Chapter 132: The Desperate Evacuation

Amid endless cries, the displaced survivors were herded out like sheep.

Clutching their children and leaning on one another, the pale-faced survivors moved backward in despair. Many, unwilling to lose the hard-fought supplies they’d gathered, were frantically dashing back to their tin shacks, trying to grab everything they could.

Half a bag of moldy flour, dried rats salvaged from mounds of trash, a cracked porcelain bowl, a battered iron pot… even clothes shredded to tatters.

As the poorest residents from outside the city, they wept while clutching their ragged supplies, ready to evacuate.

Though these items might seem worthless to the Awakeners or Inner City dwellers, to them every bit was a cherished treasure.

In front of a clutter of shipping containers, a stout middle-aged man gazed anxiously at a large pot filled with murky oil—the distress on his face nearly brought him to tears.

“My oil! My oil!” he cried.

There was no way to take it with him. Already laden with as many clothes and food as they could carry, he and his family had no idea whether the corpse horde would even reach the city’s outskirts; if they did, these supplies would surely be destroyed.

A comparatively well-off survivor among the outcasts, he eked out a living by selling deep-fried rats in the Safe Zone. This very pot of oil was his lifeline.

“Dad! We need to go now! If we wait any longer, it’ll be too late! They’re already starting to drive people out!”

His eldest son, as thin as a makeshift pole, urged him breathlessly, signaling that he should quickly pour out the oil so they could at least salvage the big iron pot. With four in the family, being late might mean not even getting a foothold in the rear.

Like ants scrambling on a hot pan, the middle-aged man watched the murky yellow oil sputter in the pot. With a pained grimace, he grabbed an iron ladle and began to gulp it down.

“Quick! Make sure your mom and your brother drink too!”

“It’d be a shame to waste it! Drinking it could keep us going for days!”

Though to those in the upper echelons the oil was as filthy as something picked from a sewer, to these people every drop was precious. To simply pour it away was unbearable.

Nearby, a young man watched his father’s desperate act. After a brief pause, as if struck by a sudden thought, he hesitantly scooped up a ladleful and downed it.

They had always been reluctant to use this oil—how could they just waste it?

But the moment it hit his tongue, the viscous, slightly sour yellow oil, like watered-down glue, nearly made him retch.

A surge of nausea churned violently in his stomach.

Seeing his eldest son on the verge of vomiting, the middle-aged man stifled his own disgust and rasped out:

“Drink up. We can’t afford to waste even this!”

Though uneducated, they knew that downing this oil would wreak havoc on their bodies. Yet, they had no other option.

Many survivors, much like the middle-aged man, when faced with uncarryable old clothes they had saved, simply chose to wear them all—even if the heat left them dizzy, they forced the garments on.

Amid the chaos and quarreling, some even took the chance to steal; the brazen ones broke into homes, seized what they could, and dashed off.

But with the news of the corpse horde’s approach, the entire settlement had descended into utter bedlam.

……….

“Zheng Gang, aren’t you an Awakener? Weren’t you also in the Military?”

“Quick, ask your superior if we can bring a few uncles and aunts inside for refuge!”

A burly man in a soldier’s uniform offered a wry smile as he looked at his mother and the group of neighborhood folk gathered around him.

He was indeed part of the Military, but having only just awakened his talent, he was merely at Stage 0—the lowest level in both gift and skill. In the army, he was nothing more than a minor soldier. His task of escorting his mother to safety outside the city had been granted only out of pity from his superiors.

“Mom… I can’t take you. I just can’t…”

“The spots for you and your little brother were secured because I begged my superior for them.”

The burly man’s face was etched with sorrow. He knew he was his mother’s pride and the envy of many around him. If he could, he would have stepped up to help.

Although peace had reigned for a time, the older survivors had already lived through the corpse horde. Many in their forties had lost loved ones to the monsters.

Evacuating to the rear settlement was merely a stalling tactic. Once the monster horde swarmed around the outskirts and began to spread, they would all perish. Trying to flee into the wild was as good as signing their death warrant. No Safe Zone would bother with such low-tier survivors.

While both Outer City and Inner City could barely accommodate them, the Safe Zone’s management refused to let a mob of ‘untouchables’ hide inside after the siege. To the high and mighty, they were nothing more than pestilent vermin.

Without proper status, they weren’t allowed to stay overnight—an unyielding rule in every Safe Zone. Sure, if the defenses were breached entirely, the Safe Zone might let a few in, but by then, danger would be all-consuming.

“Then what do we do?”

“If the monsters turn too vicious and break through to us, even hiding will be futile!”

“Yes, Zheng Gang, please help us!”

Amid the panicked clamor, Zheng Gang’s mother suddenly remembered something and instinctively asked her son:

“Yenir! Isn’t that kid from the Yenir family your classmate? I saw several high-ranking officials with him last time!”

“He and his entire family are already in the city!”

Hearing his mother’s suggestion, Zheng Gang’s expression froze, his face taking on a strange grimace.

He did have Yenir’s contact information; during training camp, the two had become somewhat close due to their similar backgrounds.

But…

As a member of the Military, he was now fully aware of recent developments. Yenir had indeed been highly regarded, even personally received by Commander Xiao Hai. But after being deemed lacking in potential, the Safe Zone abandoned him. Now, even if he begged, Yenir’s status probably wouldn’t help.

After all, rumors had it that Yenir hadn’t even joined the Tianfeng forces—he’d vanished as if he never existed. Many said he couldn’t bear the blow and had gone into hiding.

With a resigned sigh, Zheng Gang, with little hope left, mustered his courage and sent a message to Yenir:

“Yenir, can you do me a favor…”

……….

Outside the city, as Yenir prepared to head toward the advancing horde, his eyebrow lifted when he noticed a new private message.

Zheng Gang? Memories flashed back—he did remember the guy.

Was he asking for help? To bring some people into the city for shelter?

Without overthinking it, Yenir shook his head and chuckled softly.

In fact, he had just been about to message Captain Huang, intending to ask him for help in getting a few people inside. Although there was a chance Captain Huang might decline given his reduced status, Yenir was ready to have Chen Yong speak up or offer some incentive.

Without hesitation, after pulling up Captain Huang’s chat, Yenir immediately sent a message:

“Captain Huang, please help me get a few people inside.”

After sending over a list, and before Yenir could explain that he wouldn’t let him help for nothing, Captain Huang replied faster than expected:

“No problem!”

“Do you need anything else?”

Yenir: ???