A red heavy-duty truck was traveling along the empty highway.
Wang Yan was driving, Guan Tong sat in the passenger seat, and Chen Na stayed in the sleeper berth behind them. Their destination for this trip was Yunhua City.
It was already July 9th. Several days had passed since the rules ended, and under the scorching sun, the snow on the highway had mostly lted. The ltwater had turned the deep ditches on both sides of the road into small streams.
"Look at all this ltwater, the city's drainage systems must be completely overwheld," Wang Yan said. "I wonder how they'll handle it."
"Mom, with the sun so strong now, won't the water on the roads dry up quickly?" Chen Na said from her sleeper berth.
"Hmm, that makes sense too." Wang Yan nodded and turned to Guan Tong in the passenger seat. "Xiao Guan, you're a local of Yunhua. Do you have any plans after we get back?"
"Not too many plans. Just that after settling down, I'll prepare for the next Doomsday Rule as soon as possible," Guan Tong said.
Wang Yan sighed. "True. A month passes quickly. It's already the 9th today, and in just over twenty days there will be new rules again. Sigh, when will this ever end?"
"Aren't there forty-nine in total?" Chen Na showed the optimistic spirit of a child. "Four have already passed, that's... one-twelfth! Feels like it'll be over soon!"
Hearing this, Wang Yan smiled sowhat helplessly.
Children didn't know how cruel reality could be, but she, as an adult, understood all too well.
If most rules were like the second and third ones, where you could choose to give up the challenge, that would be manageable. But if there were many survival-type rules mixed in, like the first and fourth ones, each would be a major test.
Guan Tong also rembered clearly that the Fire Thief had explicitly said that after passing all forty-nine rules, they still had to participate in Doomsday Operations. The danger of the latter was probably even more terrifying than the rules themselves.
But he felt there was no need to think too far ahead now and put too much pressure on himself.
Each barrier is tough, but you pass them one by one. It's better to focus on the rule at hand.
The truck traveled for so ti, and when passing by the ruins of a village, Wang Yan's expression turned extrely grim.
Chen Na in the sleeper berth also sat up and looked out the window, saying, "Mom, isn't this our village..."
"...Yes."
They had reached Sun Family Village?
Guan Tong looked out the truck window. As far as he could see, the houses of the village on one side of the highway were almost completely crushed. They must have been buried in snow before, and now, eight days later, as the sun lted the snow, they were revealed.
Roofs, door fras, tiles, wooden beams, composite boards... along with various farming tools and belongings, many were floating in the lted snowwater.
If you looked carefully, you could vaguely see so floating villager corpses in the flooded snowwater.
Guan Tong withdrew his gaze and glanced at Wang Yan, who was driving. Seeing her pale face, he asked with concern, "Sister Wang, are you okay?"
"It's fine... Xiao Guan. I'm just feeling terrified in hindsight. If I hadn't taken Nana out driving, probably..."
"..."
Indeed, if they had chosen to stay in the village, without receiving any rescue, the outco likely wouldn't have been good.
"I must take Nana to the capital!" Wang Yan said through gritted teeth. "Only there can Nana be safe!"
She had already considered this plan before, but after witnessing the tragic state of her village with her own eyes, her resolve had strengthened even further.
Chen Na, at this mont, stared wide-eyed at the floating village ruins in the snowwater and suddenly blurted out, "The people who bullied us like this should be dead too, so that's a good thing, right?"
Both Wang Yan and Guan Tong turned to look at her with so surprise, but neither said anything.
The vehicle continued on its way.
The closer they got to Yunhua, the more accumulated water appeared on the road.
When they were less than ten kiloters from the city, the situation on the road was like after several days of heavy rain, with the water depth almost reaching the big truck's wheels.
"Did the city drain all the water outside? Why is there so much water out here?" Wang Yan slowed down and drove carefully while observing the road conditions.
