Chapter 116 Jinjiang Exclusive
The villagers thought they had finally encountered a living person, but soon discovered that the drone had found a village that had long been destroyed.
You can tell it's a village thanks to a blue brick house that barely reveals some traces of human activity. Otherwise, looking only at the cracked earth and straw around it, who would have guessed that those were originally thatched houses/mud brick houses of the villagers?
Naturally, there was no human figure at all.
Old Master Zhang looked at the synchronized images on the bus and sighed, "Think carefully, with the temperature so high before, it's really impossible for anyone to survive in such an exposed place."
Others agree.
Not all the original residents of this village died in the earthquake. Perhaps they moved to surrounding areas because they lost their houses and the weather was too hot.
If I look around a little more, maybe I can find someone?
Everyone regained their spirits, clinging to a faint hope as they urged the few people holding the remote controls to keep the drone flying! Speed up!
Afterwards, the drone discovered the remains of several more villages.
Some were severely damaged, like the first village, while others retained more than half of the buildings.
The common point is that there are no living people.
Even worse was a town.
Looking from the air, there are dozens of underground cracks of varying sizes crisscrossing the town, and almost all the houses have collapsed beyond recognition. Moving the camera from far to near, one can see many mummies trapped within the buildings, with some of their limbs exposed.
The villagers who were caught off guard by the corpses had their faces turned pale and covered their mouths with their hands, retching. Those who reacted quickly covered their children's eyes.
Only Lu Xuan stopped Lu Qing from covering herself, touched Lu Chen's head, and asked calmly, "Are you scared?"
Lu Chen's face turned pale, but he didn't look away from the screen. He clenched his trouser legs tightly with his hands and shook his head firmly, "I'm not afraid!"
Lu Xuan's lips curled up. "Very good. Remember, the dead aren't scary. The real scary thing is the living."
Of course, the dead can't be approached casually, after all...
Lu Xuan looked at the deserted and dilapidated town, his eyes darkening.
The audience noticed that he looked strange and asked him what he was thinking about.
Lu Xuan propped his chin up with one hand and said nonchalantly, "I'm considering whether to burn this town down."
Why would they burn down the town when nothing happened?
[Anchor is an outlaw? ]
"I know! It's an epidemic, right?! In ancient times, unlike the Star Alliance, we didn't have comprehensive epidemic prevention measures. A large number of deaths would spread the epidemic widely, and a city would be wiped out at the drop of a hat!"
[I've also seen other people in other planes' livestreams seal off and burn down cities to prevent the spread of the epidemic! Horrible!]
What did the original saying go? After a great disaster, there will be a great epidemic.
【! I'd forgotten there was such a setting! 】
[Then burn the anchor! This will prevent other victims who have finally survived from dying from the disease.]
At this time, the special effects text of a fan of the list who rarely speaks appeared on the screen.
[Is the host worried that burning down the town would waste the remaining supplies?]
The other audience members suddenly understood.
That’s right! Where there are people, there are supplies!
Looking at the corpses left uncollected in the town, I'm afraid most people died in the earthquake.
In other words, even if some supplies were damaged by the earthquake, some were damaged during the extreme hot season, and perhaps some were damaged by the rain a few days ago...
But there must be a lot of materials waiting to be excavated!
If the host burned all the supplies when other disaster victims were short of them...hiss, if people knew about it, they would probably want to eat him alive.
After all, the probability of an epidemic is high, but it does not mean that it will definitely happen, and not everyone will get sick.
What if nothing happens?
The fire he set burned away the chance of survival for others.
[Then... still not burning it? ]
The first on the list pointed out the problem: "Even if it's just a probability, if it happens, the disease will spread to other gathering places, and then the scope of the disease will be expanded. Burning it all down is indeed the best option."
Lu Xuan naturally understood this.
Besides, what does the other disaster victims have to do with him?
He just needs to do what he wants.
But in the end, Lu Xuan did not burn the town.
He spent tens of thousands of points to buy a large amount of disinfectant for epidemic prevention in the mall, loaded it into the plant protection machine, and sprayed it carefully around the town.
The disinfectant produced by the Star Alliance can eliminate 99.99% of viruses and bacteria, and will not resurface even if it continues to rain.
When the villagers learned of his intention, they all said it was a good idea.
Lu Xuan deliberately reminded: "After disinfection, there is no need to worry about the spread of the epidemic. Do you want to stop and go in to find supplies?"
"No, no." The villagers wanted to shake their heads.
