Chapter 451 The Return of Darkness (Part Fourteen)

The speech has ended.

The noise on the street did not stop.

Inspired by the soldiers' spirit, people unconsciously straightened their backs.

Someone led the chant: "We swear to live and die with Nanjing!"

More and more people joined in, their shouts echoing throughout the city.

The hotel room was on the second floor, and we could hear it even with the windows closed.

Xiao Yunzhao couldn't understand, "The dark apocalypse is coming, why are they so excited?"

Xie Tu: "That wasn't excitement."

"What is that?" Xiao Yunzhao tilted her head.

Xie Tu kept his eyes closed and answered him softly, "It's a belief, a courage to never bow down in dire straits."

For two hundred years, humanity has relied on this belief to get to where it is today.

Because of the efforts of generations.

I always believe that one day I will be able to defeat Him.

Xiao Yunzhao seemed to be deep in thought, her gaze passing through the window to the street where slogans were resounding.

Unfortunately, the curtains were tightly closed, and she couldn't see anything.

Xie Tu reached out and patted her gently, "Do you want to sleep a little longer? You won't have time to rest tonight."

Xiao Yunzhao is very clever and has already anticipated the situation tonight.

She stayed in the quarantine area with the cook, and unsurprisingly, she would have to deal with a pile of garbage again.

Those nasty mutants are practically everywhere.

Xiao Yunzhao caught the two spirit entities that were causing trouble on him, and threw the Fire Phoenix off the bed with one hand.

She thought for a moment and then let the little bluebird lie on her pillow.

"Let's go to sleep."

Fire Phoenix: [...]

Outside.

Tens of thousands of drones hovered in the city skies.

The roar of cars echoed through the streets.

Buses carrying people to the safe zone, military vehicles transporting quarantined personnel, troops collecting supplies, various tanks and armored vehicles, and large machinery still working intensively.

Various vehicles and people come and go, creating a false sense of noise.

*

When I woke up again, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon.

Dark matter permeated the air.

Pollution concentration: 78%.

Xie Tu got up and helped the little princess wash her face and brush her teeth, then picked up a comb and tied her hair up.

Yun Zhao's hair has been cut shorter, but when she was a child, her hair was still waist-length.

His combing technique was very skilled, and this time he didn't pull her scalp.

"Can a nanny robot comb hair?" Xie Tu asked.

Xiao Yunzhao, biting on a milk straw, raised her chin and said, "Yes, they will brush my teeth too."

Xie Tu hummed in agreement, quickly washed his face, picked up the two military backpacks beside him, and carried her out the door.

The sentries from Groups Seven and Eight were waiting downstairs.

"Thank you, Captain!"

Xie Tu nodded. "Let's eat first. There's still time."

“We’ve got everything ready, just waiting for you to come down,” said one of the sentries, Liu Haiyang.

Tang Zixuan and two other sentries who could cook cooked together, making two tables full of dishes.

The last supper before the dark apocalypse.

It's uncertain whether everyone will survive.

The dinner was very lavish.

Xie Tu placed Xiao Yunzhao on a seat and let them eat first, while he stood a short distance away making a phone call.

The Qinhuai camp has completed its defensive fortifications and everything is ready.

The sentries in the safe zone and buffer zone are also in place.

After confirming the situation of the others, Xie Tu dialed Commander Zhong's number.

The restaurant has floor-to-ceiling windows on all four sides and is located at the junction of the isolation zone and the buffer zone, offering a clear view of the newly built defensive fortifications outside.

Xie Tu had previously relied on Huo Feng to listen in on all of the military's plans.

The defensive fortifications differ between the different areas.

The quarantine area is of paramount importance.

According to the plan, the military built five bastion defensive structures at the boundary between the isolation zone and the buffer zone.

These types of structures can provide multi-angle fire coverage.

The interior is equipped with sniper positions and heavy weapon platforms, while the top is fitted with an automatic turret and flamethrower for long-range strikes, maximizing firepower output.

Ensure that the mutants do not breach the defense line.

And fifty meters behind the bastion.

It is a multi-layered composite defensive wall, about twelve meters high, with an outer layer of high-strength concrete structure and an inner layer embedded with metal mesh and explosion-proof materials.

Vibration sensors are also embedded at the bottom to monitor the approach of the mutant in real time.

With these two safeguards in mind, we hope to stop the mutant strains within the quarantine zone.

Commander Zhong's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"The number of infected people in the quarantine area has been counted, totaling 580,000."

Commander Zhong paused for a moment, then added, "And this number is still rising."

Xie Tu, however, said, "The situation is better than expected."

In a megacity with a population of tens of millions, the initial number of infected individuals was only this small.

It accounts for less than 6%.

Xie Tu said, "One thing to note is that as the concentration of dark matter in the air increases, the level of pollution in some people's bodies rises extremely rapidly."

"We have discovered this and deployed enough troops to guard the security zone, testing the people in the centralized accommodation every two hours."

Commander Zhong: "But by then, it is estimated that personnel will no longer be able to enter the isolation area, and newly detected infected persons will have to be sent to the buffer zone."

Xie Tu said calmly, "It's alright. At least tonight, as long as the power and systems are not completely paralyzed, the safe zone is safe."

And tomorrow, no one can predict when all the mutants will revert to their true forms.

Including Commander Zhong.

*

As time goes by.

Within the safe zone.

People at home and in quarantine sites spontaneously came to the window and looked up at the sun in the sky.

Tiny black dots filled the air.

The sunlight became like a thin layer of golden gauze, gently enveloping the earth.

An elderly woman leaned shakily against the windowsill, her cloudy eyes straining to open.

She is 92 years old and has experienced everything, but she never thought that one day even the sun would disappear.

On the third floor of the quarantine site, a young man pressed his face against the glass.

His wife was taken away.

The sunlight shone on his wedding ring, reflecting a faint glow.

The child tilted their head back, sunlight dancing on their face, and asked, "Mommy, will the sun really disappear?"

The child's father has been taken away.

Her mother knelt down and hugged her tightly: "No, baby, the sun is just... going to rest."

"Grandpa, why is everyone looking at the sun?"

The old man sighed softly, hugged his grandson, and said with a sob in his voice, "Child, we may not see such a beautiful sun again for a long time. We must remember what it looks like."

The painter stayed at home, frantically painting on the canvas.

His palette was now reduced to gold and red, and the sun on the canvas was so intense it seemed to be burning.

"Not enough...not enough..."

His brush almost pierced the canvas; "I had to leave all the light behind..."

As the sun gradually set, the surrounding darkness began to surge and churn.

Pollution levels are skyrocketing!

"No!" someone screamed.

"Please, wait a little longer!"

"Let me take one more look..."

Cries, prayers, and shouts mingled together.

The afterglow of the sun, like fine sand in an hourglass, slowly slips away.

The old lady fumbled in the drawer and took out a yellowed photograph. It was taken on her and her husband's golden wedding anniversary, with sunlight shining on their silver hair.

"Goodbye," she whispered, "Goodbye..."

The young man's wedding ring had lost its luster. He slumped to the ground, burying his face in his palms.

The painter threw down his brush, knelt before the canvas, and wailed like a child.

The last ray of sunlight disappeared.

Darkness, like a thick curtain, slowly descended.