It was a bit of an tiring day, with climbing kelp and climbing mountains. After warming up by the fire, Qiu Shi fell asleep quickly.
But I didn't sleep well because the sleeping bag was wet. Even if I wasn't afraid of being attacked, I couldn't sleep. I could only sleep directly on the ground. The mud was embedded with stones and moisture was rising up. No matter how I lay down, it was not comfortable.
Qiu Shi woke up many times in the first half of the night, but Xing Bi basically didn't sleep. He just sat there, staring at the fire in a daze. Qiu Shi also saw him picking up branches in the bushes twice.
Perhaps he was really tired in the second half of the night, and he finally fell asleep without even dreaming.
Xing Bi didn't call him at dawn. Qiu Shi was woken up by the sunlight on his face that pricked his eyes.
But he felt something was wrong when he was half asleep. They were on a tight schedule. Xing Bi should have woken him up early in the morning to continue walking, but now the sun had clearly risen...
Qiu Shi didn't move and just lay there quietly.
There was no particularly loud noise around, but I could hear ambient sounds that were different from last night, the sound of the river flowing, the sound of the wind blowing through the bushes, and the sound of his breathing above and to the left of his face.
Qiu Shi didn't open his eyes because the sunlight was too dazzling.
Fortunately, his right hand was next to his leg.
He closed his eyes, drew his gun and raised his hand. Before the man squatting beside his head could react, the muzzle of the gun was accurately against his chin.
"Don't." The man quickly raised his hand.
Qiu Shi did not relax. The muzzle of the gun was still pointed at him. He turned over and stood up, avoiding the sunlight and looking down at the person who was still squatting on the ground.
A man who looked about the same age as him, wearing a pair of goggles, his face was a little tanned and he looked panicked.
But his intuition told him that this person was about the same level as Xiao Lei and had no lethality.
"What for?" he asked.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a car not far away and some people running towards him. From the speed and running posture, it was obvious that the one in front was not Xing Bi.
Without thinking, Qiu Shi pulled out another gun from his waist with his left hand and fired a shot in the direction the man was coming from.
It hit the ground right in front of the man's feet, and the man stopped.
"Qiu Shi." Someone walked quickly towards the man from behind.
It’s Xing Bi.
Judging from Xing Bi's condition and the man of Xiao Lei's level in front of him, there should be no danger. Qiu Shi raised the muzzle of the gun slightly.
The man quickly jumped up, his hands still raised, and kept saying: "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding..."
"Shut up." Qiu Shi said.
The man cooperated and shut up, and immediately ran towards the car after Xing Bi came over.
"What's going on?" Qiu Shi put away his gun and asked in a low voice.
"Someone from Donglin Town is here to pick you up." Xing Bi also said in a low voice.
"What?" Qiu Shi was stunned. He looked over there again. There were two people under the car and one on it. "Are they all people?"
This question made him feel a little awkward. During these years in Cloud City, although he did not believe the nonsense that Cloud City really rejected biochemical creatures and returned a pure paradise to humans, he certainly did not think that one day his first reaction when seeing a stranger would be to determine the species.
"Three humans." Xing Bi said.
"Is there anyone else hiding?" Qiu Shi touched his arm and opened the map.
"No." Xing Bi said.
The bright spots on the map are indeed these few people, there is nothing else unusual.
"When did they come?" Qiu Shi glanced at Xing Bi, "Why didn't they call me?"
"Your temperature has been high all night," Xing Bi said.
"High?" Qiu Shi touched his forehead. "Do you have a fever?"
"I can't wake you up in the morning." Xing Bi said.
"And you stopped calling me?" Qiu Shi said, "Don't you need to make sure whether I am dead or cannot be woken up?"
"You won't die under my nose." Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi glanced at him.
"We'll take a bus later." Xing Bi looked back at the cars and people over there.
"Don't you think it's a bit strange?" Qiu Shi said, "Deng Yeye and the others kidnapped Xiaoling and acted so arrogantly. Everyone thought that coming to Donglin was like sending ourselves to die. Now they have sent people here to welcome us?"
