Amidst Song Sanchuan's almost distorted face from sourness, Xie Tianlang drove his team members safely to the agreed-upon supply receiving point in the provincial capital.
This is a large manufacturing warehouse base with three floors, and you can hear the roar of machinery and the sounds of manufacturing when you get close.
And it's no wonder it's an important base in the provincial capital. When Xie Tianlang and his group entered the warehouse base, they were surprised to find a spacious and well-organized warehouse equipment plaza.
Yes, it's not the kind of grayish-white world where you can only see two or three meters ahead in the fog, but rather an area where you can clearly see at least several tens of meters ahead and to the left and right.
Since arriving in this world, Gou Fugui had never seen such a clear outdoor scene. Now, seeing this square, he couldn't help but be amazed: "They actually managed to clear such a large area here. And I'm not seeing things, am I? A path that allows you to see ahead has been cleared between each factory building?"
Is it through the wind?
Song Sanchuan glanced out the window and his eyes lit up immediately: "As expected, if you study math, physics and chemistry well, you can go anywhere in the world without fear. This is obviously using the relevant principles of airflow. It looks like you're just using a few high-powered fans, but forming a stable airflow circulation path still requires a lot of testing on the angle and intensity of the wind."
"It's a pity that the fog is poisonous and the wind can't completely dispel it, otherwise we could just go down and walk without protective suits."
Even so, it's enough to ease the pressure of facing the fog for those who come here.
Xie Tianlang parked the car in the plaza where supplies were being loaded and unloaded. When they came in, the person in charge of the machinery warehouse had already come out of the building and was waiting in the plaza.
When they got off the bus, the person in charge looked very touched and immediately tried to shake Xie Tianlang's hand, but Xie Tianlang pulled him up instead.
The person in charge was taken aback, but still shook Zhou Shan's hand vigorously up and down: "I've been waiting here all morning and noon, and I thought no team would come today. Fortunately, I finally got to see someone."
"Come with me to receive the supplies. Five sealed trucks are already parked. Now all you have to do is move your supplies onto the trucks and you'll have completed your mission."
"Which city are you from? It's really impressive that you were the first to come here to receive supplies."
The person in charge had clearly been waiting for a long time, so when he was finally able to hand over part of the task, he became a chatterbox.
Zhou Shan never expected that they would be the first team to arrive and receive the supplies. He had thought that they would arrive later than the other teams because they had injured two people and had two flat tires on the way, but they turned out to be the first.
Moreover, judging from what the person in charge said, it seems that something else has happened.
“We’re from Chunshi,” Zhou Shan replied with a simple smile. “We didn’t expect to be the first to arrive. But the journey wasn’t smooth for us either. We had two flat tires and two people were injured… If it weren’t for the good driving, we probably would have been several hours slower.”
The person in charge's expression changed immediately upon hearing this: "You also had a flat tire on your way from Chunshi?"
"So... have you figured out exactly what happened?"
Seeing the person in charge's very nervous expression, Gou Fugui felt that he might know something.
"We suddenly had a tire blowout on the road, and when my companion got out to check the situation, he disappeared silently into the fog."
The person in charge suddenly stopped in his tracks: "Have you found your people yet?"
Zhou Shan nodded: "Fortunately, we found it. However, it's also thanks to our brother with superhuman strength that we were able to get out of those man-eating plants that seem to have become sentient."
The person in charge immediately looked at Zhou Shan and Gou Fugui and the others.
"You actually managed to find them from the fog!"
"And what's with the man-eating plants? Tsk, don't go moving supplies yet, come to the office with me first! You need to tell each other what happened on the way."
The person in charge then turned around abruptly, urgently and seriously pulling Zhou Shan and the others to follow him.
"To be honest, this morning I received three reports from teams that were coming to the province to receive supplies. They were more like calls for help and warnings than reports."
The person in charge gave a wry smile: "First, the Xinshi Transportation Team called, saying that their vehicle had a flat tire for no reason on the road, and then the two team members who got out to repair the vehicle mysteriously disappeared. They have to search for the missing team members in that area, and they may not be able to arrive here to receive the supplies until this afternoon or even tonight."
“I didn’t really care about that phone call at first, since the fog was so thick and it was easy for accidents to happen on the road. But after Xinshi, two other transport teams from Nanshi and Luoshi called me. They said they had encountered problems and couldn’t come over immediately.”
"Actually, there's nothing wrong with that, right? But the reason why the two transport teams in Nanshi and Luoshi were delayed is almost exactly the same as in Xinshi!"
