Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Crow's Mouth

*

After having a rare good sleep with the air conditioner on, Gu Mengran got up early the next day to wash up, and then refilled the two cars with gasoline while everyone was still asleep.

The fuel consumption is very high when the air conditioner is on at idling speed. It’s okay for off-road vehicles, but it’s terrible for buses.

There was plenty of space and fuel, but Gu Mengran was still uneasy because he could only go out but not in. No matter what, he still had to pay more attention on the road to see if there was a gas station where he could refill some fuel.

"Ouch, I'm tired."

After filling up the bus with gas and checking the supplies in the trunk, Gu Mengran walked back, stretching his back lazily.

The two vehicles were five or six meters apart, blocked by thick fog, so they could hardly see each other. But at this moment, as he walked from the rear of the bus to the front, the outline of the off-road vehicle was vaguely visible, and a blurry figure suddenly appeared in the gray fog.

The mist faded, and Gu Mengran saw Liang Zhao standing in front of the car door.

But... not much, because Gu Mengran recognized him by his figure.

"Do you feel it, Liang Zhao?" Gu Mengran walked quickly to Liang Zhao's side and shrugged proudly, "The fog has faded. I didn't fool you, did I?"

Liang Zhao looked around, his eyes stopped at the top of Gu Mengran's head, and he hummed softly, "It is indeed a little lighter than yesterday, but the visibility is still very low."

"There's nothing we can do. The fog is so thick that it won't dissipate in a short time."

Gu Mengran sighed, raised his eyes and looked at Liang Zhao for a moment, then asked hesitantly, "Can you do it? I'm still a little worried."

None of the three bosses could drive a truck. Only Liang Zhao had worked in a car repair shop for a period of time, so he had some experience in driving a truck.

With extremely low visibility and unfamiliar vehicles, Gu Mengran thought that it was okay for him to be in the car. In case of an accident, he could still get the people into the space in time. At least he had a trump card in his hand.

But visibility was too low, and there were a group of children on board. It was too dangerous to drive the bus alone. They needed another car to explore the way, and Gu Mengran, who had the space, was the best candidate for the scouting driver.

Liang Zhaochi didn't answer. Gu Mengran withdrew his wandering thoughts and looked at him in confusion.

He raised his head unintentionally, and the hand that was supposed to fall on his head covered Gu Mengran's eyes.

The other party seemed surprised as well, his fingertips trembled slightly, and then Gu Mengran felt the rough palms scratching his skin, and a low and hoarse voice rang in his ears: "Your future is unknown, and mine is you. We advance and retreat together, live and die together."

Live and die together...Does the last life count?

His heart felt like it was pricked by a needle, and Gu Mengran's nose felt sour. Before he could figure out why Liang Zhao said that, a light cough disturbed his surging emotions.

The hand covering his eyes was removed in time, and Gu Mengran regained his sight. He opened his eyes and saw his grandfather, who was clinging to the rear window with his face almost squeezed out of shape, but still insisting on gossiping.

Like a funny comedian, Gu Mengran was amused by him and did not feel embarrassed. He took out two walkie-talkies and handed one to Liang Zhao, pretending to be relaxed and said, "What's the use of life and death? Slow down a little, keep it at 20 to 30 mph. If the car flips over, just think of it as a fall."

"Let's go, let's get in the car, eat and turn on the air conditioner, and then we'll set off when they wake up."

*

Half an hour later, the off-road vehicle parked on the side of the road moved slowly, and then the bus kept a safe distance of two or three meters from it, carrying a car full of laughter and joy, driving steadily and slowly into the thick fog.

Traveling during the day and resting at night, it takes more than a week to walk.

The fog became lighter day by day, visibility gradually improved, and the speed of the car from 30 mph slowly increased to 50 or 60 mph. It seemed that everything was going in the right direction, but the rapidly rising temperature reminded Gu Mengran all the time that the situation was not good.

“Bang, bang, bang, bang!”

The off-road vehicle moved forward steadily, and the stuffy heat accumulated, turning the car compartment into an oven.

Gu Mengran held the steering wheel and focused on the road ahead, sweat dripping silently from his forehead, and his T-shirt was soaked around his neck. The co-pilot next to him, his face flushed, with sweat on his forehead, hit the air conditioner vents repeatedly, bang bang bang, bang bang, bang bang.

