The Story of the refugees
He woke up a few times in the night, but his surroundings were dark. Occasionally, he would be woken up by the cries of losing his loved ones or the screams of a dead person.
There were also a few times when Yuan Huawei saw a few people taking off the clothes of the dead through the faint light, leaving only the last bit of cloth for the dead. Then, they carried the dead to the other side of the road. Except for those who had relatives to protect them, who left more clothes for the dead to cover themselves, everyone seemed to be used to it. They were unwilling to waste anything that could keep them warm.
The so-called fear of the dead in the past was a joke here. The clothes that were once taboo against the dead were completely empty talk here. The social environment changed so quickly that it was as sudden as this disaster.
Yuan Huawei looked at all of this helplessly and could only sigh softly.
He lay down again and straightened his curled up legs. He touched the old man who was also curled up beside him. He could not feel any warmth from the old man.
The old man did not react after being touched. Yuan Huawei turned over and sat up. He gently pushed the old man and called out softly, but the old man still did not respond.
He used his hand to check the old man's breathing-there was no more. There was no pulse either. His entire body was completely cold and stiff. He was dead. When he realized this situation, he was so scared that he quickly retreated to the side, waking up his two companions. He quickly told his companions that the old man was dead, and his companions were also shocked.
Yuan Huawei then pushed another 16 or 17-year-old boy beside the old man and told him that this person was dead. The boy was stunned for a moment, then he began to strip the old man's clothes, leaving only a last piece of loincloth for the deceased.
Yuan Huawei and the other five people were stunned by his actions. After the boy took off his clothes, he handed over the cash and other valuables as well as a few pieces of clothes. Seeing that no one paid attention to him, he handed over two more pieces of clothes and placed them beside Yuan Huawei. He only left two coats and slowly covered himself. He also moved his body further away from the dead old man, as if he wanted to continue sleeping and ignore them.
Yuan Huawei sighed helplessly. He called his companions to carry the dead man whose name was unknown to them to the other side of the road and put him down. Then, he casually went to the toilet on the other side of the road and returned to sleep as if nothing had happened.
The clothes and money were placed beside him, but none of them had any intention of touching them. After all, after a night, although they had seen it clearly, none of them had the courage to touch the clothes of these dead people.
He quietly thought about his thoughts and unconsciously fell asleep. He didn't know when he was woken up by the creaking sound. He looked up and saw three people riding a tricycle to move the body. One of them took a photo of the dead old man with a camera, and the other gave the old man a full body examination. He also took a big golden tooth from the old man's mouth and then carried the old man onto the tricycle with satisfaction.
As Yuan Huawei and the others were already part of the queue in the innermost part of the tunnel, the tricycle turned around and waited there. They were waiting for one of the people who had dropped out of the queue, who was checking those who were still sleeping one by one.
His method of checking was very simple. Every time he passed by a person who was still sleeping and did not wake up in time, he would kick them to see if they had died in the night. If there was a reaction of life, he would check the next person. If there was no reaction, the person next to that person would carry out further inspection.
If that person was confirmed to be dead, the surrounding people would rush forward and rob all the valuable and useful things of the dead person.
There was one thing that those who robbed the dead beside them must not do, and that was to not cause damage to the corpses. Therefore, when the three of them collected the corpses, they were able to pry out a golden tooth from the mouth.
Most of the people in the tunnel seemed to be used to this kind of behavior. It was obvious that they had experienced this kind of thing many times before.
Yuan Huawei looked at the watch on his companion's hand. It was already six o'clock in the morning on the fifth day of January in Zhenguo time.
He greeted his companion and was about to go out to take a look. Just as he got up and was about to leave, he was pulled by the boy next to him. The boy warned him to wait and made a corresponding gesture.
Since Yuan Huawei and the others had only been here for a night, they were still unclear about the situation here, so they could only continue to wait.
She spoke a few words to the boy, but the boy didn't reply much. He stuttered and sometimes even replied with sign language. After a long time, it turned out that he was a stutterer.
Half an hour later, a commotion came from afar.
Two pedal-operated tricycles were escorted by soldiers with loaded guns as they moved forward in the crowd.
Everywhere he went, the victims who had been curled up got up and picked up a disposable plastic bowl beside him. They took a small bag of instant noodles and a bowl of warm water. Under the guard of the soldiers with loaded guns, they obediently returned to where they had originally stood and wolfed down the food.
