Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 62: tunnel

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Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Long Yuehong have all heard Bai Chen mention the distorted mosquito swarm and know how dangerous it is to unprepared humans:

They are always in a lot of activity, and their flight speed is not slow;

They can tolerate high and low temperatures to a certain extent;

They are relatively small in size and are difficult to be hit by bullets. Even if they encounter sharpshooters, or their own groups are too densely distributed, they will not be afraid of loss because of the large number. The bullets and ordinary bombs that a team can carry cannot compete with this kind of bullets. Mosquito population ratio;

They usually live on plant sap and crave blood. They have both strong survivability and extremely terrifying aggression;

They have no brains, no fear, even if the population loses more than half, they will come one after another for blood;

Their bites come with toxins that can paralyze human and animal bodies and slow thinking;

Their mouthparts are longer, stiffer, and sharper than undistorted mosquitoes, allowing them to penetrate clothing fibers and insert into target skin...

For many relic hunters and wilderness wanderers, this is the tide of hell that can devour lives. Once encountered, even if there are many people, it is difficult to escape.

Of course, as one of the most ferocious creatures on the dirt, it is not impossible for humans to fight against such distorted mosquitoes, but all methods have to rely on relatively special equipment, such as flamethrowers, such as special mosquito repellent spray guns , for example, the "weed killer" of "Panga", for example, a complete set of biochemical clothing that can even prevent poisonous gases, for example, enough incendiary bombs, for example, power armor with immature technology, for example, can explode The core creates a large area of high temperature, a small number of terror bombs from the old world...

It's a pity that the "Old Tune Group" doesn't have any of these things.

However, it is fortunate that the jeep they drive is well sealed, and it is impossible for the distorted mosquito swarm to forcibly break in. Moreover, this car is an electric type, and it is not afraid of the mosquito swarm to block the exhaust pipe and other places. At the same time, The mouthparts of the distorted mosquito are not strong enough to deflate the rubber tires.

This is indeed good news for Jiang Baimian and others, but there are also bad things:

The ventilation system either had to be actively shut down or waited to be blocked by the distorted mosquito swarm.

In this way, the air quality in the car will decrease rapidly until it becomes unbearable. Before that, Shang Jianyao and others must let the jeep rush out of the "encirclement" of the distorted mosquito swarm.

Bai Chen had experience facing such terrifying creatures. When Qiao Chu gave the order, he closed the car window and stopped the ventilation system.

As she continued to step down on the accelerator, she habitually comforted everyone in the car:

"Don't worry, this distorted swarm will not be far from an area with a lot of vegetation. Once we get past this vine area, they should give up."

"Left..." At the same time as Qiao Chuyu nodded, he directed the direction of the advance.

Jiang Baimian whispered thoughtfully:

"Even distorted creatures have the instinct to continue the population, so this kind of mosquito swarm will not leave the place with a large number of plants... This is the necessary condition for their survival. The blood of humans and animals is just an attraction. Just great food...

"Yes, the old world has been destroyed for so many years, and the aberrant creatures that did not continue the instinct of the population should have died long ago..."

Qiao Chu ignored Jiang Baimian's self-talk, and focused more on identifying the road covered by the green and black vines than before.

A few seconds later, the driving jeep encountered the swarming mosquito swarm.

clap clap clap!

The mosquitoes with dark red heads and the size of their fingers were like miniature bombers, using themselves as bombs, and slammed into the windshield one after another.

In Shang Jianyao's eyes, it was like the torrential rain he saw in Shuiwei Town for the first time in his life, with countless water droplets smashing the glass desperately.

But unlike rain, these "droplets" don't slide down and can stop on the glass.

clap clap clap!

In the rushing sound that almost merged into a stream, whether it was the windshield or the windows on both sides, it was filled with giant black mosquitoes, and the dark red head and ferocious mouthparts were densely packed, making people's teeth sour. .

Bai Chen and Qiao Chu couldn't see the road ahead. The jeep was like a wild horse running away on the edge of a cliff, not knowing where it was going.

Long Yuehong's face quickly turned pale, and she wanted to work hard to save herself, but she didn't know what to do or how to help.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao both tensed up, their expressions both worried and a little puzzled-the life-saving instinct and hormone secretion under the rush of life and death seemed to make them aware of the abnormality of the current situation once again.

At this moment, Qiao Chu stopped looking ahead and looked down at the mechanical watch on his wrist.

A full scale compass is attached to the dial.

"3:12 direction." Qiao Chu seemed to have built a flat map of the depths of the swamp in his mind, and then relied on the instrument to "manually navigate".

Bai Chen is not unfamiliar with the way the time scale indicates the direction, but it has never been specific to this level before, so after she was a little stunned, she immediately reacted and started to turn the steering wheel.

However, when there were distorted mosquito swarms in front of her, she could not drive accurately according to the "navigation" instructions, which must have an error.