Thanks for the invitation! But it’s not necessary!
They didn't know how much supplies they could find, but the mummies everywhere were visible to the naked eye. They didn't want to get close to this broken town at all!
The villagers were determined: "Keep going! Don't stop! We're in a hurry! We really are in a hurry!"
…
Two hours after the hovercraft took off, the drone finally discovered a group of living people moving like them.
The villagers couldn't help but stand up from their seats and come closer to take a look, "Is it really a living person?"
Li Tuo stared at the screen with shining eyes and said, "It looks like there are quite a few people here, at least thirty or forty!"
Old Master Zhang squinted his eyes and moved closer. "Oh, these people are riding horses and pulling ox carts. It seems that there is a lot of goods on the carts. They must be doing well."
Li Tie paid special attention to the gender, age, and clothing of these people.
"From what I see, these look like caravans, or perhaps escort missions. Over the past two months, there are still six or seven carts of supplies left, and the cattle and horses are still there. The original scale must have been much larger than it is now."
He didn't believe that apart from them, there were other people who could have survived so completely. Most of these people were left after a certain number of casualties.
The villagers were excited for a while before looking at each other and asking, "So what do we do next? Just go over and engage them?"
Zhang Chengming, holding the drone remote control, interjected, "Take the hover bus over there? Will it scare them?"
Xiong Mao, standing next to him, crossed his arms and snorted coldly, "Rather than scaring people, we should worry about whether they'll figure out the floating bus is a good thing and try to rob us."
The expressions of the villagers in the car suddenly became serious. This possibility... is not impossible!
Li Tie frowned and said, "It's really not good to reveal too much when we're not sure whether they are good or bad."
In the end, they decided to drive a little further. When they reached a similar place, they hid the livestock cart first, packed up the other two buses and the Lu family's RV, and walked in the direction of the caravan, carrying only their backpacks.
[Isn't it too risky for everyone to go together? Should we leave the women and children behind and only the young and strong go?]
If you were in my shoes and suddenly encountered a group of strong strangers after a disaster, would you rush over to them in ecstasy or run as far away as you could?
[Going together can lower the other party's vigilance and let them know that the host and his friends have no bad intentions.]
What if the other party, seeing so many elderly people and children around them, starts to have bad intentions?
[That's easy, isn't it? The host just took action and killed them all!]
【!!! ！ ！】
[Now that you mention it, I'm kind of looking forward to the host pretending to be a pig and eating the tiger, and then Kaka killing them all after being exposed :)]
As they were talking, the two sides had already seen each other's figures from a distance of hundreds of meters.
·
"Stop!" The captain of the guard leading the way pulled the reins and turned his head to warn, "Boss, there's someone here!"
Chen Bing, who was leaning against the car and feeling drowsy, suddenly shuddered. "Someone!? Where is he?"
The guard's expression darkened slightly, and his hand instinctively pressed against the hilt of the knife at his waist. "They're right in front of us. They look like they have many times more people than us. They must have discovered us."
Chen Bing sat up straight, his brow furrowed as he asked, "So many people... could they be survivors from another nearby town? They're coming from another direction. If they don't have any ill intentions, we could exchange information."
The point is, no malice.
The captain of the guards understood and said to the other guards around him, "Everyone, take up your weapons and be alert."
The guards responded: "Understood!"
Chen Bing patted his children's heads and said to Yang, "I'll go over and negotiate later. You wait in the car. If you find that the other party is not friendly, follow my instructions."
Yang, who had many experiences, held the two children in her arms and nodded calmly: "Don't worry, mistress, I know what to do."
After about ten minutes, the distance between the two sides was less than a hundred meters. When they saw each other's condition and appearance clearly, both sides breathed a sigh of relief.
In particular, Chen Bing discovered that more than half of this group of people were elderly people, children and women, so he immediately lifted the alarm in his mind.
It is impossible for bandits to bring a group of people with them when they go out to rob people. These people are mostly surviving disaster victims from different places who are banding together to increase their survival rate.
When the other party came completely to the front, Chen Bing noticed that these people had rosy complexions, neat clothes, and their expressions paused slightly.
Um...is the effect of huddling together for warmth so good?
He actually saw several elderly people in the crowd who had double chins from eating so much.
Chen Bing: ???
The people of Yunlu Village stopped on their own initiative about seven or eight meters away from the caravan. Li Tie, as the village chief, stepped forward first to negotiate with the other side, followed by Wu Cheng and Ge Yuan holding bows and crossbows.