Obviously getting anxious due to the heat, he hit her harder and harder, complaining as he slapped her: "What kind of rubbish is this? How can it blow hot air? Do you think we're not hot enough? Why don't you add some more heat?"

Gu Mengran was amused by his grandfather. He reached out and took a tissue to wipe his sweat, and exhaled heavily. "It's useless, grandpa. It's not a TV. Just tap it. I guess the compressor is overheating and can't blow out cold air."

"What should we do? If we continue like this, we will both get heatstroke." Meng Gaoyang was undecided and decisively turned his gaze to Gu Mengran.

What to do? Gu Mengran didn't know what to do.

The air conditioner was malfunctioning, sometimes blowing cold air and sometimes blowing hot air. My back, which was in contact with the seat, was all sweaty, just like being in a steam room. My chest was so stuffy that I couldn't breathe and my lungs felt like they were on fire.

The cooling patch on my forehead was warm and I couldn't feel any coolness. Fortunately, the neck fan was still working and the air conditioner in the car was still able to blow out air, whether hot or cold, at least the air in the car was flowing.

I have to be patient. It's 1:30 in the afternoon and the temperature outside is getting higher. I have to choose a cooler time to fix the air conditioner.

Gu Mengran failed to offer a solution, so the hot-tempered old man chose to solve the problem himself. He repeatedly twisted the temperature control button with his left hand and slapped the air outlet with his right hand, trying to fix the air conditioner with luck and brute force.

The sound of "bang bang bang" echoed in the carriage. Gu Mengran was frightened and could not help but remind him: "Grandpa, don't be too violent. What if the wind blows and you get killed--"

Before he could finish his words, the carriage suddenly became quiet.

The old man stopped filming. The air outlet that was blowing air out with a hissing sound was motionless, and there was no longer a trace of breeze.

Gu Mengran: "Okay, okay, I'll tell you, you see——"

"Crow's mouth!" The old man took the initiative.

Gu Mengran laughed out loud, "Okay, I'll call you a crow. Now what shall we do?"

The old man didn't say anything, but silently picked up the walkie-talkie on his thigh and called the car behind him: "Liang Zhao, Liang Zhao, get ready to pull over, pull over."

"Zizi, got it!"

A minute later, two cars stopped on the side of the road one after the other.

The black faded away, and the mist in the air turned back to its original yellow color of dead leaves. The concentration was significantly reduced, and the mist drifting in the wind was like a veil wrapping the earth. Looking into the distance, it was like being in a fairyland.

As the car door opened, a wave of heat hit his face. Gu Mengran was caught off guard and took a mouthful of hot air. He almost swore on the spot.

Paradise? It's more like hell, or the ninth level, the kind that's like being in a frying pan.

The temperature soared to 48℃ and is about to break the 50 mark.

After getting out of the car and taking a few steps, Gu Mengran felt that all the moisture in his body was almost evaporated, not to mention stopping on the side of the road to repair the car in the high temperature.

Visibility was improving, and the off-road vehicle was no longer necessary. Gu Mengran only took a minute or two to think about it, and immediately decided to abandon the off-road vehicle that had accompanied them all the way.

Liang Zhao got off the bus to help, and the three of them pumped out the gasoline from the tank and moved the supplies out. They moved the supplies to the bus as quickly as possible, carrying large and small bags, just like they were fleeing.

The bus was carrying a group of children, and the air conditioning was not turned on very low. However, the moment he got on the bus, the refreshing coolness enveloped his body, and Gu Mengran suddenly felt like he had crawled out of hell.

The bus has more than 30 seats, so two more people wouldn't be a big deal. But giving up the SUV also meant that they could only rest in the same bus with teachers and children at night.

We are no longer strangers, and a week of getting along is enough to build trust.

While they were moving their luggage downstairs, the two teachers were busy upstairs, gradually moving the children to the back half of the carriage, using the door as the dividing line, leaving the front seats for them.

Gu Mengran liked this sense of boundaries. After getting on the bus, he greeted the two teachers, took out the mints he had prepared in advance, and gave two to each child.

The bus restarted and drove smoothly along the national highway.

Still sweating, Gu Mengran walked back to the first row and sat down by the window.

The hazy yellow fog outside the window condensed into a ball as the vehicles moved. The asphalt road gleamed with silver light. The scalding heat wave seemed to have a real texture, mixed with the fog, surging and jumping on the road, filled with a suffocating burning sensation.

