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MTL - How to Feed an Abyss!-Chapter 42 a departure
Su Enqi spoke slowly: "Why do you say that?"
With only three cities left in the alliance, Lu Tinghan's words are like a bolt from the blue.
Lu Tinghan said: "The location of Gleaming City is very bad."
— This is almost universally acknowledged.
In fact, Gleaming City has always been the most attacked of the three cities, and it is too difficult to defend.
In terms of terrain, Gleaning City is surrounded by plains without any shelter. Monsters can drive straight in from any angle, which brings great difficulties to defense; in terms of geographical location, Abyss 2, 5, and 6 Gleaming City was surrounded by a double-team, and the nearest No. 2 abyss is only 2,000 kilometers away from Gleaming City.
Such a city should have perished early.
The reason why it is still there is firstly because it is close to the main city and has a strong garrison, and secondly because it is the granary of the alliance, and its strategic significance is self-evident, so it is naturally heavily guarded.
"Yes," Su Enqi nodded, "We all know this. It definitely bears the brunt during the peak period, and its troops have been transferred to Gleaming City. But you and I understand what it means to give up a city."
Lu Tinghan said, "Let's go to the conference room to talk."
The two went to the conference room, Lu Tinghan connected the holographic projection to the terminal and called up the data.
The dense military reports were projected in mid-air. These were all the battles of Gleaner City in the past 10 years. Every report is full of comments, and the thin gold body almost fills every gap. There are lines of different colors between the text, pictures, and models to connect them, marking the similarities and differences.
It's hard to imagine how much painstaking effort it took to sort out such a scene.
Lu Tinghan said: "I have been sorting out the records of Gleaners and Fengyang. For these two cities, the infected organisms show completely different characteristics. The frequency and number of their attacks on Gleaners City has increased, especially during the peak period. And The relative Fengyang is far inferior to the battle situation that Gleaners encountered. The data is still increasing exponentially, and if it is delayed, something may happen."
Su Enqi kept silent, turned his hands behind his back, walked around a few times, and said slowly: "There are wheat fields here."
Endless, luxuriant and soft wheat fields.
"I've done the math," Lu Tinghan pulled out another piece of data, "Three years ago, I entrusted the logistics department and the research center to make a guess. In terms of the food production capacity of the city and the main city, it can support all the population, and this conclusion has been continuously calibrated, and it is also applicable today. I also have a conclusion that if I use the underground shelters of the other two cities and the old city, it will eventually be able to accommodate Next everyone. I can send the population transportation plan later."
He concluded: "Without Gleaner City, we will have a hard time, and the standard of living will drop to just 'alive', but we will not die."
Su Enqi did not expect that Lu Tinghan had started planning so long ago.
He frowned, still disapproving: "The risk is too great, is it really worth it? Transporting people also has considerable risks. If something happens, it will be a tragedy. Do you have anything else to convince me?" reason?"
"From a scientific point of view, no." Lu Tinghan said.
Su Enqi: "What about other angles?"
Lu Tinghan: "That's my personal opinion." He looked into the air, and the records of the past 10 years filled the conference room, and the peak period was marked by a red triangle, "In the past two years, the infection cluster has given me the feeling It's the 'prelude', the prelude to the attack."
Su Enqi asked: "You mean, these are just their temptations?"
"Yes, it's analogous to a piece of music. Now the 'prelude' part is coming to an end." Lu Tinghan said, "It will be the main chorus soon."
Lu Tinghan could always know what the monsters were thinking.
That's why he became a general and defended the city. In the monster's chaotic and violent thoughts, he glimpsed rules and laws. This kind of judgment, others say it is a fantasy, but from his mouth, the weight is beyond doubt.
Su Enqi was silent for a long time, and he didn't speak until the holographic projection fell asleep and the screensaver of Xuejianhua bloomed on the screen: "...I'm going to smoke a cigarette."
It was raining on the roof, and the two of them stood under the eaves, and fine drops of water floated from time to time.
Su Enqi took out a cigarette and handed it to Lu Tinghan, who said, "No need."
