Chapter 47: Migration

Zhou Liming did not know if the rear had successfully evacuated. Since crossing the blockade line of Shuangqiao Town, he had seen nothing but fleeing people along the way. Some dragged their children and wives, some walked, some drove cars, and others pushed carts loaded with their luggage. The massive population of the coastal areas could not be evacuated in just three or four days.

Whether driving or walking, the progress on the highway was not fast. It was a vast, surging crowd of people.

In every small town passed and every large or small city, nine out of ten rooms were empty. Those who remained were simply people who had not managed to evacuate in time. Helicopters could be seen circling overhead in the cities from time to time. The loudspeakers were broadcasting messages urging people to evacuate. It was already the fourth day since the disaster caused by the Fierce Beasts occurred. Even a fool knew this news could not be false.

Occasionally, the silhouettes of some Flying Fierce Beasts would appear in the sky, but they rarely landed to attack humans.

If they were lucky, they could witness battles between the Air Force and the Flying Fierce Beasts. The odds of victory for both sides were about fifty-fifty. The fighter jets possessed high-end technology, while the Flying Fierce Beasts had extremely sharp and sensitive perception. This could be considered a war between technology and barbarism, but unfortunately, it did not turn out as people had imagined, with the Flying Fierce Beasts being routed.

The blockade lines set up by the military in the early stages now seemed to be undoubtedly a very correct decision.

Under this order, although the flow of evacuees along the coast was restricted, it successfully allowed people in the rear to evacuate. It kept the highways clear, greatly speeding up the evacuation process. As the army of refugees moved on, villages, small towns, and cities were left completely deserted. The streets were filled with abandoned cars and trash. Some doors that had been forgotten to be closed creaked “creak, creak” in the wind.

With some time to spare, factory machines of enterprises could not be moved, but valuable personal belongings were not left behind. Their owners had taken everything. Even the cash in bank ATMs had been withdrawn by people. Important supplies were transferred by rail and air transport, moving as much as possible.

In short, every place they passed through gave a feeling of emptiness.

Taking advantage of the situation to pick up bargains was not impossible, but the gains would not be large. Who would not take valuable things away? In cities where mobilization preparations were made and the military maintained order, there could not be too much chaos. Without the appearance of Fierce Beasts, people had enough time to pack up everything they considered worth taking. Even food was taken away in large and small bags, reminded by the military.

The great evacuation of hundreds of millions of people was unfolding in various coastal provinces. If you looked down from the sky like a bird, you could see that on the highways from north to south, there were endless streams of people.

To ensure that the evacuees would not be attacked by Fierce Beasts, the Air Force mobilized almost all its forces. They constantly patrolled over the top of the great tide of people evacuating. A large number of reconnaissance aircraft appeared in coastal areas, continuously collecting the movements of the Fierce Beasts and transmitting them back to the military headquarters. This ensured that the dynamics of the Fierce Beasts were monitored in real time so they would not threaten the fleeing crowds.

It did not seem very far to travel from Shuangqiao Town to Wan J City by driving; it would only take a day and a night.

However, the congestion on the highway meant that cars could barely move faster than a snail’s pace. What made things even more headache-inducing was that the crowd continued to grow larger and move slower and slower.

Like the Long March in history, this great evacuation was enough to be recorded as one of the most important events in human development history. Hundreds of millions of people left their homes, embarking on a vast and unknown journey. For those whose relatives were still intact, there was naturally only some panic. But for those who had already lost their relatives, they followed the crowd on the highway like walking dead, their faces full of sorrow, occasionally letting out miserable cries.

Police and soldiers were maintaining order on the highway. People who were tired of walking sat down in the fields on both sides of the road. Some simply lay down and closed their eyes to sleep.

The rice fields on both sides had long been destroyed. They had been trampled by countless feet, with rice seedlings sunk deep into the mud. Everything edible in the fields was eaten clean by people like locusts. After all, many people had not brought food, so they had to rely on these plants to fill their stomachs.

At this time, do not expect the government to help. With the entire region from north to south crowded with people blocking the roads, they were also powerless. It was impossible to deliver food and drink to you. Such a huge number of people could not be relieved just by wishing for it. If anything went wrong, it would immediately cause chaos and lead to serious stampedes. Therefore, during the few days it took to reach the designated cities, everything had to be relied upon by oneself.

Hunger was constantly tormenting some who were ill-prepared, or rather, not prepared at all.

It was okay at the beginning, as they carried some food. But after two days, many people had nothing left but some valuables and money. They could only watch others eat and walk by. Buying food from others using their money was their only option. But at this time, who knew how many days they would have to walk? And who would be willing to sell their food?

Zhou Liming was now fortunate that he had prepared sufficiently in the beginning, loading everything edible onto the heavy truck. Otherwise, with more than ten mouths to feed, he would have been in real trouble.

People falling down due to hunger could be seen from time to time. Many times, out of desperation, some people ate grass roots and tree bark. Vegetables in the fields were even eaten raw. As long as they could hold on for a few more days, they could reach the cities in the rear, where the government would have prepared food.

Although these people were pitiful, Zhou Liming could only shake his head and sigh. His own food was not abundant. Even if he wanted to help, he could not relieve everyone. It was not just a few people, but tens of thousands. If he set this example, those driven mad by hunger would surely try to tear him apart and eat him alive.

The kind-hearted Dean Zhou would silently close his eyes every time he saw someone collapse due to hunger. Later, he simply hid in the truck bed with the children. He only got out of the truck when he needed to use the restroom. For the rest of the time, he stayed inside the truck bed.

The person who might be the most exhausted was probably An Xiaowei. The car drove slowly, only slightly faster than normal pedestrians. She also had to constantly watch the road ahead. Originally a beautiful woman, she had become incredibly haggard. She lost the stunning beauty Zhou Liming had seen when he first met her. She was like a completely different person.

Plus, having not taken a bath for several days, even a fairy would have a bad smell. Her clothes were stained with dirt, looking dirty and resembling a beggar.

No one could imagine how these days had been passed. A journey that should have taken one day and one night, with stops and starts, and occasional rest of several hours, actually took a full six days to finally enter Wan J City, one of the dozens of frontline relief and defense cities prepared by the military.