The person in charge's tired face now showed a look of horror: "The vehicles suddenly had tire blowouts, and when team members went down to change the tires, they disappeared. When the call came from Los Angeles, half of their team had already gone down, including those who had disappeared while searching for them."
"I felt a little uneasy when I heard that, but then again, they were all wearing the latest fully enclosed protective suits, so how could they suddenly disappear in the fog, right? Maybe these three teams really did encounter some special and difficult problems. Let's just wait and see."
"Then I just kept waiting and waiting, and finally you all arrived."
"When I saw you, I was relieved and thought I was overthinking things. But the fact that even you encountered a sudden tire blowout, a team member going missing, and even saw the culprit who caused the disappearance, means that this is no small matter."
The person in charge had already led Zhou Shan and Gou Fugui to his office and directly turned on the communication enhancement computer in front of him and clicked on video call.
"If this is a new and widespread danger, we should report it immediately to raise awareness among everyone."
Moreover...reporting this earlier might have allowed the rescue team to locate those groups that entered the city.
The person in charge looked up at Zhou Shan, Gou Fugui, and the others: "So, who among you knows more about this matter? Can you explain it to the higher-ups in more detail?"
Zhou Shan and the others looked directly at Gou Fugui, who in turn looked at Xie Tianlang and saw that the werewolf had already crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, making a gesture as if he was going offline and had to shut up.
Okay.
"Then I'll explain."
When the video call connected, Gou Fugui didn't see just one person, but a group of people sitting in the conference room discussing something.
These people included both men and women, but regardless of gender, each of them exuded an air of authority and dignity.
An ordinary person facing the gaze of this group of people would probably feel unconsciously nervous and not know what to say, but the wealthy young man who was used to seeing absolutely grand occasions did not feel nervous at all.
He didn't even need the other party to take the initiative to ease the tension; he directly brought up the plant traps and the potentially mutated killer plants.
After he finished speaking, everyone in the video remained silent for several tens of seconds, and then the leader sitting at the front spoke:
"You must be tired from your journey. But are you sure that what made people disappear wasn't a beast in the mist or a human trap, but a 'killer plant'?"
"Young man, this is quite important. You see, for the past two months, we haven't found any plants in the fog that could create traps to hunt humans."
When asked, Gou Fugui nodded directly.
“I’m sure it’s a killer plant that can create traps. I tore off a piece of it when it attacked me. My teammate is studying the vine now, and the two injured team members in the car can also testify to that.”
"Oh, another of my companions made a mechanical surveillance bird that also captured some images of those plants attacking and hunting. Shall I take my laptop to the car and show you all the situation?"
The people in the conference room were clearly surprised that the young man who came to report could provide them with fresh evidence, which was much better than being able to see nothing and only imagine.
"Young man, please show us that mutated plant, and also show us the two injured comrades."
As Gou Fugui carried the person in charge's computer toward their bus, three research experts in white lab coats and glasses rushed into the conference room in the video.
One of the most impatient elderly men rushed to the video camera and began shouting, "How can you youngsters be so impulsive and ignorant! You've found such important research material, why are you still dissecting it yourselves?! What kind of conditions do you have there?! How much do you even know about the plants in the mist?! That's rare research material! It could potentially solve many problems related to the mist, how could you... uh..."
Before the old man could finish speaking, the wealthy beauty silently pointed the webcam of her computer monitor at Si Wuyai, who was studying the writhing vines.
In the video, the old man initially raised his eyebrows as if he wanted to slam his fist on the table and scold someone, but as you watch, his eyebrows relax.
"Hey, this kid's dissection and experimental techniques are pretty good."
"It's more than just skilled, Lao Huang. Even if we had his techniques and the reagents he used for experiments, we could only do this much."
“Aside from the somewhat rudimentary environment, there’s nothing wrong with this kid’s experiment.”
The three research experts huddled together to look at the screen, while Si Wuyai had already divided the killer vine into more than a dozen sections and placed them in different petri dishes and solutions to check their condition.
These dozen or so small vines, soaking in different potions and solutions, looked completely still, unlike the kind of killer plant that Gou Fugui described as automatically attacking and writhing around.
"Isn't this just an ordinary vine? How could it kill someone?" The rather impatient old man had already determined the species and family of the plant the moment he saw it, and his expression was full of doubt.
Si Wuyai glanced at the computer camera pointing directly at him. His expression was a mixture of excitement at the challenge and disgust at seeing something bad.
