Chapter 70: Life and death are determined by fate, wealth and honor are in the hands of God!
Go downstairs.
People in the electronics factory community have been returning home one after another. I think they have received the news of the second wave of lifting of restrictions.
Seeing Cheng Ye, who was not an ordinary person, everyone subconsciously took a detour.
Anyone who dares to go out at this moment is either a ruthless person who wants to risk his life to get to the top, or someone with a special mission.
Neither the former nor the latter is someone that ordinary residents like them can afford to provoke.
"Sir, curfew begins in one hour, and we will evacuate in two hours. The Blood Dragon Legion will then take over the buffer zone. If you do not have a special pass, please return home before nine o'clock."
The guard at the door failed to recognize Cheng Ye and hurried forward to remind him.
"Um."
Cheng Ye nodded slightly, without taking out his badge to ask the inspector if his identity allowed him to ignore the curfew.
The essence of a curfew is a barrier to protect residents, not a restriction on human rights.
Once the Blood Dragon Legion arrives, it means that the third wave of general information will be released soon, and chaos is bound to break out in the buffer zone.
Even if he hasn't figured out the situation clearly by then, he will go home immediately and hide until the infection breaks out.
Walking along the roadside path, most of the pedestrians on the street had a gloomy look on their faces.
After all, most of those who can live in areas A, B and C are "old people" who have worked in the buffer zone for many years, and a large number of them are survivors from 13 years ago.
"Sir, please stop. The area ahead has been designated a restricted area by the Emergency Epidemic Prevention Agency. You can only exit, not enter."
Two blocks away from Tianyuan Mall, a team of armed guards came up.
"Unless you can provide proof of residency, of course."
"Hmm"
Cheng Ye said nothing and took out the prosecutor's badge from his pocket.
The captain's expression changed, but after verifying the defense pass, he shook his head and said, "Inspector, with all due respect, this is a powder keg. It's best if you don't go in. They have their own set of rules, and outsiders are not allowed to interfere. It would only lead to trouble."
"Own rules?"
"Yes," the captain scratched his head, looking troubled. "Ever since the quarantine regulations for regional epidemic prevention were abolished more than ten years ago, the buffer zone has become like this. Every large community has its own rules for survival."
Before he finished speaking.
Suddenly, a burst of intense gong and drum sounds came from the direction of Tianyuan Shopping Mall not far away.
It doesn't sound like they are afraid of the wave of infection, but rather celebrating something.
"You see, that's it," the captain of the guard said with a wry smile. "These people are all mentally ill. It's hard for us normal people to understand."
"Can I come in?"
"If I can get in, I can get in, that's it."
"Then let me go in and take a look."
Cheng Ye's curiosity was completely aroused.
When there was no wave of infection, Happy City was just like the stereotypical wasteland he had in mind, with nothing strange about it.
But with the arrival of the infection wave, everything happening here is rapidly deviating from his inherent understanding of the wasteland world.
The world no longer operates according to rigid rules, everything becomes vivid and real.
"OK."
The captain of the guard gritted his teeth and said, "According to regulations, we cannot enter, but as long as you dial 01110, the surrounding guards will immediately come in to provide support."
"Thank you very much."
Cheng Ye nodded, took the badge and prepared to move forward.
Suddenly, the defense communication device on his waist rang. He picked it up and took a look. Unexpectedly, it was a message from Qin Feng.
"Go home early?"
He couldn't help laughing. He didn't expect that Researcher Qin still remembered him.
We passed through several checkpoints along the way, and the guards' eyes were full of curiosity.
Apparently no one expected that at this critical juncture, an inspector would go to the community.
"Sir, this is the last checkpoint. Once you pass this point, at this special time, you'd better abide by the rules."
The sign of Tianyuan Mall could be seen from afar, and another guard came up to remind us.
On weekdays, the permanent population of Tianyuan Mall fluctuates around one to two thousand people.
Many people only register their household registration here and may not really come back every night. In order to save commuting time, most migrant workers choose to set up tents near the construction site.
But right now, a full four thousand people were densely packed inside. Through the glass of the mall, one could see the figures of people swaying like moths under the lights.
