Chapter 952: Dinner, no combat gear
"Okay, here it is!"
Su Xunyun stopped and patted Zhang Ziming on the shoulder, with a hint of apology on his face:
"Brother Ziming, the conditions are indeed poor. We are sorry for putting you in such a difficult situation. Let's hurry up and make the beds. Let's make do with this."
At this point, he looked at his watch and said in a relaxed tone:
"In ten minutes, you will gather everyone in the yard and we will have dinner! It's very hot in the cafeteria, so you don't need to wear combat gear. Just wear a short-sleeved T-shirt. Do whatever is comfortable for you!"
"Yes!" Zhang Ziming stood at attention and responded. The last bit of haze in his heart also dissipated because of this "considerate" arrangement.
"Then I'll go to the cafeteria first to see how the food is prepared." Su Xunyun smiled, turned around, and his figure quickly disappeared into the shadows deep in the warehouse.
As soon as Su Xunyun left, Zhang Ziming felt relieved and immediately called out to the veterans present:
"Did you hear that? Hurry up! Dinner will be served in ten minutes! Staff Officer Su said that you don't need to wear combat gear, just short-sleeved shirts and shorts! Do whatever is comfortable for you!"
“Wuhu————!!!”
As soon as the words fell, the cheers that had been suppressed for a long time suddenly broke out in the empty warehouse, with an ecstasy like surviving a disaster!
"Great! I can finally get rid of this shackle! Carrying dozens of kilograms every day will break my bones!"
"Yes! I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off my shoulders! Finally...finally safe!" An old soldier's voice was choked with joy.
"I'm home! I'm really home! I don't have to worry about sleeping soundly anymore!"
"If I could take a hot shower after dinner... that would be heavenly!"
.....
ten minutes later.
In the open space outside the warehouse, Zhang Ziming looked at the "lined up" team in front of him and couldn't help laughing. How could this be a line?
A group of veterans in wrinkled PE T-shirts and colorful shorts stood loosely, their faces filled with pure, unguarded ease and excitement.
From time to time, bursts of unbridled laughter and jokes broke out in the queue, and the atmosphere was as warm as a New Year's Eve party.
Some were guessing what the dinner would be like with great interest; some were describing with great joy the happy scene after finding their families; others took out their treasured palm-sized dolls or small wooden sculptures from their pockets and proudly showed off to their comrades the gifts they had prepared for their children...
All the sufferings of the past seemed to have come to an end here!
At this moment, the light of hope is so dazzling, as if within reach, and everything is as beautiful as a quiet and peaceful summer night before the end of the world.
However, at the same time...
On the top of the warehouse, in the ZB89 heavy machine gun position completely shrouded in darkness.
Major Staff Officer Su Xunyun stood silently in the shadows like a cold sculpture.
He had a lit cigarette in his mouth, and the red light of the cigarette butt flickered in the darkness, like the eyes of a ghost.
The gray-white smoke made him even more obscure in the darkness, like a demon staring at its prey...
There was only that little scarlet light, which was shortening at a speed visible to the naked eye as time passed.
The burning tobacco seemed like a countdown to the rapidly passing lives in the yard.
.....
Finally, when the cigarette burned to the end, when the hot filter burned my fingers...
Su Xunyun's eyes swept across the yard for the last time, full of joy and vision for the future. Deep in his eyes, there surged extremely complex painful emotions and resolute coldness...
'Just one cigarette...'
"This is the last thing I can give you..."
'Don't blame me... You have family... I have family too... I want my family to live better than you do..'
As Su Xunyun's inner murmurs fell:
pat-
That tiny bit of scarlet light was flicked by his finger and fell from the high darkness.
The cigarette butt drew a faint arc and hit the cold, hard concrete floor, splashing a few barely detectable sparks before completely going out.
At the same moment when that spark went out——
"Do it!" Su Xunyun's voice was low and cold, without a trace of ripples, but it was like the judgment of the god of death.
Boom——Crack——!!!
The moment the words fell, the huge, heavy rolling door of the warehouse fell down suddenly with the force of thunder and lightning like a guillotine!
The loud noise of the steel hitting the ground was deafening, and instantly sealed the entire yard into a huge iron cage that was impossible to escape from!
Caught off guard, watching the huge change suddenly happen, the smile on Zhang Ziming's face froze instantly, and his pupils suddenly contracted due to extreme horror!
A chill instantly rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head! The joy on the faces of the other veterans was instantly replaced by astonishment and disbelief!
However, their astonishment did not even have time to transform into any effective response——
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang-! ! ! ! ! !
Next second
On the towering walls surrounding the warehouse yard, the black hole muzzles of the guns, originally facing outward, had been aimed at them for some time, and at the same time, a deafening, everything-shattering roar of madness broke out!
Dense tongues of fire spewed wildly in the darkness, weaving into a web of fire of death. With the absolute will to destroy everything, it ruthlessly enveloped the unprotected bodies in the yard who were wearing thin short-sleeved shirts and shorts!
.....
Bang, bang, bang——!!!
In the next door safe zone, on the crowded, dirty, large bunk beds that smelled heavily of sweat and despair, countless survivors sat up suddenly from their sleep as if struck by electric current!
The short, violent gunshots, like a metallic storm tearing cloth, tore through the silence of the night without any warning and struck hard into their hearts!
Panic spread instantly——
Fear was written all over the haggard and dirty faces, and cloudy eyes turned desperately in the darkness, trying to find a gap to peek into the outside world.
However, the walls were cold concrete, the windows were nailed shut with wooden boards, and the entire space was like an airtight iron can, with no holes! There were no holes to observe!
They were like prisoners thrown into a dark well, and could only passively endure the unknown roar of death coming from above their heads.
"Go to sleep!! Lie down and go to sleep!!!"
"Whoever dares to move again will be executed immediately!"
The guard's brutal roar, accompanied by heavy footsteps and the blinding beam of light from a strong flashlight, was like a soul-chasing order from hell, smashing into this space that was already roiling with fear!
boom!boom!boom!boom!
The heavy rubber stick wrapped with rebar, with the sound of wind, slammed mercilessly on the rusty iron bedside!
The huge, teeth-grinding metal collision sound seemed to hit everyone's skull directly!
This sound, like a key, instantly opened the most horrifying drawer deep in the survivors' memories - it was the echo of countless whippings, draggings, and even the prelude to the silent disappearance of their companions!
The crowd that was still squirming in panic a second ago seemed to be strangled by the throat by an invisible, cold giant hand!
All movements and sounds were completely frozen and extinguished at the same moment! The huge dormitory area fell into a dead silence, which was heavier and more suffocating than before the gunshots.
There were only countless pairs of wide-open, bloodshot eyes in the darkness, staring at the ground or the bed board that was close at hand, not even daring to tremble.
Ten seconds later.
When the violent gunfire in the corner of the safe zone that announced a certain end completely stopped, the tense bodies of the survivors relaxed extremely slowly and slightly, as if their bones were pulled out.
The brief but violent commotion disappeared quickly like the receding tide, leaving only the heavier, suppressed panting in the polluted air, and the extremely suppressed whimpering and crying like the wailing of a baby animal, which came out from between the fingers of a mother who covered her baby's mouth and nose tightly in a corner...
The sound was so faint that it was almost inaudible, but it pierced the heart more than any howl...
Falling down..
Everyone seemed to be free falling into an abyss...
