiaofeng talked to her, he found out about Aunt Lan's background. They were from a single-parent family, and the child's father was a scumbag who abandoned his wife and children and ran away. Aunt Lan's job was a "flying spider", hanging on the windows to clean the glass, and she worked outside even in the hot summer.

When the disaster happened, the two of them squeezed into a small bed and were enjoying the warmth of an electric fan, but they still became infected later.

Lin Xiaofeng asked: "Can it be transmitted from person to person?"

Aunt Lan: "I don't know, I can't explain it clearly."

If it is airborne, who knows whether it was transmitted by fellow travelers or just someone was unlucky enough to be infected by just breathing.

Lin Xiaofeng didn't know what to say. In this world, even breathing was wrong. Although she was temporarily safe in the protective suit, Zhu Ning was always exposed to the air. She couldn't help but want to check on Zhu Ning's condition. Was her wound okay?

Aunt Lan: "My eyesight is getting worse and worse, let's go quickly."

The three of them sped up their journey. Lin Xiaofeng saw many people of all kinds who had died from mold on the road. Someone was holding onto a telephone pole. He might have been vomiting, but the mold entangled them together, making him maintain the same posture like a sculpture.

There are hanged bodies on the trees, which is a very common "doomsday scene". It is because the person is so desperate that he finds a rope to hang himself.

The most terrifying thing was that we passed by a residential complex where people wanted to escape, but for some reason the iron gate was locked. So everyone stretched out their hands, and the mold entangled hundreds of residents of the community, breathing together and entangled with the iron gate forever.

When Lin Xiaofeng passed by, he felt that the hundreds of people were like a huge monster, which made people feel creepy.

It's quite strange. After walking for so long, I only met two living people: Aunt Lan and Xiao Wu. It seems like everyone in the city is dead, but they are indeed dead.

Aunt Lan's eyesight was getting worse and worse. She covered her eyes and it was very painful. She couldn't walk anymore.

After walking for a whole day, Lin Xiaofeng's feet were a little sore, let alone the two of them.

They chose to rest in a shop, a dessert shop on the side of the street that used to sell grass jelly and double-skin milk. There was no one inside, and there were many mold spots on the walls.

Even though Aunt Lan's eyes were injured, she was still observing and patrolling the store, fearing that there was something dirty hidden.

While Aunt Lan was inspecting, Xiao Wu sat on the dining table, dangling his legs. He held a large flashlight, casting a shadow on the wall. Looking at the mold on the wall, Xiao Wu said, "It looks like someone playing ball."

Lin Xiaofeng followed his gaze and saw that it really did look like something. Xiao Wu then said, "That's a plane over there."

Lin Xiaofeng also watched and just thought Xiao Wu was very cute, but the next second his heart choked. Xiao Wu must be a pollutant now. He must have been so cute when he was still a human.

Xiao Wu stared at the wall eagerly and suddenly said, "There's a dancer on my face too."

Lin Xiaofeng didn't understand for the first time and asked, "What?"

"A dancing woman," Xiao Wu said, stretching out his arms in a ballet pose, "and even spinning around."

Human beings no longer look like humans once they put on a mask, let alone a gas mask. Xiao Wu's action was a bit disgusting. Lin Xiaofeng seemed to see through the mask that there was a ballet box-shaped mold on his face, which was rotating every day.

"The water here is also polluted," Auntie Lan suddenly opened the curtain and came out, asking, "Xiaoxiao, are you sleeping inside or outside?"

Lin Xiaofeng was a bit troubled. She had never come out by herself before. After thinking for a while, she said, "Let's sleep inside."

If Zhu Ning woke up, she would definitely remind Lin Xiaofeng to sleep outside so that it would be easier to escape, but Lin Xiaofeng didn't think of this. This was the first mistake she made.

The dessert shop had tables on both sides. Lin Xiaofeng put two tables together. She had great strength, so she wasn't tired. But while pushing the table, she thought about it and pretended to be very tired.