“Do I have to follow their rules too?”
"Perhaps. We need it anyway." The guard smiled awkwardly. "No inspector has ever come in at a time like this before, so we don't know if your identity will be effective."
"You know, at times like this there are always some crazy people who completely ignore the rules."
After saying that, he waved towards the distance.
Two men in raincoats approached. "Dalong, Erlong, this is Inspector Cheng. We'd like to inspect your Tianyuan Mall. Is there a problem?"
"Your Excellency, Attorney?"
The two tall and thin middle-aged men looked at each other and saw the doubt in each other's eyes.
However, they did not refuse. "No problem, but what do you want, Inspector?"
"I'm just looking around to understand the situation. I won't interfere with your rules."
"Okay, please follow me."
Dalong stared at the outlines of two long spears faintly visible under the raincoat, licked his lips, and turned sideways to make a gesture to lead the way.
The moment Cheng Ye left the checkpoint and stepped in, he suddenly felt as if he had entered a zone without rules.
It was strange that the tense pressure all over my body suddenly dissipated. Without the shackles of the prosecutor's identity, I felt a strange sense of relief.
"Prosecutor Cheng, we very much welcome you to turn your attention to the community at this time, but you may not be able to understand the situation there for the time being."
"Unless absolutely necessary, please do not pull out your gun. We will do our utmost to ensure your safety and will never let you be in any danger inside!"
Dalong softly explained, "News of the incoming wave of infection has spread. The community has been able to hold its own until now thanks to over a decade of hard work by everyone involved. But as you know, there are pests in the buffer zone, and they exist in the community as well. We're currently working to eliminate them."
Cheng Ye nodded slightly, then asked curiously, "Wasn't it like this before?"
“Completely different.”
Dalong grinned, his eyes wrinkled into furrows. "After the nightmare flukes, more and more people realized that Happy City was no different from the other Sanctuary Cities, rotten to the core. So, in just a few days, nearly 30% of the population left."
"But then one day, the bigwigs in the inner city stood up and promised us that from now on, the inner city would remain the inner city, and the buffer zone would remain the buffer zone. This was the residents' own territory. Happy City would only provide jobs, benefits, supplies, and necessary protection, and would not interfere with personal choices when disaster struck."
"Since then, a whole community of people has emerged in the buffer zone with different philosophies, all trying to figure out how to get through this."
"Our Tianyuan community is rather strange. We believe in collectivism, which is not common in the wasteland."
Different concepts and community autonomy.
This is exactly what Li Matthew described as an idealist, and it fits the ideals of that group of people.
Close to the mall entrance.
Several young men guarding the gate became nervous when they saw Cheng Ye's huge stature and the two spears he carried without concealment.
"Hurry up and inform Mr. District that the prosecutor is here!"
When they reached the door of the mall, Erlong, who had been silent all this time, shouted loudly.
Before he finished speaking, several young men guarding the gate were stunned for a moment, then ran away, leaving only two of them, and the rest rushed into the mall.
"Come in."
Dalong opened the iron door and a strong stench hit his nose.
However, compared to the smell in the isolation warehouse at the North Station, the ventilation facilities inside the mall were still running. Cheng Ye just frowned and quickly got used to it.
Step inside.
Although the residential buildings in the buffer zone are in the style of the old millennium, the structure of this large shopping mall is not much different from the later Wanda Mall.
In the center of the first floor is a high-ceilinged activity area, with circular corridors extending upward layer by layer. Each floor can overlook the area below. At this time, it is densely packed with heads, and countless pairs of eyes are staring down.
All the former shops have been converted into residences, with iron beds stacked to the ceiling like building blocks, and bedding and miscellaneous items hanging from the gaps in the railings. It is a vivid picture of living conditions that is even more cramped than Kowloon Walled City.
But at this moment, Cheng Ye had no intention of looking at the internal structure, and his eyes fell on the activity area.
On the not-so-spacious stage sat three elderly men, all dressed in festive red clothes.
There are drums on both sides and a gong hanging at the back.
In front of the stage, three to five hundred people lined up neatly like elementary school students. When he walked in, countless eyes swept over him, but then quickly looked away, revealing a strange restraint.