Su Enqi held a cigarette in his mouth, shielded himself from the wind with his left hand, and lit a lighter with his right hand. The orange-red cigarette butts flickered in the dimness, and a wisp of white smoke floated into the sky and was culled by the rain.
They stood silently.
When the cigarette was half lit, Su Enqi said, "How sure are you that what you said will come true?"
Lu Tinghan: "Ninety percent."
Su Enqi flicked the cigarette ash: "Do you really think that everyone has to leave?"
Lu Tinghan: "Yes."
There was another long silence.
If you evacuate, you have to pay too much, from the wheat fields to the houses to the military facilities, and then to the instability of the flow of people. This time, if you take the initiative to leave, it may be a year of the monkey and you may never come back again. The whole city was handed over to the barbarians; but if, as Lu Tinghan said, Gleaming City is very likely to be breached, there will be very few survivors, and what is more important than being alive?
The cigarette was about to burn out, Su Enqi lowered his head slightly. Looking carefully, his back has been bent by the years, usually supported by his aura, ordinary people can't notice it, but at this night, the curved arc, together with the gray temples and fine wrinkles, are quite obvious.
He was too tired during this time, at this moment, in front of Lu Tinghan, in front of his proud student, friend and comrade-in-arms, he was just an ordinary old man.
He said slowly: "This decision requires too much courage. No matter what happens, can you accept the consequences?" Before Lu Tinghan could answer, he continued, "I'm not asking you as a commander, but as a... friend."
"Yes." Lu Tinghan replied, "I stick to my point of view."
There was no hesitation in this answer, and Su Enqi sighed: "You are always like this. If you believe in one thing, you will not go back, and I can't do it. It's also very good. The league needs such a person." He crushed the cigarette **** Mie, "Send all the information and give me half a month."
"Okay." Lu Tinghan nodded, and before turning to leave, he stood still and said, "May the glory of the alliance last forever."
Su Enqi replied: "May the glory of the alliance last forever."
…
Half a month later, a huge shadow appeared above Gleaner City.
Everyone looked up one after another and saw a large transport ship floating in the sky.
They have the shape of a motorboat, but they are much larger. They are equipped with hundreds of machine gun muzzles, anti-air missiles, anti-infection group rocket launchers, etc. They can be called floating bunkers in the air, and they are the most proud masterpiece of the alliance. In the past, alliances used them to transfer fighters on a large scale and attack the enemy army, and they were always invincible. After the end of the world, transport ships often turned the tide.
However, it appeared this time not to save the homeland, but to abandon a city.
On the same day, a holographic projection appeared over the city.
Chairman Chai Yongning and the two generals Su and Lu jointly announced the plan to evacuate all staff from Gleaner City.
All of a sudden, a pot exploded in the city. As soon as Shi Yuan helped someone prepare the meal at the distribution place, he saw the man let go of his hand in a daze, and the rice spilled all over the floor.
"Fuck!" He expressed his inner doubts in a friendly manner, "Fuck, fuck, fuck? Fuck/His grandma and grandpa's legs!"
The chaos lasted for three full days.
Marching, protesting, desperate, crying, indifferent... all kinds of beings.
The number of people in the demonstration was not large, far less than the one that protested against Lu Tinghan.
During the peak period, many people realized that they did not have much power to choose, and Lu Tinghan's excellent record also allowed him to gain decisive trust—everyone still remembered that day, the i-level warning ended after a month, and Lu Tinghan Ting Han is triumphant, the sun is shining, and the city is full of flowers.
On the fifth day, the first wave of residents boarded the transport ship, a total of 9,300 people.
On the same day, Shi Yuan set off from the allocation office to find his human beings. He showed his pass, boarded the bus, and arrived in Southwest City.
There were a large number of defenders there. After he showed his ID card, a soldier led him to the military headquarters.
Lu Tinghan was right there.
Occasionally, Yuan would come to Lu Tinghan after get off work and stay in his office.
