RotA – Chapter 22

You Lan was not Luo Kun; she didn’t have a gang of brothers under her command.

She thrived in the black market entirely on the strength of her connections.

Everyone in the Base’s outer districts knew that Boss You of the Seventh District had shops spanning more than half a street in the black market. Her network was so extensive, it was said she had a hand in both legitimate and illicit dealings.

Whether the goods were legitimate or contraband, she could use her connections to help people buy or sell anything.

If you needed someone to handle some troublesome business, as long as the price was right, she could always find a way to make the connection.

Most importantly, the Seventh District’s Chief Security Officer, Ban Xiangming, always had her back. If anyone offended her, the Seventh District’s security team would be the first on the scene. It reached a point where even the local tyrant, Luo Kun, didn’t dare to cross her.

But who could you rely on for a lifetime?

A husband and wife are said to be birds of the same forest, yet they fly their separate ways when disaster strikes. What, then, could be expected of fair-weather friends whose bonds were forged only over drinks in times of peace?

The moment the evacuation alarm sounded, the customers in her shop fled without paying. Many things were broken by the rushing crowd, and some people even took advantage of the chaos to snatch things.

Her shouts were drowned out by the crowd; no one cared about her anger and helplessness.

Her communicator couldn’t reach Ban Xiangming, nor could it reach anyone who could drive her away.

In that instant, the most glamorous woman in the outer districts seemed to have been abandoned by the entire world.

Fortunately, there was still someone in this world who owed her money, and that person hadn’t succumbed to the devilish thought of “if my creditor dies, I won’t have to pay.”

So you can imagine how moved she was.

From the moment she got in the vehicle, her mouth had been chattering nonstop.

“Captain Chai, you know, the ammunition and food are secondary, but this vehicle is super expensive. If you can’t bring it back in one piece, I’ll lose at least one of my shops. I haven’t been able to sleep a wink these past two days, my heart has been bleeding… but not anymore. The thing I regret least in my life is writing you that IOU, because you truly are a person of your word! Not like that coward Ban Xiangming, who’s completely unreachable!”

The district broadcasts could no longer be transmitted normally. The situation the Seventh District was facing was likely the same as the Sixth District’s before it: the district’s communication signals were already cut. Being able to contact someone at a time like this would be a miracle; it was only normal that he couldn’t be reached.

However, Chai Yuening had no interest in speaking up for the Chief Security Officer in front of You Lan. After all, that kind of old fox who never did any real work would probably run faster than anyone else when trouble hit. Defending him would just be asking to be proven wrong.

With the outer districts falling one after another, all trains within the district had been shut down. Now, the only safe way to leave the Seventh District was the road leading to the Ninth District.

One armored vehicle after another drove down the district roads, which were usually sparse with traffic. Judging by the license plates, these vehicles came from various districts. They had likely just survived one escape, only to be forced onto a new journey.

Outside the vehicle lanes, a crowded mass of people moved in the same direction.

To reduce the burden on resources, the Base had always produced only armored vehicles and had explicitly forbidden ordinary residents from purchasing them. If you weren’t a mercenary and truly had no connections, it was impossible to apply for the right to purchase a vehicle, no matter how rich you were.

Faced with an evacuation alarm for an unknown situation, they could only carry backpacks, hold bags, or drag heavy suitcases, running numbly with the crowd.

The district’s communication signal station was located inside the City Defense Center. The evacuation alarm had now stopped, but the district broadcast still offered no explanation, which further confirmed that something had happened to the City Defense Center.

Although no one knew what had happened, everyone was heading toward the Ninth District, and Chai Yuening was no exception.

Not long after she started driving, Chai Yuening saw armed units not far ahead, their two different uniforms representing the military and the City Defense Office.

“Everyone, do not panic! Although we’ve lost contact with the City Defense Center, the military and the City Defense Office’s forces remain strong! Everyone, do not panic, do not crowd! The military and the City Defense Office will protect everyone and ensure an orderly evacuation! The convoy of armored vehicles at the district exit will take everyone to the Ninth District!”

They held megaphones, repeating reassuring words and maintaining order among the evacuees.

Chai Yuening spotted Ban Xiangming standing by the side of the road from a distance. She rolled down her window and honked several times, drawing his attention.

“Captain Chai, what are you calling him for? He can’t help with anything!” You Lan grumbled in dissatisfaction from the back seat.

“Just asking about something,” Chai Yuening replied.

No matter what, she thought, she was working for the military. When she got to the Ninth District, she would have to tell the military what had happened in the Seventh, rather than being unable to help at all.

Ban Xiangming ran over the moment he saw Chai Yuening. His expression was grave; clearly, the situation was not as relaxed as the words from the megaphone suggested.

For a second, Chai Yuening clearly sensed a flicker of relief in the security officer’s eyes when he saw You Lan in the back seat, but he quickly looked away.

Ban Xiangming: “Captain Chai, you’re heading to the Ninth District.”

Chai Yuening: “What happened? Do you have any specific information?”

