Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Despite being driven away so forcefully time and time again, Qiu Dasheng and his men were unwilling but also afraid of really angering these armed soldiers.

I had no choice but to slow down reluctantly, barely managing to stay about eighty meters away, like a reluctant shadow hanging far behind the group.

At first, they gritted their teeth and tried to keep up.

However, as the march gradually accelerated, the physical strength of both the well-trained soldiers and young people like Xu Xiaoyan and Wang Yuming far surpassed that of those who suffered from long-term malnutrition and were leading the elderly, women, and children.

The rugged mountain road seemed endless. After only about three hours, Qiu Dasheng's group was already panting, drenched in sweat, and their legs felt as heavy as lead.

Seeing that the group ahead was still moving in unison, heads down, and showing no sign of stopping, they realized that the group was moving in unison and had not stopped.

Finally, Qiu Dasheng couldn't hold back any longer and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Comrades! We've walked for so long, we need to rest, right? Sit down, have something to eat, and drink some water!"

His shouts echoed through the valley, but received no response.

The column ahead continued to march, with only the sound of synchronized footsteps and occasional whispers of instructions. This disregard was more disheartening than outright rejection.

Qiu Dasheng wiped the sweat from his face and encouraged his equally disheveled family members behind him, "Just a little longer! They'll definitely stop for lunch and a rest by noon!"

However, hope was dashed again, but they forced themselves to continue for another two hours.

As the sun rose higher, Qiu Dasheng's elderly mother was the first to give way. Her legs gave way, and she was about to collapse to the ground when her younger brother hurriedly caught her.

The old woman's face was deathly pale, her lips were cracked, and she didn't even have the strength to groan.

Looking at his mother, Qiu Dasheng was both anxious and angry. He almost roared at the backs of the group at the very end:

"It's lunchtime! Aren't you going to rest? Aren't you going to eat?"

This time, finally one of the soldiers at the rear turned around, glanced at them expressionlessly, and spoke in a calm and even voice, but it was like a bucket of ice water being poured over them without a break.

"No rest? What about food? Aren't you going to eat lunch either?" Qiu Dasheng was on the verge of collapse, his voice trembling with tears. The soldier did not answer him.

Just then, a small package of simple food wrapped in oil paper was passed over from the front.

It was two pieces of compressed dry rations and a piece of dried meat. The soldier took it and, with great skill, unwrapped it while maintaining his marching pace, and began to eat it as if no one else was around.

To Qiu Dasheng, who was starving at that moment, the simple food was like a delicacy. The aroma of the food, mixed with his immense grievances and resentment, instantly overwhelmed his reason.

With red eyes, like a wild beast driven to the brink of despair, he lunged at the soldier, his target the dry rations in the soldier's hand!

However, the soldier reacted incredibly quickly, easily dodging the attack with a nimble sidestep the moment the soldier lunged.

At the same time, he suddenly quickened his pace, rapidly widening the distance between them, leaving Qiu Dasheng staggering and falling to the ground due to excessive force, his mouth full of mud and grass roots.

Qiu Dasheng's entire face was buried in dust, his lips were chafed and bleeding from the sand and gravel. He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and roared hoarsely:

"You People's Liberation Army soldiers are all heartless bastards! You'll be struck by lightning sooner or later! The people's army? Bah! You're all parasites raised by the state!"

Unfortunately, these vicious curses never reached the soldiers' ears, and even if they had, they wouldn't have reacted much.

They had been through so much along the way that their eardrums were only sensitive to the sound of gun bolts and alarms.

As for curses and insults, they have long since faded away like ruins along the way, failing to cause the slightest ripple.

Xu Xiaoyan withdrew her gaze and turned to look at Lao Wang beside her. "Have you encountered this situation frequently before?"

Old Wang slowly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with too many things. "Human hearts are made of flesh and blood," he said in a hoarse voice. "In the beginning, Commander Li also helped many people."

He paused, his fingers unconsciously tracing a gruesome scar on his left arm:

"In Anshi, we encountered rove beetles. You may not have seen them before. They look inconspicuous, but their venom is like sulfuric acid when it gets on your skin."

After we swatted them, the venom splattered, and the entire area of ​​skin would ulcerate. If we didn't swat them, being bitten would also cause skin ulceration. We really didn't know what to do with them at the time.

Old Wang unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. Even in the dim light, the twisted scar tissue on his forearm was clearly visible, like a crumpled map.

"Once our military doctor confirmed it was a rove beetle, the first thing we did was to have everyone tighten their cuffs and trouser legs."

Old Wang spoke calmly, as if he were telling someone else's story: "But the people following behind us, when they saw us wearing long sleeves and trousers, their eyes turned red."

Xu Xiaoyan noticed that the two young soldiers walking in front touched their arms at the same time.

"They rushed up and started tearing our clothes off," Lao Wang continued, his voice devoid of emotion. "A mother, holding her child, knelt on the ground and begged me to give her her coat."

I hesitated for a moment, and then the people behind me surged forward, tearing at our combat uniforms and trying to snatch our trousers.

"Commander Li ordered us to speed up, and that's how we managed to shake off those people."

Old Wang's gaze fell on his scarred arms. "But it was too late. Ninety-seven soldiers had been bitten by poisonous insects and had not a single inch of healthy skin left."

"Xiao Zhang, that Sichuan boy who always loves to sing, got poison in his eyes, and now he can only see with one eye." He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood.

"Since then, Commander Li has never agreed to allow civilians to accompany him again." Old Wang fastened his cufflinks, looked up at Xu Xiaoyan, and said, "I was really surprised that the four of you were able to join us."

Looking at Old Wang's weathered face, she jokingly said, "Could it be because the four of us are young that Commander Li is reminded of his own children or younger siblings?"

Just as Xu Xiaoyan thought the topic was over, Old Wang slowly turned his head.

He pondered for a moment, his rough fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of his clothes, and then he actually nodded, his voice low and certain, "It really could be."

This answer surprised Xu Xiaoyan slightly.

"I remember," he recalled, speaking slowly, as if trying to salvage fragments from the depths of his memory, "his family should all be in the south."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing. "After that damn tsunami, all communications were cut off. The situation there is said to be worse than here. He's probably more anxious than anyone else. Sigh."