"Hello, brothers. May I ask where you are from?" While speaking, Li Tie took the opportunity to look at Chen Bing, who was obviously the leader, and the man who looked like a guard.
The man was about the same size as Xiong Mao, and one could tell at first glance that he was a good fighter. He held a scimitar that shone with a cold light, and his tiger eyes contained obvious scrutiny and sharpness.
Li Tie suspected that if there was any unusual movement on their side, the other party would swing the machete at them without hesitation.
As for Chen Bing, he is not particularly tall and not very strong, but he is not weak either.
If this group of people are really businessmen, they have to go out in the wind and rain all day long and sleep in the open air from time to time. People with weak physical conditions will not be able to withstand it.
While Li Tie was observing the opposite side in a not-so-clever manner, Chen Bing was also evaluating the people of Yunlu Village.
He has been in business for nearly ten years, and he wouldn't say he has met countless people, but his vision of people is pretty good.
Judging from various details, these people should be farmers, and they are farmers who have not suffered from the famine of more than two months.
Chen Bing's gaze fell on the crossbows in Wu Cheng and Ge Yuan's hands, which were obviously powerful.
I don't know where they got this good stuff.
The captain of the guard next to him seemed to have a resolute expression, but in fact his eyes kept vaguely scanning the weapons in the hands of the two people behind him.
Kind of want it.
In any case, Chen Bing judged that the people in Yunlu Village were not very dangerous, so they could communicate!
His face quickly broke into the smile he usually wore when doing business, and he said, "We are a caravan traveling for business, and I am the owner of the caravan, Chen Bing. Because I am ranked sixth in the clan, my friends also call me Chen Liu.
I was heading south on business when the earthquake struck, but I was caught off guard by the strange weather a few days ago. Now that the temperature has finally dropped, I'm thinking of turning back."
Having said that, Chen Bing couldn't help but show a look of relief on his face.
The wisest decision he made in his life was this trip. Because his son was reluctant to be separated from him and the destination he was going to was relatively wealthy, he somehow took his wife and children with him.
If he had left her at home, he couldn't imagine how his wife would be able to endure the high temperature for more than two months alone with their two half-grown children.
"I wonder where you guys are from, brothers?" Chen Bing looked at the villagers behind him and asked with a smile.
There was nothing to hide about the origins of Yunlu Village. Li Tie introduced himself clearly and concisely, and also mentioned in passing how they had gone into the mountains to hide after the disaster.
Chen Bing didn't think much of it at first, until he learned that these people were not the group gathered together for warmth as he thought, but were all from the same village, and no one had suffered any casualties before or after the earthquake. His expression immediately fell.
Nothing what?
No one what?
What is no loss?
When the earthquake struck, at least a thousand people died in his city! Thousands!
Later, many people died from their injuries, and even in his own caravan, more than a dozen people died and six were injured.
Even if the earthquake wasn't that severe where the people of Yunlu Village were, the ridiculously high temperatures in the next two months were too much for many young and strong people to withstand. How could they have survived without losing a single elderly person or child?
Is this reasonable???
Not only was Chen Bing unable to contain himself, the captain of the guards also looked incredulous.
The audience in the live broadcast room and Lu Xuan pretended to be bystanders and watched the fun silently from behind. After noticing the reactions of the two, they immediately laughed unkindly.
[Even though I had anticipated this development, looking at their expressions I still have to say, this reaction is truly hilarious!]
[The streamer himself is a cheater, and the villagers also use cheats in disguise after they have the streamer. It's all basic operations, just get used to it.]
At the rear of the caravan, Yang judged from their expressions that the crisis was over, and her tense body relaxed slightly.
At the same time, I was a little curious about what those people on the opposite side said. Why did the boss look like he was irritated?
Chen Bing was unwilling to believe Li Tie's nonsense, however...
It didn't take much observation to tell that these people looked better than him, who had the caravan to rely on. It didn't seem like they were lying.
He didn't know how the group of people in front of him did it, but if what Li Tie said was true, then these people were definitely not simple, even if they were not dangerous!
With this understanding, Chen Bing's attitude became obviously more polite.
He knew that the villagers had been living in the mountains and had no idea what was happening outside, so he took the initiative to tell them about their experiences over the past two months.
The Chen family caravan was lucky enough that the city they were staying in did not collapse particularly badly in the earthquake.
Although many people were killed or injured, the crops in the south were harvested early, the grain stores in the city had just received new grain before the earthquake, and there was a big river not far from the city, so the survivors did not have to worry about food and drink.