Lu Tinghan is busy, so he won't bother him, he just entertains himself in the small cubicle in the office - looking at his mobile phone, reading a book, reading the script "Waiting for Godot" given to him by Cheng Youwen; playing cards, playing tail, Play a puzzle game from the newspaper.
Lu Tinghan was very busy today, Shi Yuan went to the cubicle and continued watching "Waiting for Godot".
An hour later, there was a knock on the compartment door.
Lu Tinghan stood at the door: "Come with me."
Shi Yuan followed him out of the office, walked through the corridor, and asked, "What happened?"
"A military parade." Lu Tinghan replied.
The two of them took a car, and the end of this military base was the bottom of the southeast city wall.
The city wall was high and impenetrable, and they took the elevator to the top of the wall.
The elevator door opened, and they had reached the top of the city wall.
Standing on a high place, the cold wind is bleak, looking out of the city is a boundless wasteland, the sky is gray-blue, and there is a touch of purple in the far distance. It's clearly not winter yet, the wind blowing from the wilderness hurts the face, and the world outside the city is declaring malice unscrupulously.
Shi Yuan put on a single shirt and shivered.
"Are you cold?" Lu Tinghan asked.
Shi Yuan: "It's cold."
Lu Tinghan took off his coat and put it on Shi Yuan. On the black military jacket, the epaulets are shiny, thick and windproof. But like all of Lu Tinghan's clothes, it was a few sizes too big, drowning Shi Yuan.
Lu Tinghan helped him fasten the buttons.
Shi Yuan: "It's really warm."
Lu Tinghan: "Yes."
The two walked forward, and the view from the high place was very good. Shi Yuan saw people boarding the transport ship in the distance.
"Do you really want to leave here?" he asked.
"I think it is necessary." Lu Tinghan replied, "And my decision is often right."
Therefore, Shi Yuan continued to look around, expecting to find the Garcia Theater in the intricate streets, but he failed.
He looked back, and there was a neat armed convoy and tank armored corps under the wall, and the aircraft was parked on a high platform far away, with a dazzling metallic color. Shi Yuan saw soldiers, tens of thousands of soldiers, standing with guns in uniform.
This is a large-scale operation to attack outside the city. The purpose is to destroy three monster lairs and further ensure the safety of the transport ship's route.
The expedition with real guns and live ammunition is not a military parade, and does not require any performative behavior. Shi Yuan followed Lu Tinghan and stood on the wall surrounded by a group of officers, watching the troops pass by. It was the first time he saw so many armies, so precise and rigorous that they looked like machines, mighty and mighty, building a torrent of steel.
The aircraft passed overhead and entered supersonic speed in the distance, and the sound cone exploded with a "bang!". Warriors march on the wastelands, and soon the fire from their muzzles will tear the twilight.
The pace is neat, and the land and air are coordinated.
Majestic, magnificent, powerful. It is a sword and a shield.
The alliance in its heyday was famous for its army and air force. Today, the military style still exists, and a burning ambition is burning. From the scene in front of you, you can get a glimpse of the style of several years ago.
Shi Yuan looked sideways at Lu Tinghan.
Lu Tinghan stared at it for a long time without taking his eyes off.
He was expressionless, looking carefully, there seemed to be something silently surging in his gray-blue eyes.
Shi Yuan remembered that night. Lu Tinghan said that the position of human beings is his position, for which he can be anyone.
He is probably the person in the world who most wants the monsters to disappear.
Shi Yuan became absent-minded until a few more sonic booms pulled him back from his thoughts, and the aircraft rushed to the sky like an eagle.
All the troops left, and the gates of the city were closed tightly.
Shi Yuan asked, "When will they come back?"
Lu Tinghan replied: "If everything goes well, within a week."
Shi Yuan asked again: "Will they complete the task?"
Lu Tinghan: "There is no option of failure."
Shi Yuan asked again: "Are you directing them?"
Lu Tinghan seemed to be smiling: "There are only two generals in the alliance, General Su Enqi is in charge of the main city, and the rest is mine."
In fact, since last year, most of the power has been ceded to him. After all, Su Enqi was getting old, and his seasoned experience couldn't support his increasingly curved back. If it weren't for Lu Tinghan's dispute with the Abyss Watcher, the process would have been faster.