Gu Mengran raised his chin and looked sideways out the window, his brows tightly knitted together.

It was a mistake. We left too hastily. We should have found a few more vehicles before we set out. The air conditioner was turned on day and night. Even the most durable off-road vehicle stopped working. How long can the bus last?

An air conditioning failure is a minor matter. However, if a bus breaks down in a remote place, leaving a group of children hiking in a "sauna", the consequences are unimaginable.

Now that visibility has been restored, how about finding a chance to bring them aboard? But there have been frequent aftershocks these days, and Huangjiang is more dangerous than land at this time.

Whether by land or water, no road is easy to travel.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt, and Gu Mengran grabbed his hair irritably.

"What's wrong?"

Before he took his hands off his head, a very soft question suddenly came from the front. Gu Mengran raised his eyes slightly and met Liang Zhao's eyes through the glass in the rearview mirror.

The first row was still some distance from the driver's seat. Gu Mengran wanted to discuss it with Liang Zhao, but he was worried that others would hear him and make everyone panic. After thinking for a while, he shook his head and said, "No, nothing."

Liang Zhao seemed to have guessed what he was thinking. He lowered his voice deliberately so that only the two of them could hear, and said, "Are you worried that the car might break down on the road?"

"Is it that obvious?"

Gu Mengran looked at him in surprise, stood up slowly, moved quietly to the back of the driver's seat, and whispered his concerns to Liang Zhao: "It's too hot. I don't know how long the bus can last. Fengyi... I don't dare to take risks with Fengyi. Liang Zhao, do you think we should stop and find a safe place to rest for a while?"

The car was not going very fast. Liang Zhao stared at the road ahead, but his attention was all focused on what was behind him.

After listening carefully to his concerns and confusion, Liang Zhao did not answer immediately, but asked softly, "Will the temperature continue to rise? Or is it the highest temperature now?"

"It will continue to rise." Gu Mengran said without hesitation.

Liang Zhao nodded thoughtfully, tapping the steering wheel twice with his fingertips. "It seems that we need to stop and rest for a while. We don't have a spare vehicle, and it will be very troublesome if the car breaks down on the road. And the children are a little tired after driving for a week, so it's too early to stop and rest."

"Of course, the most important reason," Liang Zhao paused and glanced at Gu Mengran through the rearview mirror, "It's been a week, and our gasoline and food are almost used up. Should we find a chance to 'replenish' some?"

Yinan is far away, so they took the road along the river, which took a long detour. With the current route and speed, it may take more than a month to complete the journey.

You can't get fat in one go. Gu Mengran thought about it and nodded seriously, "I have overlooked many problems. You are right. We just passed Wanyang yesterday afternoon, right? Where should we go for a temporary rest? The nearest city..."

There were paper maps and self-made route maps in the space, but there were many people in the carriage and Gu Mengran did not dare to take them out casually. He held his chin with his hand and pondered carefully.

Not being familiar with the area, he thought for a long time but still couldn't figure it out.

Seeing this, Liang Zhao reminded him warmly: "Jincheng, there is also Shancheng. Go back to your seat first, this section of the road is a bit bumpy, be careful not to fall."

Gu Mengran stayed where he was, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, "It's okay to discuss it. I believe in your driving skills. As long as there's nothing wrong with the car, you won't let me fall—"

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a loud bang came from under the bus, and the bus shook violently. The steering wheel was almost instantly out of control, and the bus was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins, drifting uncontrollably toward the mountain in front of it on the right.

Fortunately, the car was not going too fast. Liang Zhao repeatedly pressed the brake pedal with his right foot and quickly turned the steering wheel to the left with both hands to correct the deviation in time.

The incident happened within just a few tens of seconds, and the bus slowly and steadily stopped by the roadside.

The carriage was in chaos. The sleeping children were awakened by the violent shaking. Some of the children were frightened and burst into tears.

Gu Mengran staggered and fell onto the back of the chair, stunned for a while until Liang Zhao reached out his hand to him. Only then did he, with the help of Liang Zhao, stand up in shock.

"What happened? What exploded?" His head was buzzing and Gu Mengran was unable to react for a moment.

Liang Zhao pulled the handbrake and stood up from his seat, frowning slightly, "It should be a flat tire."

Gu Mengran: …

No, has it really become a crow's mouth?