amaotonovel Chapter 1343 The Path to Survival Cut Off!
Chapter 1343 The Path to Survival Cut Off!
In the traffic heading out of the city, inside the blue truck, time seemed to stretch out due to the thick sense of fear and the muffled roar of the engine.
Old Zhou held his son, Xiao Shitou, tightly, his back against the cold, hard truck bed, his body swaying with every bump of the truck and every sudden stop due to a traffic jam ahead.
Little Stone had cried himself out, and only intermittent sobs remained. His little face was buried in Old Zhou's arms, and he would tremble violently every now and then because of the sudden gunshots or sharp braking sounds outside.
The other workers around them had long since lost the energy to talk; their faces were ashen, and their eyes were either vacant or anxiously staring out of the car.
The carriage was filled with the smells of sweat, dust, and a faint... stench of urine—it was unclear whether a child or an adult had lost control of their bladder in extreme fear.
But no matter what the current situation is, as time goes by, the glimmer of hope seems to be just ahead.
After countless stops, detours, and avoidances of broken-down vehicles, their blue truck finally managed to catch up with the main road leading to the main evacuation of the troops. Heading west, they could see the tall western wall of the settlement not far ahead, and the dark western gate checkpoint beneath the wall, symbolizing the path to the "safe zone"!
The dim headlights of the cars and the temporary searchlights erected at the intersection illuminated the area as bright as day.
As you can see, the steel gate of the checkpoint is raised high, with a reinforced concrete passage below.
On both sides of the passage stood two rows of fully armed soldiers in full protective suits. They stood like statues on both sides, their guns gleaming coldly under the lights, silently watching each vehicle speeding out of the city.
Although the atmosphere was somber, the open passageway and the cars that kept coming out were like the approaching shore in the eyes of a drowning person to those who had been tossed about in despair for so long!
"Almost there! Almost there!" someone in the front row murmured, their voice trembling with a mix of sobs and relief at the impending release.
“If you leave the city and head north, I’ve heard there are underground shelters over there…” another voice weakly echoed.
Old Zhou's heart was in his throat. He instinctively hugged his son tighter, his cloudy eyes fixed on the approaching sentry lights ahead.
go out!
As long as we get out, leave this place shrouded in "poisonous clouds," there is hope! Maybe we can survive, maybe... we'll even have a chance to go to that legendary night market.
The desire to live, like a final burst of light before death, flickered back into existence.
However, just as their truck, moving slowly but steadily with the flow of traffic, reached within two hundred meters of the checkpoint exit, and when they could even make out the mottled rust on the gate and the outlines of soldiers' gas masks in the sandbag fortifications next to it—
A sudden change occurred!
Near the checkpoint, the group of soldiers who had been standing scattered and each responsible for guarding or guiding a section of the area suddenly stopped their movements in unison, as if they had received an order!
They quickly moved from their respective positions—beside the roadblocks, checkpoints, and both sides of the passage—like iron filings attracted by a magnet, toward a slightly elevated sandbag platform inside the checkpoint, which seemed to be a temporary command post!
Their movements stood out starkly against the backdrop of the chaotic and noisy traffic, especially during this particular period when the survivor was particularly sensitive to environmental changes.
This sudden turn of events immediately drew the attention of all the survivors near the checkpoint, especially those in the convoys about to leave the city.
"what happened?"
"Why are all those soldiers gathered together?"
"What happened?"
...
Uneasy whispers spread like ripples through the stagnant traffic.
Countless eyes peered intently through the car windows and gaps in the carriages at the group of soldiers who had gathered together.
Soon, Old Zhou, who was in the carriage, also heard the commotion. His heart sank, and an ominous premonition, even colder than before, gripped him.
He unconsciously tightened his arms around his son.
Then, something happened that made everyone stop breathing and their blood almost freeze—
Just as the group of soldiers finished assembling, a man who looked like an officer hurriedly said something to them and pointed towards the control room of the sentry gate—
“Crunch——!!!”
A heavy, piercing metallic scraping sound, as if capable of crushing hope, suddenly came from the direction of the checkpoint!
The heavy steel gate, which had been raised high and symbolized a way out, began to slowly and irresistibly sink downwards under the action of the hydraulic system!
"They're closing down?! They're closing down?!"
"Do not--!!!"
"Why are you closing the door?! Let us out!!"
"We haven't even left yet! Why is the door closed???"
.....
After a brief silence, like dynamite being ignited, panic, incredulous exclamations, questions, and even shrill screams exploded in the traffic in front of the checkpoint!
Hope, just when it was within reach, was abruptly and coldly severed!
This sudden fall from heaven to hell is more maddening than being in despair the whole time.
In many cars that had been waiting quietly, people suddenly pushed open the doors and jumped out, rushing towards the closing gates with extreme fear and confusion on their faces.
"Don't close the door! Please! Let us out!"
"There's a poisonous cloud behind us! People are going to die!"
"What are you soldiers trying to do?! Are you trying to trap us here?!"
...
The unrest spread like wildfire.
Some agitated people began trying to break through the narrow pedestrian passages on both sides of the gate, which were still open and guarded by soldiers, or to surround the soldiers who had just assembled.
The few soldiers maintaining order at the scene immediately stepped forward to block them, forming a human wall with their rifle butts, shouts, and bodies, but they appeared to be in a precarious situation in the face of the surging, almost irrational crowd.
Just as this chaos reached its peak—
"laugh--!"
A piercing electrical noise suddenly blasted from the loudspeaker above the whistle, drowning out all the cries and commotion.
Immediately afterwards, a cold, stern roar, muffled and distorted through the gas mask yet exceptionally clear, poured down like ice water:
"Attention all personnel! I am the commander of the West Gate unit of the Jinling Military Sub-district!"
The voice from the loudspeaker offered no reassurance, only a steely firmness and urgency:
"We have received an urgent report from the military sub-district command that a large-scale swarm of mutated fungal beasts is rapidly approaching the western and southwestern areas outside the city! Its vanguard has already reached the outer defense line!"
"Repeated! The area outside the western city is no longer safe! All vehicles and personnel attempting to evacuate through the west gate will be directly exposed to the horde of fungal beasts!"
This news struck like another heavy blow to everyone's hearts.
Before the poisonous cloud even arrives, a monster horde has already appeared on the ground?!
"Therefore, the west gate is to be permanently closed immediately! All vehicles are to immediately execute this order—turn around on the spot! Or evacuate to the designated areas on either side!"
"Don't panic! Soldiers from the garrison will guide you to safe evacuation points on the northern or eastern front!"
"The gathering place will not abandon anyone! But the premise is that you must obey orders and evacuate in an orderly manner!"
The tone suddenly turned sharp, chilling to the bone:
"I warn all those who attempt to storm checkpoints, incite chaos, or obstruct evacuation—this is wartime! Storming military control zones or hindering the military from carrying out its defensive duties is considered treason under wartime emergency regulations! You may be executed on the spot!"
Don't say you weren't warned!