The Overlord Flower's Guide to Intercepting a Woman's Wife's Death and the Male Lead&

The weather in Tang City was unusually muggy.

There wasn't a breath of wind.

In the canteen of the Third Machinery Factory in the west of the city, cook Lao Zhao lifted the lid of a steamer basket, and white steam billowed out.

Three baskets of large, fluffy, snow-white steamed buns.

At this time of day, the line for food usually stretches from the window all the way to the factory gate.

Today, only seven or eight old fitters were scattered around the window.

Old Zhao wiped the sweat from his neck with the towel and glanced out the window.

The streets were deserted, with ropes strung up in the courtyards on both sides, holding flowered bed sheets that hung motionless.

Under the shade of the trees, the elderly sat on small stools, their palm-leaf fans casting afterimages but failing to bring any cool breeze.

Everything was perfectly ordinary.

It was just too quiet. So quiet it was unsettling.

10:00 AM, Chengdong Vegetable Market.

Old Chen, who sells tofu, was holding a cleaver and slicing the tofu into square pieces.

A group of women surrounded the area, picking through the vegetables.

Old Chen's eyes darted around, and suddenly he slammed the cleaver down on the cutting board with a loud clang.

"I'll be frank with you."

The women all stopped what they were doing and perked up their ears.

"Do you know why the army has been making such a fuss these past few days?" Old Chen lowered his voice, speaking mysteriously. "I have a relative in the military district. He already knows everything."

"What air raid drill? It's all a fucking hoax. There's going to be a major earthquake in Tang City!"

The market fell silent for two seconds after those words were spoken.

Then, things completely exploded.

"What? An earthquake?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Spreading rumors can get you arrested these days!"

Old Chen smirked and let out a cold laugh.

"Let me tell you, why did the military evacuate the people from the big factory overnight? Because it's public property, the lifeblood of the country."

His voice suddenly rose, filled with malice.

"What are we, the remaining old, weak, sick, and disabled, anyway? We'll just tough it out here and wait to die!"

That's a really harsh statement.

The most insidious aspect is that it perfectly addresses the doubts and fears in the hearts of all the citizens who remained behind.

Once doubt is sown, it only takes a spark to start a prairie fire.

By noon, the news had spread to the south of the city through various alleyways.

And those natural phenomena that had always existed but no one had paid attention to suddenly became shocking at this critical juncture.

The old well at the entrance of Zhao Family Alley, which had been in use for more than 30 years, produced muddy yellow water that was all muddy and had an earthy smell.

Aunt Wang from the west side of the city went to collect the jackets in her yard. As soon as she reached out, she found that the jackets were covered with black ants.

Brooms and basins of water were used, but nothing could get it clean.

And in the East Suburb Commune area, a whole chicken farm's chickens started thrashing around like crazy from four in the morning, hitting their heads and bleeding profusely without stopping, leaving bloody feathers everywhere.

What were once trivial matters that no one paid attention to have now become a chain of ironclad evidence that makes one's scalp crawl.

"The sky is about to fall!"

"God has given us a sign, what are we waiting for?"

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Fear completely spiraled out of control.

Someone yelled something loudly in the street.

"The city is half empty. Those with connections have already run away with their families and disappeared. We ordinary people are left here to fill the gaps and be used as scapegoats."

This anger and sense of abandonment instantly overwhelmed all reason.

Why did they get to leave first?

Why are there still people who haven't left?

Is the military planning to abandon us?

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

All six main roads in the core urban area of ​​Tang City are paralyzed.

Hundreds of thousands of citizens, gripped by panic, took to the streets with their families, demanding immediate evacuation.

A man was pushing a wooden cart with a large iron pot on it, and a hen was tied to the pot and flapping its wings.

A middle-aged woman was carrying her paralyzed mother on her back, her steps unsteady, her back soaked with sweat.

A young woman, holding a wailing baby, was nearly knocked over by the crowd, her hair disheveled.

The crowds converged into a murky torrent, completely blocking the intersection.

More than a dozen military Liberation trucks were stuck in the crowd, their windows banging loudly, accompanied by women's screams and children's cries.

The engine roared in vain, white smoke billowing from the exhaust pipe, but it couldn't move an inch.

The western part of the city.

The engineer platoon leader, who was in charge of maintaining order, had a large hole torn in the collar of his uniform.

He squeezed back to the communications vehicle with difficulty and grabbed the starter phone.

"Commander! We're in big trouble!"

Inside the command center, Lei Lifeng gripped the microphone, his face grim.

"At first, when we saw them dragging their luggage out, our soldiers were quite happy, thinking that the people had finally come to their senses and were willing to cooperate."

The platoon leader's voice was filled with anxiety and helplessness.

"That's not what happened at all!"

"The whole city is in an uproar. Hundreds of thousands of people are rushing out at the same time, all scrambling for space! Our car is stuck inside, unable to get out or in."

"A stampede has already occurred on Xihua Road. Those trapped at the bottom can't be pulled out at all. The soldiers tried to push their way in, and were almost beaten by civilians with carrying poles."

The crisis extends far beyond the west side of the city.

Inside Zhou Bingheng's command tent, four military telephones rang incessantly.

The communications officer, clutching two microphones and sweating profusely, turned to report.

"Political Commissar, Dongcheng reports that several hundred people have started storming the reserve supplies warehouse, insisting on grabbing dry rations to escape. The guard platoon is about to lose control."

"Political Commissar, a large-scale stampede has broken out at the South Railway Station intersection. Ambulances cannot get in. Seventeen people have been confirmed to be seriously injured."

The situation has completely collapsed.

The stampedes, traffic accidents, and collapses of order caused by the blind exodus are just as destructive as a real earthquake.

If this panic cannot be quelled tonight, tomorrow the streets of Tang City will be filled with more corpses than bricks in the ruins.

The tent flap was lifted.

Zhao Jianjun rushed in, his face covered in sweat, his military cap askew.

"Political Commissar, the main street outside is completely blocked by civilians. Jeeps can't get out at all, and even military vehicles can't move!"

Zhou Bingheng stood in front of the sand table, his brows furrowed, his mind racing as he calculated emergency plans for forced diversion.

Zhao Jianjun swallowed hard, his eyes bloodshot with anxiety, and his voice cracked.

"That's not the worst part. Guli just made an emergency call using a military-reserved frequency band..."

He paused for a moment, his voice trembling with tears.

"My sister-in-law's Jeep had just entered the south of the city when it was blocked at the intersection of Jianguo Road by the rioting crowd. Some people were smashing the car windows."

A soft "snap" sound.

Zhou Bingheng broke the red and blue pencils in his hand into two pieces.

He threw the broken pencil onto the sand table, drew his sidearm from his waist, and strode out of the tent.

Lei Lifeng had just put down his walkie-talkie when he saw this and was shocked. He rushed forward to block it.

"Political Commissar Zhou! Things are completely chaotic outside. The public's emotions have reached a breaking point. It's too dangerous for you to go out at this time!"

Zhou Bingheng pushed Lei Lifeng's hand away.

His face, which was always gentle and refined, was expressionless at this moment, except for a pair of eyes that were so dark they seemed bottomless.

His voice carried a cold, ruthless edge.

"Go and get the first battalion's armed jeeps."

"Break through, even if you have to, break through to make a path."