Chapter 99: Arrival at the Capital Region Earthquake
A translucent light extended in all directions from the RV, eventually covering an area of 5,000 meters around it. The volcanic ash inside the protective shield slowly disappeared, and even the volcanic ash and acid rain from the outside could not enter.
The protective shield is just enough to accommodate most of the Guards and Federation teams.
The federal government and the military received the news at the same time and immediately parked the remaining vehicles in the vacant spaces of the protective shield.
Lieutenant General Liu continued to give orders to fill all vehicles produced by the system and drive them out of the protective shield. The staff put on protective clothing and organized people to take shelter, giving priority to rescuing the family teams.
The head of the Federation was worried. "Lieutenant General, the protective shield is only 5 kilometers long. After deducting the parking space, there is not much left. It can accommodate a million people at most. Your rescue at this time will cause chaos. It is better to only bring in the members of the powerful team."
How could Liu Yu not know the consequences? But asking him to only rescue the rich and powerful and ignore the lives of ordinary people would also violate the oath he took when he joined the army. "Do the guards and the federal team have protective clothing?"
"Yes." The person in charge vaguely sensed the other party's thoughts and couldn't believe it, "You don't mean to..."
"Volcanic ash and acid rain are not as harmful as gray fog. Protective suits are enough to deal with them. We need to leave more space for ordinary people." Liu Yu rubbed his swollen temples. "Give the order. Except for special workers, all of our people should leave the protective cover."
The person in charge opened his mouth to say something but didn't dare to refute, so he could only agree.
The order did not cause any ripples within the escort team. They were all soldiers under Lieutenant General Liu and knew his character. They had been frequently involved in rescue operations in various places since before the natural disaster and had become accustomed to this kind of life. Otherwise, they would have been transferred to other teams to enjoy wealth and glory. Moreover, they believed in Lieutenant General Liu's character and knew that even if something really happened to them, their families would be well taken care of.
Lieutenant General Liu knew that the order would definitely cause controversy in the federal team. He could let them work, but it would be unacceptable to let them give their positions to ordinary people. So he ordered them to organize the family members and hand over the civilian team to the army. He also issued a death order that anyone who interfered with the rescue would be killed.
The rescue operation was vigorous. Qiao Qiao looked through the window at the people coming and going outside, hoping that more people could survive.
The 440th day of doomsday.
It has been a week since the volcanic eruption. Perhaps we were lucky, as the wind has been blowing from the west during this period, and the volcanic ash has almost dissipated.
With the protective shield in place, the earthquake had little impact and people were enjoying the long-lost peaceful time.
【Northeast Channel: 36.89 million】
The volcanic eruption killed nearly 6 million people in just one week, more casualties than the earthquake.
On this day, the Federation chose to continue on its journey.
This time, no one resisted the decision of the Federation, and everyone followed the team silently. They seemed obedient, but in fact, they had lost the belief in survival, and each of them was like a walking corpse.
The Federation selected a group of people to stay and guard the protective shield. Lieutenant General Liu revealed that this would become a temporary base in the Northeast region, and they wanted to squeeze out every last bit of use from the cards.
The 448th day of doomsday.
The migration team arrived at the capital area, and the journey was finally halfway completed, but no one was happy. The original plan to reach the northwest area in 40 days completely failed, and the team took more than 40 days to reach the capital area.
What’s more, just as the team arrived in the capital area, they were hit by a magnitude 8.4 earthquake.
The huge shaking was more severe than any previous earthquake. The ground seemed like huge waves, rising and falling, swaying from side to side. People could not stand at all and could only squat on the ground and wait for it to be over.
During the strong shaking, most of the high-end buildings in the capital area that everyone had longed for were shattered and collapsed to the ground like pieces of paper. The prosperous and developed city was now reduced to ruins.
Fortunately, everyone has been evacuated, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.
This time was different from the past. Along with the strong shaking, a huge gap appeared in the middle of the crowd, stretching for at least several kilometers with no end in sight, separating the team in the middle.
The ground seemed like a monster with its huge mouth opened, swallowing everything on the ground. Many people fell into it before they could react.
"Save me! Save me!"
"Please, don't let go!"
"My child, my child!"
The real end of the world, the sky is falling and the earth is collapsing.
In the evening, the aftershocks had just ended and the survivors sat on the ground exhausted and gave up on themselves, with a look of despair on everyone's face.
Federal rescue efforts have been slow because of the cracks.
"Someone died." One person said expressionlessly.
"Yeah." The person next to him didn't react but just responded.
"Want to bury it?"
"Where are his family members?"
“It seems to be gone.”
"Forget it then, just throw them into the crack. There's no way to bury so many people."
The two men struggled to lift the corpse and slowly walked towards the crack.
There were people on both sides of the crack, and people threw corpses into the crack in a numb or sad way. It was not because people were kind, but because the corpses bred insects after the rainstorm. People were cleaning up the streets and left shadows, and they were afraid that these corpses would cause plague.
