Reborn in the end of the world, I scavenged in the empty city and bought for free

At 10:30 in the evening, the snowstorm still showed no signs of stopping. Not only that, a strange and unknown white fog appeared in the sky for some unknown reason, causing the surrounding visibility to be reduced to the minimum. People standing in place could only see buildings thirty or forty meters ahead, and everything else was shrouded in snow and fog.

At night, the fog became even more severe, and the surrounding lamp posts were completely swallowed up by the white fog, leaving only the lower half.

"Strange, how come there is so much fog all of a sudden? It seems that Jiangcheng shouldn't have such heavy fog now." Most people were tired and sleepy at night and had already fallen asleep in the corners. But some night owls couldn't sleep and could only check their phones which had no signal. Some people stared at the strange white fog outside and asked questions.

Liao Yunyun was also a night owl. She really couldn't sleep. She glanced at her best friend who seemed to be resting with her eyes squinting, and asked in a low voice, "Are you asleep?"

"Not yet." Gu Tongwan did not open his eyes, but his voice was very soft, even with a hint of tiredness.

"Chen Yanxi has been out for half an hour, aren't you worried?"

Just half an hour ago, Chen Yanxi said he wanted to go around and inspect the area. Liao Yunyun was going to stop him, but when she saw Gu Tongwan, she just nodded and said, "Be careful."

Although there was no extra expression on Chen Yanxi's face, the straight lines at the corners of his mouth showed signs of softening.

The two clearly haven't started dating yet, but their way of getting along is like an old married couple. This actually surprises Liao Yunyun. She always feels that there is a lack of passion in their ambiguity, but her unconditional trust in each other makes her somewhat envious.

Thinking that she was still a single person, Liao Yunyun curled her lips in displeasure and simply did not stop Chen Yanxi's actions.

"He has his own plans. If he doesn't come back in two hours, I will go out to look for him." In fact, this was agreed upon by the two before they set out. If Chen Yanxi needed to act alone and there was no way to contact each other, Gu Tongwan would set a time for each other. These two hours were for Chen Yanxi. If there was no news after this time, it meant that the other party might have encountered some uncontrollable unexpected situation.

After seeing her open her eyes, Liao Yunyun opened her backpack and took out the thermos cup. She poured herself a small half cup of water and drank it slowly. After she finished, she said, "It's February now. Jiangcheng has had foggy days in February in previous years, but not as severe as this one."

"Now that you mention it, it reminds me that there was a heavy fog in 2015 or early 2016. Jiangcheng even issued an orange fog warning at that time. I remember we were still in junior high school at that time. I was riding a bike to school and almost hit a telephone pole because I couldn't see the road clearly." Liao Yunyun suddenly remembered the heavy fog that year, so she felt a little more energetic and not as sleepy as before. She even recalled the things that happened in school with great interest.

“Two years ago in Hai City, I also encountered a similar foggy day. There was some strange creature in the fog at that time. Perhaps to be more precise, there was a kind of nematode, a strange nematode that could instantly chew all living things until not even a bone was left. I don’t know if the fog this time is related to the things at that time.” Gu Tongwan still remembers the strange thread-like creatures lingering in the air during the fog, as well as the mutant animals that had no time to escape and finally turned into a pile of bones in the strange white fog.

"Thread-like organisms? Wait, I seem to have some impression of what you said. Let me think about it. I must have seen similar reports or news materials somewhere." Liao Yunyun bit her fingers, looking like she was trying hard to recall, so Gu Tongwan didn't disturb her and simply let her think about it carefully.

After thinking about it for nearly five minutes, Liao Yunyun suddenly straightened up, a look of joy on her face, and patted her thigh and said, "It's the fifth biological report!"

"What is that?" asked Gu Tongwan, not knowing what was going on.

