The fact that the car crashed into the wall proves that even a seemingly well-sealed sedan cannot stop the fog from encroaching.
Perhaps it was because they were constantly moving forward in the fog, which accelerated the flow of the fog in the air, or perhaps... any space that is not completely sealed will eventually be permeated by the fog, whether it is a moving car or a house with its doors and windows tightly closed, the fog will eventually seep in over time.
However, in the past two months, most shops have purchased one or two air purifiers to purify the fog, so that people hiding in their homes are less likely to experience the negative effects of corrosion, poisoning, or hallucinations so quickly.
"What do we do now? Should we continue driving?"
Song Sanchuan piloted his mechanical little sparrow down to check the condition of the car. He confirmed that although the car had crashed into the wall, it was not traveling at a high speed. Currently, although its face was disfigured, its body could still move forward.
However, he regretted asking the question as soon as he did, because he saw that his wealthy brother had already opened his mouth to speak.
For some reason, he felt that it was probably a long string of words, possibly mixed with particularly time-wasting complaints, so before Sloth Fugui could even utter the first word, he reached out and covered Sloth Fugui's mouth.
"Alright, brother, stop talking. I think we can continue driving. After all, a four-wheeled vehicle is safer."
"As for the issues of giving directions and hallucinations, let's discuss the simplest and most efficient way to deal with them!"
"Since you're slow in everything you do and talk, let's try to do as little as possible and talk as little as possible!"
"So, I'll slow down to less than 20 yards, and you'll reduce the number of words you speak to less than two."
Song Sanchuan was quite adept at using coded commands: "For example, if there's an obstacle ahead and you need to stop, you just say 'stop'; if you need to turn left, you say 'left'; if you need to turn right, you say 'right'."
"If there are roadblocks or large pits or rocks blocking your way, just say the sounds of the words 'pit,' 'rock,' or 'car' and then add the numbers indicating the direction of the pointer."
If there's a car blocking the road in front of me, and I need to turn left or right to avoid it, you can just say "car 10," and I'll know to turn the steering wheel in the 10 o'clock direction.
Actually, in that case, you don't even need to say left or right; just tell me the number to turn in which direction!
Song Sanchuan thought his suggestion was excellent and excitedly looked at his brother, only to find that his hand was still on his sloth brother's mouth. At this moment, his brother looked at him with a calm but extremely mocking and indifferent gaze, staring straight at his hand as if he would cut off his claws at any moment.
Song Sanchuan awkwardly withdrew his hand, while the sloth Fugui stared at him intently for several seconds before uttering a single word slowly and deliberately.
"……good."
Upon hearing this simple and clear answer, which was 90% concise, Song Sanchuan immediately felt refreshed and invigorated.
"Alright, alright, that's good! Let's head straight ahead then. If all goes well, we should find that guy with glasses within twenty minutes, and from here to the West District Cultural Square shouldn't take more than an hour!"
"We'll definitely be able to meet up with Boss Xie at the mall before sunset today!"
Song Sanchuan restarted the car that had crashed into the wall, his face beaming with joy. Sitting next to him, the sloth Fugui nodded deeply, taking half a minute to finish, and uttered a single word.
"right."
Although the word sounded deliberately drawn out and had a kind of old-fashioned tone, it was much better than the previous slow and suffocating speech.
What pleased Song Sanchuan even more was that the clock face direction indicator he suggested proved very effective during the subsequent driving!
Even when he slows down to the minimum, the sloth Fugui, who is immune to fog and can see the real thing, can always give precise directional evasion hints just a second before they brush against obstacles.
"Car...10..."
"Okay, I know there's a car ahead that's turning towards the ten o'clock direction, right?"
“Pit…2…”
"I understand, I understand, there's a pothole ahead, we need to move towards the two o'clock direction to avoid it!"
“3……1……”
"Why is the turn so sharp? Is it because there's a large obstacle ahead?"
There was a slight scraping sound as the car bumped into something in front of it, but it eventually continued moving forward smoothly.
Sloth Fugui was also very satisfied. They had been traveling at a steady speed for fifteen minutes, and looking at the navigation screen in front of them, they were already very close to the coffee shop where Si Wuyai was.
Just when Gou Fugui thought they would arrive at the coffee shop smoothly and without any major incidents, he suddenly noticed that Song Sanchuan next to him hadn't said a word for quite some time.
Along the way, Song Sanchuan had been showing off his ability to speak at a normal or even faster pace, and he could chatter on and on no matter what Gou Fugui said, which was incredibly annoying. But now it seemed like it had been two or three minutes since we had heard Song Sanchuan's voice.
