The raindrops fell on the ground, splashing white mist.
The blackened soil was already muddy, and the low-lying places were full of water.
Thelma and his companions drove a tattered utility vehicle through the houses that had been abandoned for an unknown number of years.
"Damn, I can't see the road!" Selma stared ahead and tapped the steering wheel.
The car's wipers worked hard, but only kept the windshield clear for a second.
"Find a place to take shelter from the rain." Sandro, who was in the passenger seat, suggested, "It's not like you don't know that there will always be all kinds of extreme weather in the wasteland, and it's still summer."
Their four-person team is a ruin hunter who lives in the wasteland. They often come and go here, and they are no strangers to similar situations.
"Okay." Selma sighed, "I thought I could go to the river tonight and go back to the city tomorrow morning."
Although you don't have to worry about a car accident no matter how you drive in the North Shore Wasteland, with the population and vehicle density here, even if it rains heavily and the visibility is extremely low, it is still a low probability to hit the same kind, but as an "intermediate" Hunter", Thelma knew very well that the danger was not there.
In this extreme weather, the North Shore Wasteland itself means trouble.
You never know if there will be a sudden collapse of the ground ahead, how deep the seemingly insignificant low-lying place is, and in the pouring rain, your car may disappear while driving, everyone Drowned in rain-filled Old World culverts or buried passing rivers.
In addition to these, there are natural disasters such as landslides and mudslides.
With the help of the headlights, Selma could barely see the surroundings.
It belongs to the suburbs of the old world, but at that time, many people with certain wealth in the Red River area liked to live in this kind of place. The single-family house was equipped with lawns and gardens, so at a glance, Selma saw a lot of buildings, some of them It has collapsed, and some are still well-preserved, only covered with snake-like green vines.
The trees, weeds, and houses all gave the impression of being crumbling under the dim sky and the violent wind and rain.
Selma followed her memory and drove the vehicle to a higher ground.
Along the way, they have been looking for a place to shelter from the rain, after all, they can't always stay in the car, which will increase energy consumption, and they only have a barrel of gasoline left.
As experienced relic hunters, Selma and Sandro knew that houses that sheltered from the rain could not be chosen casually. Although these buildings left over from the old world seem to be in good condition, they seem to be able to stand for many years, but Some of them were already in a state of dilapidation, and after being shrouded in wind and rain for a few hours, they might collapse directly.
I don't know how many relic hunters thought they had found a safe place to shelter from the wind and rain, so they relaxed their vigilance and were buried alive under masonry, wood and cement.
The houses were swept away like this, and Sandro pointed to the place that looked the highest and said:
"That building seems to be okay. The terrain is the best, and there is no major damage. It is that there are more snakes and vines. Aedes likes this kind of place the most."
"We have insect repellent." Denise, who was sitting in the back row, responded with a smile.
They quickly unified their opinions, and let the vehicle drive from the back to the house on the highest ground under the dark sky and the violent wind and rain.
The broken and muddy road caused them a lot of obstacles. Fortunately, there was no deep water, so there was no need to detour.
After about ten minutes, they reached their destination and turned to the front of the house.
Suddenly, Thelma and Sandro's eyelids jumped at the same time.
In that house, there is a yellowish light radiating out, rendering it out!
"Other relic hunters?" Denise also saw this scene.
This is the most plausible inference for the current situation:
The other ruin hunters also chose a higher place to hide because of the violent storm.
They didn't think about whether the house in front of them was still inhabited, because it was impossible - the farmland in the surrounding area was seriously polluted, and the food grown was simply uneatable. In other words, a settlement of a certain scale could not be formed nearby. Hunting can only feed a few people, but in the face of natural disasters, in the face of "unintentional", in the face of deformed creatures, and in the face of robbers, it is very difficult for a few people to resist.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that this is just a temporary hut for some hunters.
"Do you still want to go?" Sandro asked in a deep voice.
It's not necessarily a good thing to meet your peers in the North Shore Wasteland, it's the same for both parties.
Selma was about to answer, but she had already seen the corresponding situation.
The rusted iron fence gate of the house in front of it was open; the overgrown garden was wheeled over and over to make a relatively smooth road; outside the main building, there was a stone roof sheltering from the rain, and a gray-green jeep and a jeep were parked. A dark black off-road vehicle; in the foyer, a fire rose up, with a portable stainless steel round pot on it, cooking something; around the fire, there were six people, three men and three women.