Liao Yunyun explained, "The Fifth Biological Report is a documentary content jointly produced by the base's research institute and our unit's news department. It specifically reports or analyzes some special mutant animals that have not yet been officially announced but exist in rumors. It was originally planned to be released in the form of a weekly magazine, but later due to insufficient funds and the research institute's inability to decide on a section responsible for researching the data, the first issue was shelved indefinitely before it was broadcast. A colleague of mine who had a good relationship with me was in charge of this section and showed me the relevant content of the first issue. Among them, the content provided by the research institute included this thread-like creature. It is said that this creature relies on a special component in the air to survive, and likes places with water, and prefers cold or humid weather. It usually appears in autumn and winter. This nematode uses living things as nutrients. Foggy weather is also the best protective color for this creature. Moreover, a certain component in the fog will become thicker and thicker, and this nematode will become more and more active."

After Liao Yunyun said all this in one breath, she realized that her back felt a little cold. This was because she had not expected that such a strange white fog would appear on Blue Star or even in the base. At first, she thought that this was a joint plan by the research institute and the news agency to create a gimmick to get people to buy the magazine.

"When was this [Fifth Biological Report] you mentioned?" Gu Tongwan asked with a frown.

"About a year and a half ago, I had just been transferred to the News Department. The reason why I was so impressed by this incident was that when we were planning to do this page, the Guard even sent someone to talk to our leader for a long time. I guess this matter involves some secrets. I suspect that the reason this project was not carried out was not only because we couldn't find a clerk to be responsible for the content, but also that the base might be secretly researching this creature." Although all this was just Liao Yunyun's speculation, Liao Yunyun believed that she had a high level of political sensitivity. Moreover, the colleague in charge of this content was eventually transferred to the lifestyle page, and all the information he had in his hands was taken back.

"Yunyun, the nematodes I saw in Hai City are afraid of fire. If this kind of white fog exists this time, then our previous weapons will be useless. Do you remember the portable flamethrower I gave you before we set out?"

Gu Tongwan had studied this nematode creature carefully in Hai City back then. The thicker the white fog, the more nematodes there were. But at the same time, the nematodes were afraid of any source of fire or high temperature. They were even extremely sensitive to high temperatures. Once they sensed an open flame nearby, they would quickly avoid or retreat.

This time, before Gu Tongwan set off, he placed several waterproof flamethrowers in his backpack. The reason he carried these flamethrowers was to facilitate ignition outdoors, and also because of the existence of nematodes.

Upon hearing this, Liao Yunyun immediately took out a small flamethrower from her backpack. The gun was about twenty centimeters long and three centimeters thick. From the appearance, the flamethrower looked more like a flashlight and could spray out nearly thirty centimeters of flame. It was not only windproof but could also be used in high temperature environments of over one thousand degrees. Gu Tongwan had bought at least dozens of them online at one time and purchased at least two boxes of flamethrower inflatable gas.

"Does this thing really work?" Liao Yunyun looked at the flamethrower in her hand, instantly opened the lock, put her thumb on the switch and gently pushed it forward, and a blue flame "whoosh" out.

"What nematodes fear most is high temperature. As long as you hold the flamethrower and keep it burning, the nematodes will not come near you." This is a statement of experience. Thinking back to several times when she was fighting for survival, she even relied on a burning stick to temporarily escape from the nematodes in the white fog.

Gu Tongwan was worried that Liao Yunyun was scared, so he continued, "A flamethrower can be used for about two hours. These two hours are enough to find a way to get rid of those nematodes."

Liao Yunyun gritted her teeth and whispered, "It's not confirmed yet that there is such a thing. Let's not think about the worst. Instead of the white fog and nematodes, let's think about what we should do next. I don't think the snowstorm will stop tonight, and we can't stay here forever. After all, the more people there are, the more likely conflicts will arise. Besides, Fan Yong is not a good person. I don't want to stay with such a person for too long." Liao Yunyun has seen too many things that push others into the abyss for selfish reasons. In addition, when there is a lack of food and rescue, people's emotions will be extremely fragile and their ability to withstand stress will decrease. At this time, one or two words can easily break some people's already tense nerves and lead them to do some extreme behaviors.

