318 Toad

◎He actually saw himself?◎

Zhu Ning and his companions rested for a night and did not go to the shelter five kilometers away to rest. Zhu Ning contacted Huo Wenxi once at a base station, but she seemed to be sleeping and did not answer the call.

After that, they drove on the road for two days. After Bai Cheng returned to the team, they had two guides and the minor troubles they encountered along the way were also solved.

They temporarily deviated from the original planned route and went to dig a grave for Bai Cheng and find an assistant.

Zhu Ning leaned on the passenger seat and kept looking at the sky. She still remembered that the Raven Team was attacked by strange birds in the sky, and the road in mid-air was not safe.

Pei Shu was knitting behind him, and a pink ball of yarn was hanging on the rearview mirror. Bai Cheng closed his eyes and rested. Suddenly, the car body made a tiny clicking sound, as if a small grain of sand was brushing against the car.

Zhu Ning was originally staring ahead when he saw a bit of yellow on the distant skyline. In just a moment, the yellow area became larger and larger.

Bai Cheng opened his eyes: "Dust storm."

Her voice was stiff, and the words she uttered were even more terrifying. Zhu Ning's heart skipped a beat when she saw the yellow sand filling the sky. From the sky to the ground, it was like a huge yellow curtain rolling. For a moment, it was hard to tell whether it was yellow sand or some other monster rushing towards her.

The whistling sound could be heard from a long distance away, along with the wailing of unknown creatures.

Pei Shu stopped fighting and shouted, "Descend and find shelter!"

I don’t know how strong the wind is, so it’s best to land on the ground. At least there is the ground as a reference point, and I can find shelter quickly before the wind blows over.

Lin Xiaofeng descended quickly, his eyes constantly scanning, but there was a crackling sound in his ears. The flying car was blown backwards by the wind and kept spinning. Zhu Ning slapped the car body with one hand, trying to keep the car barely stable.

The problem was that it was impossible to tell the direction in mid-air. Looking up, even the sky was yellow. Lin Xiaofeng let the wheels contact the ground, which added friction and made it less likely to be blown away in mid-air.

It was becoming increasingly difficult for Zhu Ning to control the car. The veins on the back of his hands were about to bulge. He suddenly regretted letting Qi Xueliu go so easily. Last time he had Qi Xueliu, but now Zhu Ning was the only one in the team who had the ability to remotely control the car.

Zhu Ning asked, "Is there a shelter nearby?"

Bai Cheng and Pei Shu said in unison: "I don't know."

The location of the shelter is figured out by each guide on their own. No one knows whether there is a shelter in a place they have not entered.

Chila——

As soon as they finished speaking, the car was blown back two meters by the strong wind. Zhu Ning also raised his other hand and pressed it against the roof of the car. This time he even used his consciousness to control it.

A thread of consciousness emerged from the back of her neck, one end connected to the bottom of the car and the other end connected to the floor, but the problem was that the floor was shaking slightly, as if it was blown by the wind.

Suddenly, their vision darkened. A car derailed, and besides sand, there was a pile of waste in the yellow sand, which suddenly fell towards them.

Zhu Ning steered the car to the left, but did not deviate completely. The scrap car smashed one of their rearview mirrors and dented the body of the car.

Zhu Ning wanted to curse. Why couldn’t she have a complete car?

"Think of a way!" Zhu Ning shouted.

Zhu Ning was the only one holding up the entire car, so Pei Shu immediately lowered the "car anchor" to increase the car's weight, but that was all he could do. An arsonist was of little use in the yellow sand. Bai Cheng even closed his eyes.

Zhu Ning wanted to roll his eyes, thinking Bai Cheng was going to close his eyes to rest. After two seconds, Bai Cheng opened his eyes, stretched out a hand, and pointed coldly in a direction, "Over there."

Pei Shu didn't ask how he knew it. He immediately started to pull in the anchor. Zhu Ning released the restraint, and Lin Xiaofeng stepped on the accelerator. The car rushed forward two meters against the headwind.

"There's a convoy ahead," Pei Shu said.

Now there was no need for directions. They saw more than a dozen flying cars swaying in the air and heading in one direction. They must be people nearby taking emergency shelter. Lin Xiaofeng just had to follow them.

The destination was underneath an abandoned factory. Inside, someone was controlling the rolling shutter door. A man in protective gear was shouting, "Hurry up! It's too late!"

He screamed heart-wrenchingly, but his voice was blown to pieces by the wind. Zhu Ning finally took control of the car and the front of the car slammed into the factory gate.

With a bang, the iron gate behind him fell down, and the yellow sand was isolated outside.

Zhu Ning breathed a sigh of relief. The car body was covered with a layer of yellow sand, and he could only vaguely see a lot of people outside. Of the convoy that had just entered with them, only two cars rushed in, and the rest were stuck outside.

Someone came down to negotiate with the person in charge here and asked them to open the door.

There was a lot of noise outside. Zhu Ning was stunned for a moment and immediately used his mimicry ability to change his face. It was the face of an ordinary passerby, not recognizable at all, and people would forget it after seeing it.