Sloth Fugui was startled. In an instant, his mind conjured up a series of dangerous scenarios, but his body and neck could only slowly turn around. As a result, he saw Song Sanchuan gritting his teeth, gripping the steering wheel with both hands and looking ferocious.
It looked as if they had seen some terrifying monster, and their bodily functions were unable to react for a moment.
Oh no!
Song Sanchuan probably ingested too much fog along the way, which aggravated his hallucinations and led to even more terrifying and profound hallucinations.
Just then, a boulder barrier appeared in front of them, preventing the car from entering. Sloth Fugui immediately shouted to stop, but Song Sanchuan acted as if he hadn't heard anything.
grass!
Ignoring all the rich and beautiful women, he immediately removed the sloth's bloodline bonus. The two removals of the bloodline bonus in a short period of time made his face turn much paler, but at this moment he couldn't care less about that.
Just as the car was about to hit the boulder barrier, Gou Fugui yanked on the handbrake, grabbed the steering wheel, and brought the car to a stop.
However, his actions alerted Song Sanchuan, who was under the influence of illusions, to danger, and he immediately launched an attack.
That elbow strike was aimed directly at Gou Fugui's face, but the Fugui of today is not the slow-reacting sloth Fugui from before. He is Niu Hulu Peak Superman Fugui, whose physique has been repeatedly tempered by animal blood!
He raised his hand to block Song Sanchuan's dangerous elbow strike, then punched Song Sanchuan in the stomach, making him wince in pain.
"Wake up! Everything you're seeing is fake. Don't go crazy!"
But at this moment, Song Sanchuan seemed to be deeply deluded by the hallucination and showed no sign of stopping. Gou Fugui narrowed his eyes and pulled an oxygen tank from his pocket, placing it over Song Sanchuan's mouth and nose, which was covered by a filter mask. He decided to wait a minute; if Song Sanchuan still couldn't control himself, he would take more physical measures.
A gleaming brick had appeared in his left hand, which was resting on the back of the driver's seat.
Perhaps the oxygen entering his body diluted the hallucinogenic toxins, or perhaps Song Sanchuan felt the subtle and terrifying threat of the gold brick coming from the back of his head. Just as the wealthy beauty was about to knock him unconscious with a brick, he suddenly gasped and came back to his senses.
"Holy shit!"
Gou Fugui looked at him, and Song Sanchuan breathed a few deep breaths as if he had just survived a near-death experience. He looked around and saw his brother Fugui squinting at him, and he immediately felt relieved.
"I just had a really scary hallucination... us..."
Gou Fugui pressed down on his oxygen tank to stop him from rambling on: "Let's use this time to determine the direction, set a route for your mechanical bird, and then have the mechanical bird, tied to a rope, lead us to the coffee shop."
"You can't drive in there yet; it's about 200 meters away."
After saying that, Gou Fugui also grabbed an oxygen cylinder and blocked his mouth and nose. He could still see the right direction while he was in the car, but he didn't know how long it would take before he was infected after getting out of the car.
Song Sanchuan's eyes lit up: "This is a great idea! My little titmouse is a mechanical bird anyway, so it won't get poisoned or corroded! I knew that one day machines would be able to defeat living creatures, hahaha! So what if you can turn into wolves or animals and have orange cats?! In the end, isn't my little titmouse still the most awesome!"
The golden brick that the wealthy and beautiful woman had just put away reappeared in his hands.
Song Sanchuan felt a chill run down his spine again. He instinctively turned around and saw that familiar golden color. He immediately stopped talking and used the speed of a professional special forces soldier to quickly give the mechanical sparrow the order to go to the coffee shop. He also tied a sturdy telescopic rope to the sparrow's mechanical claws.
After getting ready, he and Gou Fugui exchanged a glance and quickly got out of the car. While pressing his oxygen tank, he ran towards the coffee shop. After running about a hundred meters, Gou Fugui noticed that something seemed wrong with the surrounding environment. Sometime during the day, the fog had changed from grayish-white to a somewhat dangerous red.
As they continued running forward, and the coffee shop came into view, the wealthy beauty saw what appeared to be a giant tentacle reaching out from the mist and striking towards his face!
At the same time, Song Sanchuan, whom he was holding, also let out a low gasp, clearly sensing something as well.
Gou Fugui clicked his tongue. His eyes and the sensation on his skin were telling him that the huge tentacles extending from the red mist were real and he should get away as soon as possible, but his reason kept repeating that it was fake and an illusion.