Two of them were in charge of vigilance, two of them looked after the fire, and the other two shrunk on the chairs and single sofas they had brought in, and hurry up to sleep.
What Thelma, Sandro and others are most concerned about is not the number of each other, but what weapons they are carrying.
"Short neck"... Assault rifle... "United 202"... Quickly confirming the situation in this regard, Selma said with consideration:
"It's not very good to go straight like this. If they take a few cold shots while we go down and blow our tires, it will be dangerous."
Such weather, such a road, once a tire blows out, the consequences are unimaginable.
"Well, it's not too late to say hello to Liangliang muscles in the past." Sandro agreed.
Denise followed up:
"Maybe we can exchange useful information."
Selma, who was supported by his companions, drove the car to the gate of the house, and stopped when the patroller of the opposite Ruins Hunter team aimed at it.
"Where did you come from?" Selma asked loudly, pressing down the car window.
"The first city!" Shang Jianyao grabbed ahead of his companions and responded with a louder voice than the other, "How about you?"
It was the "Old Tune Group", Han Wanghuo and Zeng Duo, who had successfully escaped from the first city while hiding from the rain to prepare dinner. At this time, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao were tending the fire and heating the cans. While patrolling around in the morning, Han Wanghuo and Zeng Duo, who had been on the alert for more than a day and had been running around for more than a day, seized the time to rest.
As for Gnavar, he is also idle, exploring every floor and every room of this house to see what books, newspapers and materials from the old world can be found.
"Heford, Bei'an." Selma's voice penetrated the wind and rain and penetrated into the ears of Jiang Baimian and others.
North Anherford refers to an area of this wasteland on the north bank of the Red River, derived from similar old world names.
This regional division has no clear boundaries and is a purely empirical product.
Before Shang Jianyao and the others responded, Selma shouted again:
"Can we have a chat?"
"You can park your car over there and come over." Shang Jianyao stood up and pointed to a place on the side of the house.
From there to the foyer, there is shelter from the rain along the way.
Thelma seemed to be stable, but he drove the car carefully to the predetermined position. Then, they each took their weapons and pushed the door down.
One of them was using the "Tronge" assault rifle produced by "First City", one was carrying a "Sour Orange" submachine gun, one was carrying a portable light machine gun, and the other was carrying a "Hawkeye" sniper rifle.
This is one of the reasons why they are always treated kindly.
Before they approached the hall, they smelled the strong aroma of food at the same time, only to feel that the breath penetrated into the heart through the lungs.
"Canned beef roast with potatoes... This material is very rich..." Selma and the others cheered up and walked to the hall.
With the light of the fire, they finally saw the appearance of Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao and others.
The Grey Man... Genetically modified? A bit of background... At the same time when the eyes lit up, many thoughts flashed through Selma's mind.
As an experienced relic hunter, he and his companions had dealt with members of the "White Knights" and knew the various manifestations of genetic improvement, and Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian perfectly matched the corresponding characteristics.
This made Selma and the others even more dignified.
"You came from Herford, North An?" Jiang Baimian, who was sitting cross-legged by the fire, raised his head and asked.
Zeng Duo's early spring town is in that area.
"Yes, the pollution there is relatively not that serious, and it can stay for a long time..." When Selma replied, she felt the aroma of roast beef poured into her mind one after another, almost disturbing her thinking.
They have been taking risks in the North Shore wasteland for nearly two weeks, and they have long been tired of eating dry food and wild game with very woody meat and strange taste.
Jiang Baimian did not get up to say hello, but glanced at them and said with a smile:
"If you don't mind, you can eat together.
"Of course, I can't give you beef and potatoes, which belong to my companions, but you are allowed to dip your dry food in the soup."
Selma, Sandro, and the others looked at each other and felt that this was not a bad thing.
The other party also wants to eat these foods, so it's enough that you and others don't relax their vigilance.
Sandro and Denise each carried their weapons, and Selma and Tolle sat by the fire when they were prepared for an accident.
"How's the situation at Bei'an Heford?" Jiang Baimian asked.
Selma recalled for a moment and said:
"It's no different from before, that is, a certain army in the 'First City' seems to be doing a drill. Once it gets close to certain places, it will encounter them and can't go any further."
Is that so... Jiang Baimian turned his body sideways and looked at Zeng Duo on the single sofa beside him.
The lady has opened her eyes.
Selma took the opportunity to ask:
"What's going on in town lately?"
Jiang Baimian pondered for a few seconds, and then said "um":
"The 'Hand of Order' is chasing down a group of people, making the city stormy."