Chapter 281: The City of Mold (3)

Chapter 281: The City of Mold (Part Three)

Lin Xiaofeng felt an itch on her foot and looked up to see the mold on Aunt Lan's face creeping over her eyeballs. Lin Xiaofeng tightened her grip on the body bag and said, "It's here."

Lin Xiaofeng observed from behind. Aunt Lan seemed to have a slight limp, one leg not as agile as the other. Xiao Wu, on the other hand, appeared to be deliberately entertaining Aunt Lan, full of energy, asking questions about everything, which even made Lin Xiaofeng feel a bit annoyed. But Aunt Lan didn't find it annoying; she even found it amusing.

They looked like any ordinary mother and son. Were they the source of contamination? Lin Xiaofeng, lacking experience, couldn't tell, but Aunt Lan's sudden appearance must have some purpose.

Aunt Lan and Xiao Wu reminded Lin Xiaofeng of the "strange tales" from the old world, stories of how before the great disaster, many people would kidnap children. The kidnappers usually appeared harmless—pregnant women or elderly people—to lower the guard of their targets.

They would make requests, saying they were lost or hungry, asking if someone could take them somewhere.

Once there, a van would be waiting, and they'd be stuffed into large sacks and taken away.

Lin Xiaofeng used to regard these as urban legends from the old world, finding them somewhat unbelievable in her time. But this story had always left a seed of distrust in her, making it impossible for her to trust Aunt Lan.

Where exactly was Moon Street? Lin Xiaofeng didn't know the way and could only follow Aunt Lan, who seemed very familiar with the area, navigating without a map.

As they walked, a row of cars suddenly appeared by the roadside. Lin Xiaofeng whispered, "There are cars."

If they had a car, it would be much faster. Lin Xiaofeng was grateful to Zhu Ning for teaching her how to drive.

But Aunt Lan and Xiao Wu showed no excitement, shaking their heads calmly.

Unconsciously, Lin Xiaofeng quickened her pace. Even if the car was broken, she could fix it. As she reached out to touch the car, she pulled back her hand, almost screaming.

Inside the car was a stranger's corpse. One hand rested on the steering wheel, mouth wide open, with mold growing out of his tongue. His body was covered in a layer of furry mold, making his features unrecognizable, and his entire volume had doubled.

The mold extended from the corpse to the ceiling of the car, making it seem as though the driver and the vehicle were one, indistinguishable from each other.

Aunt Lan covered her mouth and stepped back, saying, "Xiao Wu, stay back."

Lin Xiaofeng immediately stumbled backward. She looked at the car ahead and saw the same situation—the drivers were all infected, dead with their mouths wide open, mold bursting out of their bodies.

Lin Xiaofeng, wearing a helmet, didn't need to cover her nose and mouth, but she instinctively raised her hand to shield herself. "What happened?"

Aunt Lan explained, "It started through the air conditioning and ventilation systems. In summer, many people use air conditioning. Once turned on, the spores of the mold were blown out, and many drivers died."

Lin Xiaofeng asked, "Why wasn't the mall affected?"

Lin Xiaofeng had come out of the mall and hadn't encountered anything unusual.

Aunt Lan shook her head. "The outbreak happened at night when the mall was closed."

At night, an unknown virus spread, drifting from the air conditioning vents. In the hot summer, people would definitely turn on their air conditioners to cool down, and drivers generally kept theirs on. After inhaling the mold, they became dizzy, their hearts raced, and they felt nauseous, pulling over to the side of the road.

But soon, the mold infected their lungs, spreading throughout their internal organs. They suffocated to death, and after they died, the mold continued to spread, turning their bodies into new breeding grounds.

When the mold infected the entire city, those who couldn't afford air conditioning or were homeless were the last to be infected.

Everyone was just an ordinary person, differing only in whether they were infected early or late. During that time, hospitals were overwhelmed, and by the time they figured out the pattern of infection, it was too late.