After pushing the table, she turned around and saw a figure at the door. Sure enough, Xiao Wu was observing her from behind.

Lin Xiaofeng said: "I'm going to sleep, good night."

Lin Xiaofeng and Xiao Wu are of the same age, but Lin Xiaofeng is precocious and looks much more mature than Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu looked at Lin Xiaofeng for a long time, then ran away to find his mother. The little boy ran like a ghost, and Lin Xiaofeng complained at his back.

This place is very close to the kitchen. Lin Xiaofeng went to take a look at the faucet and found that mold had grown on it and it could no longer be used.

After a while, the flashlight in the lobby went out. There was no movement, not even the sound of breathing. It was silent.

After making sure that no one would show up, Lin Xiaofeng opened the body bag and wanted to see how Zhu Ning was doing.

Zhu Ning was wrapped like a dumpling. She was kept in a body bag most of the time, but the bandages became damp and spots of mold grew on them.

Lin Xiaofeng was afraid that Zhu Ning's wound would get infected, so he lifted her arm to check. This time, Zhu Ning's wound grew faster. A large part of her right arm had grown, almost reaching her wrist. The bandage was not long enough, so it grew directly outside.

The newly grown part of Zhu Ning's arm was very pink and the skin had not grown fully yet. It looked very "fresh" at first glance, but there was a little mold growing on it, and it was a black patch.

Lin Xiaofeng blamed herself for not taking good care of Zhu Ning. How could she have gotten moldy? She had wrapped herself so tightly.

Lin Xiaofeng poked it gently. He had thought the newly grown arm might not be strong, just a piece of fancy stuff. Unexpectedly, there was a layer of muscle underneath, as strong as Zhu Ning's previous arm.

She rubbed it twice, and the mold was rubbed off, but it couldn't be rubbed off. Lin Xiaofeng felt more and more disappointed. Zhu Ning couldn't let anything happen to her again.

Lin Xiaofeng did not take Zhu Ning out of the body bag. He gestured at the bottom and found that his abdomen should have grown.

When Zhu Ning was chopped off, it started from the belly button. Now it has grown to an extra length of four fingers. Lin Xiaofeng doesn't understand what the process is. Does it grow the outer outline of the body first, and then grow the internal organs after the outer shell is grown?

Or it grows together inside and outside. When two ribs grow on the outside, the intestines inside grow two inches. Isn't that a printer?

At this rate, the fingers should be fully grown in two days, but the lower limbs will probably be slower, perhaps taking a week.

I don’t know how much time has passed outside, and how Pei Shu and Sister Bai Cheng are doing. Lin Xiaofeng is a little worried when he thinks of them, and it doesn’t feel good.

Bad Zhu Ning, Lin Xiaofeng muttered again.

While she was bandaging Zhu Ning, she was thinking about something. When Zhu Ning woke up, Lin Xiaofeng must talk to her and not hide her worries.

Lin Xiaofeng wrapped Zhu Ning's arms and wanted to wrap the newly grown part of her lower limbs. This action was a bit complicated. He had to pull down the body bag first and let Zhu Ning's head rest on his shoulder temporarily.

Lin Xiaofeng just lifted Zhu Ning's chin, and Zhu Ning opened her eyes unexpectedly. Lin Xiaofeng knew that she was still alive, but at this time, it was like she was pretending to be dead. There was no expression on Zhu Ning's face, and her eyes were cold.

"Let's go," Zhu Ning's voice was weak, and the words he spoke were crisp and clear, "Let's go quickly."

Lin Xiaofeng was stunned. Before she could feel happy, she realized that Zhu Ning was not looking at Lin Xiaofeng, but at the person behind her.

As Zhu Ning finished speaking, a gloomy shadow suddenly appeared behind her and loomed over her.

The author has something to say:

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2023-06-30 17:40:05 and 2023-07-01 17:49:34~

Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: 1 for Bu Xi;

Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: Zhu Ning (7); Tangli, Haoqi, Wu Shi, Ling, Kanahei, the raccoon eating ice cream, Rick, 33130042 (1);

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Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!