“I don’t know. I was on duty at the west gate tonight. An hour ago, I was still in contact with the east and south gates, and everything at the entrances was normal. But just a few minutes before the alarm sounded, I suddenly received a communication saying someone inside the City Defense Center had mutated. I didn’t even have time to ask for details before the communication was completely cut. There are no problems with the external defenses. A mutation occurring inside most likely means a technician was accidentally infected during testing, didn’t realize it in time, and spread the infection…” Ban Xiangming said. “The alarm was sounded later. The people in the City Defense Center wouldn’t have sounded it unless they couldn’t handle the situation.”

Chai Yuening: “How much combat strength is left at the City Defense Center?”

Ban Xiangming: “Not much. Most of our forces are on rotation near the district entrances, but now that the communication signal is down, we can’t contact the people at the other gates. We’ve sent people to provide support, but unless we can retake the City Defense Center and repair the signal station, we won’t get any response.”

Chai Yuening: “Then…”

Ban Xiangming: “We’ve already prepared for the worst.”

The worst…

“Aren’t you evacuating?” Chai Yuening asked.

“The district’s residents haven’t all evacuated yet. It’s not our turn in the security office,” Ban Xiangming said, looking back at the crowded mass of people behind him. “Right now, all the armored vehicles we can contact and mobilize will first escort the residents to safety.”

“And then?” Chai Yuening asked again.

“The military and we will attempt to retake the City Defense Center and get in touch with the guards at the east and south gates… But if the situation is severe, the isolation wall at the west gate will be raised.”

The west gate led to the Ninth District and was originally the Seventh District’s safest exit, one that didn’t require an isolation wall.

But at this moment, the Seventh District was no longer safe, and this wall would be raised for the sake of the Ninth District.

Such a decision might save the Ninth District and all those who left in time, but it would also trap everyone who couldn’t get out, leaving them here for good.

Chai Yuening opened her mouth, but for a moment, she was at a loss for words.

Ban Xiangming casually took two steps back, sized up the armored vehicle before him, and asked in a joking, probing tone, “Well now, a large military model. It can fit quite a few people, Captain Chai.”

“When I get there, I’ll fit in as many as I can,” Chai Yuening said, forcing a stiff smile.

“Thanks,” Ban Xiangming said. He waved his hand at her as if shooing her away, then turned without a backward glance and walked toward the teeming crowd, picking up his megaphone to continue maintaining the evacuation order.

Chai Yuening stepped on the accelerator and sped toward the west exit once more.

The vehicle hadn’t gone far before the sound of gunfire erupted from behind.

The crowd, which had been evacuating in an orderly fashion, began to riot.

Chai Yuening’s vehicle didn’t stop, and soon it left all the danger far behind.

At the west exit, uniformed military personnel were shouting themselves hoarse maintaining order for boarding, but there weren’t many vehicles left. Those who couldn’t get on wouldn’t be able to wait for the departing vehicles to make a return trip.

Chai Yuening drove her vehicle to the gate, and after a brief negotiation, the cabin was packed full of evacuating residents.

Chu Ci suddenly stood up. “I’ll go to the back and keep an eye on things.”

“It’s too crowded,” Chai Yuening replied.

“We have to watch them. The supplies are in the back,” Chu Ci said, having Chai Yuening open the cabin door and heading toward the rear compartment.

And so, the military armored vehicle, carrying more than eighty unfamiliar faces, slowly drove away from the Seventh District and toward the Ninth.

Suddenly, Chai Yuening saw an extremely chaotic and disorderly scene in her rearview mirror.

Countless people who couldn’t get on a vehicle began to surge toward the exit, a massive crowd pouring out of the narrow opening all at once.

Some ran, some searched, some fell and were trampled underfoot.

The last few armored vehicles drove off, their exteriors, places not meant for passengers, swarming with people.

This chaos did not last long.

When everyone had shrunk to the size of ants in Chai Yuening’s eyes, an incredibly thick, dark wall slowly rose from the ground until it sealed the top.

That wall, she thought, must be incredibly heavy.

In truth, from the moment the alarm had sounded, she knew the Seventh District was going to fall.

She just hadn’t expected that the Seventh District, with its armed forces so complete, would reach the point of needing to raise an isolation wall to protect the evacuees and the other districts in such a short time.

“The isolation wall is up. What will happen to the people inside?” Jing Mu asked, her voice trembling.

It was a meaningless question, yet it was one that countless people who had managed to escape couldn’t help but ponder.

—If I were one of those who couldn’t escape, what would I be facing next?

No one wanted to know the answer, yet no one was ignorant of it.

The world felt as if it were collapsing.

Suddenly, human life and death seemed to have become a matter of probability, a pile of numbers.

No one knew what tomorrow would bring, or where they should flee to next.

Chai Yuening silently drove the armored vehicle, packed with evacuees. The driver’s cabin was isolated from the two rear compartments, but she could still hear the sounds of weeping.

Of all the crying, the closest came from Jing Mu behind her.

You Lan, sitting beside Jing Mu, was remarkably quiet, so quiet it was as if her body had been possessed by another soul.

This suppressed, quiet sobbing continued for quite some time.

Chai Yuening took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “At least, you’re still alive.”

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Author’s Notes:

Hope is just ahead.

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