Old Mo drove his bus at high speed through the wind and snow.
According to the map, they headed east and finally arrived at the easternmost part of the city around midnight.
The area is filled with low-rise factories and warehouses. Many of the streetlights are broken, making the area dimly lit. The location is remote, with almost no shopping malls or residential areas with high foot traffic, making it look particularly desolate at night.
Yu Hanjiang had been observing the view outside the window. Upon spotting a low, factory-like building in a large open area ahead, he immediately whispered, "Old Mo, stop the car."
Old Mo found an open space and brought the bus to a smooth stop. He looked out the driver's window and asked, " Is Captain Yu planning to use this factory as a base?"
Yu Hanjiang released Xiao Lou's hand, glanced at Xiao Lou, stood up and said, "You guys stay in the car, I'll go down and take a look."
He got out of the car through the back door, took out a lantern for illumination, and used the copied Lightness Skill Card to fly to the top of the factory building, where he inspected the surroundings.
The ground was covered in snow, a vast expanse of white, with no footprints left by any living creature.
Even though the Zerg are fast crawlers, they would still leave tracks if they moved in the snow. There were no tracks around, proving this place should be safe. Yu Hanjiang returned to the car and whispered, "We've reached the most remote suburbs of the city. This factory building is probably a warehouse for a logistics company or a farmers' market. There are no footprints nearby; clearly, no one has been here since it snowed tonight."
The group crowded to the window and looked out. The factory was a large, single-story building. This type of building made it easier for them to defend and escape, since they would be at a disadvantage when it came to climbing ability with the Zerg. High-rise buildings were easy for the Zerg to launch surprise attacks from the air.
Yu Hanjiang made a decisive decision: "Let's stay here. It's getting late. Everyone should settle down and rest first, and we'll talk about it tomorrow."
No one objected to Captain Yu's decision, and they immediately got off the bus with their backpacks on.
Old Mo locked the car door, and the crowd lined up and cautiously followed Yu Hanjiang to the factory gate.
The gate was locked from the inside.
Yu Hanjiang lowered his voice: "There are people inside, everyone be careful."
He waved to his teammates to step back, then had Xiao Lou make a thin ring, cut the wire, and stuff it through the crack in the door. After fiddling with it for a bit, he actually managed to open the door.
Captain Yu's teammates stared at him in disbelief, never expecting that he could pick locks with iron chains!
Yu Hanjiang made a "shh" gesture, pushed open the door, and walked in front of everyone with a lantern to provide light.
Everyone consciously lined up in two rows and four columns, paying attention to the air, the flanks, and behind them.
In the empty factory, the sound of footsteps could be heard.
Since the main gate was locked from the inside, there were definitely still people inside the factory, which made everyone vigilant.
The eight men keenly observed their surroundings, venturing deeper and deeper. After walking for half a day, they found not a soul in the vast factory. How could the door be locked from the inside? Just as they were wondering, Yu Hanjiang suddenly narrowed his eyes, kicked over a nearby box, and swept his sharp gaze behind it, shouting in a deep voice, "Who goes there? Come out!"
The man's low growl echoed in the warehouse. Behind the box, a figure trembled violently in fright. Under the lantern's light, the dark figure seemed to be shaking.
Ye Qi immediately took out his flute, intending to use it to subdue the person should they attack.
To everyone's surprise, the person showed no intention of attacking. Instead, he cautiously stepped out from behind the box, raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, and said in a trembling voice, "Don't, don't kill me! I'm just a security guard on duty!"
Yu Hanjiang frowned as he looked at him.
The man, around forty-five years old, wore a worn-out military green cotton-padded jacket. His beard looked unshaven and somewhat disheveled. He slowly moved in front of the group with his hands raised and said, "This warehouse is full of fresh vegetables and fruits transported from other places. There's nothing valuable here. If you want to rob me, take whatever you want! Just don't kill me. I didn't see anything!"
Everyone: "..."
It seems the security guard mistook them for robbers.
