However, in a nearly sealed space with hundreds of people crammed together, and with the air-conditioning blowing hot air 24/7, the virus would spread and proliferate at an alarming rate.
If even one person got sick, it could quickly spread to others. Listening to the coughs rising and falling all around, Xu Xiaotian figured at least several dozen people in the hotel were already sick.
This made his heart tighten. He felt that if things continued like this, the situation would become dire.
The blizzard had only been going on for a few days, and so many people were already getting sick. What if someone’s condition worsened and medicine alone wasn’t enough?
In this god-awful weather, how could they even get anyone to a hospital? It wasn’t even clear if the hospitals were still operational...
He wasn’t the only one who had noticed this problem. A clamor had already erupted from the lobby outside.
Someone was shouting.
"Quarantine! We have to lock the ones who are coughing in the guest rooms and quarantine them! At a time like this, we absolutely cannot let them spread the virus to others!"
...
Under the same night sky, different problems were emerging in different places.
Guan Tong wasn’t troubled by problems like infectious diseases at the moment, but he had problems of his own.
He stared in the direction of the highway. As time passed, two cylindrical beams of light grew brighter and brighter, signaling that a large vehicle was getting closer.
He could even hear a "VRRUM... PSSSH..." sound—the kind only a big truck would make.
While remaining vigilant, Guan Tong also felt a little curious.
The rules had been in effect for several days now, and the snow on the roads had already grown thick and frozen over.
Driving out here at a time like this, weren’t they afraid of getting stuck in a snowdrift? Or a wheel slipping and sending them into a ditch?
Guan Tong had worried about his wheels slipping on the first day of the rules, let alone now, four days later.
To dare to be driving out here at this time... say what you will, but they had guts!
’And by the looks of it, this driver is also heading for Mingdao Mountain because it’s deserted and gets less snow.’
Other than that, there was no other reason someone would risk driving a big truck out to a desolate place like this.
There it was!
Just then, Guan Tong saw the vehicle appear with his own eyes.
Just as he’d guessed, it was a large cargo truck, and the two cylindrical beams were coming from its headlights.
Guan Tong had heard that many truck drivers modified their headlights, and he didn’t know if this one had. But the lights were certainly bright enough, illuminating the surroundings as if it were daytime.
"SKREEE—CH!"
The truck braked and stopped at the edge of the highway, not far from the end of the small path Guan Tong had cleared with his folding shovel.
Because the driver’s seat was high up, giving them a commanding view, they must have seen the little path Guan Tong had cleared, illuminated by the headlights.
Guan Tong glanced at his personal status panel. Because he had used some of his Psychic Power writing during the day, he had recovered less than a third of it.
If he summoned his Shadow, it would probably only last for a little over 30 seconds.
He pulled up his hood, silently picked up the iron tongs he had taken from the self-serve supply point earlier, and started walking out along the path.
In any case, since the truck driver had discovered the path, an encounter was now unavoidable.
Guan Tong wanted to go over and see if he could communicate amicably with the newcomers.
If they came with good intentions, he wouldn’t mind cooperating to get through the remainder of the rules’ duration together.
If they had ill intentions, his experience with the gang kidnapping and the earlier conflict at the supply point had given him sufficient resolve to fight.
There was no movement from the front of the truck. The driver, for whatever reason, didn’t open the door to get out.
Just as Guan Tong was about to reach the front of the truck at the end of the path, a door opened with a WHOOSH, and a rather small figure jumped down, stepping on the running board first.
"Oof!"
Guan Tong was slightly taken aback to see a little girl with a ponytail jump down. She looked to be an elementary school student, around ten years old.
After jumping down, the little girl saw Guan Tong as well. Startled, she quickly shouted, "Mom! Someone’s here!"
"Don’t be afraid, Nana!"
Immediately after, a middle-aged woman in a thick cotton coat also got out of the truck.
She clutched a flashlight in one hand and a crowbar in the other. After getting out, she shielded her daughter behind her and nervously shone the flashlight at Guan Tong’s face.
Guan Tong raised a hand to block the bright light and said, "Don’t shine that in my eyes. You can turn off the flashlight. Your truck’s headlights are bright enough."