The car slowly arrived in front of Yuan Huawei. They had been waiting with the boy for a long time. They were also given a packet of instant noodles and a new disposable plastic bowl filled with hot water.
Yuan Huawei went forward to ask the soldier if the army had sent anyone to rescue his family and fellow countrymen. However, before he could get close, he was pointed at by a gun and retreated back to where he had stood.
The 16 or 17-year-old boy next to him could not be bothered to eat the food in his hand. He immediately pulled Yuan Huawei away and even hinted at Yuan Huawei not to resist. Yuan Huawei looked at everything in front of him, and the anger on his face slowly turned into helplessness. In the end, he could only silently cry.
After Yuan Huawei and the others retreated with guns pointed at them, they could only watch as a few soldiers escorted the two cars away. One of the soldiers even glared at Yuan Huawei and the others angrily as if he was warning them.
A middle-aged man beside him, who was twenty years older than him, also looked at Yuan Huawei. When he saw that it was a few new refugees, he said mockingly," Young man, what's the hurry? Eat something to fill your stomach first. There's no need to fight with them. You can't win against them. Hehe, it's not good if you don't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Be careful not to lose your life here."
After hearing what the middle-aged man said, the big boy next to Yuan Huawei tugged at Yuan Huawei's clothes and gestured for him to sit down.
Yuan Huawei stared at the soldier as he walked away step by step. He was pulled back to sit down by the stuttering boy. He did not hear what the middle-aged man said at all, but it did not mean that his companion did not hear it. He heard his companion say, Would a few soldiers really dare to shoot? We're not bad people, so they won't dare to shoot us. If we can deal with them, we'll…
The middle-aged man looked at the person who spoke as if he had seen a fool. He laughed non-stop and revealed a disdainful expression.
The stuttering boy went forward and pulled the person who spoke. He put his finger to his mouth and made a shushing gesture.
Another comrade of Yuan Huawei and the others saw everything. He then noticed a soldier who had not gone far and was staring at them with an unfriendly look. Seeing that middle-aged man still had a sneer on his face, he also felt that something was wrong. Therefore, he said to everyone," Sit down."
When the soldiers were far away, the sound of instant noodles being eaten could be heard. Everyone was wolfing down the food as if they were afraid that someone would snatch it away.
The middle-aged man ate the instant noodles like everyone else. Soon, they were all gone. He drank a few mouthfuls of water and gulped it down as well. He looked like a hungry ghost who had not eaten properly.
Yuan Huawei and the others quietly looked at the strange surroundings. They felt that the people here were like uncultured prisoners who had completely derailed from civilization. The five of them had become special aliens.
Yuan Huawei and the others didn't know what was going on here, so they took the initiative to talk to this middle-aged man.
Yuan Huawei said," Uncle, the five of us just came over from the mountain last night. We don't know what's going on here. I feel that the people here are all strange…"
The middle-aged man thought, Strange? You wouldn't feel strange if you came here on the first day. This was not a place for people to stay. Everyone here was a beast. Calling them beasts was an exaggeration. They were simply worse than beasts.
As the middle-aged man spoke, he began to gnash his teeth. He clenched his fists tightly, and the tendons in his hands bulged.
A 25 or 26-year-old man beside the middle-aged man saw that the middle-aged man was very angry. He stood up and helped the middle-aged man sit down. After comforting him for a while, he picked up the thin clothes under the middle-aged man's body and went to the place where the old man used to be beside Yuan Huawei. After laying a simple mat, he sat down and started to chat with Yuan Huawei and the others.
As he laid out his clothes, he said,"Brother, you don't know what we've been through. It's like we've crawled back from hell!"
He continued, I was just watching TV on the first night, but who knew that there would be a power outage just after midnight. I vaguely remember that someone in space said that there was a light near us, and then there was a power outage. I was about to go to sleep, but then I felt the ground start to shake. I thought it was an earthquake, so the whole family ran out. Now, the dam in the northwest direction is as bright as the sun. I was so scared that I quickly went back to put on my clothes and ran up the mountain with my family. I didn't bring anything out. In a short while, there was a super flood in Nanjiang. The waves were so high that they drowned the entire town in an instant...
A person beside Yuan Huawei interjected, No way, Nanjiang's flood wouldn't come here?
Yuan Huawei said," It must be because the water level in Nanjiang rose too high all of a sudden. It's pouring in. Don't interrupt. Let him continue."
The twenty-five-year-old man quickly said," Yes, yes, yes. The flood came from downstream and kept rising. Many people in the town were swept away by the water before they could run out. If I didn't react quickly, I probably wouldn't be talking to you here."
