The sky was bright, Brian and Sarah rose early to prepare for departure.
Osborn also intended to see if he could contact an old friend to report the situation, but the RV could not be left unattended, so he asked Kelly to stay behind and keep watch.
Leaving the abandoned Factory and walking onto the main street, although it was not yet 7 o’clock, the street was already packed with people.
All the Survivors living in tents in the city had left their dwellings and were walking toward the central district to collect their meager rations.
Looking at the dense crowd, Brian sighed, holding Sarah’s hand to avoid getting separated, and recalling the route Antoine had mentioned yesterday, he walked in the opposite direction of the crowd.
“We want freedom!
We want democracy!
We want human rights!
We want the economy!” “Freedom is fundamental!” “Quarantine is worse than the virus!” “Fear is the only infectious disease!” Just as Brian and Sarah crossed a long street, a group of protesters holding opposition signs suddenly emerged on the road ahead, raising their signs high and shouting slogans passionately.
On the side of the street, there were dozens of people kneeling with their hands clasped, muttering something.
In their midst, a woman held a blackboard that read: This disaster is a punishment from the devil to humanity; faith in God can help you avoid the virus.
The surrounding pedestrians and police just watched everything with indifference, and no one paid any special attention, as if they were already accustomed to such things.
“Ridiculous.” Faced with this scene, Brian felt it was incredibly absurd, which reminded him of a saying he had heard in his previous life.
Compared to defeating the virus, defeating stupidity is the top priority!
Once the marching crowd had moved on, they crossed the road, asked pedestrians for directions along the way, and after walking for nearly another hour, they found the location of the address Arman had left for them.
It was a four-story residential building.
The two walked up the stairs to the third floor, Brian confirmed the room number, went to the door, and knocked lightly three times.
“Knock!
Knock!
Knock!” But after waiting for a long time without receiving an answer from inside, he knocked three more times.
Only then did a nervous female voice come from within.
“Who is it?” “Hello, does Grandpa Arman live here?” Seeing that someone had answered, Brian asked politely.
Upon hearing the name, there was an instant silence inside.
Immediately after, Brian saw the peephole on the door turn black, clearly indicating someone was watching them through it.
A moment later, the door was opened, but because the door chain was still attached, it only revealed a small gap.
A thin, middle-aged woman appeared at the gap, looking suspiciously at the two children in front of her.
“…What do you want with him?” Looking at the woman through the gap, Brian guessed she must be Arman’s daughter, June, the one who had written the note in the cabin by the lake.
He handed the note with the address to the gap in the door and said: “This is the address Grandpa Arman left for us.
We met in Austin and just arrived in Dallas yesterday, so we wanted to ask him about some things here.
Is he here?” Taking the note, the woman looked at the words written on it, turned around, and shouted into the room: “Dad, two children are here to see you.
Come take a look.” “Children?” As soon as the woman finished speaking, a puzzled voice came from inside, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.
Soon, an elderly man with gray hair appeared at the gap—it was Arman, whom Brian and the others had met before.
“Brian!
Sarah!” Arman looked at the two children outside with pleasant surprise, quickly unlatched the door chain, and beckoned, “Quick, come in.” Brian and Sarah walked into the room and looked around.
It was a typical three-bedroom apartment, but it was empty and bare; it seemed they weren’t doing very well either.
Arman warmly invited them into the living room and then began to ask when they had arrived and if they had a place to stay.
If not, he offered to let them stay there for the time being.
Brian keenly noticed that when Arman offered to let them stay, his daughter June, who was standing to the side, clearly frowned slightly.
She was obviously somewhat dissatisfied with her father’s unilateral decision, but she didn’t say anything, just stood there quietly.
Knowing that everyone was having a hard time, Brian shook his head and declined the offer.
Their purpose in coming here was not to cause trouble for others.
He told Arman what he wanted to know, hoping to get some useful information from him.
Arman also realized that his decision just now had been a bit impulsive.
Understanding Brian’s intentions, he thought for a moment, organized his thoughts, and said: “Because of this epidemic, the whole country is now in a very tense state.