This mental battle was quite unpleasant, but Gou Fugui gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and charged towards the giant monster tentacle that was attacking him head-on!
Bang!!
Gou Fugui felt a sharp pain in his forehead, as if he had been hit by something.
For a moment, he couldn't help but widen his eyes, and even began to doubt whether the largest tentacle had really hit him.
But he soon heard a scream in his ear. Before he could react to where the scream came from or who it came from, he was pulled by a tremendous force into the monster's gaping maw!
Even he couldn't help but gasp, but he soon sensed the difference.
The red mist and the enormous monster before them did not press their advantage; in fact, their figures were slowly dissipating.
The oxygen cylinder he was holding had long since fallen to the ground. After waiting quietly for five minutes, he opened his eyes again and saw Si Wuyai looking at him with some anxiety and worry.
"...A research fanatic?"
Si Wuyai's elite and noble face instantly changed its expression.
"I wouldn't call myself a research fanatic if I hadn't sliced you up."
Gou Fugui laughed.
At this moment, Song Sanchuan, who was standing next to him, was also much better. He saw Si Wuyai wearing glasses at a glance and grinned, calling out "Four-Eyes".
Si Wuyai pushed up his glasses.
"You were rolling on the ground crying and calling for your father. I felt so sorry for you that I decided to take you in as my son. You're welcome."
Song Sanchuan was completely exasperated: "Shut up, you son of a bitch! I'm not going to roll on the ground crying and begging for my dad! Besides, this wasn't the scene where I was bewitched!"
Si Wuyai raised his eyebrows but remained silent.
At this moment, the survivors in the coffee shop saw that the two people who had suddenly crashed into their glass door had finally returned to normal. While they were relieved, they also felt a surge of curiosity and a restless desire to try something.
"Hey, you two, have a cup of coffee to perk you up! Were you just walking through the mist? Doesn't that mist contain trace amounts of some unknown toxin that can kill, and it's also very corrosive? How did you two manage to get through?"
"Are you blind? Can't you see that you two are wearing the same camouflage uniforms? I bet these are the latest protective suits developed by the authorities! But protective suits usually come with oxygen masks. Did you two lose your oxygen masks?"
That's why small oxygen cylinders were used instead.
Song Sanchuan took off his mask and smiled: "You guessed pretty much right. We are indeed wearing corrosion-resistant protective suits. That's why we dared to walk this way in the fog."
"However, as you all saw in the end, we were ultimately unable to completely defend against the fog. If we had been any further away, we probably would have been trapped. So everyone should stay here safely and wait for the fog to clear or for official rescue."
Song Sanchuan's words caused the refugees who had gathered in the restaurant to show expressions of disappointment and even despair.
"Is it really not possible? My home is very close by, only a ten-minute walk. I want to go home!"
"How long are we going to wait for official rescue?! It's been three days already! We've eaten all the food in the cafe, all that's left is coffee and water. How much longer can we last?! If we wait another two or three days, we'll starve to death here!"
"Excuse me, could you lend me your protective suit and oxygen tank? My home is in the apartment building up ahead! I have some food stored at home, and I want to go back!"
The voices of disappointment and complaints grew louder, and because Gou Fugui and Song Sanchuan successfully emerged from the fog, a few young people who didn't want to continue tormenting themselves in the coffee shop asked this somewhat offensive question.
Si Wuyai frowned immediately, Gou Fugui turned to look at the well-dressed young woman, while Song Sanchuan shook his head and refused: "No, no, we still have a companion who hasn't met up yet. We'll rest here for half an hour before heading to the West City Cultural Square to find him."
"It's safer for you to stay here. Don't worry, the government won't abandon us. Didn't the website say they've already developed corresponding fully enclosed rescue vehicles, transport vehicles, and toxic fog purifiers?"
"I think the rescue team should already be on its way, but there are probably not enough rescue vehicles for such a large city, which is why it's a little late. Everyone just needs to wait."
Si Wuyai gently pushed up his glasses and added, "If the rescue team happens to arrive when we go out, then we really won't need to go home."
Those who wanted to leave immediately gritted their teeth and shrank back.
They really wanted to go home, but the fog was like a gaping maw leading to another world, making them afraid to take a step forward.
The thought that a fully enclosed rescue vehicle might already be on its way dampened the courage that had been fueled by hunger and exhaustion.
In that case, let's wait a little longer!
The rescue vehicle might arrive tomorrow, or even this afternoon.
The people who had gathered quickly returned to their resting places and corners, looking dejected.
