Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 523 Citywide Announcement

The short-haired woman beside her said, "You should go back now. We'll let you know if we have any news." Xu Xiaoyan looked away and nodded.

At seven o'clock the next morning, Xu Xiaoyan was awakened by the surrounding loudspeakers. The loudspeakers on the roof of the trading center, the speaker pillars at the entrance of the supply station, and even the small speakers on the utility poles on the street that she had never paid attention to before were all playing.

She sat up abruptly in bed, her heart pounding, her first thought being: what terrible thing has happened?

My second thought was, could there be news about Blue Moon?

She hastily threw on a coat, shuffled to the door in her slippers, pulled open the roller shutter, and was greeted by the cold morning wind carrying the sound of horns. The street was already full of people.

The voice coming from the loudspeaker was a male voice, speaking clearly and distinctly: "Attention citizens, attention citizens, this is an emergency notice, this is an emergency notice."

The crowd on the street fell silent for a moment.

"As instructed by higher authorities, Qing City will initiate a temporary evacuation procedure for all residents at 8:00 AM today. All residents, repeat, all residents are requested to leave their current residences and proceed to the designated area outside the city before 8:00 AM."

The routes out of the city are as follows: residents of Districts 1, 2, and 3 will exit the city via Dongmen Bridge and gather in the direction of Dongping; residents of Districts 4, 5, and 6 will exit the city via Nanmen Ferry and gather in the direction of Nanwan; residents of Districts 7, 8, and 9 will exit the city via Ximen Gate and gather in the direction of Xiling.

Please evacuate according to the designated route. Do not change the route without authorization, and do not linger in the city.

Xu Xiaoyan stood at the door, a chill running down her spine. Just how serious was this matter that it had escalated to the point of a city-wide search?

Xu Xiaoyan checked the time on her phone and realized that there was still an hour before the evacuation was scheduled to begin.

The voice from the loudspeaker continued, but the content had shifted from evacuation routes to another detail that made her even more uneasy.

"No resident may lock their door when leaving their residence. No door may be locked again. All doors and windows of residential buildings, shops and warehouses must be left unlocked."

If there are any locks, the military will forcibly open them in accordance with the law. No one may enter the city without permission. Anyone who enters without permission will bear the consequences.

The crowd on the street had begun to stir.

"What do you mean? You're telling us to leave? Why should we?" A plump middle-aged woman stood in the middle of the street, hands on her hips, her face full of dissatisfaction and confusion.

She was wearing a floral nightgown and cotton slippers, and her hair was held back with a large clip, as if she had been forcibly pulled out of bed by the sound of a horn.

"Didn't you hear? The troops are going to search, and they told us not to lock the door," a man next to her replied, his voice carrying an impatient tone that implied, "You're so clueless."

"Search what? What's there to search in my house? I haven't broken any laws!"

"What's the point of arguing with me? It's what's being said over the loudspeaker, not what I said."

"I need to take something with me, right? Are you just going to leave like this? My phone's still under my pillow!"

"Take it, take it quickly, there's not much time left!"

This sentence seemed to ignite the entire neighborhood. Everyone immediately sprang into action, rushing back into their homes, with sounds of rummaging through drawers and cabinets coming from all directions.

Xu Xiaoyan turned around and went back into the shop, pulled down the roller shutter, and went up to the attic.

He packed the bed and personal belongings from the attic into his spatial storage, then made a simple bedding on the ground. With his backpack and single tent on his back, he headed out of the city, figuring the city-wide search would take a while.

There were even more people on the street than before, and it was even more chaotic. There were people and noise everywhere.

Someone was shouting, "Wait for me!" Someone else was shouting, "Don't go so fast!" Someone was on the phone, "Mom, grab your medicine, your blood pressure medication, don't forget! And your medical insurance card! Yes, yes, it's in the drawer under the TV cabinet!"

A man was arguing with his neighbor about whether or not he should bring his dog along. One said, "The loudspeaker didn't say we can't bring dogs," while the other said, "The loudspeaker didn't say we can bring dogs either." The two argued heatedly until they finally decided to put the dog in a woven bag and carry it with them.

Xu Xiaoyan quickly joined the flow of people heading towards the West Gate and gathered in the direction of Xiling.

Everyone was heading in the same direction, carrying large and small bags.

Some people carried hiking backpacks, some carried snakeskin bags, and some pushed small shopping carts piled with blankets, washbasins, and thermos flasks.

Someone else found an old-fashioned bamboo woven trunk from somewhere. The leather buckle on the trunk was broken, and it was tied with a red rope, swaying as they walked.

Xu Xiaoyan walked in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by people on all sides. The air was filled with a mixture of sweat, laundry detergent, and anxiety.

The question she heard most often was, "What exactly happened?"

No one can answer.

"Is there a war going on?" a young man with a buzz cut asked the person next to him. His backpack was bulging, and the zipper was almost bursting open.

"War? With whom? I haven't heard anything about it." A middle-aged man wearing glasses next to him shook his head. He had the least luggage, carrying only a briefcase, and looked like he was ready to go to a meeting at any time rather than fleeing.

"Then why evacuate? Why not lock the doors and let the troops search? Isn't that just..."

"Shh," the middle-aged man gestured for silence, lowering his voice to say, "Say less. Just do what they say over the loudspeaker. Why ask so many questions?"

The young man opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more, closed his mouth, and followed the flow of people forward.

Xu Xiaoyan noticed that almost everyone was holding a mobile phone and almost everyone was scrolling through messages.

She took out her phone and checked it. The signal was still there, but the internet speed was incredibly slow, probably because too many people were using it at the same time, which overwhelmed the base station.

The messages in the group chat were flying by, with all sorts of things being said. Some said the dam upstream was going to explode, some said something dangerous had been found in the city, some said the military was arresting some important figure, and others said it was just an exercise, a normal exercise, and that everyone should not panic.

None of them are reliable.

She put her phone in her pocket and stopped looking at it.

Regardless of the reason, all she has to do now is follow orders and go out of the city to Xiling to wait.

Some people in the crowd started jogging, which inspired more people to jog. From the back to the front, more and more people were running, and the speed was getting faster and faster.

Xu Xiaoyan was swept forward a few steps, almost tripping over her own shoelaces. She quickly steadied herself and cursed under her breath.

"Don't run! Don't run!" someone shouted from ahead, their voice loud and authoritative, as if trying to control the situation. "Why are you running! Walk slowly! Don't push! There are elderly people and children here, don't push!"