Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Enthusiastic People
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Three people squeezed into one tent. It was good in every way except that it was too hot.
When he got up the next day, Gu Mengran was almost pickled with sweat. He didn't even have time to eat breakfast. He hurriedly took his grandfather and Liang Zhao to take a cold shower in the space.
As a result, after taking a shower, having breakfast, and packing up the tent and tables, chairs and benches, the three of them were sweating again.
I'm in a slightly better condition and can bear it if I endure it.
Poor Xiao Huang was lying on the ground, panting with his tongue hanging out, and he had only eaten half of his favorite rice with oil soup from last night. Gu Mengran was worried that he would not be able to stand the high temperature and get a heat stroke, so he put him in the space before leaving.
All signs indicated that extremely hot weather had begun. Gu Mengran took off his multi-function watch and measured it. Sure enough, the temperature had reached an astonishing 42°C.
Although he was well prepared, Gu Mengran still felt a little nervous.
Because what’s scary is not the hot weather, but traveling in the hot weather!
Grandpa’s old man Le is still in the space. Gu Mengran has thought about driving, but with the current visibility, he would probably fall into the ditch before driving ten meters.
After the camp was packed up, Gu Mengran gave Liang Zhao and the old man a backpack each, which was filled with some snacks and water, mainly because they were worried about meeting people on the road and wanted to hide their tracks.
After getting ready, the three of them headed eastward in the dim light.
From early morning to dusk, I didn't see anyone on the road. I occasionally saw some scattered buildings on the roadside, but when I got closer, I saw that most of them had collapsed, and even houses with only two or three stories high were not spared, and all were reduced to ruins.
Before it was completely dark, the three of them crossed the national highway with sweat on their foreheads, and finally left the deserted wilderness and officially entered the city.
There seems to be not much difference between the city and the wilderness. There are no bustling lights on the streets, no more hustle and bustle of the past, no residents or pedestrians, and it is as quiet as an empty city.
The situation was worse than expected. The three of them went deeper into the city along the main road. The densely packed abandoned vehicles on the road made it impossible to step. There were only a few tall buildings left along the way. The city was almost razed to the ground. Everywhere they passed was a ruin.
After going deeper into the city, we encountered some survivors one after another. They seemed like puppets whose vitality had been drained away. They were not afraid of the thick fog and dust, and mechanically rummaged through the ruins. Even the air was filled with sadness and despair.
After a day of traveling, everyone was exhausted and wanted to find a place to rest as soon as possible. However, after walking around the city for more than an hour like a headless fly, they couldn't even find a flat open space.
After going around in circles and returning to the main road, Gu Mengran was so tired that he pointed at the zombie cars parked in the middle of the road and said to Liang Zhao and his grandfather, "How about this? These cars should still be drivable. Pick a few and put them in the space. The freed-up space can be used to directly set up a tent."
The idea is good, Meng Gaoyang agrees, but...
He looked around and smacked his lips, "There are still quite a few people around. Even though we can't see them due to the fog, we should try to find a more secluded place just in case. Sleeping on the main road is not safe at all."
"But it's really hot. I'm sweating all over and I feel like I'm going to melt." Gu Mengran had a sad face and raised his hands to fan himself to try to drive away the heat.
Liang Zhao looked up at Gu Mengran and suggested in a gentle voice: "How about I carry you on my back?"
Gu Mengran refused immediately: "That's not necessary."
"Then keep going. You don't want to have someone lift up your tent curtain in the middle of the night, do you?" Liang Zhao lifted up the sweat-soaked hair on his forehead and looked at Gu Mengran with a smile.
Gu Mengran paused for a moment, then walked forward without hesitation: "Go, go, go!"
There were endless vehicles parked in the middle of the road. Gu Mengran decided to pick a few to take away, so he took out a flashlight and looked around as if he was visiting a car show.
His attention was drawn to the vehicle and he was completely unaware of the danger that was approaching.
Gu Mengran was still chatting and laughing with his grandfather about which car to choose, when suddenly, a loud shout penetrated the thick fog and echoed in the quiet street.
"——Stop, don't go! Stop now!"
An anxious female voice was calling out and shouting. Gu Mengran was a man who listened to advice. Although he didn't know who was calling, he stopped immediately when he heard the noise.
He moved the flashlight back, and the faint light illuminated the road. Just by looking forward one more time, Gu Mengran's body trembled violently, and goose bumps instantly covered his arms.
The concrete road obscured by thick fog was no longer smooth, as if it had been violently split in half by a giant axe. A crack nearly two meters wide quietly lay across the middle of the road, and two more steps forward would lead to a bottomless abyss.
Gu Mengran stood there in a daze without saying a word. The old man and Liang Zhao didn't understand what was going on. They stretched their necks to take a look, and their hearts suddenly rose to their throats.
"Oh my god, that was a close call!" Meng Gaoyang was so scared that his legs went limp and he backed away repeatedly, patting his chest.
Liang Zhao's eyes darkened slightly. He held his breath and pulled Gu Meng back two steps.
Keeping a certain distance from the ground fissure, Gu Mengran slowly recovered from his shock. He did not leave immediately. He pointed the flashlight at the turbid fog in front of him and shouted at the top of his voice: "Thank you, thank you for reminding us!"
The words fell on deaf ears, and there was no response from the other end of the thick fog.
Gu Mengran didn't give up, and after a few seconds he spoke again: "Hello, we also want to go to the other side, I want to ask which way we can go?"
There was silence all around, and one could hear everyone's breathing.
