Chapter 1067 Hope
As the broadcast repeated endlessly, suppressed and unbelievable gasps began to be heard in the shack.
Some people struggled to crawl to the door of the shack, and with trembling hands pushed aside the rags or wooden boards blocking the door, trying to see outside clearly.
More people supported each other and stumbled out of their tiny homes, gathering in the dirty and narrow alleys.
Most of them were ragged and skinny, with marks of long-term hunger and fear on their faces. In the bleak moonlight and the residual light of the distant searchlights, they looked like a group of ghosts crawling out of hell.
They tilted their heads back, trying hard to listen and discern the heavenly sound of the broadcast. Every word seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, hitting their hearts.
"Open the entrances and exits...disarm..."
“Accept screening and reorganization…”
...
These words imply order, rules, and perhaps... they may no longer be beasts to be slaughtered at will?
"Is... is it true? The country... the country really hasn't forgotten us?" An old man trembled as he held onto the wall, tears silently sliding down from his sunken eye sockets, leaving two clear tear marks.
Because they escaped from the city too late, the army had already taken the survivors who left the city in the early stage to Chongyou City, forcing them to stay here.
For quite a long time, the feeling of missing out on hope tormented them.
I hate myself. I hate myself for coming out so late that I missed the main troop transfer.
I hate the troops. I hate why they didn't wait a little longer and let them suffer here...
But as time passed, the suffering of the end of the world quickly numbed their nerves. Let alone hatred, they didn't even have the energy to speak loudly. Their lives automatically entered a desolate countdown...
So at this moment, when everyone heard the news from the troops again, they no longer had the initial resentment, but were filled with endless excitement and surprise!
"The army...it's the army! The army is coming!!" The young mother holding the child finally couldn't help it and cried out with sobs. She buried her face in the child's thin shoulders, and her tears quickly wet the child's tattered clothes, but this time, they were no longer tears of despair.
"We're saved...baby, we're saved..." She murmured over and over again, as if she wanted to engrave this unbelievable news into her bones.
"Leg...my leg...is there a doctor?" The injured boy's eyes flashed with amazing light and he struggled to stand up. His mother quickly supported him and the mother and son hugged each other and cried. It was a cry of rekindled hope.
Low sobs and suppressed cheers began to sound in every corner and quickly merged into one.
More and more people came out of the shacks and gathered together. They supported each other and confirmed the news they heard with each other, their eyes flashing with excitement, ecstasy, and an almost devout expectation.
The haze of long-term oppression and enslavement seems to be dispelled by this sudden strong light.
They may not fully understand what "take over" and "reorganization" specifically mean, but they clearly heard the "Zhongzhou War Zone", heard "disarmament", and heard the absolute power behind that voice, which is enough to crush Ma Lao San and Yue Hou!
This means that they may no longer have to worry and be in danger of their future!
As the flame of hope burned brighter and brighter, it eventually turned into uncontrollable ecstasy!
Some people couldn't help but wave their arms excitedly in the direction of the broadcast, even though people outside couldn't see it at all.
Some people knelt on the ground, facing north, towards the direction of the capital in their memory, kowtowed, muttered to themselves, and thanked unknown gods or ancestors for their blessings.
Many more people hugged each other, cried, and laughed, as if they wanted to vent all the fear, grievances, and despair that had accumulated over the past year at this moment.
The entire shantytown was plunged into a mixed, chaotic and enthusiastic atmosphere.
This formed a stark contrast with the despair and panic of Ma Laosan and his gang in the government building, and the panic of the armed men on the watchtowers on the wall.
Although the cold steel torrent is still outside the door, the dawn of hope has already shone on everyone!
For these people who have struggled in the abyss for too long, the cold voice of the repeated broadcast is the first ray of light that penetrates the endless darkness, enough to make them tremble, cry, and go crazy!
They finally arrived!
...
At this time, at the window of the management building, Ma Laosan stared at the survivors outside the window who were as excited as dead trees coming back to life. Looking at the almost crazy joy and expectation on their faces, a surge of evil fire rushed straight to the top of his head, burning his eyes red and the veins on his forehead bulging.
"Fuck them! A bunch of ungrateful bastards! Dirty bones!!"
He slammed his fist against the window frame, causing the rotten wood to groan under the weight. His teeth chattered, his chest heaved violently, and his breath was hot with rage.
"Fuck you! If it weren't for me! If I hadn't taken you in, given you a place to hide from the rain, and fed you rotten rice, you would have been fed to the zombies long ago! You would have rotted in some stinky ditch long ago!!"
He roared madly in his heart, and the muscles on his twisted face twitched.
In his opinion, the fact that these people can survive until now is all a "gift" from him, Ma Lao San!
It was he who established this gathering place, it was he who led his men to fight off sporadic zombies and lurkers, and it was he who "maintained" the "order" here!
Although... although most of the food was controlled by him and his cronies, and ordinary people could only get enough to barely keep themselves from starving; although they had to do the hardest, most tiring, and most dangerous work; although women... women had to pay an extra "price" in exchange for food or medicine...
But isn't this just fucking natural?!
The end of the world! This is the end of cannibalism! Ma Laosan isn't running a charity! He provides "protection," and these people pay with their labor, dignity, and even their bodies. Isn't this a fair trade?!
Without him, Ma Lao San, these people wouldn't even be qualified to be exploited! They would have died long ago!
But now?
The army just shouted a few words outside, and these untouchables acted as if they had seen their own parents and wanted to pounce on them and lick their asses!
The ecstasy on their faces was like a loud slap in the face of Ma Lao San!
They have completely forgotten who "sheltered" them in the past year! They have completely forgotten who allowed them to survive until today!
They only saw the strength of the army and thought only about their own pitiful "liberation", but did not think about Ma Laosan's "kindness" and "contribution" at all!
"Egative wolves... They are all ungrateful wolves who can never be tamed!!" Ma Laosan squeezed out vicious curses from between his teeth, his eyes so sinister that water could drip out.
He even saw some people below pointing excitedly in the direction of the government building, with undisguised anticipation for the future on their faces, as if to say: Once the army comes in, you bastards who oppress us will be finished!
This naked feeling of being "betrayed" and "liquidated" made Ma Laosan's heart feel like it was being bitten by a poisonous snake, causing him pain and anger!