"What's that doing?"
"Sieveworms."
Dalong grinned and pointed at the people in line, "Don't worry, we've already tested the substitute starfish. Apart from those people, no one else is at risk of infection."
"Well, I'll make room for you."
After saying that, he winked at Long Er, who immediately stepped forward to disperse the crowd, making room for about five square meters.
At the same time, the young man who went to report the news also walked up to Mr. Qu and whispered a few words.
In an instant, the three old men in red all turned their gazes over.
When the four eyes met in the air, Cheng Ye nodded slightly and clearly saw the smiles in the corners of the three people's eyes. Their expressions were not like the usual restraint of ordinary people meeting an inspector, but rather like they were welcoming a long-lost acquaintance.
Boom!
A few minutes later, it was half past eight.
The drumbeats sounded again, and a strong man holding a wooden mallet stepped forward and struck the hanging gong hard.
"The auspicious time has arrived!"
The crowd instantly erupted in excitement, with more and more voices joining in the shouting:
"Auspicious time!"
"Auspicious time!"
The sound waves made the corridor railings buzz.
It lasted for about twenty seconds, and when the old man in the middle raised his hand, the noise stopped abruptly.
"Tianyuan Community has been established for nine years, four months, and seven days."
"Many people joined and left during this period. As of today, the number has grown to 4,167."
"Now is the time to test our region's survival philosophy."
Mr. Qu spoke in a low voice, as if he was only speaking to the three to five hundred people in the queue.
It was visibly seen that many people were shaking.
"Li Gui, come forward!"
Mr. District on the left flipped open the list and read aloud.
The middle-aged man at the head of the queue had a slightly changed expression and his Adam's apple rolled twice, but he still walked forward with firm steps.
"Overturn the water!"
"yes."
Several basins of clean water were prepared in front of the stage.
Li Gui took a deep breath and submerged his face in the water. After a few seconds, he looked up and saw a clear black starfish mark on his forehead.
He looked in the mirror and clapped his hands together at the people behind him and looking down at him.
"Mr. Qu, I choose to take medicine."
"good!"
The three district elders nodded at the same time. Li Gui took out a bag of anti-epidemic powder from his pocket and swallowed it in big mouthfuls.
The powder was very powerful, and his face turned the color of liver in an instant, visible to the naked eye.
But within a few seconds, he fell straight to the ground, his limbs twitching and spurting black blood.
A suppressed gasp was heard in the crowd, some people's faces turned pale, and some people turned their heads away suddenly.
The strong man holding the hammer immediately struck the gong, and the dense drumbeats sounded like a battle formation, as if bidding farewell to the general who died in the battle.
The body collection team, wearing isolation clothing, stepped forward and deftly put Li Gui into the body bag.
The sounds of drums and gongs suddenly stopped.
“Life and death are determined by fate!”
The three elders stood up at the same time, bowed to the body bag, and growled.
The four thousand or so people who witnessed this scene followed suit, bowing towards the activity area and shouting in unison, their voices like thunder:
“Life and death are determined by fate!”
The sound was deafening.
"good!"
The body bag was carried away and the elders called out the names again.
"Gao Yunting, come forward."
Another middle-aged man came forward and put his face in the water.
The starfish mark flashed by, and it was even darker than Li Gui's.
"Mr. Qu, I choose to tie myself up."
"good!"
The three district elders nodded again, and someone else stepped forward, tied an iron chain around the man, and bound his hands and feet.
The gong sounds, followed by the drum.
The drum beats were heavy and slow, as if bidding farewell to the soldiers who were about to leave.
After Gao Yunting was taken away and locked up in a specially vacated shop, the three elders stood up again and bowed towards the shop.
"Wealth and honor are from heaven!"
The crowd followed with a low roar, "Wealth and honor are from heaven!"
The low shouts merged into a torrent, echoing loudly under the dome of the shopping mall, and even the bedding hanging from the gaps in the railings trembled slightly.
Cheng Ye couldn't help but get up. He understood being forced to drink medicine, but he chose to tie himself up.
"This is the collective, Master Cheng."
