Chapter 36: Blockade

After being attacked on the highway, they were like birds frightened by a bowstring. Even when night fell, they did not stop to rest but continued driving along the road.

Many lucky vehicles had managed to pass the section of the highway attacked by Fierce Beasts and escape thanks to Zhou Liming’s heroic act. Regardless, at least in their hearts, these people felt grateful to Zhou Liming. If it were not for him, they would have had no way to escape the severely blocked highway.

On foot, people became like lambs waiting to be slaughtered in front of the Fierce Beasts, which ran with astonishing speed.

Zhou Liming remained vigilant all the way. Although there were a few cars driving on the highway, he could also see people constantly waving for help from the vehicles. Most of the people who came rushing onto the highway were driving minivans or sedans. It was quite easy for them to overtake the massive heavy truck in terms of speed.

Perhaps Zhou Liming’s crazy actions had shocked them so much that they chose to simply follow behind the heavy truck. Maybe this way, in times of crisis, there would be a strong force to turn the tide.

Of course, Zhou Liming did not know what they were thinking. In fact, he had never wondered why people behind him did not overtake him. Having gone a whole night without sleep, Zhou Liming did not feel tired. However, An Xiaowei was different. Having driven for half a day plus a whole night, it would be a lie to say she was not exhausted. The fact that she nearly drove the heavy truck off the highway several times showed that her mental focus was beginning to fade.

Fortunately, as the sky began to lighten, there were more and more buildings on both sides of the highway. Vehicles were parked everywhere on the road. Large numbers of police officers and soldiers were maintaining order and directing where vehicles should park. All vehicles entering this area were stopped, and the fields behind the buildings were already filled with parked cars.

“Move! Do you know who I am? You dare to block my car!”

A furious shout came from an Audi A8 in front of the heavy truck. A middle-aged man pointed at three police officers and five soldiers ahead of him, scolding them, “Who gave the order? Who is preventing passage? Where is your commander? Let him come out and speak to me. What is this nonsense?”

The three police officers, being fiercely cursed and pointed at by the middle-aged man, immediately looked troubled. With their experience, they could tell at a glance that this man came from a distinguished background, likely an official with real power. Glancing at the license plate of the Audi A8, they knew from their familiarity with such plates that it belonged to the top leader of a certain city.

Seeing the fear and flattery on the police officers’ faces, the middle-aged man became even more smug. He had barely escaped to this place, and as long as he entered the city, he would be safe. But these low-ranking police officers and soldiers dared to block his car and not let him pass. Feeling his life was constantly threatened, he felt an overwhelming anger.

The police were hesitant and afraid, but the five soldiers stood motionless. A lieutenant junior grade, identified by the single silver bar and star on his shoulder, spoke with a cold tone, “This is an order from the Central Command. Please drive your vehicle off the highway immediately and park it according to our instructions. Any soldier on site has the authority to open fire directly on anyone who dares to disobey the order. Please do not test my patience. In my eyes, you are worth only one bullet, regardless of your identity.”

“You… you… you wait…”

The lieutenant’s answer made the middle-aged man furious. However, facing five submachine guns and the other man’s emotionless eyes, the middle-aged man had no choice but to submit temporarily. After getting back into his car, he picked up his phone and dialed a number. After receiving a helpless response, he angrily parked the car in the designated spot.

With this small incident, others who had complaints dared not test the lieutenant’s iron will. They all followed the instructions and parked their cars properly.

An Xiaowei parked the heavy truck. After turning off the engine, she looked around and said, “This should be Zhuji City, under the jurisdiction of Zhedu City.” She pointed to a billboard near the road and added, “Shuangqiao Town is only a few kilometers away from Zhuji City. It is a suburban small town belonging to Zhuji City.”

Zhou Liming nodded. He had little concept of Zhuji City, but he knew Zhedu City. Since they had entered Zhedu City, it could be considered leaving the scope of Zheb City, taking them one step further away from the Fierce Beasts. However, the entire Zhuji City was now under blockade. All incoming vehicles were turned away, and he did not know what the military was planning.

“I’ll go down and check the situation. You eat something first and then rest. Also, tell the younger siblings to stay in the car and go nowhere.”

Watching Zhou Liming squeeze into the crowd, An Xiaowei was tired and sleepy. She ignored him, jumped out of the driver’s seat, and climbed into the back of the truck. She first joked with the children, then took out a pot and started cooking noodles. At this moment, An Xiaowei admired Zhou Liming for thinking of everything so thoroughly; otherwise, she would likely be eating dry bread now.

Zhou Liming, having squeezed into the crowd, only needed to stand in a corner to get everything he wanted.

That very morning, the military had officially issued a comprehensive blockade order. They set up multiple blocking lines at different depths to prevent the fleeing crowds from impacting the cities in the rear and the routes for military troop movements. Although this order seemed indifferent to the lives of the people fleeing along the coast, upon closer thought, one could understand the helplessness behind it.

Hundreds of millions of people fleeing along the coast obviously put immense pressure on the highways and cities in the rear. Roads and cities fell into traffic paralysis one after another. Such a result meant that fleeing personnel could not continue to retreat due to the congestion. It also caused chaos in some cities, making evacuation difficult.

Most importantly, the paralysis of transportation made it impossible for the army to move to their target locations.

Large numbers of troops could only advance on foot in a rapid march. However, armored units and tank units were stuck due to the congestion. These most heavily armed forces were forced to sit idle in endless traffic jams, wasting a lot of precious time. This allowed the Fierce Beasts to continuously occupy one area after another, killing more people.

Relying on Air Force transport was obviously unrealistic. It was impossible to deploy large-scale forces to their target locations via air transport. Currently, air transport was only used to send small units and a small amount of heavy weapons to cities still under human control, where they would build blocking lines outside the cities.

It was for these various considerations that the military command had to issue this order, forcibly stopping these evacuating vehicles and preventing them from continuing their retreat, which would have further worsened the traffic. Only in this way could they ensure the highways remained clear, allowing the army to arrive at the fastest speed possible.

The Fierce Beasts had appeared for three days. Their destructive power had made it impossible for the Central Government to tolerate any longer. Issuing this order had become inevitable.

However, the people blocked from moving forward did not see it this way. They cursed at the soldiers and police blocking the highway. If these blockade points were not guarded by numerous light and heavy machine guns, armored vehicles, and a few tanks, the out-of-control people would have likely charged forward long ago, overwhelming this blockade point.

Facing repeated incidents of people trying to breach the blocking lines, orders from above became stricter. Commanders on the blocking lines were given the authority to open fire. They repeatedly emphasized the standard of treating everyone equally to avoid a loss of public reason caused by some privileged individuals passing through normally, which would lead to irreparable losses.

In fact, it was precisely this repeated emphasis on equality in the orders that kept people’s panicked emotions from spiraling out of control. They merely complained.

After all, even the officials couldn’t pass through. What could ordinary citizens like them do? They could only wait calmly!

More and more people were gathering in Shuangqiao Town. People fleeing here from all directions turned it into a market. Those with cars tried to stay in them, while those without cars found a corner to sit and wait. Soon, the place was packed with a sea of people, causing extreme chaos.

No one knew when the blockade would end. The military had not provided a specific time. So, those who arrived here could only wait.