"What exactly happened in the tunnel?" Jiang Ling had heard some rumors that described the tunnel as terrifying.
"Landslides, flooding, and strong acid," replied the Mole.
"They corroded the nearby tunnels, causing the entire network at that site to be completely disconnected. The same goes for surface wired communications. As long as the sun doesn't appear, they will grow everywhere." The flying squirrel added.
"What do they eat?" Jiang Ling asked curiously.
"radiation!"
"Researchers believe they are some type of nitrifying bacteria, using melanin to convert ionizing radiation into amino acids, which then release nitrous acid. This nitrous acid reacts with air and, in humid environments, turns into strong acids. Therefore, they gather at the junction of the underground and the radiation zone, where there is sufficient material and energy. Although the Countermeasures Bureau does not believe they will spread very far, they are indeed very destructive to buildings."
"So that's how it is. All things start from small things and end from small things." Jiang Ling sighed.
She worried about humanity's future. Nitrifying bacteria were just an ancient underground organism, but there were many more bizarre microorganisms in the world. If those organisms became particularly difficult mutants, the world would be on the verge of a mass extinction.
What if a type of algae that releases toxic gases when it breathes appears on a large scale? What if a highly contagious pathogen appears? What if a fungus that likes to devour flesh and blood appears?
She didn't dare to think about it any further. If that were the case, the remaining humans might as well move to the moon as soon as possible.
"Don't be afraid. The essence of living things is survival and reproduction, so most microorganisms are harmless." The flying squirrel seemed to have noticed something and hurriedly comforted him.
"Most of them?" Jiang Ling became even more frightened.
"Are you done talking? It's time to set off!" The guide walked out of the safe house and knocked on the wall to remind everyone.
A few freshly-fed men followed their guide out the doorway, and the group returned to the road to continue their journey. Although the surface was rife with dangers, with the guide's guidance, the journey wasn't particularly thrilling. Searchers' memories were generally not very good, and in the short time since, they had already forgotten the young man who had been killed in the explosion.
The blood in those people's bodies flowed to their stomachs, causing several of them to become drowsy.
"Watch the road! I told you to eat less dry food. Now you're full and want to sleep, right?" Xidu preached to Dongxie, but they had a good relationship, and he pulled Dongxie, who was like a walking corpse, all the way.
Seeing their listless demeanor, the guide said, "Would you like some after-dinner stories? Let's each tell a joke!" He turned and looked at everyone, finding no one objecting. He continued, "I heard a certain cosmetic is becoming popular in the southern fringe areas..."
"I know that one, those shiny cosmetics, right? They're passing off those radioactive pre-war cosmetics as genuine products. Your joke is so corny!" Dong Xie seemed to be intrigued. Without waiting for the guide's reply, he continued, "You know about cannonball crabs, right? People say the crab roe is incredibly delicious, but it's so rare that most people rarely see them. One day, a merchant brought some meat sauce, insisting it was made from cannonball crabs. After paying a large sum of money to taste it, everyone realized the crab meat was sour and rancid. After that, no one saw the merchant again until one day, he was found hanged on the execution platform. What do you think happened?"
"Enough! Stop talking, I'm about to vomit!" Old Wei, who was following behind, immediately turned unhappy after hearing this cold joke.
"Hahaha~" Dong Xie laughed out loud, but Xidu beside him and the guide leading the way in front were silent for a while.
"What's going on?" Jiang Ling asked on the communication channel.
"Ahem, anyway, just don't buy any crab meat in marginal areas. You don't want to know. That story is worthy of being a cold joke." The flying squirrel replied.
After this interruption, the rest of the journey became even more silent. To divert their attention, everyone had to appreciate the scenery along the way.
In fact, there wasn't much to see. The surface of the land was sparsely populated, and even the animals were rare. Under the dark clouds, the plants on the ground were basically dead. Jiang Ling could only see a little green moss in some cracks.
After a war of this intensity, the first things to take over the land were definitely not green plants or wild animals. After crossing a small bridge, depressions began to appear on both sides of the road. Some of the water in these depressions had frozen, while others were still radiating heat. Jiang Ling noticed that these radiating puddles often contained charred bones, and around these bones, reddish-purple flocs gathered.
"See it? Those are nitrifying bacteria! Don't touch the water. Not only is there radiation in it, it's also highly corrosive!" The flying squirrel reminded in the communication channel.
The guide paused at a crater on the road, then led everyone around each one along the way, muttering to himself, "Buddha bless you, Guan Gong bless you..."
"Is there any problem?" Xidu asked.
"The last time I took this route, there weren't any craters!" The guide shook his head, then said with certainty, "I hope we won't encounter mutants. I'd rather fight thugs than mutants."
Upon hearing this, Dong Xi Du and Xi Du both pulled their weapons from their backpacks, and everyone's casual outing became more cautious. Jiang Ling radiated her sensory abilities, and soon she noticed several points of light hovering in the distance.
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