Then, in front of everyone, he suddenly slammed his hand on the small table in front of him. A scene instantly appeared that sent chills down the spines of everyone watching the screen—
The dozen or so ordinary green vines that were soaking in the petri dish and the potion suddenly started moving all at once when the vibration started! They twisted and turned wildly, as if trying to extend tentacles or roots to re-enter the soil and then take root and sprout.
"Impossible!! How could these broken branches be so alive?!"
The three research experts on the other side of the screen all exclaimed in shock.
Si Wuyai put down the tweezers in his hand and spoke:
"I conducted tests on acids and alkalis, bacteria, and some common chemical agents, and found that ordinary herbicides and chemical agents are difficult to completely kill this vine."
"Unless they encounter strong acids, alkalis, or high temperatures that completely destroy the plants, they can revive and not die once they have a suitable growing environment."
"This is a terrible point, as it shows that these killer plants in the mist have extremely strong vitality and are almost impossible to completely eliminate."
"The good thing is that this plant does not have the characteristic of self-division and reproduction. Even if these sliced fragments are highly active and planted in the soil, they will not grow roots and become new plants. Otherwise, it might not be long before the land we walk on is full of this highly lethal killer plant."
Si Wuyai frowned slightly as he said this: "However, it's a bit unreasonable for the stems and leaves to maintain such vitality if it doesn't have the ability to reproduce. Moreover, I haven't been able to test any difference between this vine and ordinary vines. It seems to have mutated due to the influence of the mist, but apart from the extremely strong activity I've found, I haven't discovered any other differences in this vine."
In other words, this killer vine is just like any ordinary vine.
But the problem is that everyone knows this is not an ordinary vine.
"You did a good job, kid. You managed to research and compare several key pieces of information in such a short time. However, your conditions are much worse over there. Some changes in matter and energy require more detailed, in-depth, and lengthy comparative studies."
The old man who had spoken first now had a much calmer expression, and his gaze towards Si Wuyai even showed a rare hint of appreciation.
"Once we confirm that this plant really exists, then leave the research to us. We will definitely study everything about this plant thoroughly."
So, young man, would you like to come to the capital and join our research team? Which university were you a graduate student at before? Plant biology, right? Who was your advisor? Let me see if I know them.”
Si Wuyai pushed up his glasses and smiled at the screen. "Thank you for your kind words. However, my mentor has passed away because of a very important research project. I still need to follow his wishes, so I won't bother you there."
"You are all pillars of the nation... Please take good care of yourselves."
Old Zhang was taken aback by Si Wuyai's words, then smiled, nodded, and shook his head.
“You’re a good kid, and you’re still thinking about fulfilling your teacher’s wishes, so I won’t force you. As for us, don’t worry, we old bones are tough enough to survive.”
Then Zhang Lao and the other two turned and left quickly, obviously to collect the moving, killer plant hidden in the mist as soon as possible.
Afterwards, the people in the conference room looked at the injuries on Xiao Pang and Gangzi's bodies and their severely corroded and damaged protective suits. After asking Xiao Pang and Gangzi about the incident, the leaders in the conference room all showed a heavy and serious expression.
It's clear that the killer plants have indeed appeared, making the already dangerous foggy area even more difficult to enter and survive.
The fog in Chunshi has been there for four days, and there is no sign of it dissipating. In fact, it has spread to the entire province and neighboring provinces.
Currently, more than half of the urban areas in the entire Washington State region are covered by fog. If the fog does not dissipate and continues to expand, it will only take about ten days for the entire Washington State to be shrouded in this gray-white fog.
Besides Washington, other regions around the world were also shrouded in persistent fog, including the North and South Poles and the oceans.
This has made many people feel nervous and even terrified.
The global fog really looks like the end of the world.
Fog enveloping the world will affect various aspects of climate and the growth of plants and animals. Foods that require sunlight to grow will be the first to be impacted.
The fog was already unsettling, and now, with the addition of killer plants that suddenly emerge from it...
The senior leader in the conference hall finally sighed deeply, "No matter what, we must first ensure people's livelihood and safety. Then we must figure out which plants are deadly, accelerate the production of sealed vehicles and all-around protective suits for the army, and, if necessary, send the army to clear the deadly plants from key roads."
Gou Fugui and others listened to the orders given by the leaders in the video. After a while, the leaders in the meeting realized that the video had not been turned off.
The senior leader looked at Gou Fugui gently and asked if he had anything else to say.
"Thank you for your team's discovery of the killer plant and for reporting it to the country. This bought us more time and reduced unnecessary casualties. Do you have any requests? The country will try its best to accommodate you."
