"Damn, what's going on here with the car crash? Why are there so many cars stuck here!"
Harry stood on the road, holding his forehead and looking at the heavily blocked road in front of him by nearly a hundred cars crashing into each other. He was suddenly speechless.
In fact, this journey is not so easy. He encountered something like this shortly after leaving. He turned his head, looked at the soldier next to him, and said, "Where are we now?"
The soldier took out a map from his arms, looked at the markings, and said, "Sir, we are about 3 kilometers ahead of Hideaway."
Looking at the road ahead, Harry looked at both sides of the road, which were steep slopes. He was considering destroying the railing and letting the convoy go around it.
But after hesitating for a long time, he sighed and gave up the decision. It was difficult for their military trucks to pass this kind of slope, let alone the buses and oil tankers that followed them.
After a moment's thought, Harry decided to resort to an unconventional method. He waved his hand and told the soldiers, "Order everyone on guard, both front and back, to warn civilians in vehicles. Have all adult men get out to help clear these vehicles. Pushing them aside!"
"Yes!"
Within the next few minutes, all the soldiers on the bus received the notification by radio. Tracy, the female soldier in Brian's car, also stood up and said to the terrified crowd behind her:
"The road ahead is blocked by vehicles. All adult men, please get out of the car. We need your help to move the vehicles!"
The crowd that originally thought something was going on because the vehicle suddenly stopped, now breathed a sigh of relief when the female soldier said it was just a traffic jam. But then they heard him say that all adult men should move cars, which was unacceptable to some of the men present.
They saw a young man with colorful hair on his head get up from his seat and say with a dissatisfied expression on his face, "You're here to escort us to Atlanta, why do you need us to help you? It's so cold outside now. If any of us get sick or have a cold, can you take on this responsibility?
Some people in the car who were already dissatisfied and ready to make a move saw someone taking the lead in the charge, stood behind him, and began cheering the young man on.
"Yes! Why!"
"We've been asked to do all the work, what else do you need to do?"
"That's right, why do we have to do these jobs?"
"..."
Seeing so many people behind him responding to his call, the young man's vanity suddenly swelled and he crossed his arms. He raised his head and chest, looking at the female soldier with disdain, as if he were taking the initiative.
Tracy coldly looked at the people clamoring in front of her, frowned, and said angrily to the people in front of her:
"We have to understand something. We're not the only ones going to Atlanta. Aren't you going to go too? Without security personnel, we really don't have enough hands. I hope everyone can contribute, and I trust they will. Wouldn't you rather leave as soon as possible instead of waiting here?"
Hearing these words, those who had not expressed their opinions fell silent. In fact, if they didn't help, the convoy could stay here for a long time and might even encounter infected people. It would be better to help move the cars. Only by moving away will they be able to get out of here as soon as possible, and this is only a minor matter. They will have to rely on the military escort in the future, so it is best not to have any conflict with them.
"Then I'll go help" Someone immediately got up without hesitation, nodded to Tracy, then got out of the car and walked to the front of the road.
If there is one, there are two. If someone takes the initiative, others will naturally respond. When the first person gets up, the second and third will also get up one after the other, and then more and more people will choose to get off the bus to help.
Even the few people who supported the young people at that time felt a little bad after seeing so many people. They lowered their heads, got up, and followed the crowd.
"You... you..." The young man looked at the people around him in disbelief as they got up and left one after another. He didn't understand why the people who supported him just now suddenly switched sides.
Sarah, who was sitting on the side to watch the excitement, originally planned to watch a live uprising, she was suddenly a little disappointed to see this situation.
Seeing Sarah's disappointed expression, Brian twisted his mouth slightly and explained, "No one is stupid. It will not benefit them to confront the army over this issue. Even if they didn't think clearly at the time, the herd mentality makes them follow the rest. After seeing so many people leave, they will not be left behind. This young man still doesn't understand his situation well, but he dares to take the first step and stir up trouble. Shoot the first bird, as they say, and luckily, it's not dead yet."