Si Wuyai also sat down at the four-person table where Gou Fugui and Song Sanchuan were sitting.
He adjusted his glasses, wanting to inquire in detail about Ge Fugui and Song Sanchuan's journey here and their physical condition and feelings after being affected by the fog, wondering if he could deduce anything. However, he noticed that the female office worker who had asked to borrow their clothes and oxygen tanks had not left.
She even stared at me with a direct gaze, as if she was about to...
Bang!!
Suddenly, the female office worker reached out and smashed the glass coffee cup, then angrily stabbed Si Wuyai with the broken glass base of the cup!
"Why won't you take your clothes off and give them to me?! I just want to go home! I just want to go home!!! Let me go back! Let me get out! Let me go back!!!"
Another scream erupted in the coffee shop, but the base of the glass in the female office worker's hand ultimately did not pierce Si Wuyai's arm or body.
Because the moment she took action, Gou Fugui, who had been watching her expression, instantly stood up and grabbed the female office worker by the neck with his elbow, and then, amidst her screams... knocked her unconscious.
The long-haired youth's movements were so swift and decisive that the screaming people in the coffee shop could only scream halfway through before they had to stop.
Even Si Wuyai, who was being attacked, showed no fear on his face. He even smiled at the female office worker and, under everyone's gaze, took out a particularly exquisite research kit disguised as a medical kit from his backpack. He began to examine the female office worker's eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, and bodily functions, and even drew a tube of blood at the end.
His practiced and natural demeanor, along with his smiling eyes, gave the refugees in the coffee shop a strange chill.
This handsome and elite guy looks like a doctor, but why doesn't he have that warm feeling of a nurse?
Gou Fugui/Song Sanchuan: "..."
Is that even a question?! Of course, because this guy isn't a doctor at all; he's a research fanatic!!
When the female office worker slowly woke up, what she saw was a scalpel that looked like it was about to cut her neck.
She screamed and fainted again, but the handsome researcher only cut off a lock of her hair.
"Materials collected."
"You guys should be done resting by now, right? Let's go find Xie Tianlang. On the way, take out my research equipment; I want to study this mist."
Gou Fugui: "..."
Alright. They're all allies, so even if they have a slightly twisted tendency, we can tolerate it.
I never noticed this about him in the last world!
As he was leaving, Si Wuyai turned around and gave a hint to the refugees in the coffee shop.
"Don't stand too close to the door. She was probably standing next to the door and inhaled a small amount of mist, which affected her. It's best to put the air purifier in the area in front of the door."
The people in the coffee shop nodded repeatedly, then watched the three...strange heroes leave with reverence.
When the three of them got into a new off-road vehicle, and Song Shanchuan put on a large underwater oxygen tank in addition to a toxic fog filter mask, Dr. Si, the research fanatic, sensed something subtle.
This subtle tension intensified as Gou Fugui sat quietly in the car for a long time without speaking, finally reaching its peak when he finally opened his mouth to speak.
"Keep going straight ahead... Don't... look back!"
"Next... follow my... orders!"
"open!"
"car!!"
Si Wuyai took a deep breath, his usually calm face turning slightly pale.
What kind of suffocating way of speaking is this?!
But Song Sanchuan adapted to the strange phenomenon with remarkable ease, stepping on the gas!
The off-road vehicle moved forward at a speed of 20 miles per hour.
An hour later, having made ample preparations, they arrived in front of the Times Square shopping mall at Cultural Square.
Then, Si Wuyai and Song Sanchuan were tied together with leashes on their hands and waists, which were held in the hands of the sloth Fugui.
There's no parking available in the plaza in front of the mall, and it's a 300-meter walk away.
They could have used underwater oxygen cylinders to rush through. However, the connection points of the oxygen cylinders would corrode within minutes of being exposed to the fog, and since the oxygen cylinders are crucial equipment here, it's better to use them sparingly until the connection points are reinforced.
Therefore, Song Sanchuan and Si Wuyai decided to give up their brains, eyes, and ears.
Don't listen, don't think, don't look, just follow the sloth.
Then, people observing the situation outside from the glass-walled restaurant area on the second floor of the mall witnessed this inexplicably chilling scene—
"Holy crap, what's going on over there?! There's this guy who looks like he's been slowed down four times, leading two zombie-like figures who look like they've had their brains eaten, walking towards the mall!!!"
"Damn! Could it be that they mutated in the mist and are coming to eat us?!"
Xie Tianlang, who was also observing through binoculars from the second-floor window: "..."
At this rate, it's not certain who will win.
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