Everyone came up with suggestions, They’re saying things like, “Let’s deal with the broken glass scattered at the bottom of the wall. If they dare to climb over, let them be pierced to death.”
“We need to put more locks on our wells. If they’re robbed, we’ll have no way to survive.”
They’re putting their words into action immediately, dividing the work and cooperating to build the wall before daybreak, keeping the danger out.
For the sake of safety, nobody is idle. Men, women, and children are all helping out despite the scorching heat.
Some are pounding stakes, others are carrying bricks, some are lugging bags of cement, and some are dismantling temporary boards.
Huo Yishen is also working, discussing with He Tianming that building a isolation zone with stakes would be safer and more secure.
Jiang Ning didn’t come downstairs; instead, she tinkered in the dark.
She’s a mechanical waste. She have to listened repeatedly to the recordings and pondered over the machinery for half a day. It took her a lot of effort to finally install the sprayer, which she promptly tested in the space.
Hmm, with it, she no longer worries about watering.
They worked feverishly until dawn, successfully dividing the Aoyuan in two, with a barrier built by countless hands.
Countless bricks and bags of cement and gravel were piled under the wall, hoping that everyone would be safe.
Everyone was exhausted, but nobody stopped. They went back to reinforce each building and quickly distribute the scarce well water.
Jiang Ning was having breakfast. “Should we surround the downstairs with an electric fence?”
Huo Yishen pondered for a moment. “If a refugee riot really breaks out and a crowd of people rushes in like zombies, the electric fence will be useless.”
The ones chosen by the authorities to run the resettlement camp need to accommodate at least thousands of people.
An electric fence can stop some people but not a large group. If they really want to destroy it, they’ll find a way.
It would be terrible if people couldn’t defend themselves against them, and the electric fence got destroyed.
They hope the stationed army comes sooner; otherwise, the risks are too great.
Doudou was watering sweet potato seedlings on the balcony when suddenly she got nervous. “Sister, they’re coming!”
Excitedly, she started hiding things again, trying to move the planting pots inside.
Jiang Ning walked to the large terrace and saw a crowd of people coming on foot from afar, a line stretching endlessly.
Each person was emaciated, with a dull, numb expression, as if they were emotionless zombies.
People from Aoyuan were also thin, but there was a huge difference in both physique and mental state.
It was a terrible feeling.
After collecting the planting pots on the large terrace, Jiang Ning called two over. “Starting today, you two are not allowed on the large terrace anymore. Stay at home obediently.”
Although they built an isolation zone, Building 5 was only a few dozen meters away from Building 6, which was too close.
With starving people on one side and families with children and dogs on the other, who wouldn’t be tempted?
Stray dogs have a strong sense of good and evil, but Coke just stood there with a sullen, dark face, limbs stiff.
Huo Yishen rechecked the corridor and electrified all the stainless steel doors downstairs.
Refugees kept coming next door. Not only did Aoyuan have armed patrols, but they also shortened the patrol intervals, focusing most of their energy on Building 5.
He Tianming opened the walkie-talkie. “Brother Huo, be more vigilant in Building 5. If there’s anything suspicious on the other side, remember to inform us immediately.”
The planting pots and awnings were all collected, and every room not only had privacy glass but also curtains.
Building 6 faced the study directly, where Huo Yishen sat. He occasionally glances at the opposite side while flipping through his book.
From morning till evening, each floor of the three buildings was packed, with no fewer than three thousand people.
Five staff members arrived, along with two police officers, ten security patrollers, and two trucks carrying today’s supplies.
Each person received a fist-sized rough grain bun and less than a third of a bowl of water. Refugees emerged from the floors, their faces covered in dirt.
There were elderly and children, but more were middle-aged and young adults, with fewer women. They were ragged, wary of each other.
Even though they’re separated by the wall, Jiang Ning felt like she was being watched.
Huo Yishen shared the same feeling. “There are too many people; we need to be careful.”
Being careful didn’t help much, mainly because the contrast was too stark. While conditions in Aoyuan were tough, there were still homes and loved ones, and the open space still bore traces of harvest. It was like putting braised pork in front of starving ghosts –— which is an irresistible temptation.
At night, Jiang Ning woke up several times and there was a faint footstep in the living room.
Even the dog seemed anxious.
In the morning, she found it lying at the doorstep.
The dog wanted to protect her again.
Jiang Ning squatted down and gently patted its head.
Huo Yishen stayed in the study in the morning, went upstairs in the afternoon, and didn’t come down until evening.
His honed instincts didn’t fail him. There were forces in the resettlement camp, all secretly observing this side.
Moreover, there was one person who fell from a building in the morning and two more in the afternoon.
“Fell from a building?” Jiang Ning frowned. “Was it accidental or pushed?”
With the bare structures just built, without railings or windows installed, it was indeed easy to fall accidentally.
But Jiang Ning had experience. In such harsh environments and difficult times, everyone would be cautious. Who would willingly go to dangerous places?
Huo Yishen speculated, “Someone wants to create trouble by forcing the authorities and Aoyuan to negotiate, to move them to safer floors with doors and windows.”
Right after the fall, many refugees surrounded the staff, questioning why Aoyuan, with such a big space, didn’t let them stay on better floors.
While some were causing trouble, others kept staring at the corpses of those who fell, even after security patrollers loaded them onto trucks. Their eyes couldn’t look away.
Of course, he didn’t say all this, fearing it would unsettle Jiang Ning and Doudou.
But he did tell He Tianming truthfully, urging him to communicate with the authorities and ask when the military would arrive.
In the middle of the night, they were suddenly awakened by a scream.
Just one, but it vanished exceptionally quickly.
Jiang Ning woke up and found herself sleeping in Huo Yishen’s arms.
He held her close. “Go back to sleep. Everything’s fine.”
They had just arrived. Even if some people had ill intentions, they wouldn’t act rashly before understanding the situation here.
Jiang Ning took out her gun and placed it by the bedside before going back to sleep.
In the morning, Huo Yishen didn’t let Jiang Ning go downstairs; he went to Building 2 to fetch water.
It took him more than an hour to come back, carrying less than 10 liters of murky well water.
Sigh, the drought continued, and the water level had dropped again.
Not only did Huo Yishen notice, but He Tianming was even more vigilant.
Building 1 was far away and didn’t hear the late-night screams, but the patrol team did. And they noticed that without police or security patrol officers accompanying them, the staff didn’t even dare enter the resettlement building.
What did that imply?
In the apocalypse, the most sensitive thing is human nature.
Faced with thousands of hungry refugees, the staff were equally worried and scared, and they wouldn’t enter the resettlement building unless absolutely necessary.
With the army delayed in arriving and limited police forces, everyone was on edge.
And so, they spent three days on tenterhooks.
He Tianming resisted the pressure, and the authorities also had concerns; they didn’t agree to the refugees’ request to change buildings.
After all, Fengcheng had more than one resettlement camp, and none of them were entirely stable. They had to consider not only the refugees but also the safety of the ordinary people.
At sunset, Huo Yishen saw a car suddenly arrive at the study, hurriedly taking away two police officers and five security patrollers.
There were already few people maintaining stability; why suddenly take more away?
Unless there was a special situation, the police wouldn’t take away officers and security patrollers, unless something major had happened.
Huo Yishen had a bad feeling. “Anning, it probably won’t be too peaceful tonight…”
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