"It's strange." Xing Bi said.
"Then let's take the bus?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Then I'll go kill them and steal the car," said Xing Bi.
Qiu Shi was silent. There was no need to go to this extent.
"I remember the way to Donglin," Xing Bi said, "If I go the wrong way, I will find that these people have no fighting power. You can control ten people by yourself..."
"Why did they let three such weak people come out to pick us up?" Qiu Shi said, "If they met any of the homeless people we encountered before, they would have been wiped out."
"Very thorough," Xing Bi looked at him, "Partner."
"There's nothing I can do. My partner's brain stopped working after soaking in water," said Qiu Shi.
"Take a ride first, it will save a lot of time," Xing Bi said, "Don't get off until the situation is wrong. No matter what Deng Yeye and the others' purpose is, they need you to get to Donglin Town. Before that, there will be no danger from them."
"Can you see what they are saying?" Qiu Shi looked at the two people who were talking over there.
Xing Bi looked over there for a while and said, "Let's discuss whether we should sit in the back seat or the back carriage, and what to do if we refuse to lay down our weapons."
"Fuck," Qiu Shi said, "Do they think they are worthy of asking us to lay down our weapons?"
Xing Bi smiled.
"Okay," Qiu Shi frowned. This conversation sounded like a fool's. Mainly because he really didn't want to walk. "I'll go pack my things."
"Yeah." Xing Bi responded.
The fire had gone out, and the clothes that had been roasted last night were almost dry, but the sleeping bag was still wet, so Qiu Shi stuffed it all into the bag as well. He wouldn't use it anyway, so it didn't matter.
However, he had never left Yuncheng for too long. Every time he went out to find something for Li Feng, he didn't need to bring a backpack to pack his luggage. He could just throw some food in the car. Now, he was a little annoyed by packing a backpack.
The bag wasn't full of things to begin with, but now when I take them out and put them back, there's no more space.
He pulled out the sleeping bag and tossed it aside.
"Don't you want it anymore?" Xing Bi asked.
"Yeah." Qiu Shi responded.
"Put it in my bag." Xing Bi squatted down.
Xing Bi's bag is quite empty. I don't know if it's because there are not many things in it or if he knows how to pack it.
There were still not enough things. After all, Xing Bi didn't need to eat so much. There was a soft silver bottle thrown on the ground. It should be the supplement that Xing Bi took in the morning.
Qiu Shi picked it up and took a look. There was a black, sticky substance inside.
"Do you want to eat?" Xing Bi asked.
"You still say there is no smell?" Qiu Shi frowned. He felt that this smell was somehow familiar. He must have smelled it before.
"It tastes bland," said Xing Bi.
"Can humans eat it?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Yes." Xing Bi said.
"Forget it," Qiu Shi stood up and picked up the bag. "Although the canned food tastes just so-so, at least it doesn't assume that the person eating it has no sense of taste or smell."
They walked towards the car, and the three people got out and opened the door.
"What did you do when you got to the car just now?" Qiu Shi asked. Xing Bi's sudden insanity had left him with some trauma, so he was somewhat wary of any behavior of Xing Bi leaving without saying goodbye to him.
"Repair the car." Xing Bi said.
"… What the hell," Qiu Shi glanced at him, "Three weaklings driving a broken car to pick us up?"
"Yuncheng still has advantages in this regard," Xing Bi said, "otherwise why would so many refugees want to go there."
"You really know how to repair cars." said Qiu Shi.
"It's a little more complicated than skipping stones on the water," said Xing Bi.
"Aren't you usually very steady?" Qiu Shi said, "How come you got so carried away by skipping stones on the water?"
Xing Bi smiled and said nothing.
"Hello, Qiu Shi." The man who had been pointed at by Qiu Shi came over and stretched out his hand. "We are here to take you to Donglin Town. My name is Gao Shan."
Qiu Shi looked at him without saying anything or reaching out his hand.
Gao Shan didn't mind and introduced the two people next to him with a smile. The bearded man was the driver Dashi, and the other middle-aged man's name was Zhao or something, but Gao Shan called him Lao Zhao.
