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After the RV drove four kilometers away from the industrial area, the air began to warm up.The outside temperature reading on the dashboard slowly climbed from ten degrees to nineteen degrees, and the on-board defrost system shut down automatically.When I passed through the area of ​​heat-absorbing mycelium, a thin layer of ice formed on the edge of the car window, and now it turned into water droplets and dripped down.

Zhou Jianguo gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his finger joints turned white. It was not because he was afraid, but because the tension of the past ten minutes had not completely dissipated.He let go of one hand and wiped the sweat on his pants, then grabbed it back.Liu Gang climbed down from the observation tower on the roof of the car, placed the telescope on the console, picked up his enamel jar and took a big gulp of cold water, his Adam's apple rolling up and down.

"Will those piles of white hair catch up?"

Professor Zhang did not raise his head, staring at the readings on the data board.The energy signal of the mycelium network stabilizes on the display screen, stabilizing at a not low value, but has no tendency to spread outward.He turned the data tablet half a circle and pushed it in front of Lin Hao.

"It accumulates energy in place. At this growth rate, if you give it another three days, the border line will not be able to trap it. However, the bombing of the Ashes Agreement will arrive first in three days. By then, no matter how much heat it can absorb, it will not be able to survive the high temperature and pressure of the cloud bomb."

Lai Wenbin's communication came in from the rear car, his voice muffled by the sound of the engine: "Team Lin, my people have just counted the material losses. When passing through the industrial area, the truck's fuel tank leaked a section. It is not a physical damage, but the rubber oil pipe has absorbed the heat and aged and cracked. We did a temporary repair, but the leaked diesel oil cannot be recovered."

"How far can you run?"

"Based on the current fuel consumption, we can't make it to the transfer station. It's about 20 kilometers away."

Lin Hao pulled the route on the navigation screen.The transfer station is forty-nine kilometers southeast, with two abandoned gas stations marked along the way.The first one is twelve kilometers away, and it is marked on the system map as "Structurally intact, fuel status unknown."The second one is thirty-six kilometers away, next to a small cement factory.

"Stop at the first gas station and pump gas."

Lai Wenbin replied "received" and the communication was hung up.

At the back of the carriage, Uncle Chen sat on a folding chair and took out the arrows in the arrow pot one by one to check.The bowstring of the compound bow was slightly loosened by the previous bumps. He tightened the adjustment screw with a wrench and plucked the string with his thumb. There was a muffled buzz, and the vibration frequency made him nod.

Su Qing poked her head out from the medical area: "If you park in front, Chen Xuewei needs to get out of the car and take a breath. The car has been stuffy for too long. Although the wound is not infected, the blood circulation is not good and the legs are a bit swollen."

"Ten minutes."

Zhao Tiezhu leaned against the car door. The samurai sword had been retracted into its sheath. He repeatedly wiped the non-slip rope on the handle with a small piece of oil cloth.The gap at the end of the knife's handle was still there. It was broken when he cut the Omega's bone armor before, but he didn't repair it.

"Do you think that mycelial network is a type of mutant?"

Professor Zhang raised his eyes from the data board: "Strictly speaking, it counts. But it is not an animal mutation. The currently known infection route of GX-17 is the fusion of animal cells. Plants and fungi have different cell wall structures and theoretically cannot be infected. The one in the industrial area is more likely to be the product of gene editing."

"Genesis?"

"Or something earlier than Genesis. Chu He said that the experiments underground in Maplewood Town were only part of the overall GX-17 research and development plan. The core matrix Omega was transported from elsewhere. If Omega can be transported here, it is not surprising that other experimental products are scattered around."

The conversation was interrupted by the traffic ahead.The road split into two parts, with a crack about five meters wide in the middle. The depth could not be seen clearly, and there was the sound of water flowing underneath.The asphalt pavement on both sides of the crack lifted up, revealing the brown-red soil underneath.It was not caused by an earthquake. There were regular shoveling marks on the edges of the cracks.

"It was dug manually." Zhou Jianguo stopped the car, leaned forward and looked forward, "This width cannot be passed by a truck."

Zhao Tiezhu jumped out of the car, walked to the edge of the crack and took a look down.The water flow is very fast, white in color, and carries silt.There was an overturned forklift on the other side. The cab was empty and there was a thick layer of rust on the control lever.The bucket of the forklift was still embedded in the soil at the edge of the crack.

"Someone dug up the road deliberately to block something." Zhao Tiezhu turned around and said in the direction of the carriage.

Lin Hao got out of the car and walked to the crack.This road was originally open on the system map, and the digging time should not be long, no more than two days.He looked along the crack to both sides. The mounds of soil extending in the east and west directions formed a loose earth wall. Together with a few abandoned vehicles scattered across the crack, they formed a simple fortification.

Behind the fortifications, there was smoke.

It's cooking smoke.It rises from behind an abandoned gas station. It is very thin and floats close to the ground. If you don't pay attention, it will be regarded as dust.

Behind the pile of broken bricks on the other side of the crack, a head poked out, then retracted.After about ten seconds, a skinny man stood up from behind the pile of bricks, holding a sharpened steel bar in his hand with a few rusty nails welded to the head.He looked at Lin Hao's motorcade without saying anything or hiding.

"The bridge is broken." The man finally spoke, his voice hoarse, and every word seemed to have been rubbed out from sandpaper.

"I can see it." Lin Hao didn't move forward and shouted through the crack, "Who dug it?"

"We." The man punched the steel bars on the ground and leaned on them to take a breath. "There is something in the cement factory ahead. Dig the road and it won't be able to get through."

"What kind of thing?"

The man didn't answer.He took out half of the cigarette butt from his pocket, held it in his mouth and chewed it without lighting it.After a while, he pointed back in the direction of the gas station: "If you want to take a detour, you can get there from the east river beach, and you have to wade through the water. If you want to pump gas, there is still more than half a tank of diesel in the underground tank of the gas station. We haven't moved it, so we can't use it."

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