Yuan Huawei said," I know that. I also felt that something was wrong, so I brought everyone out immediately. We all hid on the mountain to avoid being washed away by the water. Sigh!" Unfortunately, many people were still killed by the hail.
The 26-year-old man continued, Yes, yes, it was such a big hail. It rained for a long time, accompanied by lightning and thunder. Many people who hid in the mountains were killed in this way. Our family of three hid under the big rocks and finally survived the hail. Who knew that it would start to rain again? It was a hot rainstorm. The rain was dense, especially heavy and especially urgent. The hail rolled down the water, and the mud and stones rushed down the mountain. We couldn't even stand steadily. I don't know when the big rock behind my family moved and took them away…sob…sob…
Yuan Huawei looked at the person who was crying as he spoke and comforted him softly.
The man cried for a while before continuing," Sigh! The big rock rolled down from their bodies. There was half a foot of muddy water under my feet. I wanted to save them but I didn't know how to do so. I couldn't even see their shadows. Wuwu…wuwu…
Hearing this, the people around them cried silently because they had almost all experienced the same thing.
The man wiped his tears and seemed to have found someone to complain to. He grabbed Yuan Huawei's hand and continued to talk.
The man said," There were about a hundred people who escaped from the hillside. After a hail and heavy rain, only six people were left. I was the only one who was not injured. The remaining five could not stand up. The others were all dead. Even their bodies could not be found."
He continued," The rain came in waves. At first, it was still hot, but then it became colder and colder. Before dawn, the remaining five people died. I was the only one left alive on the mountain."
When the sun was about to rise and I felt like I was about to freeze to death, I heard a rumbling sound coming from the west. It turned out that the dam upstream of the river by the bridge had broken. A wave that was dozens of meters tall had filled up more than half of the river valley, and all kinds of dead branches and rotten leaves were floating everywhere.
I was trapped at the top of the mountain for an entire day and night. The water had only gone down by half, and the rain was not as heavy as it was at the beginning. I didn't know how I spent the day and night.
As the man spoke, he raised his head and looked at the people around him. He seemed to want an answer, but who had an accurate answer?
The man continued," It was almost noon on the second day of January. A helicopter flew at a low altitude along the river by the bridge. When it flew near me, it circled around me. I waved at them. I don't know what they were thinking at that time, but they flew away."
When Yuan Huawei heard the mention of helicopters, his interest was piqued. He wanted to ask him about it, but he held back his curiosity.
However, his companion couldn't help but ask him," Didn't the helicopter come down to save you?
The man shook his head." No, I guess they're just here to take a look at the disaster situation. Why did they come down to save me?" I'm just a small peasant. What's there to save me for?
The man seemed to be unusually dissatisfied with them, but there was nothing he could do. He could only mock himself.
However, when Yuan Huawei and the others heard these words, their expectations instantly turned cold.
Then, they refused to give up and asked him how he got here.
The man replied,"I saw the helicopter fly back and forth above my head seven or eight times a day, so I followed the helicopter and came here."
When Yuan Huawei heard that the helicopter would come several times a day, he had a plan in his heart. He even thought that it might be because the other party was only one person and was not as important as dozens of them.
He asked the man when the helicopter would usually come here. The man said that it would come every two hours, mainly to transport some food. He also advised Yuan Huawei not to use the helicopter to save people, because the helicopter would not specially save people.
The five of them asked in unison, Why?
The man said,"One helicopter is not enough to transport food and medicine. Do you expect them to save people?"
His words made the five of them feel even colder, but Yuan Huawei still felt that he had to give it a try.
Just as she was about to ask the man more questions, a pickup truck drove in from the tunnel entrance. Thick mist sprayed out from both sides of the truck, causing a long string of coughs from the people in the tunnel. After understanding it, it turned out to be disinfectant and epidemic prevention medicine. However, after going back and forth, everyone's clothes were completely wet again.
Yuan Huawei spent half a day trying to understand the situation. Then, he looked at the people huddled in the tunnel and felt an inexplicable sorrow. The so-called rescue here only gave them the most basic food and epidemic prevention. There was no medical care, no warm clothes, and nothing else. If they wanted to survive, they could only rely on themselves. People who were afraid of the cold were willing to take clothes off the dead to keep themselves warm...
But what else could he do if he didn't come here? It was even colder outside, and life would be even more fragile outside. It was better to have more protection here.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。