Gu Mengran guessed that the other party was unwilling to show up, so he thanked him again and turned around with his grandfather and Liang Zhao, preparing to leave. At this moment, a clear female voice sounded again: "Go around on your right hand side."
Gu Mengran smiled knowingly: "Okay, thank you!"
The crack in the ground was a hundred meters long. The three of them walked along the crack and it took them nearly ten minutes to successfully reach the other side.
Thanks to the kind-hearted person's reminder, he was able to save his life. From the sound, the person was nearby. Gu Mengran was grateful and wanted to thank the other person in person. For this purpose, he specially took out some bread, biscuits and milk from the space as a thank you gift.
The cracks were almost the same at both ends, and the road was crowded with vehicles. Using a flashlight to look for someone was like looking for a needle in a haystack, so the three of them could only shout loudly, hoping that the person would respond.
I don’t know if they had left long ago or didn’t want to show up, but even though the three of them shouted at the top of their lungs, there was no sound on the quiet road.
"Forget it."
Tired and hot, Meng Gaoyang wiped the sweat off his face and said to the two of them breathlessly, "I guess they've already left. Don't waste your energy. We still have a long way to go tomorrow. Let's find a place to rest."
The sweat stung his eyes, and Gu Mengran lifted his shirt to wipe his face, "Okay, let's continue--"
“Bang!”
A muffled sound suddenly came from the front left, as if a heavy object had fallen to the ground.
Liang Zhao reacted the fastest. He immediately snatched the flashlight from Gu Mengran's hand and walked quickly towards the source of the sound.
Gu Mengran looked at his grandfather and followed Liang Zhao closely.
The distance was not far, and it took less than a minute for Liang Zhao to aim his flashlight at the gap between the two cars.
A white paint bucket was lying on the wet ground, with transparent liquid still flowing out of the bucket. You didn't need to look closely to know from the smell that the bucket was filled with gasoline.
His eyes followed the light source and Gu Mengran held his breath nervously. Although he had already guessed it, the sudden appearance of a figure in the darkness scared him so much that his heart almost stopped.
A young girl with a ponytail was hiding behind a car. When the flashlight swept across her, she was obviously panicked for a moment, raising the iron rod in her hand high, like a stressed cat, in a completely defensive posture.
The girl pointed the iron rod at Liang Zhao, but her arms were shaking violently. As if she knew she was not strong enough, she widened her eyes and tried to repel the enemy with a loud voice: "Stop! Don't come over here, I will not be polite if you come over again!"
"Don't be afraid, little sister." Gu Mengran grabbed Liang Zhao's arm and leaned out. Worried about scaring the girl, he tried his best to lower his voice and comfort her: "We are not bad people. We came from the opposite side. Did you remind us just now?"
The girl did not relax, her eyes became more alert, "I'm reminding you with good intentions, what do you want to do? I don't have any food or valuables on me, you better leave now!"
"Girl, you really misunderstood. We are just passing by and came to thank you." Meng Gaoyang smiled and tried his best to look friendlier.
In order to make his words more real, Gu Mengran quickly picked up the bread and biscuits, and said to the girl with a smile: "Look, little sister, we are still carrying thank-you gifts. We are really not bad people."
“Ding-ling-clang——”
The iron rod fell to the ground with a thud. The girl felt relieved and leaned against the car and let out a long sigh.
"Sorry, it's a bit chaotic after the earthquake. I, I..."
Her embarrassment was written all over her face. Gu Mengran waved his hands to comfort her: "It's okay, it's okay. Things are different now. It's right for you to be cautious when you go out as a girl."
Seeing that her attitude had softened, Gu Mengran handed over the thank-you gift he had prepared in advance.
After the earthquake, resources were scarce and Wei Qianlan immediately realized the importance of food.
The other party was grateful and generous, and indeed did not seem like a vicious person. Her tense nerves gradually relaxed, and she took it with both hands and thanked him sincerely: "Thank you, my name is Wei Qianlan."
"Gu Mengran, this is my grandpa Meng Gaoyang, and this is me and my brother Liang Zhao." Ignoring Liang Zhao's burning gaze, Gu Mengran introduced them seriously.
As time went by, the solemn atmosphere became relaxed and casual.
After carefully examining the three people, Wei Qianlan picked up the paint bucket that had fallen to the ground and asked softly, "You are not locals, are you? Your accent doesn't sound like one."
"Yes, we are from Shaozhou." Gu Mengran said without changing his expression.
Shaozhou is very close to Linhuai. Wei Qianlan nodded and asked, "What's the situation there? Is there no rescue?"
"The situation is similar to yours. All the houses collapsed and countless people were killed and injured. We came here without waiting for rescue. We thought there was rescue in Linhuai, but in the end..." Gu Mengran didn't finish his words and shook his head helplessly.
In fact, Gu Mengran knew best about rescue.
In the past life, most cities never received rescue. In the dense fog and high temperature, planes could not fly and cars could not drive. The survivors of the earthquake were once again trapped in a steel cage. If they wanted to survive, they could only save themselves.
Wei Qianlan didn't know what he was thinking. After hearing this, she pursed her lips and remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Is that so? Do you plan to stay here?"
Staying here would surely mean death, only by going to higher altitudes would there be a glimmer of hope.
Gu Mengran looked at Wei Qianlan's sparkling eyes, feeling somewhat sorry for her, and couldn't help but suggest, "We won't stay here. We plan to continue upstream and visit other cities. How about you? Do you want to join us?"
His rare initiative was rejected. Wei Qianlan smiled and shook her head: "No, I'm not alone. I have family and I can't leave for the time being."
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