Sure enough, all the adult men in the car left and Tracy turned her attention to the young man who took the lead in causing trouble.
A disdainful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth and he sneered twice. He slowly approached the young man and looked him up and down. She thought to herself that it didn't matter where and when it went, even if it was the end. In the world, there will always be people like that.
Seeing the female soldier's eyes suddenly turn cold, the young man immediately felt that something was wrong and took a few steps back, his expression gradually turning frightened.
He felt extremely regretful at the time, wondering why he had been so impulsive, why he had to be the first to jump in without thinking about the consequences.
"You... don't come, I... I'm willing to move the cars..."
But seeing his cowardly look, Tracy was too lazy to keep talking nonsense to him. He quickly stepped forward and pressed the young man hard into the seat. He pulled out a seat belt and tied his hands behind his back.
He then lifted the young man with one hand and walked towards the door of the bus. As he was about to get off the bus, he told the remaining women and children, "You can get off the bus. If you need to use the bathroom, just go to the nearby forest, there are soldiers guarding the outside, as long as you don't go too far!
After saying that, without waiting for a response from the people on the bus, he left with the young man and walked to an open space not far away where a dozen people were already kneeling.
"Come on, let's get off the bus and get some exercise." Seeing that he could move freely, Brian held his backpack in his hands and stretched his muscles.
Sarah looked at the snow that kept falling outside the window. She suddenly became playful and didn't want to stay on the bus anymore. He nodded, got up, and got off the bus.
As soon as the two people got off, the cold wind penetrated through the hollows of their clothes. This caused the two people who had just exited the warm bus to shudder and rip their clothes a little.
At that time, there were already many people who got out of their cars and were outside. There was only a circle of soldiers guarding the outside, so they couldn't go too far.
Not far away, there were several children, guided by their parents, playing senselessly in the snow.
Seeing this, Sarah also ran away and ran to the place where several children were playing. She played with them, doing various poses with her hands, and then laughed at the falling snow.
After the outbreak of cordyceps fungus, Brian hadn't seen Sarah smile so sincerely and happily in a long time, which caused the corners of her mouth to curve upwards subconsciously.
He then turned his attention to the open space where more than a dozen people had knelt. At that time, some people were watching the excitement and there were also people in other vehicles who were causing trouble. One after another, after a cursory glance, there must be at least 30 people.
Brian looked at Sarah who was having fun and slowly moved forward, also wanting to see what kind of punishment these people would receive.
As he approached, he saw a tall soldier circling around the thirty kneeling people, but he said nothing.
After the last people were sent here, he slowly stopped, looked at the people kneeling on the ground, and said, "You guys are so brave. In fact, they dare to take the initiative to stir up trouble. Look, it seems that you don't want to leave here, right..."
When the thirty people kneeling on the ground heard this, they realized that the other party seemed willing to abandon them there. Suddenly, fear took hold of them and they began to cry inconsolably, full of regret on their faces. They begged for mercy in desperation, promising not to make the same mistake again and swearing that they would not dare to defy orders again.
You should know that the temperature is very low now. It can be said that the surroundings are deserted. In addition, infected people can appear at any time.
"Hmph..."
When the soldiers heard these people's chaotic pleas for mercy, they just grunted twice, but said nothing. They just put their hands behind their backs and surrounded these people again.
Seeing that the soldiers were not speaking, a trace of sadness crossed the eyes of these people. Each step of the other party was like a heavy step in their hearts, causing their bodies to tremble and they gradually stopped begging for mercy.
Suddenly, the scene fell silent. Even the people looking outside didn't dare to breathe, for fear that they would be dragged away and punished together if they made the slightest sound.
"What? Are you done?"
After a few minutes, the soldier who didn't hear any sound stopped again, looked at the kneeling people with a smile, and said slowly:
"Well, don't worry. After all, this is a special period. We will not abandon our workforce. However, while you won't be severely punished, you will be punished if you do something wrong. Do you agree with this?"