"Let's wait a little longer. At least we can't leave at night, and we have to wait for Chen Yanxi and Yan Fan." Gu Tongwan said softly.

Liao Yunyun smiled and nodded: "I know, I didn't say we were leaving now. It's so dark outside that even the street lights can't shine. Only a fool would go out at this time, but..." Liao Yunyun's voice suddenly lowered, and her eyes fell on some occasional gazes cast at her from the opposite side.

There were not many girls in the team, and she and Gu Tongwan were particularly eye-catching, especially when they were eating without masks, many people looked at them, and they were amazed at how pretty the two girls were. Before, Chen Yanxi and Yan Fan were afraid of them, so there were fewer covetous eyes, but now that the high-level psychics have left the team, these people's eyes have become unscrupulous, and some even look at them with teasing and joking eyes. If it weren't for the two dogs lying next to them with their eyes closed, I'm afraid someone would have been bold enough to approach and chat with them.

"Don't pay attention to these people. If there are really blind people, I can deal with them." Gu Tongwan added a handful of firewood to the fire, and his voice was so indifferent that it made people feel like falling into an ice cellar.

At this time, Fan Yong was still thinking deeply about what Qin Cong said. After a while, he decided: "Let's go and take a look when the snowstorm is a little smaller. However... I'm afraid we can't find the place you mentioned with just a few of us. But if the whole team goes down together, it will seem too suspicious."

"Brother-in-law, why don't you just tell everyone that the cave is connected to the underground city? Maybe more people will be interested this way?"

Fan Yong quickly waved his hand to reject the proposal, "No, if we do this, it will make people suspicious. How can we be sure that the cave is connected to the underground city when we haven't even entered it yet?"

"But brother-in-law, if we don't go in now, it will be a hindrance once those two superpowers come back. It's better for us to take the initiative."

"Yes, Brother Yong, I don't know why those two superpowers left just now, but I always feel that they may have gone down the cave a long time ago."

"Let me think about it again. We can't be impatient about this matter. If we make a wrong step, everything will be over." Fan Yong is a cautious person. Even though he is very tempted by Qin Cong's proposal and is eager to get the energy stone that can awaken ordinary people, reason has prevailed so far, at least he did not immediately agree to go down the cave.

"What's wrong? What are you talking about?" A slightly charming voice sounded above their heads. Qin Cong and Fan Yong raised their eyes at the same time and saw that Qin Si had come to their side.

"Let's just chat, sister, have you chatted with your little sisters?" Qin Cong has always been well-behaved in front of Qin Si, but now he quickly pretended to be honest.

Qin Si did not continue to look at him, but sat down next to Fan Yong and said, "I'm tired, so I'll rest first. If you have any plans, wake me up." After saying that, he leaned against the wall as a matter of course, yawned several times, pulled his hat down, and fell asleep.

Fan Yong said to Qin Cong, "Let's talk about what happened later. Now everyone should get some rest so that you don't have too much energy tomorrow."

Qin Cong exchanged glances with the man beside him, and glanced at the wind and snow outside. He knew that going out now would be suicide, so he could only wait and see for the time being.

Chen Yanxi and Yan Fan came back in the early morning, just when Gu Tongwan had packed her clothes and was ready to go out. Although Chen Yanxi looked normal, Yan Fan beside him was in a state of nervousness. In addition to a strong sense of vigilance, this situation may also be caused by something he may have encountered not long ago, which has caused this emotion to not completely subside until now.

"Have you entered the cave?" Gu Tongwan smelled a very strange smell from the two people. This smell was similar to the smell of corruption and blood. Although it was very faint, she was very sensitive to smells. In addition, the blood vines on the back of her hand suddenly became restless, which was clearly a reaction to the two of them. Before that, the blood vines had been in a 'hibernation' state. The only reason that could make them so sensitive could only be because they had the scent of other mutant creatures on them.

Chen Yanxi didn't think of hiding it from Gu Tongwan, so he nodded slightly: "There is indeed something inside, and it is very dangerous."