allendalepharm Chapter 38 Prohibition
Chapter 38 Prohibition
The transport vehicle drove into the reconstruction area, following the route given by the man with the knife, heading west until the surrounding houses were scattered and the population sparse.
Because the entrance to the underground area of Gathering Site No. 9 was built inside the mountain, the entire reconstruction area was built at the foot of the black mountain. The winding road seemed to have no end. The wheels rolled and turned, gradually moving away from the place where people gathered, with jagged rocks everywhere.
The smooth streets disappeared without a trace, the tires rolled over the gravel, a screeching sound filled the air, and the car shook occasionally.
Finally, the outline of a cemetery came into view ahead.
Not far away, a large garden was enclosed by a gleaming metal barbed wire fence. Xu Yang's gaze followed the fence and he saw two large metal mesh gates, black and seemingly made of some kind of matte metal.
Next to it is an old gray-white house with walls of varying colors, made of new bricks and old tiles. It seems to have been expanded several times and occupies a considerable area, but much of the plaster has peeled off, making it look like a scratched face.
This is the guardhouse.
The transport vehicle stopped at the entrance of the cemetery, and Xu Yang and his companion got out.
As they took a few steps closer, they heard an old voice come from inside the gray house: "What are you doing here?"
crunch~
The wooden door, its old paint peeling off, was pulled open, and an old man appeared in the doorway.
He wore a faded blue work uniform with the words "Yunhua Cemetery" emblazoned on his chest, a knitted hat, and old cloth shoes. His face resembled a wrinkled orange peel; he stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes filled with wariness.
"Bury paper money, bury the person, or... dig up the grave?"
The old man's gaze shifted from the two men to the transport truck behind them, and his tone turned hostile. "Well, in broad daylight, these days they don't even carry people when stealing corpses; they've brought a truck."
Xu Yang's lips twitched.
"Oh, you've misunderstood, sir. This vehicle contains a corpse; we're here to give it a burial."
"Really?" The old man looked doubtful.
He walked to the back of the transport vehicle, glanced at the cargo compartment, and then slowly said, "Then you can go in. The shovels are in the cemetery. Carry the bodies in yourselves, but the vehicle must remain outside. I'll keep an eye on it for you."
A hint of helplessness crossed Xu Yang's face.
They even kept an eye on the car for them, which clearly showed they didn't trust them and were worried that the car owners would dig up the bodies from the cemetery and run away.
"Did someone really steal the corpse?"
The old man nodded slightly and gestured towards the metal gate of the cemetery.
Xu Yang turned his head and saw that the lock on the metal door was completely damaged, with a large piece missing and some signs of deformation and melting, as if it had been corroded.
"I don't know where those two beasts came from. They've stolen from me several times already. About two weeks ago, I stayed up several nights in a row and finally caught a glimpse of them. I was hit on the back with a stick as soon as I saw them. Those bastards!"
The old man's voice gradually rose, clearly indicating his anger.
As he spoke, he became emotional and pulled off his hat, turning his head towards Xu Yang and the other man.
"Look, look, see that? That bastard did it! Don't let me catch him!"
The old man's face turned slightly red, and he made a fist-clenching motion.
Beside him, Xu Yang pursed his lips tightly.
In my eyes, there was a sparse patch of hair, with a bald spot in the middle that looked like a dog had chewed on it. It was also a little red and swollen, and perhaps because it had just been treated with medicine, it was faintly reflective.
Can't laugh!
Unaware of Xu Yang's subtle expression, the old man put his hat back on after venting his emotions and said slowly, "Anyway, remember to dig deep when you're digging the hole."
"Okay, thanks for the reminder." Xu Yang quickly turned around and got to work with Newt.
The two men carried all three bodies out of the carriage. Xu Yang carried one body in each hand and walked in front, while Newt carried the last body on his back and followed behind.
We passed through the metal gate.
The cemetery was large and overgrown with weeds. Several stone paths connected together, with graves on both sides. Some had tombstones, while others had nothing but a wooden stake to mark that someone had been there.
Xu Yang and Newt walked around and finally found a row of empty spaces.
The two men placed the body aside and took a shovel from the side to dig a pit.
time flies.
bang, bang, bang...
Xu Yang tamped the soil down little by little with a shovel, wiped the sweat from his brow, and felt the wind blowing through the cemetery, which cleared his mind.
"Put it in." Newt handed over a hastily written tombstone from behind him.
boom! boom! boom!
Three short pieces of wood were driven into three small plots of land.
A person's life has come to an end.
……
The two sighed and left the cemetery.