The real difficulty lies in the process of going out to fetch water in the scorching heat, and how to find a way to survive the long period of high temperatures.
Chen Bing looked gloomy. "Many people managed to survive the earthquake, only to die because of problems getting hot water. Even if there were no problems getting water, they would die because the heat in the house was too great."
Li Tie asked, "How do they withstand the high temperatures over there?"
Chen Bing looked helpless. "How else can we resist? All we can do is build a few thick sheds to block out the sunlight, and then block all the windows in the house to prevent the temperature inside from getting even higher."
But after blocking it, the room became very stuffy and the effect was really not very good. Later, everyone moved to the shady side as much as possible.
Even so, people still die from the heat from time to time.
They were lucky enough, as digging cellars was a common practice in the north, and there happened to be someone in the caravan who knew how to do it. When the temperature became abnormal, Chen Bing had the foresight to have someone dig a large cellar on the shady side of the yard and move in.
Unless necessary, they seldom go out during the day, and their habits seem to have been forced to become those of nocturnal animals.
"Later, we taught other people in the city how to build cellars, which greatly slowed down the rate of death."
Chen Bing looked at the people of Yunlu Village with envy. "You guys are fine. There are trees in the mountains to provide shade. The cave is definitely much cooler than a blue brick house or even a cellar."
Li Tie replied vaguely, "It's quite cool."
The villagers who were listening in the back thought to themselves, it’s not just much cooler, they also have air conditioning and cold drinks. Who would have guessed?
Guard Captain Cheng Yi said, "There are countless ferocious beasts in the deep mountains, and they may not only bring benefits."
Chen Bing clapped his hands, "Really! How could I have forgotten this?"
So, the villagers of Yunlu Village not only had to withstand the scorching heat, but also faced threats from wild beasts, and yet not a single one of them died!?
Chen Bing frantically frantically continued, "The weather finally wasn't as hot half a month ago. I figured the disaster was over, so I took the surviving members of the caravan and left."
Along the way, they met many surviving victims, but their conditions were all extremely bad. The further north they went, the fewer people they met and the more ferocious they were.
Because it was really hot and I was too hungry.
Without water or food, people can do anything when they are in desperate situations.
Chen Bingdao said, "If proper food is gone, just chew on tree bark and eat Guanyin soil. If someone else happens to starve to death..."
The people in Yunlu Village had already whispered about certain things in private, and they understood what he meant almost instantly, and their faces turned heavy.
The speed of barrage comments in the live broadcast room also slowed down significantly, as someone typed in those keywords for them.
Chen Bing continued, "On the way, my caravan encountered several groups of disaster victims who had become bandits. In order to protect people and supplies, the caravan lost several skilled fighters."
Of course, those who robbed them suffered an even worse fate, as they were sent to accompany the dead.
After Chen Bing finished speaking, the air was silent for a moment.
Li Tie sighed inwardly for a moment, then suddenly felt a poke from his back. He suddenly remembered the other purpose of communicating with these people. He coughed twice and asked, "So where are you going next? Brother Chen, are you planning to go home?"
Chen Bing suppressed his aroused emotions and nodded, saying, "We learned from our captors that Yangshan County is still intact and has gathered many disaster victims who came there. Everyone in the caravan is from Yangshan County. Cheng Yi and I are from the county, and the others are from surrounding villages and towns. Since the county is still there, we naturally want to return."
He still had a lot of goods from the caravan stored in his house, but more than two months had passed and he didn't know if they were still there. Were they stolen or damaged in the earthquake?
I can't give up unless I go back to see him.
Chen Bing glanced at Li Tie and the other villagers and warmly invited them, "If you don't have a specific destination, you can come with us. While the county town isn't crowded yet, you might be able to take the opportunity to settle down there."
Li Tie asked, "Is the county town far from here? How long does it take to walk there?"
"Based on our caravan's speed, we should have arrived by tomorrow evening. However, the official road leading to Yangshan County has been severely damaged, and a terrifying, narrow crack has appeared in the ground. The crack is bottomless and looks extremely terrifying."
Chen Bing casually glanced behind Li Tie and said, "We are planning to take a detour, which will definitely take a lot longer, at least two or three days, and at most four or five days."
Even though they had horses and ox carts, it was still like this. The people in Yunlu Village were walking, and the elderly and children walked slowly and lacked physical strength, so their speed was more than twice as slow.
Moreover, it has rained frequently these days, and whether my body can withstand it is also a question.
