In less than a day, I experienced the temperatures of all four seasons.
A sudden and drastic temperature change will inevitably cause adverse health effects for anyone with a weak immune system.
The house was so damp that even with a mask on, Su Cheng felt stuffy. She pushed open the door and went outside.
Raindrops, the result of melting frost, dripped from the eaves. The white mist had not yet completely dissipated, and the trees appeared and disappeared in the fog.
It is known that this instance world has abnormal weather conditions, which explains why she didn't see any birds or beasts even though she was in the forest.
It is estimated that many animals perished in the heretical climate.
But why can the plants grow so well? Logically, even if they don't wither, they should be short and thin.
Su Cheng was preoccupied with the enormous blades of grass and insects. Besides them, were other animals also experiencing this "growth" phenomenon?
She slung her bag over her shoulder, put on her raincoat, and decided to venture deeper into the woods.
But as soon as she stepped out of the door, she heard the sound of something being dragged on the ground. Su Cheng took out her umbrella and stepped back to the edge of the doorway.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh"
The dragging sound grew clearer.
A man wearing a yellow plastic raincoat came into view. He looked to be about 50 years old, carrying an axe, and was struggling to drag the broken tree toward the wooden house.
As the leaves were dragged, they made a rubbing sound against the ground.
As usual, Laobo dragged the felled tree toward the cabin, his makeshift sawing spot.
As he approached the cabin, he slightly raised his head and saw the figure in front of it. He immediately froze, quickly threw away the wood, and drew the pistol from his waist, aiming it at the other person.
He secretly regretted his carelessness, realizing that he had let his guard down just because he hadn't seen anyone else in the forest in recent years!
When he met those familiar dark eyes, Laobo was momentarily stunned, and the gun in his hand almost slipped from his grasp. But he quickly recovered, and the surging emotions in his heart dissipated.
As he moved toward a large tree beside him, he demanded in a deep voice, "Who are you?! Get out of my house!"
Su Cheng had anticipated this, and the Thousand-Machine Umbrella in her hand was always on standby. She had no intention of starting a conflict, but she also needed to be prepared to face one.
She understood the man's wariness and explained, "I meant no harm. I just couldn't find a suitable place to stay overnight, so I'm staying at your place for the night."
The man, however, was somewhat skeptical. "There's no wood to burn in the cabin, how do you keep it warm?"
Su Cheng: "I have hand warmers and other tools; I don't need your stove."
The weapon in her hand was no joke, and she wasn't worried that revealing she had warm clothing would attract unwanted attention.
Furthermore, she needs to learn other information about the world from this man, and it would be best to avoid violence.
The man hesitated, scrutinizing Su Cheng for a while. "Are you alone?"
"That's right."
Why did you come here?
Su Cheng thought for a moment and made up a half-truth, "I don't know, I was here as soon as I woke up. I've answered the questions you wanted to know, can you put down your gun now?"
Laobo paused for a moment, his gun returning to its holster. He seemed lost in thought, his lips slightly pursed, before suddenly making a request that surprised Su Cheng:
"Could you take off your mask and let me see what you look like?"
Su Cheng raised an eyebrow in surprise. People don't speak for no reason, but she couldn't understand why the other person wanted to see her true face.
She was certain she had never seen him before. Could it be that he knew someone who looked like her, which aroused his suspicion?
Su Cheng pulled down her mask, and in the man's eyes, she caught a complex look—a look of disappointment that seemed to confirm her suspicions.
She continued, "I had no intention of taking over your cabin. Believe it or not, I did indeed appear here suddenly."
Can you tell me about the world? I can offer you a hand warmer as payment.
Laobo frowned, half believing her words.
In the past five years, no trace of human beings other than him has appeared in the forest. Whether Su Cheng had lived in the forest before or suddenly came here, it was impossible for him not to notice.
And Su Cheng was so clean! There was no mud or dirt on her hair or face.
Moreover, she was wearing brand new clothes, with the tags still attached to the hem.
Laobo hadn't seen such a clean and tidy person in almost ten years.
If Su Cheng wasn't lying to him, a guess surfaced in Laobo's mind. He frowned and asked in a low voice, "Could it be that you're a time traveler...?"
He couldn't think of any other explanation.
Su Cheng paused for a moment, then nodded and said seriously, "That should be true. The temperature in my world is normal."
The man was silent for a moment, then spoke in a calm voice, "My name is Laobo. If you're not lying to me, you can stay in this cabin until you find a new place to live."
He dragged the tree back up and walked toward the woodpile. Although he was still wary of Su Cheng, he was no longer filled with the same sharp hostility as before.