Outside the gray house, the old man didn't stand next to the delivery truck the whole time. Instead, he moved a chair over and lay down on it, rocking back and forth comfortably.
Hearing a noise at the door, he craned his neck to peek, but seeing nothing other than the two of them, he turned back, humming a little tune and closing his eyes to bask in the sun.
The afterglow of life in the afternoon.
The two didn't disturb them, and the transport vehicle slowly started and drove back along the road they had come from.
Reconstruction area.
Xu Yang and Newt parked their car in the parking lot, grabbed a bite at a restaurant, and then prepared to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to collect their reward for the information.
We walked towards the entrance to the gathering place.
Passing through the white light curtain inside the mountain, the two instantly arrived inside the settlement. Guided by passersby, they quickly found the black crystal building.
As you walk through the gate, it's noisy and bustling inside.
"What happened? Why is my taskbar completely empty?"
"I need to see the minister!"
"Why is the task I just posted gone?"
……
A crowd of people crowded into the lobby on the first floor, clamoring to see the person in charge. Xu Yang squeezed in and caught a glimpse of a familiar face on the inside of the crowd—the knife-wielding man who had given them directions earlier.
By this time, he had removed his gas mask and looked no different from anyone else.
Xu Yang was able to recognize it because the knife hanging at the other party's waist was very eye-catching, with a faint scarlet luster showing through the gap in the scabbard.
"I told you to go back and wait for further instructions. Don't cause trouble. This is a special situation. The minister is negotiating with the administrators, and we will have an official notification soon." The man with the knife was maintaining basic order and trying to calm everyone down.
Xu Yang seemed to be deep in thought.
This is likely a result of the news about the infected individuals; the outings have been cleared, and the gathering places have probably been sealed off.
The situation is not optimistic, but he is just a messenger. He comes to collect his contribution points and then leaves. He doesn't take on any missions and just waits for the storm to pass.
It doesn't seem like a big deal.
but……
Xu Yang frowned.
The only thing I'm a little worried about is Lily. Before I bought the bracelet, Lily went to the quarantine area to scavenge for recyclables, so we couldn't exchange contact information. Now I can't even contact her.
However, given the other party's ability to sense danger, it's not certain that we will actually encounter any danger.
I hope so.
Xu Yang sighed inwardly and walked with Newt along the right-hand corridor of the hall. At the end, there was indeed a separate room.
The room was small, with two desks, a water dispenser, and a middle-aged man sitting at one of the desks writing something.
Hearing footsteps at the door, the man looked up. He sized up Xu Yang and the others, then asked, "Did the minister send you?"
"right."
……
The middle-aged man swiped their ID cards into the machine on the table and then returned them.
Xu Yang looked at the card in his hand, then at the machine on the middle-aged man's table, and asked, "How much?"
"3000".
"Can I try it a few more times?"
"..."
The middle-aged man eventually asked the two to leave, citing his busy work schedule.
In the corridor.
"Judging from what's happening outside, the infected situation isn't going to be over anytime soon." Xu Yang walked ahead of Newt and said slowly, "I think we need to find a place to stay first, and go back when the safe zone is truly safe."
There's a hotel on the street where we ate before.
"Shouldn't it be called a hotel?"
"Hotel sounds better."
The two chatted idly as they returned to the Foreign Ministry lobby.
The hall was still noisy, and even more people were pouring in than before. Judging from the conversations, most of them were the people who had issued the missions that had been revoked.
They surrounded the person in the center of the hall.
It was the knife-wielding man who was maintaining order; he had already drawn his knife to intimidate, but the survivors in the gathering were clearly not having any of it. The crowd continued to shout and demand explanations and even compensation.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Xu Yang and Newt squeezed into the crowd and walked towards the door, just as they were about to leave the crowd.
Suddenly, a voice rang out throughout the hall and the entire gathering place:
"Dear survivors in the gathering area, we regret to inform you that a high-risk source of infection has been confirmed in the quarantine zone. Effective immediately, except for members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, other survivors are not allowed to leave the gathering area in principle. All private missions are cancelled. This ban will last until one week from now."
As soon as the broadcast announcement ended, some surprised voices rang out.
"Holy crap, two new missions have appeared."
"Ah, why do I only see one?"
"A junior member, I suppose."
At the same time, Xu Yang was also pushed to the wall by the crowd, and there happened to be an empty mission display stand next to him. As soon as it opened—
[Number: 1677]
[Type: Bounty]
[Description: Based on survivor reports and on-site verification, a group of fungal infected individuals has appeared outside the settlement, within the safe zone, in and around the Green Ring Forest. They pose a serious threat to the safety of the surrounding area. A bounty is now offered for their heads.]
