The Thirtieth Section: Deep Sleep

  Unlike others who had companions, Zhao Zhong knew he and Songba could only travel alone. To avoid the windshield icing up, even if not to sweep away snow, he turned on the wipers with a "whooshing" sound.

  "Zhao Zhong, isn't your speed slower than before?"

  Although Song Ba's vision was affected and he couldn't even see the dashboard in front of Zhao Zhong, it didn't mean his senses were dull. It wasn't that he wanted to urge Zhao Zhong on, but rather he couldn't find a reason for Zhao Zhong to slow down.

  "This is an inevitable phenomenon with anti-skid chains, although they can prevent slipping, they will definitely make the car lose some speed. However, considering that we still have to drive through six gullies later, we can't be too careless."

  It was unexpected that Zhao Zhong could also say such steady words, Song Ba was slightly surprised, but didn't say anything more.

  The snowflakes outside the window had gradually stabilized, as the wind speed slowed down, and the sound of the snowfall was no longer so overwhelming. However, Song Ba knew that this was a sign that the blizzard was about to linger. Although it didn't have the help of strong winds, the initial power of the blizzard would be extremely low, but if the blizzard lacked enough momentum to move forward and kept releasing its power in one place, it would cause even greater destruction to the local area.

  "Squeak! Squeak squeak."

  The jeep, which had been running relatively smoothly all along, suddenly shook again, scaring Zhao Zhong and startling Songba.

  "What's wrong?"

  "...with anti-skid chain protection, it shouldn't be a problem with the tires, could it be that the ice layer on the ground has thickened?"

  Zhao Zhong's muttering made Song Ba's heart tighten, and he quickly took off his gloves and opened the car window to stretch out his hand. The sudden gust of cold wind also made Zhao Zhong shrink his neck, but he knew he couldn't persuade Song Ba to close the window.

  "The temperature has dropped again, probably because the blizzard is here."

  When he pulled his hand back from the car window, Songba's face turned very ugly. The faster the blizzard came, the greater its impact on the surrounding environment, and the larger the coverage area became.

  Looking at the situation, it's likely that the county town can't be escaped. But in my current state, I can only have surgery immediately, will the blizzard let me go when I arrive at the county town? Thinking of this, Songba has some doubts about whether the Snow Mountain God is too unfair.

  "Has the blizzard arrived? Is that all?"

  Looking out the window at the dense snowflakes falling, Zhao Zhong couldn't help but feel a little incredulous. Although the current snowfall was denser, the wind power was obviously not great, and it didn't look like a blizzard at all.

  "This is just the result of air currents intersecting, and the upper air current still has a certain advantage for now, so it can continue to push the blizzard forward at a certain speed. But if the two air currents are in a stalemate, it will bring about a situation where they collide with each other, not only will the wind direction change at any time, but the wind force will also be greater. This is just like wrestling, after a brief stalemate comes a thrilling and intense situation."

  "Calm before the storm?"

  Although there is only one word difference, Zhao Zhong doesn't think his description will be much different, it's just that advancing in a blizzard is more difficult than advancing in a storm.

  Anti-skid chains can prevent skidding, but they cannot completely eliminate it. In general, they can only help vehicles move forward on snowy, icy or muddy roads. However, Zhao Zhong is now driving at nearly 100 km/h on the highway, and no matter how many anti-skid chains are installed, it's hard to avoid skidding due to the increased thickness of the ice.

  Compared to tires without anti-skid chains, it is more difficult to control skidding with tires that have anti-skid chains. After all, there are many grooves and ridges on the anti-skid chain, making it hard to say what effect they will have on the direction of the vehicle's sliding.

  "Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

  After listening to Zhao Zhong's explanation, Song Ba no longer had any doubts. In this situation, he couldn't help Zhao Zhong in any way, the only thing he could do for him was not to disturb him as much as possible.

  He wrapped the blanket over his head, and Shangba closed his eyes with a rustle. As the sky gradually darkened, his vision became increasingly inadequate. This was not because his condition worsened, but due to the weakening of the light.

  The headlights of the Jeep shone on the snowy road, and the reflected light was particularly strong. But this not only failed to help Songba's vision recover, but also stimulated his eyes, and it was unknown whether it would aggravate the condition. Songba knew he didn't have the qualifications for adventure, he couldn't let Zhao Zhong's efforts go to waste, these eyes still had a great use in Liudao Gou.

  Without Song Ba's chatter by his side, Zhao Zhong's attention became increasingly focused, and the relaxed feeling from earlier was long gone.

  The accelerator cannot be fully pressed, and the brakes can only be pressed to four-fifths. It's as if I've returned to a familiar track from my past, except this time it's made of ice.

  Through repeated attempts at drifting, Zhao Zhong began to sketch out in his mind the image of anti-skid chains wrapped around the tires. When a driver is driving on the track, although their eyes can't see the tires, they can rely on their driving feel to sketch out the wear and tear of the car's tires in their mind, even sketching out the overall running condition of the car.

  Although this is not something that every racing driver can do, for Zhao Zhong who has a higher intuition than ordinary people since birth, it's not too difficult.

  "Here!"

  Just as the vehicle was about to skid again, Zhao Zhong turned the steering wheel in time and corrected the direction of the vehicle. Gradually, the Jeep's movement became more regular.

  It seemed as if the carriage had overtaken the blizzard, and at least Zhao Zhong no longer felt the thrust brought by the wind and snow.

  Looking out of the car window, the fluttering snow had already fallen behind the car. After grasping the driving conditions of the vehicle, Zhao Zhong's confidence also became more and more sufficient.

  "Alright! I'm going to start accelerating now."

  "Hmm!"

  He didn't expect his excitement to be met with a dull hum, Zhao Zhong turned his head in surprise and only then did he notice that the swaying Song Ba had already closed his eyes.

  "Have you fallen asleep?"

  Thinking of this, Zhao Zhong found it hard to believe. But looking at the time, an hour had already passed since the two spoke earlier, and even if Songba was asleep, it wouldn't be strange.

  Should we speed up? Zhao Zhong didn't think for long. Being able to sleep can only be said to be a blessing, but it's not a reason to slow down. Only by arriving at the county town as soon as possible can Songba truly escape danger.

  As Zhao Zhong stepped on the gas, the Jeep began to speed along a wonderful yet slightly eerie trajectory. The snow it kicked up swirled behind the car, like a scroll of painting.