Chapter 3
The farmhouse where An Tianhe was staying wasn't new. It sat right next to its own fields.
It had four floors in total, with a rooftop terrace. A family of six used to live on the second and third floors, but to make room for them, they had all squeezed together on the third floor, leaving the bottom two for their guests.
At first, everyone felt guilty about taking the owner's room, so they refused to impose further by eating with the family. It wasn't until the Command center arranged for separate meal provisions that they were able to live without disturbing each other.
Even with a dozen or so people crammed in here, making sleeping difficult, no one complained anymore.
Returning to his temporary ground-level bed on the first floor, An Tianhe lay down. The mattress was a layer of dry straw, covered by a flattened cardboard box, with his own spare clothes laid on top. Six people slept side-by-side in one room; turning over would mean bumping into the person next to you. But given the current extraordinary circumstances, everyone had quickly gotten used to it.
The other team members hadn't returned yet. An Tianhe took out his phone from his personal backpack. The signal was still extremely weak, flickering in and out. At this point, he could only charge it and use its offline functions.
He pulled up his chat history. There, plain as day, were the messages his parents had left him a few days ago. He read them over again silently, and a warm, moist feeling gradually welled up in his heart, temporarily dispelling the gloom in his soul.
Back then, his parents had been lucky to evacuate the old city district early. Following the municipal government's emergency evacuation plan and with the coordination of military aircraft, the elderly, weak, women, and children were the first to be sent away. At the time, many families didn't want to be separated, insisting they all leave together or all stay together, which nearly caused a riot. Finally, after the staff and military commanders calmed them down and explained the practical reality of the aircraft's limited capacity, everyone reluctantly accepted the arrangement.
An Tianhe's parents had also insisted on staying, demanding the family leave together. He had pleaded with them, persuading them three or four times. In the end, he had practically shoved them onto the plane, shouting that there wouldn't be any spots left soon.
His mother's anxious tears and his father's bloodshot eyes had almost made him break down and cry with them. He could only keep comforting them, saying, "It's okay, it's okay! The next plane will come get me soon. We'll be reunited in no time. Don't cry, what will people think? I'm a grown man, I can take care of myself! Don't worry!"
When the transport plane's rear hatch closed, An Tianhe suddenly tasted salt in his mouth and his vision blurred into an indistinguishable haze.
Later, the disaster in the city worsened, the situation taking a sharp turn for the worse. The airport's entrance was about to be overrun. The airborne brigade was suffering heavy casualties on the front line, and the aircraft's transport capacity for each round trip was limited. If they delayed any longer, tens of thousands of people would likely perish here.
At the critical moment, after the commander of the airborne brigade, Brigade Commander Chen, consulted with the city-level leaders, he ordered the front-line troops to continue holding the airport entrance while all other personnel quickly retreated in the direction of Longtan Town.
At first, many people, An Tianhe included, neither understood nor wanted to abandon the airport. But circumstances forced their hand. It wasn't until they boarded buses, trucks, and other transport vehicles and passed the airport's frontlines that they understood just how perilous the situation had become.
After arriving at Longtan Town, they originally thought the nation would mobilize its full strength to rescue them within a few days. But a week had passed since they evacuated the city, and not only was there no sign of reinforcements, but the Army's 52nd Mechanized Infantry Division, which was expected to arrive later, had also failed to rendezvous with the airborne brigade as scheduled. He heard they had also rescued a group of survivors and retreated to the border area near Yiling City, which was southeast of Qinghe City.
For the past two days, the only hope came from the daily airdrop of supplies.
However, numerous rumors had begun to spread from within, and people's morale was becoming increasingly unstable.
…
A day later, it was the tenth day since the disaster.
An Tianhe's main task today was to patrol and maintenance order. In the morning, a minor dispute had broken out over the distribution of daily necessities. Now, four teams were patrolling back and forth along the streets to prevent anyone from deliberately provoking conflict or fanning discontent.
The supply distribution point was a key area for these patrols. Due to a shortage of manpower, An Tianhe and five others had been issued temporary riot gear to closely monitor the area and prevent anyone from looting or causing trouble.
Holding a meter-long riot baton, An Tianhe paced in a small area, his gaze sweeping over the three long queues, one by one. At 1.75 meters tall, he looked quite intimidating in the full gear.
From the looks he received, he could sense indifference, impatience, wariness, and a hint of hostility.
But when he tried to pinpoint the source of the hostility, it would suddenly vanish.
Without warning, his left eyelid twitched. A slender, tall woman with fair skin instantly captured his attention like a magnet.