"It's the end of the world. No one can survive. The longer you live, the more painful it will be. It's better to be free as soon as possible! Hahahahaha!"
Everyone turned their eyes to the source of the sound, and saw a man with disheveled hair laughing crazily, and jumped into the dark crack without hesitation.
"All my relatives have passed away, and I've had enough of living."
Then a skinny old lady jumped down tremblingly.
"Add me one!"
"There is no need to live alone in pain. Death is a relief."
The long journey and the constant vigilance against earthquakes have put people on the verge of mental collapse. With one person taking the lead, more and more people burst into tears and joined the suicide team.
"Bang!"
The sound of gunfire continued, and people subconsciously squatted down to avoid it.
"Mom, fireworks!" The child's crisp voice broke the silence.
Everyone looked up and saw fireworks all over the sky.
Without the lights from tall buildings, the night sky is particularly deep and the fireworks are particularly eye-catching.
Some are like bamboos climbing up step by step, blooming at the highest point; some are like huge Ferris wheels, with different colors in each turn; some are like hanging colorful willow branches, dreamy like mirages...
The fireworks lasted for a full hour. During this time, no one spoke, and no one gave up their lives. Everyone sat on the ground and watched quietly.
At this moment, it was as if we had returned to the past, when there were no earthquakes, no migrations, and no deaths.
All I worry about all day is what to eat, when to have a holiday, how to get a salary increase, and I don’t want to deal with daily trivialities like going to work at 8 a.m.
"Mom, the fireworks are gone." The girl with twin ponytails pointed at the sky that had returned to silence.
"Well, go to sleep, rest tonight, and continue your journey tomorrow. The journey to the capital area will be easier." The fireworks brought hope. The mother stroked her daughter's head with a smile and took out a tattered tent from the system backpack.
"Don't worry, Mom. We can definitely survive." The little girl raised her hand and gently wiped away the tears that her mother had left unconsciously.
"Who released it?" Liu Yu sat in a specially treated car with the window down and looked outside for an unknown amount of time.
"I'm not sure. Do you need me to check?" The assistant next to him couldn't calm down for a long time. Such grand fireworks were not common even in the past.
"No need. There are not many people who can do this in this situation. Let's not disturb her." Liu Yu retracted his gaze and glanced meaningfully at the RV behind him.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Qiao Qiao patted the non-existent dust on her hands and looked up at the person next to her.
"pretty."
In fact, Yueying didn't watch the fireworks from beginning to end. Compared with the fleeting fireworks, he preferred to watch Qiao Qiao's beautiful smile.
Looking at the bright eyes of the person in front of him, Yueying felt his chest vibrating constantly, but he clearly had no heart.
"My family was planning to hold a fireworks festival, but unfortunately the event was postponed again and again due to the fog. When I went to a shopping mall in the suburbs, I passed by a warehouse where fireworks were stored. They were made of top-grade waterproof materials, and the rain had no effect on them yet, so I just collected them."
Qiao Qiao showed a proud expression, "Hehe, my parents didn't know. I originally planned to give them a surprise, but I didn't expect to use it here."
Yueying fixed her hair that was messed up by the wind, "Actually, you can just ignore them."
Qiao Qiao shook her head. "If you are poor, you should take care of yourself. If you are rich, you should help the world. Although many people joke that saints are killed first in troubled times, most of them are ordinary people who need help.
Fireworks are dispensable to me. They just pile up ashes, but they can temporarily relieve people's pain and awaken their will to survive."
She said self-deprecatingly: "Maybe you think I'm stupid, but if there is a next time, I will do the same thing as long as it does not harm my own interests."
The moonlight fell on Qiao Qiao's golden hair and a smile appeared on her face. At this moment, she looked like an angel.
"No, you are great." Yueying felt her chest beating faster.
She smiled and waved her hands, "No way, Lieutenant General Liu and his men are great."
Then he yawned and walked towards the RV, "Let's go, it's getting late, let's go back to sleep."
The 449th day of doomsday.
The migration team set out again. The roads had been cleared during the migration in the capital area. Although some parts collapsed in the earthquake, most of them were still usable, greatly shortening the travel time.
Over the next week, the team encountered two attacks by mutant creatures.
The first time was a mutant goat in its growing stage. Its horns had grown larger than its body, and it easily knocked over a military vehicle that was clearing the way. In the end, it took four R-level card-drawing teams of ten people trained by the Federation to resolve the issue.
The second time was when he was trying to save time by passing through a tunnel that had not collapsed yet, and he awakened the bats living inside. The bats mutated into blood-sucking directions, and they swarmed in and could suck an adult dry in just a few seconds.
This time it was Xiao Yan who took action. Although his card eventually petrified them, the bats were numerous and fast, and it is said that he was also bitten twice.
Both times, the problems were solved without Qiao Qiao having to take action, and she was naturally happy about it.
The 456th day of the end of the world, September 26th.
"What is that?"
Qiao Qiao looked at the dust flying in the distance.
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