"Get in the car," Lao Zhao said, glancing at the gun on Qiu Shi's body, "This..."
Qiu Shi ignored him, got into the car directly, fell into the back seat, and looked at him: "What?"
"The journey is long, so we can take a good rest and have a good sleep." Gao Shan said with a smile.
Qiu Shi turned his head and looked out the car window.
This car is about the same size as the one Li Feng usually drives. It has a large space and is quite comfortable to sit in the back. However, it is not as luxurious as Li Feng's car, and the heating is not as strong.
Qiu Shi took a quick look at the interior of the car. It looked ordinary and he didn't notice anything wrong.
Xing Bi got in the car and sat next to him, and put a pill in his palm: "Take it."
"What is this?" Qiu Shi put the medicine in his mouth, chewed it, and drank two sips of water.
"It's for reducing fever." Xing Bi said.
"I think I don't have a fever anymore," Qiu Shi said, "and I don't feel anything."
"Well," Xing Bi held his hand to feel the temperature, "not bad."
"This water is too cold," Qiu Shi said, "You should go to the hot spring behind Bubble Mountain if you have the chance. It's comfortable."
"Donglin also has two hot springs," Gao Shan turned around and tried to join in the conversation, "It's quite..."
"Is Hu Xiaoling in Donglin?" Qiu Shi interrupted him.
"… We are just here to pick someone up as ordered," Gao Shan smiled awkwardly, "Someone will tell you the specific situation when we get there."
"Are you alive?" Qiu Shi asked.
"We won't kill people casually." said Lao Zhao, who was sitting in the last row.
"That would be great." Qiu Shi continued to look out the window, "I will kill people randomly when I'm in a bad mood."
The car was quiet, with only the sound of the engine remaining.
It is quite comfortable to sit in a car, especially since the roads on this side of the river are mostly muddy. The small amount of stones do not have much impact on the people sitting in the car. This degree of shaking is very hypnotic to Qiu Shi.
He slid down a little and turned to look at Xing Bi.
Xing Bi had his arm on the car door, his hand on his forehead, looking at him: "Yeah."
"Hmm?" Qiu Shi asked with his mouth.
"Don't you want to take a nap?" Xing Bi said.
"Yeah." Qiu Shi responded.
"Then you fart." Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi closed his eyes and smiled silently.
There were five people in the car, and no one spoke. I don't know how those three felt. Xing Bi was definitely not embarrassed, as he was always like that. Qiu Shi was not embarrassed either, as everyone was silent and he was just sleeping.
I don't know what the situation will be like when I arrive in Donglin. Although these three people look harmless, who knows? Li Feng usually looks very kind and he was also very kind when he took the corpse collector as a hostage.
This was probably the deepest sleep I've had in all the past few days. The temperature was comfortable, the rocking was comfortable, and I felt at ease without having to worry about a sneak attack.
There is also a very comfortable pillow.
… Pillow
Qiu Shi was a little confused in his daze.
He opened his eyes and saw the roof of the car, on which was printed the emblem of Donglin Town.
We are still in the car, where did the pillow come from
He raised his hand and touched under his head, trying to see what he was resting his head on. As soon as he touched the pillow, someone grabbed his hand and put it back on him.
“… Shit.” Qiu Shi looked up and realized that he was already lying on the back seat, with one leg bent on the seat and the other stretched out on the backrest of the driver’s seat.
And the pillow under his head was Xing Bi's legs.
Xing Bi was leaning against the car door, looking at him with his eyelids drooping.
"I sleep so soundly?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Yeah." Xing Bi responded.
Qiu Shi frowned, retracted his legs, sat up, turned his head and looked at Xing Bi's legs again.
Xing Bi rubbed his legs.
"Are you numb?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Yeah." Xing Bi continued to rub his legs.
"Yes," Qiu Shi said, "how much does my head weigh?"
Xing Bi smiled and looked out the window: "Want to move around?"
There were only him and Xing Bi in the car, no one else was there, and the car was parked next to a grassy slope.
