Chapter 24 Dilemma
The piercing sound of horns echoed throughout the gas station, and several voice-activated light-sensitive streetlights slowly lit up in response, so the night sky over the gas station was no longer pitch black.
Jiang Rong climbed to the back of the forklift and activated the thermal imaging function on his night vision goggles. From this vantage point, he could see far; any living person or mutated animal nearby would be caught in the thermal imaging.
After waiting for a while, Jiang Rong actually saw a living person.
The door of a house by the roadside slowly opened, and several people cautiously peeked out. Jiang Rong couldn't see their faces clearly, so she could only raise her voice and call out during the intervals between car horns, "Chu Qiang—Chu Qiang—Qiangzi, are you there?"
He shouted several times, but whether his voice was too soft or the loudspeaker was too loud, the people stood at a distance, whispering among themselves, too afraid to approach. At this moment, Jiang Rong regretted it a little; he should have prepared a megaphone and hung it in the car to play the message on a high-pitched loop.
However, having people around was always a good thing; Jiang Rong could ask them about Chu Qiang's whereabouts. Just as Jiang Rong was walking towards the group, the door of a nearby house opened, and a tall, elderly man stepped out. Even without night-vision goggles, Jiang Rong could clearly see the old man's face. He quickened his pace: "Uncle Chu!"
Uncle Chu must have been having a hard time lately. The refined old man was unshaven, his clothes were dirty, and his eyes were bloodshot. The moment he saw Jiang Rong's face, the confusion and doubt in his eyes turned into disbelief, and a huge wave of joy swept over the old man, causing him to tremble uncontrollably. After taking two steps forward, Uncle Chu finally managed a hoarse reply: "Xiao Rong? Is it Xiao Rong?"
Jiang Rong quickly stepped forward: "It's me, it's me, Uncle. I've come to take you home."
Before Jiang Rong could even grasp Uncle Chu's hands, Jiang Xiaoheng had already overtaken him from behind. His short legs moved swiftly, and with a "clatter, clatter, clatter" of footsteps, Jiang Xiaoheng happily threw himself into Uncle Chu's arms: "Grandpa~ I missed you so much!"
Uncle Chu reached out and hugged the child's tender body. He squatted down and buried his face in Jiang Xiaoheng's shoulder: "Grandpa, Grandpa missed you too. Baby, how have you all been lately?" His voice was already choked with emotion as he spoke.
Jiang Rong looked around but didn't see Chu Qiang and his aunt. "Uncle, where are Aunt and Qiangzi?"
Uncle Chu turned his head away and wiped his tears with the back of his hand, then stood up with Jiang Xiaoheng in his arms: "Qiangzi is inside, come with me."
Jiang Rong took two steps toward Uncle Chu, then suddenly remembered something and stopped: "Uncle, wait for me a moment."
Within days of the major crisis, social order completely collapsed, and some people would stop at nothing to survive. Jiang Rong had no intention of harming anyone, but he didn't want to be harmed either. He returned to his car and took out a small first-aid kit and backpack from the trunk. After locking the car and forklift, he tossed two seeds nearby.
Those were seeds from wild brambles he had picked from the mountain. The mutated seeds grew rapidly when exposed to wood-type abilities, and soon they completely surrounded the two vehicles. The brambles were covered in sharp thorns; anyone who accidentally touched them would surely suffer.
After protecting his belongings, Jiang Rong reunited with Uncle Chu. He observed the expressions of the group that had come out first; some were resentful, some were envious, and others were indifferent. Their behavior made Jiang Rong feel that his actions were correct; at least these people would not dare to act rashly because of his status as a superhuman.
Uncle Chu was so excited he could hardly speak: "Xiao Rong, you, you're a superhuman?"
Jiang Rong smiled and nodded: "Yes, he has awakened the wood-type ability. Let's go, Uncle, let's go see Chu Qiang."
The houses near the gas station were all laid out similarly, with shops on the first floor and living quarters on the second. Upon entering, Jiang Rong saw a dozen or so strange-looking objects scattered haphazardly in the living room, resembling car parts. A brazier sat in the center of the living room, still containing embers, making the already stuffy house even hotter.
In one corner of the living room, a cloth was stretched across the floor, and in front of it lay two figures, an elderly woman and a young girl. Upon closer inspection, the older woman was none other than Aunt Chu, her head wrapped in a blood-stained bandage, her face sallow, still unconscious. The younger woman was a teenage girl, who appeared to be still in school.
Standing next to the old man and the young man was a slightly plump woman, who looked to be in her forties. She smiled at Jiang Rong when she saw her come in.