Dalong saw the surprise and realization in his eyes, and a softness flashed across his gaze. "From the moment you joined our Tianyuan Community, everyone was actually prepared to die."
"Preparation to die?"
Cheng Ye took a long time to digest these five words.
He had never heard of this method of epidemic prevention, and even thought about it seemed like a fantasy.
People are independent thinking individuals.
How is it possible that just because you join a group, you will put your own thoughts below the collective interests?
Even in civilized times, few people can achieve such a level.
Not to mention the precarious wasteland!
While he was thinking, the people in the queue came forward one after another, some tilted their heads back to swallow the powder, and some stretched out their hands and feet to be tied up.
Every time the gongs and drums sound, a burst of cheers will break out in the mall.
Is this true for everyone?
Suddenly.
"Zhang Can, come forward."
A young man was called over, but instead of covering his face, he took out a pistol from his waist and pointed it at the middle district elder.
“Bold!”
The moment the gun was drawn, a series of gun-pulling sounds were heard.
Under Cheng Ye's stunned gaze, at least a thousand guns were pulled out in the circular corridor, some long, some short, with the muzzles pointing at Zhang Can below like a forest.
Individual violence, collective benefit.
The combination of these two words looks awkward no matter how you look at it.
But at this moment, a strange balance was formed.
"Give me a chance, Mr. Qu."
Zhang Can's face was expressionless, but his lips couldn't help but tremble. "I'm still young, and I still have a lot to do. I don't want to be a deserter, but I don't want to die like this either."
"Achan, have you thought it through?"
Mr. Ou suddenly smiled and waved his hand towards the upstairs, "Everyone put away your guns. I was the host of Ah Chan's wedding last year. He won't shoot me."
Crash.
Mr. Qu’s words seemed to carry a lot of weight here. In just a moment, all the guns were retracted.
Zhang Can was stunned for a moment, and also let the gun hang at his side, but his index finger was still tightly gripping the trigger.
"My wife is pregnant, and I just have to stay alive."
"I understand."
Mr. District nodded and said, "Do you remember the first district rule of the community?"
"Collective interests are the sky, and individual interests are the earth. If the sky disappears, the earth will also turn over."
Zhang Can repeated it dully.
"What about the second one?"
"Let collective interests be the guiding principle and individual interests be the norm. If the guiding principle is not established, the norm will be difficult to maintain."
Mr. Qu smiled and nodded. "Then you'd better think carefully about whether you live or die after leaving this door. We in the Tianyuan community will never look at you again."
"Don't worry, Mr. Qu."
Ah Can nodded heavily, turned around and bowed to everyone, his voice hoarse but resounding, "Brothers and sisters, once we step out of this door, Zhang Can is Zhang Can. If we become alienated, we are the enemy, the enemy of everyone in the buffer zone. Just shoot me and kill me, no need to worry about anything!"
"good!"
The smile on Mr. Qu's face faded and he waved in the direction where Cheng Ye was standing.
As if they had rehearsed it, the crowd immediately made way for the two of them to walk side by side.
"Achan, let's go from here."
"Thank you, Mr. Qu."
Achan put the gun back into his waist, knelt down and kowtowed three times, his forehead hitting the concrete floor with a dull sound.
The moment he turned around, Old Qu hunched over, took the hammer from the big man's hand and smashed it against the gong.
“Man can conquer nature, success depends on human effort!”
Boom.
Boom! !
Boom!!!
The dull drum beats hit Zhang Can's footprints like a heavy hammer, and the stunned crowd suddenly burst into shouts.
“Man can conquer nature, success depends on human effort!”
“Man can conquer nature.”
Under Cheng Ye's gaze, he saw that Zhang Can, who had previously maintained a tense expression, had his shoulders trembling violently and his tense cheeks were covered with tears.
Although he tried hard to resist the urge to look back, when he reached the end of the passage and the door of the mall, he finally couldn't help but raise his head, and his eyes fell on the face of a woman on the second floor.
The pregnant woman behind the railing nodded vigorously at him, and he nodded back tremblingly.
then.
He took a step forward and his figure disappeared into the vast rainy night.
"good!"
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