"Where is this?" Qiu Shi glanced at the map and found three bright spots behind the grass slope. They should be the people in the car. "Why are they hiding behind there?"
"Pee." Xing Bi said.
“…Are you going to the bathroom?” Qiu Shi opened the car door and jumped out.
Although I slept quite comfortably with my head resting on Xing Bi's legs, my back still felt a little numb.
"Where is the toilet for you to use in this remote place?" Xing Bi got out of the car behind him.
"Don't always imitate me." Qiu Shi smiled.
"You always give me chances, so I can't help it." Xing Bi glanced at the grass slope, "It's safe now, do you want to go pee?"
"Go." Qiu Shi rushed towards the grass slope and reached the top in a few steps. He saw three people below who seemed to have finished peeing but were still standing there talking.
A few people looked up and saw him, and suddenly felt a little awkward. Gao Shan said, "We'll go over there, you go down..."
"You're welcome." Qiu Shi zipped up his pants and started peeing towards the slope.
It was these people who kidnapped Hu Xiaoling, made his brothers hostage, and forced him to travel all the way to die. If it weren't for Xing Bi, he wouldn't even have made it to Donglin Town to die.
When I pulled up my pants and prepared to go back down the slope, Xing Bi came up.
"It's a visit," Qiu Shi said. "We're late."
Xing Bi smiled.
"You..." Qiu Shi looked at him, "Do you want to go to the bathroom?"
"Biochemical bodies also have metabolism of the old and the new," said Xing Bi.
"Oh." Qiu Shi responded.
Xing Bi looked at him and asked, "Would you like to visit?"
"No." said Qiu Shi.
When I turned around and was about to leave, two small black dots appeared in the distance.
The distance was too far to be shown on the map. Qiu Shi turned around and asked Xing Bi, "Is that a car?"
Xing Bi looked back, then turned back. After a while, he pulled up his pants and said, "It's a car, sent to escort us."
"How did you know?" Qiu Shi asked in a low voice.
"They said," Xing Bi also whispered, "the escort vehicle has arrived."
It is indeed impossible that these three guys took them to Donglin. If it were so peaceful, Donglin would not have lost contact.
"The road ahead might be a little chaotic," Xing Bi said, "Don't sleep too deeply."
"Aren't you there?" Qiu Shi said.
The escort vehicle was about the same size as Yuncheng's big black car, but was painted in camouflage.
To be honest, this area is too open. Unless it is an invisible car, it can be seen at a glance no matter how it is painted.
After the two cars entered the map range, Qiu Shi discovered that the car should have a shielding device and the people in the car could not be displayed on the map.
"Let's go," Gao Shan shouted to them from the bottom of the slope, "Keep going. The section ahead is not very safe. This is the escort vehicle from Donglin Town. It's armed."
While Qiu Shi was sorting out his weapons, he sent a voice message to Li Feng.
Xing Bi and I returned to the car and sat down. Their car was stuck between the escort cars in front and behind and continued on its journey.
The two escort vehicles did not communicate with the people in their car at all during the entire process, but the originally relaxed atmosphere became a little tense and depressing because of the fully armed escort vehicles.
"The people who are escorting them," Qiu Shi said, "are they from Donglin Town in the past? I heard that their defense is average, but they look pretty good in cars."
"These are..." Gao Shan hesitated, "our new members."
"Are you a native of Donglin?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Yes," Gao Shan nodded, "I went to Donglin Town with my parents when I was four years old and have been here ever since."
"What is Deng Yeye's relationship with you?" Qiu Shi continued to ask.
"Deng Yeye?" Gao Shan turned around and glanced at him. "I don't know him."
Qiu Shi did not ask any more questions. Gao Shan did not seem to be lying. Deng Yeye had been staying in Yuncheng all the time. He was either a planted spy or a spy who had been instigated to defect.
He was too lazy to think about it anymore and left it to Xing Bi to figure out. He only cared about whether Hu Xiaoling was still alive, but these people just wouldn't say anything.
Should have peed on their heads.