The Mimic cannot pinch the face, it can only copy it, so sometimes when she sees a few clones' faces, she will copy them. Even if others recognize the face, they won't say anything. There are at least dozens of clones in a batch.

Who knows if there is a Prometheus killer here? She is more afraid of people than pollutants.

At this time, the yellow sand outside has not stopped falling. Everyone is forced to be trapped on the isolated island. Some people have started social mode and exchanged some information and intelligence with each other. They came in like intruders.

Pei Shu held a pack of cigarettes and said, "I'll go find out what's going on."

He suddenly changed his temperament and found someone he thought was suitable to inquire about the news.

During this time, Zhu Ning kept looking out of the car. After a while, Pei Shu came back with information. He smelled of cigarettes and blood. Zhu Ning asked, "Were you beaten?"

Pei Shu: "It's not my blood. It's from that guy just now. All that was left of his companion was his chest and abdomen. He was carrying it on his body, and just then he was so nervous that he touched it like a treasure for me."

Zhu Ning imagined the chest and abdomen. Who would carry this part on their body? Carrying a head can be a souvenir, but carrying the chest and abdomen is like buying a piece of pork and carrying it on your body.

Bai Cheng: "It's probably a reserve food supply."

Zhu Ning choked. There are many psychopaths outside the wall. Some people get anxious when they don't have food, so they create some food for themselves.

It turned out that Pei Shu had just smoked a cigarette with a pervert. Pei Shu wiped the blood and seemed to be accustomed to it. He smiled bitterly and said, "Bad news, a sandstorm has blown up in the north and is pushing south. It is expected to blow into the Federation."

It is difficult to see the direction in the sandstorm weather. Even with a guide, it will be useless. Bai Cheng's vision cannot penetrate the dust storm and they will get lost.

Bai Cheng asked, "Wait for the sand to stop?"

Zhu Ning: "How long does it usually take?"

Pei Shu: "It's hard to say, maybe one or two hours, maybe a lifetime."

In a polluted world, anything is possible; sandstorms are normal for a lifetime.

Zhu Ning looked out the window and felt that this place was very strange. Pei Shu said, "They say there have been a lot of strange things happening outside the wall recently. Many roads have changed, and there are more extreme weather conditions. Several veteran guides are afraid to go north."

Zhu Ning always felt that this change was sudden. The pollution concentration in the north suddenly increased, as if deliberately preventing her from approaching.

Or maybe something big is about to happen, and these changes are just a prelude.

Pei Shu and Bai Cheng waited for Zhu Ning's order. She thought for a moment and said, "Let's take a night's rest."

Of course it’s good to rest. What people lack most outside the wall is rest. Bai Cheng and the others have no objection.

But Zhu Ning still felt that this place was unsafe and said, "Xiaofeng, go invisible."

She had to be more careful. Now, because there was a layer of yellow sand glass between them, outsiders couldn't tell how many people there were. Lin Xiaofeng was the best at hiding.

After they come in, they must abide by the rules, park their cars on the right, and then go to the isolation area to set up tents.

There are more people here than Zhu Ning thought. Probably because of the sudden change in weather, people nearby have no choice but to hide here. The quarantine area is filled with tents, but they are clearly separated from each other, as if there is some territorial division.

Pei Shu negotiated with the people here. The shelter was shared, but there was vaguely a "master". Zhu Ning didn't know how Pei Shu negotiated specifically, but the result was that they could camp safely in an open space.

It was the first time she saw so many people outside the wall. Unlike the happy atmosphere at the last supply station, the atmosphere here was very strange.

"What bad luck." Someone complained when Zhu Ning passed by.

"Did you hear about the attack on the Northern Ravens? It was bizarre. The entire team was suddenly dispersed, and many of their follow-up supply team also died."

Zhu Ning frowned. She seemed to have heard Lao Zhao talk about the Raven Team. How come something happened to Zhu Ning just after she separated from the supply team?

"I don't know. I just walked that road. Nothing happened. The guide also judged it safe. Suddenly, a group of strange birds appeared in the sky."

"Tsk," another person snorted coldly, "Everything has changed this year."

"It's a bit weird. This is the year with the highest pollution concentration. I won't go out next time."

"Which year wasn't the year with the highest pollution concentration? What are you farting about?"

"You came back from the northeast. How's it going over there?"

"Wait a minute," they said, and suddenly looked up, "Hey, look at that."

They were talking about Bai Cheng. They probably recognized who Bai Cheng was. He was too famous, after all, he had killed three of their employers.

Zhu Ning stopped, turned around, and asked, "What's going on?"

Behind her, Bai Cheng wanted to laugh. It was normal for her to be recognized outside the wall, but Zhu Ning's reaction was very funny, so she smiled. Her smile was stiff, eerie and a little scary.

The two men stopped chatting, pulled up the tents and closed their doors.

They set up the tents and made their own arrangements. Zhu Ning went into the tent and sat cross-legged, turning on the God's perspective to observe. There were three tents on the left. Their group of people should be bounty hunters. They were closest to the door and had a murderous aura about them.

