Chapter 1066 Why?
buzzing-
The huge roar of the engine was like a real sound wave, hitting the simple wall of Wantong gathering place hard.
Several bright and dazzling beams of light mercilessly pierced through the night, illuminating the main gate area as bright as day and exposing the panicked figures on the wall.
The angular turret of the 04A infantry fighting vehicle and the thick 105mm gun barrel of the ZTL-11 assault vehicle glowed with a cold and deadly metallic luster under the strong light.
Further back, there were more shadowy armored silhouettes and figures in starry sky camouflage moving, forming a desperate steel barrier.
The armed guards on the wall were in complete chaos. Some of them subconsciously raised their homemade rifles or hunting rifles, but were immediately held down by the slightly more sober people nearby!
"Don't move! Do you want to die? Look carefully at what that is!" The terrified roar sounded weak and desperate amid the noisy engine sound.
Some people's legs went limp, and they collapsed directly behind the wall, their faces as pale as paper. Others ran around like headless flies, trying to find shelter that didn't exist.
This was a scene they had never imagined, a completely one-sided and suffocating threat of force!
The weapons in their hands, which they relied on for survival, looked as ridiculous as children's toys in front of the enemy's heavy armor and standard equipment.
"People inside, listen!"
At this moment, a cold and emotionless voice amplified by an electronic loudspeaker sounded like thunder, instantly drowning out all the noise and the roar of the engine.
The sound came from the leading 04A infantry fighting vehicle:
"We are a subordinate unit of the Central Plains War Zone Railway Command! In accordance with the Wartime Emergency Law and the Border Security Control Regulations, we are officially taking over the defense and administrative management of the Pingxiang area!"
"I order you to immediately and unconditionally open all entrances and exits, disarm, and assemble all personnel in designated areas for screening and reorganization!"
"Repeat! Immediately and unconditionally open the entrances and exits, disarm, and accept screening and reorganization!"
"Warning!! Any form of resistance or delay will be regarded as a hostile act, and we will take all necessary measures to crush it!"
"You have five minutes to respond and execute the command! The timer begins!!!"
The ultimatum-like declaration, with no room for bargaining, echoed in the silent gathering place with absolute authority and unquestionable power.
……
Inside the gathering place, in the central area, there is a relatively intact government building that was converted from an office building.
Ma Laosan looked at the steel torrent outside the gate like a heavenly army through a tattered surveillance screen, and listened to the cold ultimatum. The blood color on his face faded little by little, and fine cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
At this moment, his last bit of hope was completely shattered.
It really is an army! And it is a well-equipped, well-trained, and murderous regular army!
"Third... Third Master... what should we do? They... they asked us to surrender..." asked a trusted subordinate in a trembling voice.
Bang! !
Ma Laosan slammed his fist on the table, causing several empty bottles to clang. His eyes were red and he was breathing heavily:
"Fuck it, why why why?! I worked so hard to build this, why can you just take it over with just a word?! Fucking hell!!"
"Just because they are the military? They asked me to hand over my hard-earned family property just by shouting a few words?? !! Is there any law in this world!!!" With that, the furious Ma Lao San kicked over the table in front of him.
Looking at Ma Lao San who was as angry as a lion, the younger brother did not dare to refute him because of his long-standing prestige. He could only follow his words and ask carefully:
"So... so what you mean... is that we should resist? I'll go gather some men right away?"
As the younger brother finished speaking, Ma Lao San, whose chest was heaving violently, exploded instantly. He raised his hands and started beating the younger brother who made the suggestion, cursing as he beat him:
"Resist! Resist! Resist your fucking head!"
"What are you going to use to resist? That little water gun in your pants?! An armored vehicle! A tank! Do you really think we're just bastards playing around?!"
Resist? Looking at the situation outside, that's courting death! He's afraid that within a few minutes, this gathering place he's painstakingly built for nearly a year will be crushed to dust!
As for surrendering weapons and accepting so-called "screening"?
Ma Laosan knows very well how many "out-of-line" things he has done in the past year!
Would the army let him go? Even if he managed to survive, he would be slaughtered like a dog and lose everything he had now!
Time passed second by second, and the countdown to death outside the window seemed to be knocking on his heart.
...
Just as Ma Laosan was hesitating in the face of the unknown future, inside the gathering place, in those low, crowded shacks that smelled of mold and despair, a completely different reaction was taking place!
At first, when the roar of the engines outside like the roar of a giant beast and the cold and majestic broadcast voice penetrated the thin walls of the shed, the survivors huddled in the darkness just subconsciously huddled tighter, with a numb look on their faces like dead water.
For those struggling to survive at the bottom of the apocalypse, any violent movement outside often means a new disaster—perhaps zombies have breached a section of the wall, perhaps Ma Laosan's men have come to forcibly collect food and labor, or perhaps the gang of Vietnamese monkeys next door have come to rob people again...
They have long been accustomed to using numbness to protect their already broken hearts, as if as long as they don't listen or look, the disaster will automatically pass over these poor people who have nothing.
However, the content of the broadcast was like a red-hot iron rod, suddenly piercing through this hard shell of numbness!
"Zhongzhou War Zone... Railway Command..."
"Take over the defense and administrative management of the Pingxiang area..."
"Disarmament... Acceptance of screening and integration..."
...
Words, repeated over and over again, were like heavy hammers, hitting their brains that had almost stopped thinking.
A young man, wrapped in a ragged blanket, leaned against the mud wall of the shack. His cloudy eyes suddenly widened for a moment, and his dry lips muttered silently: "...War zone?...The army?..."
A young mother who was originally sleeping nearby and looked pale and thin was awakened. She subconsciously hugged her child tightly in her arms. The child was extremely thin due to malnutrition. Her eyes were confused at first, and then she suddenly listened attentively, afraid of missing a word.
"Mom...what's that noise outside?" A half-grown boy asked weakly in the corner. One of his legs was wrapped in a dirty cloth. The wound had festered and was emitting a strange smell.
His mother, a middle-aged woman with wrinkles of suffering on her face, did not answer. She just tried to support her weak body with trembling hands and put her ear to the gap of the shack.
The broadcast is still repeating.
That cold, majestic, yet extremely clear voice, carrying a certain power of "order" that they had almost forgotten, struck their eardrums and their hearts again and again.
The numbness began to melt away, and shock and disbelief washed over me like a tide.
Is it really the army?
The country's army is back?!
Not an illusion?
Hope, something they had long since stopped dreaming of, began to reignite in countless pairs of dead eyes like a faint but tenacious flame.
...
Don't wait, three chapters have been updated, and the next two chapters are under review.
