Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Enthusiastic People

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Three people squeezed into one tent. It was good in every way except that it was too hot.

When he got up the next day, Gu Mengran was almost pickled with sweat. He didn't even have time to eat breakfast. He hurriedly took his grandfather and Liang Zhao to the space to take a cold shower.

As a result, after taking a shower, having breakfast, and packing up the tent and tables, chairs and benches, the three of them were sweating again.

I'm in a slightly better condition and I can bear it if I endure it.

Poor Xiao Huang was lying on the ground, panting with his tongue hanging out, and he had only eaten half of his favorite rice with oil soup from last night. Gu Mengran was worried that he would not be able to stand the high temperature and get a heat stroke, so he put him away before leaving.

Various signs indicated that extremely hot weather had begun. Gu Mengran took off his multi-function watch and measured the temperature. Sure enough, the temperature had reached a staggering 42 degrees Celsius.

Even though he was well prepared, Gu Mengran still felt a little upset.

Because what is scary is not the hot weather, but rushing in the hot weather!

Grandpa’s old man Le is still in the space. Gu Mengran has thought about driving out, but with the current visibility, he would probably fall into the ditch before driving ten meters.

After cleaning up the camp, Gu Mengran gave Liang Zhao and the old man a backpack each. The bags were filled with some snacks and water, mainly for fear of encountering people on the road and to avoid being seen.

After getting ready, the three of them headed eastward in the dim light.

From early morning to dusk, I didn't see a single person on the road. Occasionally, I saw a few scattered buildings on the roadside, but when I got closer, I saw that most of them had collapsed, and even houses that were only two or three stories high were not spared and were reduced to ruins.

Before it was completely dark, the three of them crossed the national highway with sweat on their foreheads, finally leaving the deserted wilderness and officially entering the city.

There seems to be not much difference between the city and the wilderness. There are no bright lights on the streets, no more hustle and bustle of the past, no residents or pedestrians, and it is as quiet as an empty city.

The situation was worse than expected. The three of them went deeper into the city along the main road. The densely packed abandoned vehicles on the road made it impossible to walk. There were only a few high-rise buildings left along the way. The city was almost razed to the ground. Everywhere they passed was a ruin.

As we went deeper into the city, we encountered some survivors one after another. They seemed like puppets whose vitality had been drained away. They were fearless of the thick fog and smoke, and mechanically searched among the ruins. Even the air was filled with a scent of sadness and despair.

After a day of walking, everyone was exhausted and wanted to find a place to rest as soon as possible. However, after walking around the city for more than an hour like headless flies, they couldn't even find a flat open space.

After going around in circles and returning to the main road, Gu Mengran was exhausted. He pointed to the zombie car parked in the middle of the road and said to Liang Zhao and his grandfather, "How about this? These cars should still be drivable. Pick a few and put them in the empty space. We can even set up a tent directly on the vacated space."

The idea is good, Meng Gaoyang agrees, but...

He looked around and smacked his lips, "There are still quite a few people around. Even though we can't see them because of the fog, we should try to find a place that's a little off the beaten track just in case. It's not safe to sleep on the main road."

"But it's really hot. I'm sweating all over and I feel like I'm going to melt." Gu Mengran had a tearful face and raised his hands to fan himself to try to drive away the heat.

Liang Zhao looked up at Gu Mengran and suggested gently, "How about I carry you on my back?"

Gu Mengran refused immediately: "That's not necessary."

"Then keep going. You probably don't want to have your tent curtains opened in the middle of the night, do you?" Liang Zhao lifted up the sweat-soaked hair on his forehead and looked at Gu Mengran with a half-smile.

Gu Mengran paused and walked forward without hesitation: "Go, go, go!"

There were endless cars parked in the middle of the road. Gu Mengran decided to pick a few to take away, so he took out a flashlight and walked around looking at them as if he was visiting a car show.

His attention was drawn to the vehicles and he was completely unaware of the danger that was approaching.

Gu Mengran was still chatting and laughing with his grandfather about which car to choose, when suddenly, a loud shout penetrated the thick fog and echoed in the quiet street.

"——Stop, don't go! Stop now!"

An anxious female voice called out and shouted. Gu Mengran was a man who listened to advice. Although he didn't know who was calling, he stopped immediately when he heard the noise.

He moved the flashlight back, and the faint light illuminated the road. Just taking one more look forward, Gu Mengran's body shuddered suddenly, and goose bumps instantly covered his arms.

The concrete road surface obscured by thick fog was no longer smooth, as if it had been violently split in half by a giant axe. A nearly two-meter-wide crack silently appeared in the middle of the road, and two more steps forward would lead to an abyss that was bottomless.

Gu Mengran stood there in a daze without saying a word. The old man and Liang Zhao didn't understand what was going on. They stretched their necks to take a look, and their hearts suddenly rose to their throats.

"Oh my god, that was so dangerous!" Meng Gaoyang was so frightened that his legs went limp and he backed away repeatedly, patting his chest.

Liang Zhao's eyes darkened slightly. He held his breath and pulled Gu Mengran back two steps.

Keeping a certain distance from the ground fissure, Gu Mengran slowly recovered from the shock. He did not leave immediately. He pointed the flashlight at the thick fog in front of him and shouted at the top of his voice: "Thank you, thank you for reminding us!"

The words fell on deaf ears, and there was no response from the other end of the fog.

Gu Mengran didn't give up yet, and after a few seconds he spoke again: "Hello, we also want to go to the other side, I want to ask where we can go?"

There was complete silence all around, and one could hear everyone's breathing.

