Chapter 48 – Cannon-Fodder Old Woman Fleeing Famine (Part 18)

That day, while the Lin family was on the road, a sudden commotion broke out in the crowd ahead. Wang Daya immediately sent her eldest son to scout the situation, while the rest of the family waited in a quieter spot by the roadside.

Lately, due to wearing double layers of protection, the Lin family found it harder to breathe in the heat. The unbearable weather had significantly slowed their pace.However, no one dared to complain, fearing they might provoke Wang Daya's displeasure.

Not long after, Lin Laoda rushed back in a panic and reported, "A middle-aged man collapsed up ahead, foaming at the mouth. According to the elders from his village, it looks like the plague."

That single sentence set off an uproar—not just within the Lin family, but among all the surrounding refugees. The murmurs from those ahead quickly spread like wildfire, and the crowd descended into chaos like frightened birds startled by a bow.

No matter the era, the outbreak of a plague was always a devastating blow to common folk.And especially in a pre-industrial agrarian society, an epidemic meant nine out of ten homes would be emptied, and countless lives would be lost.

Seeing the panic unfold, Wang Daya swiftly ordered the family to leave the main road and take a smaller side path.This served two purposes: avoiding contact with infected people, and avoiding accidental harm caused by panicked mobs.

Right now, the sheer number of people fleeing was comparable to modern crowds at tourist hotspots.News of a plague could easily spark fear, leading to stampedes and mass casualties.

Wang Daya knew she couldn't stop the spread, but what she could do was protect her own, avoid contact with others, and prioritize hygiene.

In truth, even Wang Daya was a bit flustered—she wasn't a doctor, and her space didn't have specific medicine for plagues. Most of what she had were antibiotics and immune boosters. Still, she didn't let a trace of that show.

She planned to sneak the immune boosters into their dinner that evening, so everyone could quietly fortify their bodies without arousing suspicion.

What truly caught her off guard was how quickly the plague had broken out.

The real culprit was rats feeding on infected corpses, accelerating both the range and speed of the disease's transmission. Most people didn't even think to be wary of rats, making it easy for them to fall victim.

But Wang Daya was different. She had received modern training in disease prevention and knew that rodents could carry pathogens.So every night, her family would scatter repellent powders around their sleeping area to ward off insects, snakes, and rats.

Meanwhile, Qian Lan was also on the verge of collapse.Due to a prolonged trade imbalance, her system had suspended transactions.After that happened, she stopped sharing resources—she couldn't afford to anymore.But by now, the villagers had come to take Qian Lan's generosity for granted.

Her decision to stop distributing water triggered resentment, sowing the seeds of trouble to come.

After all, most people are selfish. They don't reflect on themselves—only push harder to satisfy their desires.

In the original plot, the village chief of Linjia Village never went bankrupt from buying land. He was well-prepared during the early phase of fleeing and led the villagers with no need for Qian Lan's help.

But now, the real Lin village chief was a clay idol crossing a river—barely able to save himself.All of this was because Wang Daya, an out-of-world disruptor, had thrown the original plot completely off-course.

After discovering signs of plague among the crowds, the Lin family placed even greater trust in Wang Daya's leadership.They all thought she was incredible, foreseeing the plague and preparing in advance.

The one most shaken was Zhang Zhaodi. She never imagined her mother-in-law was so capable. She had actually been right all along.She made up her mind—from now on, she would listen obediently and stop doing whatever she pleased.

That night, everyone was on edge. The heat was still unbearable, and they'd already eaten through their supply of jerky and flatbread.They decided to boil some coarse rice into porridge, not just to fill their stomachs, but also to reduce their need for water—a win-win.

Dinner that night was personally cooked by Wang Daya, something she usually avoided.She only took the job so she could secretly mix the medicine into the food to boost everyone's resistance.

After the meal, Wang Daya called a brief family meeting. The key points were:

No contact with outsiders—not even conversation.

Strict hand hygiene—hands must be washed before eating.

At first, everyone hesitated at the mention of washing hands—they were all worried about wasting water.But once they heard that dirty hands could cause plague, they no longer cared about the water.

In reality, their water supply had long been critically low.If not for Wang Daya using her sons as cover, pretending they had found secret water sources, they'd be in dire straits by now.

Eventually, they reached a place called Anyang Prefecture, only to discover that the plague had become severe.

Rotting corpses littered the roads, crawling with flies and maggots, emitting an overwhelming stench.

Even the cannibals dared not eat the bodies anymore, fearing they too would succumb to the disease.

Reaching the gates of Anyang should have been a joyful event. But when they arrived, they found the city heavily guarded—no one was allowed in.

Some desperate refugees tried begging and pleading, but when that didn't work, they attempted to force their way in.

The outcome was grim: dozens of corpses piled up at the gates.Seeing this brutal response, no one dared to charge forward again.

As soon as Anyang's officials received word of the plague, they had ordered the gates sealed and imposed full lockdown.

This was expected. After all, no one could claim they had the power to cure the plague, and sealing the city was the only way to preserve what remained of Anyang's population.

Wang Daya wasn't surprised. Given the current crisis, this was the only reasonable course of action to prevent Anyang from falling into ruin.

Still, others grumbled and cursed the officials' harshness.

The tense standoff between refugees and soldiers didn't escape the Lin family's attention.Wang Daya observed it too, but she wasn't interested in the standoff. Her sole focus was on getting her family out of this dangerous place as soon as possible.

Because if the refugee numbers kept rising, it was only a matter of time before violence erupted.

So, Wang Daya decided to lead them on a detour, even if it meant traveling longer.It was the safest choice in the long run.