Although the security guard appeared innocent on the surface, insects can disguise themselves after all, and one should always be wary of others. Yu Hanjiang glanced around, found a hemp rope used for tying boxes, and tightly bound the man's hands, feet, and body before whispering, "We can spare your life, but please answer a few questions honestly."
The man nodded vigorously: "Of course, of course! Please ask away."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "Are you the only one guarding this warehouse? How many people come here to pick up goods? Which company does it belong to?"
Upon seeing the dark gun in Yu Hanjiang's hand, the man shuddered and hurriedly replied, "This is a warehouse of Hua'an Logistics Company, specifically for storing fresh fruits and vegetables. Every morning at six o'clock, someone will haul goods from the warehouse to sell to major supermarkets and farmers' markets in the city. In the evening, someone will deliver goods from other places and store them here..."
No wonder the warehouse is so cold; it seems they're keeping the vegetables and fruits warm to prevent them from rotting.
The man continued, "I... I work as a security guard here. My job is just to look after the warehouse. I open the door on time in the morning and lock it on time at night. The pay is very low. Take whatever you want, just don't kill me..."
Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou, who nodded.
They clearly found this person's words to be more credible.
Xiao Lou walked up to Yu Hanjiang, looked at the security guard, and said gently, "Don't be afraid. We're not robbers; we're just looking for shelter because of the heavy snow. Do you know what happened in the city center today?"
The man looked confused: "What's wrong with the city center? I've been sleeping in the duty room all afternoon..."
Xiao Lou said, "Someone in the city has gone mad and is biting people everywhere. Haven't there been any madmen biting people in the east of the city?"
The man shook his head: "No, a few trucks came to the warehouse to pick up goods this morning. Everyone was chatting and laughing, talking about how fruit prices have gone up recently, and how they might not even be able to afford apples if they don't have enough money in the future... By the way, a few trucks usually deliver goods to our warehouse around eight o'clock in the evening, but they haven't come tonight, which I was wondering about."
Yu Hanjiang speculated, "It seems the epidemic hasn't affected Dongguan District yet?"
Xiao Lou nodded: "It's probably because there are fewer people here. The first day's infections were all in the city center. Those delivery drivers were either stuck in traffic or had already been infected."
The security guard looked at everyone blankly: "What infection?"
Yu Hanjiang didn't intend to explain in detail to the security guard; besides, even if he did, the guard might not understand. Yu Hanjiang said, "You can continue sleeping. We'll be staying here for a few days."
"Just asking for a place to stay?" The security guard's eyes widened in terror. "You'd better grab your things and leave quickly! Someone will be coming to pick up the goods tomorrow morning. If they find you, they'll definitely call the police. Then none of you will escape. Burglary is a criminal offense!"
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "I am a police officer."
security guard:"......"
Upon closer inspection, the handsome man in front of me was indeed wearing a police uniform.
The security guard was speechless.
Yu Hanjiang was escorted to the guard room next door by the security guards who were tied up.
Actually, the security guard had locked the door after dark and was sleeping soundly in the guardhouse when he heard the door suddenly being kicked open and a group of people walking in with lanterns. He thought he had encountered robbers, so he immediately ran behind a box to hide.
However, Yu Hanjiang was experienced, and even though he was hiding behind the box and not moving, Yu Hanjiang still found him immediately—after all, humans need to breathe, and the sound of his breathing, which he tried to control, was very obvious to Yu Hanjiang.
After locking the security guard in the guardhouse, Yu Hanjiang said, "If you want to live, don't ask any more questions and just stay put."
The guardhouse was cramped, with only a bed. The security guard nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed, his heart pounding with fear.
Yu Hanjiang closed the door and returned to his teammates.
Ye Qi asked in a low voice, "Is he really not infected? Could he be a Zerg with amazing acting skills?"
