"Today is July 24th, four days after we set out. I've been so busy these past few days that I haven't had time to write an email. How should I describe the weather today? It's just windy, but it's not the usual southeast monsoon, but a cold wind blowing from the south. I'm sitting in the passenger compartment of the Type 35, and just listening to the wind makes me feel cold..."
"Here, drink something to warm you up!" Zhou Xiangyang handed over a cup with instant cocoa.
"Ah, thank you!" Jiang Ling took the teacup and thanked him. They were sitting in a safe house at this time, and the tank was parked outside, separated from them by a wall.
Along the way, they probably experienced the pain of cross-country marching, and they experienced almost all the bad luck that could be experienced.
Originally, after receiving the well-maintained tank, they should have headed straight west. However, they had only driven less than ten kilometers when they encountered their first obstacle: flimsy ice. None of the five had anticipated that two consecutive months of freezing temperatures had failed to completely freeze the Yangtze River system. The flowing water still carried energy, eroding the frozen surface and causing uneven ice thickness across the river.
As a result, these ice floes caused a lot of trouble for the tanks with insufficient icebreaking capabilities. They spent a lot of effort to drive the amphibious tank back to the shore. Before they could breathe a sigh of relief, they encountered another problem - the damn swamp.
The car got stuck, then they got out and pushed it, over two bumps, and got stuck again... This series of moves left them covered in mud. The mud froze quickly in the cold wind, making Jiang Ling think she was wearing armor. It was unknown how such a swamp formed; logically, the water-soaked ground should have been frozen solid by the low temperature.
It was not until the nuclear contamination alarm sounded in the car that they came to their senses.
They had no choice but to take a detour to the northwest, towards TZ0502 Station. Of course, during this detour, they were hit by several muddy fields, and their already limited fuel reserves were about to run out.
Fortunately, that station could provide some supplies, which solved the group's urgent needs.
The tanks used a type of synthetic oil with a higher calorific value. The current station didn't have much oil, so they had to go back and forth several times before they could fill up half a tank. Of course, this surface trip couldn't be calculated using the theoretical maximum range. Even if there weren't those nasty roadblocks later, the one-meter-thick snow alone would have been enough to kill them.
"Yesterday we stopped for a while on the cross-river bridge. The weather was good, and we enjoyed about half an hour of sunshine." Jiang Ling put the slightly cold cocoa tea back by the stove and continued writing on the terminal. "We're on our way to ZJ0102 Station now. I heard it's an industrial station. I also heard that the city over there had a developed chemical industry before the war, and decades ago it was a famous vinegar-producing area..."
"The oil pipeline is frozen!" Li Gang's voice came from Zhou Xiangyang's tactical communicator.
"Coming!" Zhou Xiangyang put on a helmet, grabbed a piece of burning mushroom wood from the stove and went out.
Last night was truly terrible. First, the vehicle's air conditioning failed, then the backup heater broke down. Then, they struggled through the freezing wind, which reached dozens of degrees below zero. When they finally saw the safe house, the vehicle's engine immediately gave out. Jiang Ling had to use her telekinesis to push the vehicle the last few steps. The resistance of this twenty-ton steel beast was too great, and it took considerable effort for Jiang Ling to move it over two hundred meters.
Seeing that the two ordinary people were not in the safe house, Jiang Ling asked, "Did they do that sun yesterday?"
Ruan Danxin, holding a thermos cup, replied, "There are several ways to achieve a similar effect." She extended a hand from the collar of her protective suit, and a light emanated from her fingertips. "This is the method that's closest to the Great God Hou Tu. It's just a matter of constantly turning the psychic shield on and off. As for the consumption, it depends on the specific situation."
"What a waste!" Jiang Ling sighed. He didn't know how much manure these guys had to produce to accumulate enough energy to generate light.
"It's okay. Mine can stay lit all night long, and sometimes it's quite useful. It's just a matter of eating two more bowls of meat." Ruan Danxin thought for a while and explained.
"No, I mean, it's a waste to let them fly so high. I should have shot them down earlier," Jiang Ling sighed with regret. The tank was equipped with twelve cruise missiles, and based on the distance she estimated yesterday, she had a good chance of shooting down the "sun" as it passed overhead.
But what are they doing with all this fanfare? Are they preaching?
"These wanderers are really crazy!" Ruan Danxin said angrily, "Why attack our sect when there are so many other banners to attack? We won't preach like this!"
"Oh? Are you also a missionary? Can I give two bags of rice to those who join the church?" Jiang Ling asked curiously.
Ruan Danxin rolled her eyes. "Do you think I'd give anything away for free? Believe it if you want. The money in my sect wasn't given by believers. We earned it with our own blood and sacrifice. There's no such thing as a free lunch."
"What the hell? Are your thoughts so pure?" Jiang Ling asked in surprise. "So, as long as your followers are baptized, they will start to work hard?"
"That's not the case... Our sect advocates helping each other. We are all living beings saved by the great goddess Houtu. How can we kill each other? We..." Ruan Danxin began to preach her doctrine, but in a sense, she was already breaking the law.
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