Most villagers did not realize that Chen Bing had hidden meaning in his words, but there were many smart people in the live broadcast room who guessed at a glance that Chen Bing had ulterior motives.
Sure enough, Chen Bing continued, "There's still space on our ox cart. We can squeeze in enough for the elderly and children. If you're interested, my caravan can take you for a ride as long as you pay a small amount of supplies."
The people of Yunlu Village were in such good condition, he didn't believe that they only had the supplies in the big bags on their backs. It was likely that they were worried that their caravan was not good and hid it somewhere in advance.
There are many wild beasts wandering in the wilderness. It is true that they have a few weapons, but they cannot guarantee that they can protect all the old and weak. His caravan is different.
Apart from him, his wife and children, the others were all skilled workers whom he had hired at high prices in the past.
In addition to parking spaces, it can also help fellow travelers if they really encounter danger.
If the person he met today was another half-dead disaster victim with no ill intentions, he wouldn't mind taking him along for free.
But since God has allowed him to meet such a wealthy group of people, it’s not too much for him to earn some food as a businessman, right?
He didn't plan to ask for more, just a pound of food a day for transportation fare and enough money for food.
In fact, the price is really not expensive.
However, the villagers' expressions were extremely subtle, so subtle that Chen Bing couldn't help but doubt his own judgment.
What's going on? You're so stingy that you can't even afford this little bit of food?
If you spend a few more days in the wild, you may risk your life!
Or was he wrong, and these people were reluctant to give up their food because they really had no more food?
Just as Chen Bing was hesitating whether to give them a discount, Li Tie said, "Well, we need to discuss this."
Chen Bing nodded in understanding. "Of course, you guys can discuss it. We can also take a break and have lunch."
…
In the open space dozens of meters away from the caravan, the villagers surrounded it in several circles inside and outside.
When Li Tie said he wanted to discuss, he didn't really mean to discuss whether to accept these supplies, but to seek the opinions of others, especially Lu Xuan, to confirm whether to go with him.
Some villagers were clearly resistant: "We've already found out what we need to know. After we find out the location of Yangshan County, we can go there on our own. But if we bring a group of strangers with us, won't we be able to take the bus?"
"Exactly. Do we really have to take a bullock cart?"
They knew that the ox cart was not bad, but they had already seen the better suspended bus.
In front of the suspended bus, the ox cart can only stand aside.
More and more villagers nodded in agreement, fearing that the village chief and Lu Xuanzhen would make them ride in the ox cart.
Especially the middle-aged and elderly people, they don’t want to give up the good bus and instead ride on the bumpy ox cart. Just thinking about it makes them suffer.
The audience in the live broadcast room also joined in the fun and expressed their opinions.
Everyone talked for a while and finally looked at Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan's attitude was casual. "Just take the bus if you need to. Don't worry about them. There's no need to put yourself in a difficult position for strangers."
Li Tie said worriedly, "Is it really okay if the bus's existence is exposed? What about when we get to the county town? Should we put it away in advance? If we don't, we'll definitely be targeted."
Lu Xuan said nonchalantly, "The locals in the county may not welcome the disaster victims from outside. If you are too weak, you will inevitably be bullied. It is not a bad thing to show some strength."
Being targeted may not necessarily be a bad thing.
Lu Xuan said: "Our trump card is not just the floating bus, so a little leakage will not have much impact."
In the past half month, there have been more than ten people with special abilities who have awakened successfully. Even if not all of them are of the attack type, a small number of them are of the strengthening type, which is enough to deter ordinary people.
"And..." Lu Xuan glanced through the crowd at the caravan not far away that was also gathered together, eating dry food and chatting, as well as the supplies on their vehicles covered with waterproof cloth. He curled his lips and said, "The goods they brought are quite good."
"Goods?" Everyone was stunned.
…
"We've discussed it." Li Tie pursed his lips and said to Chen Bing who was walking over, trying not to smile.
Chen Bing noticed Li Tie's strange expression, and the expressions of the villagers behind him also seemed to reveal some ill intentions, so he couldn't help but be a little alert.
What's going on? It's just a few pounds of supplies, so why would you turn against him so easily?
I really don't agree. At worst, we can just go our separate ways.
Li Tie seemed oblivious to Chen Bing's alarm and said with a smile, "We think we can travel together. Furthermore, as long as the caravan pays thirty kilograms of cold-repelling herbs, we can even take you a ride. We guarantee we'll reach the county seat within today."
Chen Bing: “…”
Chen Bing: “!???”
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