Xiao Lou said, "It shouldn't be. The door is locked from the inside. If the Zerg wanted to lure people in, they wouldn't lock the door from the inside. Besides, his eyes didn't turn red, he didn't have any intention of attacking us, and his first reaction upon seeing us was to raise his hands in surrender. He obviously thought we were a group trying to break in and rob us... I think his words are quite credible."
Ye Qi thought about it and nodded, saying, "That's right. If he were infected, he should have gone outside to find humans to bite, instead of locking himself alone in the warehouse. It seems he's just a lazy security guard who's sleeping and doesn't know what's happening outside."
Liu Qiao said, "Staying lazy and sleeping in the warehouse indirectly saved his life. He might not have survived if he had gone out."
Yu Hanjiang patrolled the warehouse and, finding no one else, felt relieved and turned to lock the warehouse door from the inside.
The warehouse was filled with many sealed boxes. They were labeled with words like "mango" and "Fuji apple". Ye Qi took out a knife and poked open a box. Sure enough, there were many fresh mangoes. He said excitedly, "What an unexpected harvest! With so much fruit, we won't have to eat cookies every day anymore."
Shao Qingge picked up a mango, examined it, and said, "It looks fine. Can I eat it?"
Xiao Lou said, "Don't be careless. What if food is also a source of infection? We can't eat just anything. Don't forget about the Endless Sea..."
Shao Qingge reluctantly put the mango back: "Yes, I've learned my lesson. I won't eat it for now. I'll check it carefully tomorrow morning."
Xiao Lou glanced at the time; it was almost midnight.
When the timer refreshed at 24:00, a notification simultaneously appeared in the floating window in front of everyone's eyes—
Spade 8 Secret Chamber Doomsday Escape, the next day at 00:00
[ Number of Challenger players remaining: 344]
Xiao Lou was somewhat surprised: " There are so many Challengers in this escape room? It's almost as many as the Weekly Routine."
Yu Hanjiang said, "After all, there are a lot of Zerg."
The senior team contract book can accommodate up to 15 people, with more than 300 Challengers. If it's a small team of 8-10 people like Xiao Lou's, the total number might exceed 30 teams.
Today in the city center, I only encountered two teams, Luoying Pavilion and Eternal Kingdom. Where were the other Challengers?
Everyone had obviously thought of this problem as well. Old Mo said, "Perhaps it was randomly refreshed and spawned in another district?"
Xiao Lou nodded and said, "It seems that the epidemic in the central area is the most serious. If the Challenger had been spotted in the suburbs of the East City District or the northern part of the city on the first day, it would have been less dangerous and would have been easier to find a base. However, they would have been able to obtain less information than we have. It's a trade-off."
Dangerous locations, but also a wealth of information. Spawning in the suburbs, while avoiding large numbers of Zerg, might mean those teams still don't know the characteristics of the Zerg, or even that it's a parasitic infection.
Yu Hanjiang said:
"It seems there are other teams besides us in the East District."
After a moment of silence, Yu Hanjiang said, "Everyone has had a long day, let's rest. We can talk about it tomorrow."
The warehouse where fruits and vegetables are stored has no heating. In the dead of winter, on snowy days, you can't just sleep on the floor, can you?
Xiao Lou checked the card holders and suggested, "We can use the two-person tent cards we got earlier. The tents come with blankets and pillows, which is much better than sleeping on the ground. Let's all pack up and two people share each tent."
Liu Qiao asked, " Wanyue, is it okay if we sleep in one room?"
There were only two girls in the team, so Qu Wanyue naturally had to take care of Liu Qiao, while Long Sen went to find Lao Mo to keep her company.
Ye Qi walked up to Xiao Lou with a smile: " Professor Xiao, we..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yu Hanjiang said casually, " Ye Qi, you'll be sleeping in the same tent as CEO Shao."
Ye Qi was taken aback: "Why?"
Shao Qingge said with a half-smile, "What, you're not happy about it?"
Ye Qi scratched his head: "It's not that I'm unwilling..."
Shao Qingge rubbed his head: "Then stop talking nonsense and go make the bed."