Guan Tong speculated, "It's possible that ergency departnts took advantage of the snow before it lted a few days ago and transported large amounts of snow outside the city using dump trucks to reduce drainage pressure inside the city."
"But that makes entering and leaving the city difficult."
"Yeah. But probably not many people have been traveling in and out of the city during this period anyway."
The truck plowed through the water forward. After entering the Yunhua suburbs, they found the water here was even deeper, almost reaching the truck's door level.
Fortunately, this was a tall heavy-duty truck. If they were driving a small car, the entire vehicle would probably be subrged, and the driver would be left sitting in the car helpless.
Luckily, after driving further ahead, the water on the road gradually decreased. Because the terrain beca higher the closer they got to the urban area, much of the water flowed toward the lower-lying suburbs.
By the ti they entered the developnt zone, the water on the road was only shin-deep, and they began to see so vehicles on the road, though most were official supply trucks and special-purpose vehicles.
"Xiao Guan, should we go directly to the hospital or drop you off sowhere first?" Wang Yan sought Guan Tong's opinion.
"Let's go to the hospital first, Sister Wang. Your matter is more urgent."
Guan Tong thought for a mont and took out his phone. "Let
contact various hospitals first to see which ones are open now."
After entering the era of Doomsday Rules, in all industries where machines could replace human labor, they basically had been replaced, and large numbers of people in these industries no longer worked.
But important institutions like hospitals were still operating. Although many doctors and nurses had resigned, there were always so who chose to stay at their posts, and others who joined actively out of their love for dicine. Moreover, the authorities provided additional rewards and support to those remaining at important institutions to ensure they could continue operating.
Yunhua City had many hospitals. Guan Tong called five well-known hospitals to inquire. Three of them were still closed, and only two had recently opened. However, the operators on the phone said there were very many patients, and coming wouldn't guarantee quick treatnt.
It made sense. After a month of blizzards and low temperatures, who knew how many survivors had caught colds or fevers. They were probably crowding the hospitals now.
But they still had to go. Guan Tong chose one that was closer. However, when Wang Yan drove the truck to the edge of the developnt zone, they were stopped by people wearing Ergency Managent Bureau uniforms.
Two bureau mbers ca forward, inquired about their situation, and inford them, "There are many supply trucks active in the urban district right now. Your type of large truck entering might cause traffic congestion, so it's not allowed. Please park in a nearby parking lot first."
"Then how will the patient in our truck get to the hospital?" Guan Tong asked.
After discussing briefly, the two bureau mbers said, "We happen to have several colleagues driving to the urban area for work. They can take the patient. But the car can't fit all three of you. Who is the patient?"
"It's ," Wang Yan said.
"Okay, that's one. The car can take one more person at most. Let your young daughter co along. Your son can manage later."
Hearing this, Guan Tong was speechless. Wang Yan also said awkwardly, "Oh, you've mistaken him. He's not my son."
"Sister Wang, you and Xiao Na should go with their car then. Getting dical treatnt is urgent," Guan Tong said. "I can get back to the urban area on my own later."
"This... is this alright? Leaving you, Xiao Guan, alone here..."
The Ergency Managent Bureau staff mber said, "What's there to worry about with a young fellow like him? We'll arrange a ride to the city for him when there's an available car later. Hurry up, our colleagues are urging us."
"Alright then." Seeing the situation, Wang Yan could only drive her truck to the parking lot first, then get into the Ergency Managent Bureau's car with her daughter Chen Na and leave.
After Guan Tong watched them leave, one of the earlier bureau mbers said to him, "If you want to go to the urban area, you'll have to wait a bit. There might be a car from our unit later that can give you a lift."
After saying this, the staff mber also seed curious. "But speaking of which, yours is the first private vehicle to enter the city from outside in the past few days. I heard the nearby villages and towns were all buried in snow. You guys managed to survive, that's impressive."
Guan Tong nodded but didn't say more.
Moreover, he didn't want to wait here foolishly. After standing for just a short while, he decided to start walking toward the urban area on foot.
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