Many cities seem to have started refusing to accept outsiders.
If it weren’t for the fact that Dallas is closest to the Infected zone and needs to take in Survivors, I’m afraid it would have entered a lockdown state too.” “However, I have heard that Dallas is almost unable to continue accommodating Survivors.
The Military might use trucks to transport some of the Survivors to other cities.
If you want to leave here, that might be the only chance; otherwise, you’ll probably have to wait until this epidemic is over.” The epidemic would end?
Seeing that Arman was still hoping that this disaster would end, Brian sighed slightly in his heart.
The other man did not understand what he had experienced, so he still hoped that the Government could develop a vaccine to resolve the pathogen.
But ever since he learned that the Military had launched a “indiscriminate purge,” he knew that the Government might no longer be able to control this epidemic.
Brian listened to Arman recounting information about Dallas, and combined with what the old man Antoine had said last night, he generally had a basic understanding of the situation here.
However, the last thing Arman mentioned made him very concerned: after the Military took control of Dallas, they cordoned off the entire industrial area in the west of the city, took over all the Factories, and began building high walls there.
Although it was unclear what the Government was planning to do, it had aroused speculation among the people of Dallas.
Brian understood that even if this disaster was inevitable, the national Government would never choose to sit and wait for death.
They would definitely make preparations, and taking over the basic industrial areas was highly likely the first step they were taking to make changes.
Having obtained the information he wanted, and with Arman promising to help them inquire about leaving Dallas, Brian stopped bothering him and left with Sarah.
On the way back, he passed by a Hospital and casually took a flyer handed to him by a Nurse at the entrance.
He discovered that it was actually a flyer about the cordyceps brain infection, which immediately piqued his interest, and he began to browse through the content: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has produced a manual to increase awareness of the cordyceps brain infection (CBI) and prevent infection.
Background: The cordyceps is a type of parasitic bacteria that occupies the host’s mind and changes its behavior.
Until recently, this bacteria only Infected some arthropods among insects.
Recently, a new strain has appeared that can parasitize the human body.
Transmission: The two known pathways for CBI infection are: 1.
Inhaling spores released by the cordyceps.
2.
Contact with the bodily fluids of a CBI Infected, usually caused by being bitten.
Incubation Period: After infection, the parasitic bacteria will move to the host’s brain within one to two days.
Once the cordyceps controls all the host’s major bodily functions, the incubation period is declared over.
Symptoms: 1.
In the first stage of CBI, patients will exhibit abnormal behavior and violent tendencies, attacking those around them.
2.
The bacteria will eventually break through the host’s body tissues, releasing spores that scatter into the air.
Treatment: There is no vaccine capable of treating CBI, nor is there any existing method to prolong the incubation period.
Diagnosis: CBI can be diagnosed through blood and microscopic imaging tests (usually performed on the ear), and will test positive within minutes of infection.
Brian looked at the contents of the flyer in his hand; what was written on it gave him a whole new understanding of the pathogen raging outside.
But when he looked up, he suddenly discovered that for some reason, the pedestrians on the street had quickened their pace and started running.
Even the people who were still marching stopped shouting slogans, choosing to disperse on the spot and run into the surrounding residential buildings, looking as if they were trying to return to their homes.
Such an abnormal scene made Brian feel uneasy, and he dared not linger there any longer.
He called Sarah and ran toward the abandoned Factory.
Returning to the abandoned Factory, he was somewhat surprised to find that the surrounding Survivors were all crowded in front of a television set, watching it.
Everyone was cursing, their expressions extremely angry and panicked.
Seeing this, Brian hurried back to the Camp, finding Osborn and Kelly both by the RV, also watching the content broadcast on a television.
That television set was inside the RV of their neighbor, Mr.
Antoine.
He walked up quickly, without greeting the two beside him, and looked directly at the television, where a female anchor was broadcasting the news.
Listening to the broadcast, Brian understood that this country was already terminally ill, and the end of humanity was inevitable.