Uncle Chu introduced, "This is Dr. Wang Chunlan, and the one sleeping is her daughter, Leilei. We met on the road and have been looking out for each other all the way to where we are today."
Jiang Rong nodded to Wang Chunlan: "Dr. Wang." After a pause, he looked at Aunt Chu: "Aunt, what's wrong? And where's Qiangzi?"
Wang Chunlan carefully pulled back the cloth behind her: "Chu Qiang is here."
Through the dim firelight, Jiang Rong could make out the appearance of the person lying inside. His entire body was swollen, making his features unrecognizable. He was only wearing shorts, and the exposed skin was bluish-purple, looking incredibly gruesome. His left leg, in particular, was swollen to the size of a bucket, the skin almost translucent from being stretched.
Jiang Rong felt a chill run down her spine and asked incredulously, "This, this is Qiangzi? What happened to him?"
Uncle Chu shook his head heavily: "What a tragedy..."
After losing contact with Jiang Rong, Chu Qiang turned off the highway and onto the national road. Quite a few people followed him off the highway, so they traveled together.
Chu Qiang was a righteous person. At first, he was quite optimistic and thought he would get home soon. He didn't hesitate to share his supplies with his companions, so everyone got along well at first.
However, the road ahead was not smooth sailing. Traffic jams, robbers, and mutated plants and animals that attacked were impossible to guard against. Their speed slowed, their supplies dwindled, and their anxiety grew.
A few days ago, Chu Qiang drove over the grass by the roadside of a gas station to avoid an obstacle. Little did he know that it was a mutated grass. When the car drove over it, the grass blades stood up and punctured the tires, scratched the chassis, and punctured the fuel tank.
Chu Qiang's car broke down completely after traveling a few hundred meters, and the two cars following him also lost power and became immobile. This mistake resulted in the loss of three vehicles for the convoy and caused dissatisfaction among the convoy members towards Chu Qiang.
To make up for the losses to the convoy, Chu Qiang braved the high temperature to search for any cars that could still be driven by the roadside, only to be stung by a wasp. Who would have thought that such a small wasp could be so venomous?
Chu Qiang was initially conscious, but his wound was burning with pain. Later, his entire leg began to swell, and the swelling gradually spread throughout his body. If Chu Qiang hadn't been an enhanced ability user, he probably would have died long ago.
Instead of helping Chu Qiang's family, the others took advantage of their misfortune and robbed them. Aside from Chunlan and her daughter, the rest stole supplies from the trunk of Chu Qiang's car and forced them into another building. It was during the argument with these people that Chu's aunt was pushed and injured her head.
Realizing these people were unreliable, while he was still conscious, Chu Qiang took out the car radio and slowly adjusted it. He repeatedly sent out distress signals, hoping someone would hear his cries for help and come to their aid.
After his car battery died, he started using batteries from other vehicles. He continued until the poison took effect, and he collapsed...
Uncle Chu wept bitterly: "What a tragedy! If we hadn't taken them with us, we would have been home long ago, and Qiangzi and his wife wouldn't have had to suffer like this."
Jiang Rong wanted to drag Shi Shan and San Xi from the next building out and beat them up. However, he had more important things to do now. He looked at Wang Chunlan seriously and asked, "Dr. Wang, how is Chu Qiang's injury now? Is there any hope for him?"
Wang Chunlan's beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly: "The mutated wasp's venom is too strong. I have no medicine, so I can only use conventional methods to reduce its inflammation."
Jiang Rong handed over the small medicine box: "Could you take a look? Is there any usable medicine in here?"
Wang Chunlan opened the medicine box, glanced inside, and looked up in surprise: "So many medicines!"
Jiang Rong urged her, "Do you see if there's any medicine you can use?" He had thought that Chu Qiang and the others might get hurt when he came out, so he brought some common medicines with him. He wondered if there were any medicines that could help with the symptoms.
Wang Chunlan rummaged around for a while and pulled out a package: "I can only say that we should try it first. The mutated wasps are more venomous than before, so we're not sure if it will work."
Jiang Xiaoheng couldn't understand what the adults were saying. He squatted down in front of Aunt Chu and reached out his little hand to stroke her face: "Grandma, it's me, Xiaoheng. I've come to take you home. Wake up..."
Seeing that Aunt Chu was still asleep, Jiang Xiaoheng opened his backpack and placed the still-cool Leleduo (a type of Chinese snack) next to her head. Whenever he slept in late at the Chu family home, his grandparents would always wake him up on time if they put Leleduo next to his pillow.
Jiang Xiaoheng plopped down next to Aunt Chu and stared at her face. He had already released Lele a lot of food. When would Grandma find out?
Author's Note:
The First Chapter of the Apocalypse: Kill the Holy Mother First.
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