[Amount: 2000 Contribution Points/each]
[Time Limit: One Week]
Contact Person: Huang Xi
……
on the street.
Xu Yang and Newt bought some things first, and then, like the other members of the Foreign Affairs Department, hurriedly headed to the parking lot.
After seeing the bounty, the two realized it was an opportunity to make money.
It should be noted that there were more than a dozen infected corpses in the camp they left in the morning, and because of its remote location, almost no one could arrive faster than them if they set off now.
The only risk is that we might encounter other infected people who arrived after they left, but as long as the number is small, it's actually a good thing.
It is a point of contribution that is being made while on the move.
Moreover, they had previous experience fighting each other, and the infected were not particularly strong.
In addition, being located in a desert with no other cover, there is no possibility of being ambushed. If they arrive at the destination and find that things are not going to work, they can escape in time while still in the vehicle.
Therefore, without any disagreement, the two made the same decision.
done.
Therefore, Xu Yang and Newt even followed the trend and bought a gas mask.
Although they had dealt with infected people before, they didn't know what use it was, but Huang Xi and the others had worn it when they came out of the gray wall before, so it should be to prevent some kind of fungal infection.
Be prepared, it's always good to be safe.
The two hurried towards the parking lot.
Neither of them noticed that a man wearing a black hood was following them.
The man looked down at the bracelet and talked to it.
……
As cars started moving, the gray wall fell and rose again.
Due to the special circumstances today, an additional identity verification process was added at the guard post next to the wall, since only members of the Foreign Affairs Department had obtained the pass, and others were not allowed to leave.
Of course, some survivors also exploited loopholes in the rules, using their Ministry of Foreign Affairs status to sneak out and do other things.
However, as long as it doesn't explicitly violate the rules, it's acceptable.
At this moment, in front of Xu Yang, a bright red car was driving slowly. The trunk was covered with several long strips of things wrapped in gray cloth, which were almost too big to fit, and the trunk door was wide open.
It didn't look like they were going to kill infected people; it looked more like they were transporting something.
It inexplicably looks a bit like a person.
……
Outside the gathering place, on the highway.
The vehicles formed a column, almost all heading towards the Green Ring Forest.
One of the transport vehicles, mixed in with the main force, suddenly drove off onto a secluded path at a fork in the road.
This seems to have caused a minor incident.
Newt and Xu Yang glanced at the rearview mirror and frowned slightly. There was a black SUV behind them turning around as well.
"What does this mean? Do you think we have a shortcut?" Xu Yang was somewhat annoyed.
Newt shook his head: "I'll take it around a few corners and I'll figure it out."
"Give it a try."
It took about half an hour.
The off-road vehicle seemed to realize that all its efforts were in vain and slowly disappeared from sight. Xu Yang and his companion breathed a sigh of relief, and the transport vehicle turned around and sped off towards the right road.
There were no other vehicles along the way.
A smile appeared on their lips simultaneously.
Stable.
The yellow-green scenery on both sides of the road gradually became familiar, and the desolate wilderness was devoid of any human figure, as time slowly eroded away.
Inside the transport vehicle, Newt suddenly spoke up: "Uh, when it comes to the contribution points for picking up corpses, you get 70% and I get 30%? I'll also owe you an extra favor."
His expression was somewhat unnatural as he said this.
My personal connections seem to be of little use.
Hearing this, Xu Yang was taken aback at first, then said with a strange expression, "Uh, that works too."
In fact, this was practically free contribution points. He originally planned to split them 50/50 or 40/60 afterward, but Newt spoke up first and offered another way of distributing them.
Although the two hadn't known each other for long, their previous experiences had already proven that Newt was a reliable person, so Xu Yang wasn't worried that he would change his mind at the last minute.
He even gained a favor.
However, from these words, the other party seemed to be implying a lack of contribution points, and was willing to incur favors in order to win over the other party.
But Xu Yang had no intention of prying into other people's private affairs, so he put aside any unnecessary thoughts and quietly looked out the window.
time flies.
The outline of a blood-red camp gradually came into view, standing out sharply against the surrounding yellow and green landscape.
The wind might carry a fishy smell.
Xu Yang thought to himself, but he couldn't smell it anymore; the dark green gas mask was already on his face.
Through the limited view beneath the mask, he frowned slightly and immediately called out:
"Stop! Something's happened."
In the distance, at the camp.
Several figures were forming a circle, and in the center of the circle, a shadow floated in mid-air.