Zhu Ning glanced at the four people near the toilet. There was a red-haired man who was obviously panicked. He might be the pilgrim who was looking for a utopia outside the wall as Pei Shu mentioned.

The four seemed like stray dogs trapped in a corner. There was a pool of vomit on the ground, blood on their bodies, and they were uneasy. Fear and regret were written all over their faces, and they didn't dare to look people in the eye.

Bai Cheng was on guard duty first. The tent had good privacy. Lin Xiaofeng had already hidden in Zhu Ning's tent, and even his shadow could not be seen outside.

There seemed to be nothing unusual, Lin Xiaofeng had already fallen asleep. Zhu Ning thought that he might be overthinking it and closed his eyes. Perhaps it was because he was in a completely unstable environment, so he couldn't sleep well.

Suddenly, Zhu Ning heard a beep.

The sound was a bit abrupt amid the howling of ghosts and wolves in the wind. Zhu Ning opened his eyes suddenly and immediately became alert. It seemed to be the cry of some kind of toad.

Zhu Ning frowned. Why was there a toad sound?

Zhu Ning turned on the God's perspective and saw that Bai Cheng was indeed on guard duty. There was a crack in the tent. She was really just on guard duty and did nothing else. She was like a rag doll in a horror movie, leaning quietly, with the stiff smile on her lips still not softened. At first glance, she looked really scary. No wonder others didn't dare to approach.

Zhu Ning forgot to ask whether Bai Cheng's murder of his three employers was true or false.

Pei Shu was also resting next door. If danger wanted to get close to Zhu Ning, it would have to pass through Pei Shu and Bai Cheng. They seemed to have some kind of tacit understanding and protected Zhu Ning on the inside.

The God's perspective continued to expand its edges, like an eye opened in mid-air, constantly searching. The bounty hunter who had been chatting before fell asleep, and one of the other unlucky guys who were looking for utopia was missing.

Where did he go? To the bathroom?

Zhu Ning expanded her search scope, thinking of even checking out public restrooms, and finally she found what she wanted.

In one of the tents, a man was sitting on his knees, his shoulders moving as if he was licking something.

Are you eating?

Zhu Ning looked forward, as if he was also standing in his tent, watching behind him.

This time I saw clearly that the man was holding a toad in his left hand. The toad's surface was olive green with some brown patterns. When held in the man's hand, its body was deformed, its limbs drooped, and its mouth kept contracting and bulging, making a helpless beeping sound.

The man had excitement on his face and greed in his eyes. He rubbed the uneven bumps on the toad's surface quickly, as if drilling wood to make fire, and used some techniques that Zhu Ning could not see to greedily squeeze out some juice.

The man licked it repeatedly with his tongue, saliva dripping down his cheeks, as if he was licking a melting ice cream.

Zhu Ning swallowed inexplicably. This scene seemed to be contagious in some way. She also felt the uneven texture on the surface of her tongue. It was a little cold and slightly numb.

She was actually thirsty.

She was resistant to spiritual pollution and found it difficult to resist the touch, as if the person kneeling there licking the toad was not someone else, but herself.

Zhu Ning knew that this was a habit of some drug addicts. When they were addicted to drugs and couldn't afford to buy drugs, they would go find some kind of desert toad to quench their thirst.

She quickly shifted her focus, why was there a toad here?

Suddenly, the man stopped what he was doing and turned around to look at her.

Zhu Ning was not behind him, but in a tent ten meters away. She subconsciously closed her God's perspective, as if the peeper had been discovered. The sky opening an eye was just a metaphor, but the man was looking in her direction.

He actually saw himself?

The author has something to say:

In reality, there are drug addicts who lick toads. They are from the United States, and the species they lick is called the Sonoran Desert Toad.

Its parotid glands produce two toxins: 5-MeO-DMT (5-methoxydimethyltryptamine) and bufotenin, both of which belong to the hallucinogenic tryptamine family. Once vaporized, a single inhalation of the toxins takes only approximately 15 seconds to produce a strong psychoactive effect. Upon inhalation, users typically experience a warming sensation, euphoria, and intense visual and auditory hallucinations due to 5-MeO-DMT's high affinity for the 5-HT2 and 5-HT1A serotonin receptor subtypes.

Bufotoxin is actually found in many toads, but only in the Sonoran toad is the amount of bufotoxin large enough to produce hallucinogenic effects.

It is precisely because of the hallucinogenic effect of the Sonoran toad that hundreds of years ago, Indians often licked the toad to absorb the toxin to achieve the hallucinogenic effect.

In addition to the two toxins mentioned above, the secretions of the Sonoran toad also contain □□-like cardiac glycosides, which may cause human poisoning and even death in severe cases.

In recent years, as the number of drug addicts in the United States has increased, drug addicts have set their sights on the Sonoran toad. They rub the toad to make it secrete the above-mentioned toxins, and then lick them to achieve a hallucinogenic effect.

——From the Internet.

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