Gu Mengran guessed that the other party was unwilling to show up, so he thanked him again and turned around with his grandfather and Liang Zhao, preparing to leave. At this moment, a clear female voice sounded again: "Go around to your right."

Gu Mengran smiled knowingly: "Okay, thank you!"

The crack was a hundred meters long. The three of them walked along the crack and it took them nearly ten minutes to successfully reach the other side.

Thanks to the kind-hearted person who reminded him, he was able to save his life. From the sound, he knew that the person was nearby. Gu Mengran was grateful and wanted to thank the person in person. For this purpose, he specially took out some bread, biscuits and milk from the space as a thank-you gift.

The two ends of the crack were almost the same, and the road was densely packed with vehicles. Looking for someone with a flashlight was like looking for a needle in a haystack. The three of them could only shout loudly, hoping that the person would respond.

It was not known whether he had already left or did not want to show up. Even though the three of them shouted at the top of their lungs, there was no sound on the quiet road.

"Forget it."

Tired and hot, Meng Gaoyang wiped the sweat off his face and panted to the two people, "I think they have already left. Don't waste your energy. We still have a long way to go tomorrow. Let's find a place to rest quickly."

The sweat stung his eyes, and Gu Mengran lifted his shirt to wipe his face, "Okay, let's continue--"

“Bang!”

A muffled sound suddenly came from the front left, as if something heavy had fallen to the ground.

Liang Zhao reacted the fastest. He immediately snatched the flashlight from Gu Mengran's hand and walked quickly towards the source of the sound.

Gu Mengran exchanged a glance with his grandfather and followed closely behind Liang Zhao.

The distance was not far, and in less than a minute, Liang Zhao aimed his flashlight at the gap between the two cars.

A white paint bucket was lying on the wet ground, with transparent liquid still flowing out of the bucket. You didn't need to look closely to tell from the smell that the bucket was filled with gasoline.

As his sight followed the light source, Gu Mengran held his breath nervously. Although he had already guessed it, he was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of a figure in the darkness, and his heart almost stopped beating.

A young girl with a ponytail was hiding behind a car. When the flashlight swept over her, she was obviously panicked for a moment, holding the iron rod in her hand high up, like a stressed cat, in a completely defensive posture.

The girl pointed the iron rod at Liang Zhao, but her arms were shaking violently. As if she knew she was not strong enough, she widened her eyes and tried to drive away the enemy with a loud voice: "Stop! Don't come over here, I will not be polite if you come over again!"

"Don't be afraid, little sister," Gu Mengran grabbed Liang Zhao's arm and stuck his head out. Worried about scaring the girl, he tried his best to lower his voice and soothe her: "We are not bad people. We came from the opposite side. Were you the one who reminded us just now?"

The girl did not relax, her eyes became more alert, "I'm reminding you with good intentions, what do you want to do? I don't have any food or valuables on me, you better leave quickly!"

"Girl, you really misunderstood. We are just passing by and came to thank you." Meng Gaoyang smiled and tried to look as friendly as possible.

To make his words more truthful, Gu Mengran quickly picked up the bread and said to the girl with a smile, "Look, little sister, we are still carrying gifts. We are really not bad people."

"Ding-bell-clang--"

The iron rod fell to the ground with a thud. The girl felt relieved and leaned against the car and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, it's a bit chaotic after the earthquake. I, I..."

Her embarrassment was written all over her face, and Gu Mengran waved his hands to comfort her: "It's okay, it's okay. Times are different now. It's right for you to be cautious when you go out as a girl."

Seeing that her attitude had softened, Gu Mengran handed over the thank-you gift he had prepared in advance.

After the earthquake, resources were scarce and Wei Qianlan immediately realized the importance of food.

The other party was grateful and generous, and he really didn't seem like a vicious and evil person. Her tense nerves gradually relaxed, she took it with both hands and thanked him sincerely: "Thank you, my name is Wei Qianlan."

"Gu Mengran, this is my grandpa Meng Gaoyang, and this is me and my brother Liang Zhao." Ignoring Liang Zhao's burning gaze, Gu Mengran introduced them seriously.

As time went by, the solemn atmosphere became relaxed and casual.

After carefully examining the three people, Wei Qianlan picked up the paint bucket that had fallen to the ground and asked softly, "You are not locals, are you? Your accent doesn't sound like it."

"Yes, we are from Shaozhou." Gu Mengran said calmly.

Shaozhou is very close to Linhuai. Wei Qianlan nodded and asked, "What's the situation there? Is there no rescue?"

"The situation is similar to yours. All the houses collapsed and countless people were killed and injured. We came here without waiting for rescue. We thought there was rescue in Linhuai, but the result..." Gu Mengran didn't finish his words and shook his head helplessly.

Rescue, in fact, Gu Mengran knew it best.

In the past life, most cities never received rescue. In the thick fog and high temperature, planes could not fly and cars could not drive. The survivors who survived the earthquake were once again trapped in a steel cage. If they wanted to survive, they could only save themselves.

Wei Qianlan didn't know what he was thinking. After hearing this, she pursed her lips and remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, "So, do you plan to stay here?"

Staying here would mean certain death, and only by going to higher altitudes could there be a glimmer of hope.

Gu Mengran looked at Wei Qianlan's sparkling eyes and felt a little sorry for her. He couldn't help but suggest, "We won't stay here. We plan to continue upstream and visit other cities. How about you? Do you want to join us?"

His rare initiative was rejected. Wei Qianlan smiled and shook her head: "No, I'm not alone. I have family and I can't leave for the time being."