From Aunt Lan and Xiao Wu's attire, it seemed they were either poor or had coincidentally not turned on their air conditioning. Lin Xiaofeng understood why Xiao Wu wore a gas mask.

Aunt Lan sighed, "If one hand is infected, you can cut it off. If it's an internal infection, there's no saving you."

Lin Xiaofeng asked, "When did this happen, Aunt Lan?"

This place outside the wall retained the architectural style of the old century, indicating it had been more than eighty years since then.

Aunt Lan shook her head, "I don't remember. A few months, maybe."

Aunt Lan was particularly vague about this point, giving inconsistent answers—sometimes a month, sometimes a year. Lin Xiaofeng noticed that there was no sense of time or place here, as if it were a city isolated from the rest of the world.

But through their conversation, Lin Xiaofeng learned about Aunt Lan's background. They were a single-parent family; the child's father was a scoundrel who abandoned them. Aunt Lan worked as a "spider person," cleaning windows while hanging from the outside, working outdoors even in the heat of summer.

When the disaster struck, they were huddled on a small bed, using a fan. But eventually, they were still infected.

Lin Xiaofeng asked, "Can it spread from person to person?"

Aunt Lan replied, "I don't know. It's unclear."

If it spread through the air, who could say whether it came from a companion or just a breath of bad luck?

Lin Xiaofeng didn't know what to say. In this world, even breathing was a mistake. Although she was temporarily safe in her protective suit, Zhu Ning was constantly exposed to the air. She couldn't help but want to check on Zhu Ning, hoping her wound was okay.

Aunt Lan said, "My eyesight is getting worse. Let's hurry."

The three of them quickened their pace. Along the way, Lin Xiaofeng saw many people who had died from the mold. Some were leaning against utility poles, perhaps vomiting before being entangled by the mold, frozen in a pose like a statue.

Hanging from trees were bodies of people who had hanged themselves, a common "apocalyptic scene" born of utter despair, finding a rope and ending their lives.

The most terrifying sight was passing through a residential complex where the residents had tried to escape, but the iron gate was locked. Each person had reached out, and the mold had entangled hundreds of residents together, breathing as one, forever intertwined with the gate.

As Lin Xiaofeng passed by, the hundreds of people seemed like a massive monster, making her feel uneasy.

It was strange; after walking for so long, they had only encountered Aunt Lan and Xiao Wu, as if everyone else in the city had died. And indeed, they had.

Aunt Lan's vision was getting worse. She covered her eyes, feeling pain, unable to continue.

After walking all day, Lin Xiaofeng's feet were sore, let alone the two of them.

They chose to rest in a shop, a sweet soup store that once sold grass jelly and double-layer milk. Inside, the walls were covered with mold.

Even with her injured eyes, Aunt Lan was still observing the shop, wary of any hidden dangers.

While Aunt Lan checked, Xiao Wu sat on a table, swinging his legs, holding a large flashlight. His shadow cast on the wall, and he said, looking at the mold, "It looks like someone playing ball."

Lin Xiaofeng followed his gaze and indeed saw a resemblance. Xiao Wu added, "That one looks like an airplane."

Lin Xiaofeng also watched, just finding Xiao Wu adorable, but the next moment her heart tightened; Xiao Wu was definitely contaminated now. When he was human, he must have been truly that cute.

Xiao Wu looked at the wall with longing and suddenly said, "There's a dancing lady on my face too."

Lin Xiaofeng didn't understand at first and asked, "What?"

"A dancing lady," Xiao Wu stretched out his arms in a ballet pose, "and she spins."

Humans, once they put on a mask, no longer seem human, let alone a gas mask. Xiao Wu's action made people feel uneasy. Lin Xiaofeng felt as if she could see a moldy ballet box shape on his face through the mask, spinning every day.

"The water here is also contaminated," Aunt Lan suddenly pulled back the curtain and came out, asking, "Where will you sleep, Xiao Xiao? Inside or outside?"