"I can tell you about this world, without asking for anything in return. If you intend to live in this world, I hope you have enough warm clothing."
Su Cheng hadn't expected the man to refuse her payment; in this extreme weather, hand warmers were practically a lifesaver.
Laobo took the saw out of the pile of fallen leaves. Although he had promised to tell Su Cheng about the world, he did not delay his work.
He spoke in a low voice as he sawed through the tree:
"Besides the extreme cold at night, this world also experiences scorching heat during the day. By midnight, the temperature reaches 38-47°C."
"You must be wondering why the plants are still so lush in this kind of weather, because there's green rain."
Su Cheng repeated, "Green Rain?"
"That's right, it's not acid rain and it's not corrosive. But it can accelerate plant growth and awaken dormant spores."
"Insects that eat these plants will also grow larger, but the other surviving herbivorous mammals will die."
Laobo stopped sawing, looked up, and said, "Also, I must warn you, don't go deep into the woods. Nobody knows what strange insects might be there."
"Also, avoid contact with anyone's blood or saliva, or you don't know if you'll survive."
A note from the author:
none
Chapter 85
Avoid contact with other people's bodily fluids.
Su Cheng asked in confusion, "Why?"
"Since you are not from this world, you are considered non-infected. The blood of any infected person could either kill you or assimilate you."
The creaking sound of wood being sawed mingled with Laobo's deep voice.
Could you explain it more clearly?
Su Cheng sat down on the wooden plank at the doorway, in this instance where she first arrived ten years after the disaster.
Laobo struggled to move the saw, his body slightly warm from the effort, and he was too tired to speak anymore.
He glanced up at Su Cheng, who sat quietly on the wooden board, her dark eyes filled with curiosity as she looked at him.
Laobo pursed his lips. "Ten years ago, a virus descended upon the world. Initially, it spread only through bodily fluids, and those infected would turn into bloodthirsty zombies."
"Under the control of the state, although there were casualties, the speed and scope of the spread were still suppressed."
Until the virus mutated, it hibernated in oxygen and had an extremely high survival rate in the air.
"The number of infections is increasing exponentially, and the virus targets people of all ages, regardless of whether they are rich or poor."
In just three days, the death toll reached a horrific figure... and before order collapsed, a vaccine had still not been developed.
As he recalled the memory, Laobo's expression darkened slightly; it turned out that the memory was ten years old.
Su Cheng's eyebrows twitched slightly. "Then how did survivors like you manage to survive the catastrophe?"
Laobo: "The virus turns everyone into an infected person, but not everyone mutates into a zombie. Those who survive after a high fever are asymptomatic virus carriers."
"We didn't evolve the superpowers from the movies; our greatest luck was simply surviving."
"In the second year after the apocalypse, natural disasters began to occur frequently, and most of the zombies were killed by nature."
The third year saw extreme weather, the biggest benefit of which was the elimination of the last remaining zombies.
"Furthermore, the virus can no longer survive in this climate, so children born from now on will no longer need to be asymptomatic carriers."
After speaking, Laobo said, as if offering a warning, "If you stay in the forest, you need to find a way to survive. If you are determined to leave, then you must also be wary of those outside."
Su Cheng nodded. "Thank you for telling me so much. I still want to give you the promised payment."
She placed five hand warmers at the doorway, then got up and walked down the wooden stairs.
Laobo frowned deeply. "Where are you going? You can stay in my cabin."
Su Cheng understood the other party's good intentions. "I need to check the surrounding area."
"... You'd better not get lost and forget how to get back."
After speaking, Laobo's expression changed slightly. He was annoyed that he had meddled again, even though he had already delayed his work because of chatting.
Moya is still waiting for him at home; he can't let her worry. His most pressing matter is to quickly chop the firewood and get home...
Su Cheng didn't hold his tone against him. Although this uncle's expression and tone weren't very nice, he was much more enthusiastic in his dealings with others.
I told her everything I needed to know without missing a single word, and I didn't expect to get anything out of her with this information.
Seeing her take out the hand warmers, he was only surprised by her generosity and did not have any evil intentions.
Su Cheng moved away from the wooden house, but she didn't go too far.
She remembered Laobo saying that dangerous mutant insects might exist deep in the forest.
Her task was simply to survive for five days; there was no need for her to take unnecessary risks.
The air in the woods was somewhat stuffy, and the sunlight was blocked by the leaves, with only a few scattered rays reaching people.
The ground was sticky, and water droplets remained on the fern leaves, slowly evaporating as the temperature rose.