She was standing in the middle line, wearing a white sweatshirt under a loose, blue, collared denim jacket. The buttons at her chest were undone, the full, rounded curve of her breasts faintly exuding a unique feminine charm. On her lower body, she wore what was originally a camel-colored, capri-length skirt, but she had added a pair of pants underneath, making for a rather mismatched look, though in these times, dressing casually for warmth was common. After all, it was still April, and the weather was overcast and cool, and the surroundings were damp.
As he drew a little closer, An Tianhe took the opportunity to get a better look, under the guise of patrolling.
She seemed a bit haggard, her brows slightly furrowed. Long black hair fell over her shoulders, but it couldn't hide her beautiful, oval-shaped face, her small, pale-red lips, or her straight, delicate nose. Her eyes held a mixture of fatigue and anxiety. Nevertheless, just by standing there, she naturally exuded an air of elegance and mature charm that was hard to ignore.
9/10!!
An Tianhe's aesthetic intuition instantly gave her a comprehensive score. While her looks and temperament couldn't compare to the goddess in his heart, her figure was clearly much hotter and sexier.
Although he wanted to stare a little longer, he was on duty. An Tianhe had to walk away with some reluctance.
…
Over the next few days, the search team's cleanup area in the city's development zone continued to expand, but they never left the zone's limits. They also seemed to be accelerating their push along the provincial highway. Besides increasing the efficiency of collecting daily supplies, they focused on transferring all the diesel and gasoline from two gas stations.
Furthermore, An Tianhe noticed that the transport convoy had temporarily conscripted a group of experienced drivers from the refugees. For the past few days, they had been driving away all the relatively well-preserved and undamaged buses, minibuses, and medium-sized trucks that had been inspected and cleared of zombie damage, gathering them on the outskirts of Longtan Town.
The members of the search team speculated that the Command was planning some major operation. Someone even worked up the courage to go to Captain Gao and probe for information, only to be sharply rebuffed. This prompted Gao to repeatedly emphasize that everyone was to follow the command, that no one should make wild guesses without orders from a superior, and especially that they should watch their tongues back in Longtan Town. Anyone who dared to spread rumors, regardless of who they were or their status, would be subject to military law!!
That evening, back at the billet, An Tianhe was exhausted. The work intensity had at least doubled over the past two days. If the standard of living hadn't also improved somewhat, the conscripted civilians would have long been complaining and quitting.
Dinner actually included rice. The main course was a big stew, but it had both meat and vegetables. If they just had a skilled cook to add some various spices and prepare it properly, it could probably pass for a hearty stir-fry hot pot!
Twelve days after the disaster, he was finally able to eat a proper, filling meal. An Tianhe patted his eighty-percent-full stomach, content for the moment. He walked out with a few familiar teammates, planning to find someone to trade for some cigarettes to kill time. Halfway there, he suddenly felt the urge to relieve himself, so he told the others to go on ahead and that he would catch up after a quick stop.
He found a small path and slipped over to the side of a field ridge. It was twilight, and there was no one around. An Tianhe relieved himself and was heading back to the path when he saw a well-decorated house nearby with a light on its second floor. It looked familiar. Right, wasn't this the place he'd overheard some local residents talking about?
He couldn't help but slow down and curiously size it up. "It's really decorated like an ancient tavern, all ornate and grand. Probably a corrupt establishment for sure. I really don't get—"
Just then, two people, a man and a woman, came out of a side door on the first floor. The man was tall, An Tianhe estimated over 1.8 meters. He was following behind the woman, and they seemed to be arguing as they walked. An Tianhe instinctively ducked behind a large tree, wanting to hear what they were saying.
The woman took a few steps, then suddenly spun around and said in a sharp voice, "Do you like staying in this place? Fine. You stay here. I'm leaving by myself!"
"Yuan Yuan, don't be so impulsive, okay?" the tall man pleaded, trying his best to soothe her. "Things aren't like they used to be. Even the city leaders are stuck here in town. Besides, your direct superior, Director Liu, is here too. Where could you possibly go alone?"
"They are them, and I am me! I can't stand this godforsaken place for one more day! I've really had enough!! I'm going to call my parents, or my aunt directly and have them send a car to pick me up and take me to the provincial capital!!"
The woman grew more agitated as she spoke, her voice cracking with tears.
The tall man seemed used to calming her down. He stepped forward, pulled the woman into his arms, and started whispering something while gently patting her back.
The woman struggled for a moment, then gradually went limp and gave up, finally collapsing into his arms and sobbing, her shoulders shaking. The light from the second floor cast long shadows of the man and woman on the ground.
Standing behind the tree by the road, An Tianhe watched the scene with his face ashen, his heart turning to ash, as if he had been struck by lightning.