Lin Xiaofeng was a bit troubled. She had never been out alone before. After some thought, she said, "I'll sleep inside."

If Zhu Ning were awake, she would certainly remind Lin Xiaofeng to sleep outside for an easy escape. But Lin Xiaofeng didn't think of this, which was her first mistake.

The sugar water shop had two sides, both filled with tables. Lin Xiaofeng pushed two tables together. With her psychic strength, it wasn't tiring, but while pushing, she pretended to be quite tired.

After pushing the tables, she turned around and saw a figure at the door. Indeed, Xiao Wu was watching her from behind.

Lin Xiaofeng said, "I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight."

Lin Xiaofeng and Xiao Wu were roughly the same age, but Lin Xiaofeng was more mature and looked much older than Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu stared at Lin Xiaofeng for a while, then ran away with a thud, looking for his mother. The boy ran like a ghost, and Lin Xiaofeng muttered under her breath as he left.

The kitchen was nearby, so Lin Xiaofeng took a look at the faucet. As expected, the mold had grown together, making it unusable.

After a while, the flashlight in the hall went out, and there was no sound, not even a breath, everything was quiet.

Once she was sure no one would appear, Lin Xiaofeng opened the body bag to check on Zhu Ning.

Zhu Ning was wrapped like a dumpling. Most of the time, she stayed in the body bag, but the bandages had become damp, and spots of mold had grown on them.

Lin Xiaofeng was worried about Zhu Ning's wounds getting infected and lifted her arm to examine it. This time, Zhu Ning had grown faster. Her right arm had extended significantly, almost reaching the wrist. The bandage was too short, and the new part grew outside.

The newly grown section of Zhu Ning's arm was very pink, the skin not fully formed, looking very "fresh." However, there was a patch of black mold on it.

Lin Xiaofeng felt guilty for not taking good care of Zhu Ning. How did she get moldy? She was wrapped so tightly.

She gently poked it, expecting the newly grown arm to be fragile, perhaps just a facade. To her surprise, there was a layer of muscle underneath, as strong as Zhu Ning's old arm.

She rubbed it a few times, smearing the mold, but it wouldn't come off. Lin Xiaofeng's heart grew colder; Zhu Ning couldn't afford any more trouble.

Lin Xiaofeng didn't cut Zhu Ning out of the body bag. She checked below and found that her abdomen had also grown.

Zhu Ning was cut from the navel, and now it had grown four fingers' length. Lin Xiaofeng didn't understand the process—did the external body grow first, followed by internal organs once the shell was complete?

Or did it grow simultaneously, with two ribs growing externally and two inches of intestines internally? That would be like a printer.

At this rate, it should take two days to grow fingers, and the lower limbs might take a week.

She didn't know how long it had been outside, or how Pei Shu and Bai Cheng were doing. Lin Xiaofeng felt a bit worried, sensing something wasn't right.

Bad Zhu Ning, Lin Xiaofeng muttered again.

While wrapping Zhu Ning's arm, she thought about what to do. When Zhu Ning wakes up, Lin Xiaofeng must talk to her, no more hiding feelings.

Lin Xiaofeng wrapped Zhu Ning's arm and decided to wrap the newly grown part of her lower body. This was a bit complicated; she had to pull down the body bag and let Zhu Ning's head rest on her shoulder temporarily.

Just as Lin Xiaofeng lifted Zhu Ning's chin, Zhu Ning unexpectedly opened her eyes. Lin Xiaofeng knew she was alive, but it felt like a zombie rising. Zhu Ning's face showed no expression, her eyes cold and icy.

"Go," Zhu Ning's voice was weak, but her words were sharp and clear, "quickly."

Lin Xiaofeng was stunned, not yet ready to rejoice. She realized Zhu Ning wasn't looking at her but behind her.

As soon as Zhu Ning spoke, a dark shadow appeared behind her, enveloping her.