Gou Fugui paused for a moment. Although it was right to report things to the country and not to ask for anything in return, they did need a car that they could drive themselves.
Moreover, it was obvious that the longer the fog existed, the worse the world's situation would become, so he finally spoke up.
"Um, my companion and I would like to apply for a closed vehicle. We'd like to go to Shuiwu County to take a look."
The high-ranking leader in the video was stunned when he heard Gou Fugui's request; he hadn't expected that Gou Fugui would want to seal off the car.
However, this request was not excessive, and it was even something that the country could easily accomplish. He nodded in agreement, but then suddenly frowned, and when he looked at the video again, his deep and wise eyes shone with a new light.
"You're going to Shuiwu County? The county in Huazhou where the first fog appeared?"
Gou Fugui didn't expect the big leader to be so sensitive, and he didn't hide anything and nodded directly: "After all, this fog is really troublesome. If it continues to exist, wouldn't that be the end of the world? We are citizens of Huazhou, and for the sake of our hometown and survival, we still hope to do our part."
"The four of us brothers felt that if we wanted to eliminate something, we had to start by investigating its source. The place where the fog first appeared in Huazhou was Shuiwu County, so let's go to Shuiwu County to take a look."
"We might discover something."
The top leader and many others in the conference room laughed.
"Good lads! Our country's finest young people should be like you!" A general wearing a military uniform with many medals hanging on his front laughed as he spoke.
At this moment, the senior leader nodded and said, "Your idea is very good. And the fact that you were the first to discover and capture the killer plant proves that you have sufficient operational capabilities."
"In that case, I will grant you a specially modified, armed, enclosed vehicle, along with a batch of military supplies. You will go to that area as the vanguard to conduct reconnaissance, on behalf of the national army."
"If anything is discovered, contact the government immediately."
Gou Fugui smiled, almost saluting to show he was sure he would complete the mission.
After one trip, the most important thing—the enclosed vehicle—was settled, and then we were able to head straight to Shuiwu County.
But before that, they had to send the supplies back to Chunshi.
At 4 p.m., the sealed truck from Chunshi was already loaded and ready with supplies.
The armed, enclosed military vehicle that the top leader had specially approved was also driven over by the garrison in the provincial capital.
The fact that things were going smoothly should have been a pleasant thing, but the fact that the other four transport teams that had come to the provincial capital were still nowhere to be found cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.
"...If we set off now, we can be back around nine o'clock tonight." Zhou Shan had somehow put another cigarette in his mouth, but didn't smoke it. "Shall we go?"
He was asking Xie Tianlang, since he was the only guy who never got a flat tire while driving.
But this time they have to drive back five enclosed vehicles. Xie Tianlang, who is in charge, can drive without getting a flat tire, but what about the other people and vehicles?
Will they really be able to drive the car back safely?
Xie Tianlang glanced at the captain with his brows furrowed, then turned to look at Fu Gui Yuanyuan, who was whispering to Song Sanchuan.
He raised his sharp eyebrows and eyes, took out a spicy snack from his pocket and put it in his mouth: "Don't worry, if you're ever in trouble, just ask Yuanyuan. There's nothing that Yuanyuan can't solve."
Zhou Shan: "???"
What round shape? Where did this round shape come from?
Meanwhile, Yuanyuan and Song Sanchuan had finished their discussion, and Song Sanchuan was already rubbing his hands together excitedly.
"Don't worry, I've got you covered! I guarantee we'll dominate the battlefield tomorrow!"
Then Ke Fugui announced that they would stay there for one night to prepare for their return.
Zhou Shan and the other eighteen people were a little anxious but also felt relieved.
They spent the night in the machine warehouse with trepidation. The next morning, when they gathered in the square, they saw the long-haired youth and the round-faced mechanical youth who had been waiting there for who knows how long.
Both of them had confident smiles on their faces.
Song Sanchuan: "Are you still worried about not being able to see the road ahead?"
Fu Gui Yuan Yuan: "Still worried about plant traps that suddenly appear on the road?!"
Song/Yuan: "Introducing to everyone a super awesome modified road clearing vehicle! The power of wind and fire! You deserve to own one!!"
Then, as they finished speaking, Xie Tianlang, who was standing next to them speechless, pressed the two buttons in his hand.
Suddenly, ten strong gusts of wind blew out in front of the five cars parked side by side, while eight high-pressure flames and sharp agitator blades shot out from each of the four directions: front, back, left, and right.
The overall visual effect is excellent.
It's a feeling that's both rustic and awesome.
"..."
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