Ye Qi resignedly turned around and started packing up the tent: "Fine, you're the sugar daddy, so you're the boss. Who told me to eat and drink your food!"
The two bickered as they set up the tent. Xiao Lou took out the tent card and handed it to Yu Hanjiang, who quickly set up the tent.
A large batch of fruit was shipped out of the warehouse this morning, but no replenishment was done tonight, so the warehouse is very spacious and can easily accommodate four tents.
The tent card was very convenient to use, and soon all four tents were set up. Everyone was tired, so they simply crawled into the tents to sleep.
Yu Hanjiang held up a luminous pearl to illuminate the tent. Xiao Lou entered the tent, which was supposed to have two blankets and two pillows. However, when he went in, he found that Yu Hanjiang had laid one blanket on the ground as a mattress and used the other as a cover.
Yu Hanjiang explained, "The ground is too cold in winter, so laying down one layer and covering it with another will make it warmer."
The logic is correct... but wouldn't that mean the two of them would have to share a blanket to sleep?
Seeing that Xiao Lou was standing still, Yu Hanjiang said, "You've had a long day, go to sleep."
Xiao Lou had no choice but to take off her shoes and coat outside, walk in wearing a shirt and sweater, and lie down under the covers.
Yu Hanjiang lay down beside him with a natural expression and put away the luminous pearl.
Surrounded by complete darkness, Xiao Lou's heart pounded.
The two lived as husband and wife in the secret chamber of " Turmoil of War " for half a month, sharing the same bed every night. However, neither of them dared to overstep the bounds, and they lay upright like corpses, sleeping as if they were two statues.
Xiao Lou continued to pose like a statue, with his hands on his abdomen, lying flat in the tent without moving.
He thought Yu Hanjiang would do the same, but to his surprise, Yu Hanjiang's hand suddenly reached out from under the covers and gently took his hand.
Xiao Lou: "..."
Yu Hanjiang intertwined his fingers with Xiao Lou's, turned his head to look at Xiao Lou, and said in a low and gentle voice, "The temperature outside should be below minus ten degrees Celsius, be careful not to catch a cold. If you feel cold, come closer to me."
Xiao Lou blushed and nodded: "Yeah, I'm not that cold."
Yu Hanjiang smiled slightly and squeezed Xiao Lou's hand: "Then go to sleep."
Holding hands while sleeping, it felt like they were almost a real couple. Xiao Lou's heart was racing, but after a long day, she quickly felt sleepy and fell asleep without realizing it.
He has been afraid of the cold since he was a child. In winter, when there is no heating, he has to plug in an electric blanket. He can only sleep soundly when the quilt is warm.
Outside, snow was falling heavily. Even with a blanket on the warehouse floor, it was difficult to reduce the icy temperature of the cement floor. In the middle of the night, Xiao Lou was shivering from the cold. He automatically looked for a source of warmth and unconsciously moved closer to Yu Hanjiang.
Noticing Xiao Lou slowly moving closer, the body shrank into a shrimp-like shape due to the cold...
Yu Hanjiang's heart softened, and he reached out to gently pull Xiao Lou into his arms.
Feeling the warmth emanating from the man, Xiao Lou felt extremely comfortable surrounded by warmth. He simply nestled quietly in Yu Hanjiang's arms, even reaching out to hug Yu Hanjiang's waist, using him as a "warm pillow," and resting his head on the man's chest.
Yu Hanjiang couldn't help but smile.
Xiao Lou, who automatically sought out a heat source and moved closer to Yu Hanjiang, was especially adorable. He never expected that Professor Xiao's body would be so soft to hold; it felt so good that he didn't want to let go once he had it in his arms.
Yu Hanjiang adjusted the position of his arms to make Xiao Lou more comfortable sleeping in his arms.
He should be grateful for this snowy day, as it revealed a secret to him— Xiao Lou is actually very afraid of the cold.
It's okay. If you ever feel cold, his arms are always ready to embrace you.
******