Qiao Chu didn't care, because he also knew that human beings without auxiliary chips and corresponding genetic modification would not be able to do similar things if the speed of the car was not slow. He said so precisely, in order to make the error within an acceptable range.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao suddenly said:

"You can wear an exoskeleton to drive."

Qiao Chu had seen the military exoskeleton device placed in the trunk before, and after a little thought, he nodded and said:

"ASAP."

Normal exoskeleton devices have a small-scale positioning capability, which is often integrated in a "comprehensive early warning system" to provide convenience to the wearer through an auxiliary chip.

"I'll come." Jiang Baimian volunteered.

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong had no objection, turned around immediately, and dragged the military exoskeleton device from the trunk.

With their help, Jiang Baimian quickly adjusted the length of the metal skeleton and put on the equipment.

"Okay." She said quickly after the system self-check was completed.

"Stop." Qiao Chu was about to take his eyes off his watch.

Bai Chen stepped on the brakes without hesitation.

In the squeaking sound, the jeep stopped suddenly, Shang Jianyao and others all had the urge to rush forward, but fortunately they were protected by the seat belt, and the distorted mosquitoes densely covered the windshield and the windows on both sides. The group was thrown out a lot.

As for Jiang Baimian, who has no seat belt to wear, because he is wearing a military exoskeleton device, this degree of inertia is easily offset.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, Bai Chen immediately pressed the seat belt, adjusted the gear, and picked up the handbrake.

Then, she climbed from the armrest to the back row.

Jiang Baimian stretched out his arms covered with black metal bones, picked her up, and placed her directly on Long Yuehong's side.

Then, she followed the "road" that Bai Chen came over and quickly climbed to the driver's seat.

clap clap clap! The distorted mosquito swarm with dark red head slammed into the glass window one after another, covering it densely.

Jiang Baimian, who had an energy backpack behind him, couldn't lean back, so he could only lean forward and restart the jeep.

She steered herself with one hand and fastened her seatbelt.

Qiao Chu lowered his head again, discerned the change of the compass on the watch, and kept reporting the time and direction to go.

With Jiang Baimian's precise operation of the auxiliary chip, in the harsh environment full of black mosquitoes, the jeep traveled dangerously and dangerously on the swamp and among the vines.

In a state of high concentration, the passage of time seemed to become blurred. I don't know how long it took, when Shang Jianyao and others began to panic and short of breath, the giant mosquitoes on the front and rear windshields and the windows on both sides flew one after another.

Soon, these distorted creatures all broke away from the jeep and flew towards the rear "reluctantly".

Only then did Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen see the pure, boundless black silt in front of them. There were no plants growing on their surfaces, but bubbles appeared from time to time.

"Two twenty-four." Qiao Chu raised his head and stopped paying attention to the changes in the compass on the watch.

After Jiang Baimian turned the steering wheel, everyone in the car saw a road going down.

It slanted into the swamp, and at the end there was a big, dark hole.

"Go in." Qiao Chu gave the order.

Jiang Baimian, who was wearing the exoskeleton device, did not hesitate to let the jeep drive into that road.

The black mud on the road was soft and rotten, and the wheels sank a lot, but deeper under the mud, there seemed to be something harder to support, which made the heavy Jeep stabilize.

The vehicle quickly drove into the hole, and at the same time, Jiang Baimian turned on the ventilation system and the dual headlights.

Shang Jianyao and others suddenly took a deep breath, and looked at the surrounding scene through the glass window:

The inside of the cave was dark, only the sound of water droplets ticking to the ground intermittently sounded, and where the lights of the car lights illuminated, the rock walls and roads were quite smooth and stained with a certain amount of silt.

"It doesn't seem to be formed naturally." Jiang Baimian commented while driving.

"The tunnel in the old world." Qiao Chu replied simply.

Jiang Baimian nodded lightly, thought for a few seconds, and said:

"It's kind of weird that there's no bryophyte there...

"The environment before it was not suitable for living things?"

Qiao Chu ignored her and just said plainly:

"Keep going."

There was no sound at all in the tunnel, but the vehicle occasionally hit a crack or bulge on the ground, so there was intermittent clanging sound, and it spread all the way to the depths of the tunnel without returning.

In this deep and eerie silence, Shang Jianyao and the others did not speak, as if they were heading to the end of the world.

Several minutes passed, and the light gradually became bright ahead, and soon an arched exit was formed.

Jiang Baimian, whose helmet comes with goggles, was not affected by the change of light and darkness, so the vehicle rushed out of the tunnel.

The sun outside is already slanting west, and the setting sun shines on the earth, as if it were plated with a layer of gold.

Not far away, buildings dozens or hundreds of meters high stood row by row, and there was no movement and no end in sight.

They were bathed in reddish sunlight, like dead forests of steel and concrete.