Chapter 30: Temporary Blockade

Walking all the way to the highway, the group seemed a little nervous. In the darkness, the feelings of confusion and the unknown became even stronger.

There were too many people in Hemudu Town who could not sleep. They were all half-asleep and half-awake, staying alert at all times. In Hemudu Town, an atmosphere of chaos and panic permeated the air. Walking among the clusters of gathered crowds, you could feel their unease and pessimism, as well as their confusion about tomorrow. The prosperity of the city from yesterday was still printed in people’s minds, but now they had lost their homes, as if they were in a dream.

From time to time, the shouts of frightened children could be heard beside one’s ears.

Zhou Liming did not speak and walked silently. Personal power, in the face of this torrent, was nothing but a small boat in a tsunami. Being able to ensure that the people beside him stayed alive was already the limit of what Zhou Liming could do. How could those who had never seen a Fierce Beast understand how terrifying they were?

The country’s reaction was very fast.

But it could not be ignored that the Fierce Beasts had appeared almost without warning and had captured coastal cities, towns, and villages in a very short time. For the troops stationed on the coast or in several major military regions, the only ones who could quickly reach coastal cities were the Air Force. However, the combat area of the Air Force was the cities, and they needed to ensure the safety of personnel and property before striking the Fierce Beasts. Under these circumstances, the strength of the strikes was inevitably insufficient.

Wars between countries could not happen without leaving a single trace before they were launched. The movement of armies, the storage of supplies, the increased production of arsenals, the adjustment of personnel, and the busyness of generals would all reveal flaws, thus providing early warning and allowing the deployment of military forces to deal with a series of problems that arose.

However, when the Fierce Beasts appeared, the world was still in a state of peace. Even the situation in the Middle East from two years ago had already calmed down for more than a year. It was this unpredictability and suddenness that instantly plunged countries around the world into chaos. Take the US Military’s aircraft carrier fleets, for example. On just the first day, the massive appearance of Fierce Beasts caused four of their formations to lose contact. From the videos sent back by reconnaissance planes, one could see these aircraft carriers occupied by Fierce Beasts, floating on the sea surface.

The capitals of some countries near the coast became playgrounds for Fierce Beasts in just a few hours. Although high-level leaders had evacuated, wanting to establish command over the country was not something that could be done in a day or two. The movement of troops required logistical preparation in advance.

It could be said with certainty that in the coming week, the situation humanity faced would be dominated by minor resistance until a large amount of military power finished deploying defense lines.

These were just Zhou Liming’s personal considerations. He did not know what the outside world was like right now. He could only use his own viewpoint to decide many things to prevent any accidents. He did not believe that the capital area, being so close to the Bohai Sea, would fight to the death and withstand the frenzy of the Fierce Beasts.

“The military will complete their deployment in at least two days.”

Zhou Liming thought silently. These two days would be incredibly dangerous two days; how should he cope with them?

The lights on the highway were still on. The people who had rested by the roadside in the evening had almost all left. Anyone with a bit of sense would not think that Hemudu Town was safe. There were many people who held the idea that leaving earlier meant being one step safer, which led to a human dragon gradually forming on the highway.

Hemudu Town was not too far from Yuyao City, situated between Zhe-B City and Yuyao City, but it still required four or five hours of walking.

At three o’clock in the morning, several armed helicopters appeared in the sky, flying from the direction of Yuyao City toward Zhe-B City. Since the armed helicopters were following the highway, their snow-white lights swept over the tops of people’s heads. Those who accidentally stared at the lights were blinded for a short while by the glare.

The originally silent stream of people erupted into huge cheers after the appearance of the armed helicopters.

For the confused and uneasy people at this moment, the appearance of several armed helicopters was undoubtedly very inspiring news. It showed that the country had already responded and had not given up on them. Unfortunately, the armed helicopters, perhaps for some purpose, did not respond to the cheers below and disappeared from people’s sight moments later.

With this inspiring news, the stream of people was no longer silent. The people who had let go of their worries started talking and laughing.

Seeing An Xiaowei shouting and jumping at the armed helicopters like a child, Zhou Liming shook his head slightly. The severity of the situation would further intensify. These armed helicopters heading to Zhe-B City were mostly conducting low-altitude reconnaissance to gather more data. That was all; it did not mean that they were safe.

When the sky was just starting to get hazy, the stream of people ahead gradually stopped, and the noise grew louder and louder.

“Why have we stopped?”

“What’s happening up ahead?”

“Move! If you’re not moving, get out of the way!”

Seeing Yuyao City right before their eyes, they suddenly found the front packed with people, making it impossible to move forward.

In the sky, a dozen armed helicopters were hovering. Occasionally, one or two would break away from the formation and fly in different directions, soon returning to the group; they were likely patrolling.

The highway was surrounded by seas of people. Those unable to move forward could only scatter to the sides of the road. But as the number of people increased, many had to leave the highway and surge onto the fields and country roads. This place was located in Lianghui Town and was the main road in and out of Yuyao City. All around were vegetable fields and dense villages. To enter Yuyao City, the highway was not the only path.

The people right now had no idea what was actually going on.

“Listen, people below. Due to severe congestion in Zhe-A City, in order to make the evacuation more orderly, Yuyao City has been designated as a temporary blockade line by the military. Everyone must follow orders and enter through several open checkpoints.” A voice played through loudspeakers came from the sky, broadcast repeatedly overhead.

The people who heard this news instantly exploded into an uproar!

Blockading Yuyao City meant that such a huge number of people would need at least two days to pass through here. It also meant that they would be in an extremely dangerous situation for the next two days.

Just thinking that the Fierce Beasts from Zhe-B City could appear here at any time, some of the people present started to lose control. They cursed loudly and desperately squeezed toward the front.

Zhou Liming saw that something was wrong and the situation was on the verge of getting out of control. He made an immediate decision: “Dean, Xiaowei, let’s go left, up the mountain.” If he were alone, it would be fine, but leading a group of children and the Dean, who was over sixty, once this place lost control, with this sea of people, the chaos would lead to an unknown number of deaths.

Dean Zhou and An Xiaowei did not say much. They instructed the children to follow Zhou Liming closely and got off the highway.

By the time Zhou Liming squeezed through the crowd, crossed the village streets beside the highway, and arrived at the foot of the mountain, a huge noise suddenly erupted from the highway. The crowd, which had been restless just moments ago, became chaotic, all squeezing forward. The armed helicopters in the sky saw this and kept shouting through loudspeakers, but it had no effect at all.

However, what became the fuse for losing control was a long, distant roar of a Fierce Beast.

Inevitably, the crowd, which was already somewhat out of control, instantly fell into total chaos at the sound of the Fierce Beast’s roar.