Chapter 166: Global Extreme Cold 9
“Don’t just stand there, get in the car.”
Lu Qingyuan gestured to her, reminding her of the unstable elements still in the factory.
The two wanted to drive the car away quietly and stealthily, but unfortunately, the car had other plans.
The vehicle’s engine roared loudly as it started, echoing throughout the factory. The workers, who had been eating dog meat, rushed out and immediately saw the brightly lit Workshop Number Eight.
“Who the hell is in there?!”
“Workshop Eight has electricity?!”
“Damn it, are you all brain-dead? Your focus is all wrong. The boss said Workshop Number Eight can’t be opened! There’s a car thief at the factory!”
Stealing a car right from under their noses!
The foreman, leading the group, roared, “Brothers, grab your weapons!”
They charged over, intending to block the vehicle at the entrance.
Seeing this, Lu Qingyuan slammed on the brakes, reversed sharply, and retreated via another route.
Lu Qingyuan was an excellent driver, but the workers were numerous and knew the terrain better. Soon, all the exits were blocked. To get through, they would have to run over the workers.
Could they dare?
“Scatter the things in the bag,” Lu Qingyuan suddenly turned and said to Chu Yian.
The things in the bag?
Chu Yian was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what he meant. She opened the window and scattered the contents of her backpack outside. The pursuing workers were showered with flying banknotes.
“Money!”
Several workers instantly forgot about stopping the car thief and all swarmed around, wanting only to pick up the money.
After all, the car belonged to the boss, but the money they picked up was their own.
As the workers gathered by the roadside to pick up money, the road automatically cleared for them.
Lu Qingyuan floored the accelerator and sped towards the main gate. Seeing them successfully break out, the leading worker cursed, “Damn it, are Old Liu and the other two freeloaders? They couldn’t even stop one car!
Brothers, chase them down quickly!
If this car is lost, everyone gets fined two thousand. All those days of overtime will be for nothing, and we’ll still have to pay out of our own pockets!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a wad of cash hit him in the face.
The brothers’ speed at picking up money was faster than their speed at chasing the car; the whole group was excited.
“The car!”
Only the foreman remained focused and screamed hoarsely.
Then he was hit by a hard object.
A watch.
It gleamed brightly under the flashlight’s beam.
The foreman stared at the watch for a moment, then bit into it.
Holy crap!
It’s gold!
This watch was worth years of his hard work without eating or drinking. Why the hell would he chase a car?! He stuffed the large gold watch into his pocket, turned, and joined his brothers in the snow, picking up money and treasures.
The two successfully left the factory gate.
Chu Yian hugged her backpack, which had two-thirds of its contents scattered, momentarily unable to recover.
She hadn’t expected such a solution and finally understood what Teacher Lu meant by, “Anything that can be solved with money is not a problem.”
Their car stopped next to the old car they had previously used.
To facilitate their earlier movements, the items left in the car had not been taken out.
Six barrels of gasoline, and three cotton quilts brought from Lu Qingyuan’s second house.
Grabbing these items, they immediately set off.
They left M City under the cover of night.
On the fifth day of the game, the outdoor temperature dropped to -26 degrees Celsius.
This weather might not be much in some inherently cold cities, but for a southern city where the lowest temperature was usually only a few degrees below zero, people were already struggling.
All winter clothing and cotton quilts were snatched up.
Without electricity, people could only huddle in their quilts for warmth. Some also lit fires for warmth, which led to large fires or deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Compared to these, people suffering from frostbite and freezing to death were the most numerous in the Hospital.
On the sixth day of the game, the temperature dropped to -37 degrees Celsius.
The water pipes had long since frozen, and people drank melted snow brought in from outside.
People had gone from initial disdain to now being accustomed to it. Nowadays, they would even dig up frozen animal or even human corpses from seemingly pristine white ice.
The crematorium had long ceased operations.
The Hospital could no longer accommodate the bodies.
The excavated bodies would be laid out on the main roads. Some bodies would be taken away, while others were already frozen solid. New bodies appeared every day, and their numbers grew.
The severe cold was also accompanied by food shortages; the further along they went, the harder survival became.
Chu Yian and Lu Qingyuan had been driving for two days.
The modified snow vehicle could move as smoothly as on flat ground even on soft snow, and its insulation was excellent. While people in tall buildings shivered from the cold, they felt warm wearing only two sweaters.
At this moment, Chu Yian was driving, and Lu Qingyuan sat in the passenger seat, studying the map.
“We are about to reach C Province.”
C Province was known for its rugged terrain; many great scholars and famous literati in ancient times wrote poems and songs about it. In recent years, it had developed vigorously, becoming the most populous large province in the interior in one fell swoop.
A large population meant more trouble.
Their car was now definitely a prize possession; without the risk of low temperatures, there was the risk of it being stolen.
Lu Qingyuan tried to choose routes through sparsely populated areas, but there were times when it was unavoidable.
“There’s a small town ahead.”
Chu Yian braked, looking into the distance.
The heavy snow had turned the entire world into a white expanse, with only half of the town’s houses visible.
“I see it.”
Lu Qingyuan nodded, “Try to take the less-traveled paths, and don’t stop.”
“Okay.”
Chu Yian nodded; she had the same intention.
The vehicle passed between two rows of houses. She was extremely worried that someone would throw things from above or suddenly attack them, but nothing happened.
However, a long row of corpses appeared ahead on the road.
There were old and young, male and female.
Some were not yet completely frozen, while others were already stiff from the cold. Most had their clothes stripped off, leaving only a thin garment to cover their bodies. Seeing such a sight at a time like this seemed somewhat eerie.
Chu Yian shifted gears, stepped on the accelerator, and drove straight through.
She ran over the long line of bodies without a moment’s hesitation, speeding away.
Behind them, several residents of the small town rushed out.
They wore heavy clothing, their faces showing varying degrees of frostbite. Their hands tucked into their sleeves, they cursed, “Beasts! They drove right over the bodies.”
“Don’t they have families?”
“Damn it, having a car makes them so arrogant? Driving right over dead people, aren’t they afraid their spirits will come back for revenge?”
…The curses were extremely foul.
However, this was not just anger at Chu Yian’s car driving over the bodies, but also their anger at not being able to stop the car. “It’s all your fault! You insisted that the bodies would stop that car, but they’re long gone!”
It had been days since a car came, when would they get to wait for the next one?!
