freenovelworld Chapter 1344 Calm down
Chapter 1344 Calm down
Don't say you weren't warned!
The moment the words fell—
"Splash! Crack!"
A series of crisp, cold metal hinge and gun bolt sounds suddenly rang out from behind the sandbag fortifications in the center of the gate!
Under the bright beams of several high-powered searchlights, the 12.7mm heavy machine gun, which had been partially covered by a canvas and was nearly the height of an adult male with a thick and menacing barrel, was suddenly lifted up by two soldiers. With a "click," the gun mount was raised, completing the final combat readiness conversion!
The massive muzzle, powered by hydraulics, hummed with a sickeningly faint electric motor sound, slowly but steadily turning until the dark, seemingly lifeless muzzle was firmly pointed at the still-unsettled crowd in front of the gate!
The heavy metallic texture of the gun body gleamed with a cold, bluish light under the lamp, and the bright yellow armor-piercing bullets on the feed belt were clearly visible. The entire weapon exuded a pure, industrial killing aura.
This is no longer a warning; this is the physical manifestation of an ultimatum.
In an instant, the commotion in front of the gate seemed to be paused.
All the angry roars, desperate pleas, and reckless shoving... came to an abrupt halt.
People stood frozen in place, looking up at the heavy machine gun that loomed over them like a ferocious beast, at the cold, merciless gaze of the soldiers behind the gun barrels, peering through their gas masks, and recalling the incessant, crisp gunfire that had claimed lives ever since the siren sounded…
This army now actually knows how to fire!
Moreover, it uses a weapon capable of breaking a person in half and turning a vehicle into a sieve.
The boiling blood cooled, and the euphoric mind was forcibly suppressed by fear.
No matter how strong the will to live is, it cannot withstand the absolute threat of being turned into minced meat in the next second.
"Go back...go back..."
"Turn around...turn around quickly..."
"I'll listen to...I'll listen to the officer..."
...
A low, trembling voice, tinged with sobs, rose from the crowd.
Without slogans or organization, the instinct for survival drove people to slowly retreat, leaving the "death zone" in front of the gate.
Those who had previously attempted to storm the train scrambled back to the side of the vehicle, while those who had jumped off, pale-faced, crawled back into the carriage.
Order, in a brutal manner and under the threat of absolute violence, has returned to this region on the verge of collapse.
However, the return of order did not bring a return of hope; instead, it allowed a deeper despair to seep into everyone like ice water.
Turn around? Easier said than done!
This means that all their previous suffering, hardships, and fears were for nothing!
This means they have to go against the flow of cars that may keep coming from behind, and find a way to survive on the already chaotic streets!
This means that compared to those who were lucky enough to leave the city or were initially assigned to other directions, they would waste at least twice, or even more, of their precious escape time!
The "poisonous clouds" in the sky won't wait for them, and the "fungus beast tide" outside the city, which could pounce at any time, won't wait for them either!
Racing against the invisible "cloud" is already absurd and hopeless; now, we have to turn back and start all over again...
"Fuck your mother..."
A man near Lao Zhou's car, in despair, slammed his fist with all his might onto the metal side panel of a truck next to him, making a dull thud, and his fist immediately drew blood.
But he didn't shout or do anything drastic anymore. He just had red eyes and was breathing heavily, like a trapped beast on the verge of death.
In the end, he chose to accept reality and silently crawled back to the cab of his truck, using both his hands and feet.
If we don't leave, we'll die right now.
If we go, there might still be a sliver of hope, so faint as to be almost invisible.
In the face of disaster, ordinary people are more powerless than ants and have no choice at all.
The driver of the blue truck also received instructions from ahead and began to painstakingly and inch by inch try to turn around on the narrow and chaotic road.
The engine groaned under the strain, and every tiny movement drew honking and curses from the surrounding vehicles, but everyone was doing the same thing—fleeing, fleeing in the opposite direction.
Inside the carriage, Old Zhou held Little Stone tightly. The child seemed to sense the uncontrollable slight trembling of his father's body, and his little hands gripped his clothes even tighter.
Old Zhou looked out through the back door of the carriage at the slowly turning street scene, at the cold, heavy gate that completely cut off the westward path to survival. The embers in his heart about the "night market" and the future had grown so cold that not even a wisp of smoke could rise from them.
All that remained was numbness and an endless, chilling cold that seemed to sink to the bottom of an icy lake.
at this time--
"Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!"
A series of deep, orderly, dense, and rapid footsteps approached from afar, like muffled thunder striking the earth, suddenly coming from the direction they had come from—that is, from the depths of the main road from which they had just painstakingly "escaped"—within the settlement!
But the sound of those footsteps was so unusual!
It wasn't the sound of panicked survivors running around, nor the footsteps of scattered soldiers on duty.
Instead, it was the powerful, steely rhythm of hundreds and thousands of military boots treading on the hard ground with perfect uniformity and force!
The sound grew closer and louder, even temporarily drowning out the surrounding vehicle noise and alarms.
Hearing the noise, the survivors' cloudy eyes instinctively shifted away from the gate, looking back with suspicion and uncertainty into the depths of the street they had just fled from, now shrouded in darkness and chaos.
Everyone was drawn to the sudden, chillingly synchronized footsteps and crowded around the back panel of the carriage, craning their necks to look out. Even Old Zhou, who was holding his son, squeezed into the crowd and strained to see what was happening.
At first, nothing could be seen except for the red alarm light flickering in the distance and a few scattered lights.
But soon, the deep darkness was pierced by clusters of rapidly moving points of light—the beams of tactical flashlights, not chaotic but focused and steady, bobbing up and down in rhythm with the running.
Immediately afterwards, a dense, orderly patch of camouflage, like hellish warriors conjured from the night, suddenly "emerged" from the corner of the main road!
That was a complete infantry company that was running forward!
There were at least a hundred people, all wearing heavy digital jungle camouflage chemical protective suits, gas masks, and high-cut tactical helmets.
Each person carried a bulging tactical backpack on their back, with magazine pouches and other equipment hanging on their chest. The QBZ-191 assault rifles in their hands were uniformly pointed diagonally at the ground or rested against their shoulders, rising and falling slightly with their running movements.
Their steps were fast and steady, and even from a distance, Lao Zhou could feel the silent yet sharp killing intent emanating from them.
The heavy footsteps and the clanging of equipment blended into a deep, powerful sound that swept away all the noise on the street.
"One two one!! One two one!"
"Don't fall behind! Report any incidents immediately!"
...
At the front of the column, an officer with an exceptionally agile physique, holding an assault rifle, ran while occasionally turning back to shout short commands, adjusting the rhythm and direction of the column.
The red "Loyalty" armband on his arm flashed by in the corner of the flashlight, like a dancing flame.
This company, like a giant steel python, moved without stopping along the edge of the crowded, chaotic traffic that was trying to turn around.
They deftly maneuvered around the broken-down vehicles and stepped over the abandoned luggage, ignoring the pleading, bewildered, or fearful glances cast at them by the panicked survivors around them, their eyes fixed firmly on the road ahead!
"This...this is the 1st Infantry Brigade of Yezhou, the main force of our military sub-district?" a worker exclaimed.
This unique design and armband are recognized by almost everyone in the Gucheng Lake community.