"Is it against the rules for us to come here?" Xiao Lei followed Zhao Lu and climbed up a small hill, falling and slipping.
"Go back to the shelter and sleep according to your rules." Zhao Lu said as he took out a telescope and looked into the valley ahead.
This is the edge of the corpse collectors' usual activities. It is the range that Qiu Shi has drawn for them. If anything happens, before Yuncheng's protective net is opened, as long as they are not as stupid as Xiao Lei, there will be just enough time to get back to the bunker from here.
There are troops deployed all around, but no soldiers can be seen. Only people from the City Defense Bureau can be seen. The valley is the checkpoint set up by the City Defense Bureau. Now refugees can no longer enter the outer city directly from the tunnel. They need to pass through the checkpoint first and only those who meet the requirements can enter.
"Is it because the Security Bureau is short of labor?" Brigade Zhao looked over there. There was a group of refugees who were able to enter the outer city today, about 20 to 30 of them, and they were waiting there.
"What's the matter?" Xiao Lei asked.
"If you don't need your eyes, give them extra food at night," Zhao Lu said. "They are all young and strong. There are no women or older people."
"I've been to farms and plantations," Xiao Lei said, "and it's not just young people."
"What about other jobs? There are so many people who entered the inner city and never came back," Zhao Lu said, "When Li Feng gets ruthless, can you, a small shrimp, see him?"
Xiao Lei sighed.
Lu Zhao stared at those people for a while, then twisted the telescope, frowned and clicked his tongue.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Lei quickly picked up the telescope.
"Why do I feel like something is wrong?" Zhao Lu said.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Lei also adjusted the focus and stared at the refugees one by one. "Why didn't I see it?"
"That's really not right," Zhao Lv patted Xiao Lei, "Let's go back. Maybe we need to contact Li Feng."
When Zhao Lu ran back to the bunker, the twenty or thirty refugees had already followed the city defense department's car toward the tunnel entrance. He shouted, "Come out, some people!"
A group of people came out from several bunkers nearby. He threw the telescope to He Jiang next to him and said, "See if there is anything wrong with those people."
"Are these the refugees who entered the city today?" He Jiang asked. "They are all strong laborers. Is the Security Bureau sending people to die again?"
A group of people looked at it for a long time, but no one could see anything wrong.
Zhao Lu pulled Xiao Lei into Qiu Shi's room and closed the door.
"I can't tell what's wrong." Xiao Lei said in a low voice.
"I now know how difficult it is without Qiu Shi," Zhao Lu said in a low voice, "Contact Li Feng immediately. These people cannot enter the outer city. There are infected people here."
"Really?" Xiao Lei was very surprised. He took out his pet and contacted Li Feng while asking, "They all look normal."
"It's hard to tell," Zhao Lu said, "If Qiu Shi was here, he would definitely be able to see it."
Xiao Lei put the earphones into his ears, and Li Feng's voice came out: "I just had time to sleep..."
"Li Feng, I'm Zhao Lu." said Zhao Lu.
"Qiu Shi is fine, he's alive," Li Feng said, "He's in the car now..."
"That's good." Zhao Lu breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm asleep." Li Feng said.
"That's not what I'm looking for you for," Zhao Lu came back to his senses, "Stop the group of refugees entering the city now! There are infected people mixed in with them!"
Li Feng paused and said, "Don't tell me that the people from the City Defense Bureau can't even recognize the infected."
"It didn't happen." Zhao Lu said.
"These people have been under observation at the checkpoint for more than half a month," Li Feng said. "If they were infected, they would have broken out long ago."
"I don't know why they didn't have an attack, but a few of them looked strange!" Zhao Lu lowered his voice.
"What is the basis for your judgment?" Li Feng asked.
"Intuition." said Zhao Lu.
"… You really are worthy of growing up with Qiu Shi," Li Feng said, "Intuition? Do you want me to go to Director Zhang and tell him that the corpse collector intuitively felt that these people could not enter the city?"
"Yes." said Zhao Lu.
"Fuck you..." Li Feng cursed.
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To be continued tomorrow⊙▽⊙.