Shi Yuan thought for a while, and came to a conclusion: "So you are a local snake."
Lu Tinghan: "...change the word."
Shi Yuan scratched his head: "Emperor Earth?"
Lu Tinghan said: "Shi Yuan, you really can't spit out ivory."
Shi Yuan thought for two seconds: "You say I'm a dog!"
This reaction was quicker than expected, Lu Tinghan raised his eyebrows: "It's better to listen to the general. Say something and let me listen."
Regardless of past suspicions, Shi Yuan followed the good example and called him: "General Lu—"
It was the first time he called Lu Tinghan that, and he said it seriously.
Shi Yuan's tone of speech is never tough, and the vicious villain's lines are all like coquettish, soft like himself. Even more so now. The steel is cold and hard, the world is chilling, his words are like a small flower blooming in the cold wind.
Lu Tinghan: "Say one more thing."
Shi Yuan: "Admiral on land."
Lu Tinghan: "A few more words."
Shi Yuan: "General on land, general on land, general on land, general on land."
Lu Tinghan: "Come again."
Shi Yuan: "..."
Shi Yuan: "Emperor Tu, a local snake, Lu Tinghan, a big villain."
This time Lu Tinghan really smiled, grabbed Shi Yuan's shoulder, and strode forward.
Shi Yuan was still wearing his overcoat, it was a very fluffy ball, it took three steps to keep up with Lu Tinghan's two steps, and his ears were reddish from the wind.
Lu Tinghan leaned into his ear and said, "Shi Yuan, I've told you so many things. Why can't you tell me why there is a pool of watermarks on my treasured military map?"
Shi Yuan: "..."
Lu Tinghan: "Why didn't you tell me? Huh?"
Shi Yuan: "Admiral on land—"
Failed to pass the test, he received a "slap" on the forehead, and reached out to touch it aggrieved.
Under the cold blue sky, Lu Tinghan's facial features were deep and handsome, as if carved out. The transport ship whistled, urging the rest of the people to board the ship. He looked down at Shi Yuan thoughtfully, and finally said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine."
Shi Yuan worked at the food distribution place for another week.
Every day when he commutes to get off work, he can see people packing their things.
They ran upstairs and downstairs, yelling and urging at the top of their voices. The men were sweating, and the women carried their children on their backs and held their bags in their arms.
Leaving one's hometown is probably one of the most painful things in the world. The streets are full of abandoned furniture, and many things cannot be taken away. They can only be thrown away together with memories.
Once, Shi Yuan found a family photo on a rotten sofa.
In the photo, the family of four laughed happily, with flowers in a vase at hand. The inscription on the back of the photo is 30 years ago.
Shi Yuan had an intuition that such things should not be thrown away.
Maybe someone accidentally left it here.
Shi Yuan held the family portrait and stood for a long time under the afterglow of the setting sun. When the sun went down, no one came to claim it. He had no choice but to put the family portrait back on the sofa, and took a small stone to press it down to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.
Before leaving, he turned his head three times a step until he turned the corner and couldn't see it anymore.
It takes at least three days for the transport ship to go back and forth.
The number of people in the city is still slowly decreasing after all.
The construction site next to the distribution office was deserted: it was obviously pointless to rebuild a ruined city, since it would end up in ruins anyway.
Fewer and fewer people came to eat. Once, a team of guards came to the allocation office and said to a middle-aged man who was cooking: "Mr. Qiu Jie, your immigration number is a06, why didn't you apply for it a week ago?" Pre-boarding?"
The middle-aged man was extremely excited, and waved the chopsticks in his hand: "I won't go! I will die here if I die! Get out of here, get out of here!"
Shi Yuan has seen this kind of person several times.
The attitude of the alliance is to persuade people to board the ship as much as possible, popularize science and talk well, and many diehards are willing to compromise. If you really encounter nail households, let them go without distracting too much energy. The so-called life and death have their own destiny. In the last days, everyone should be responsible for their own choices.
Qiu Jie's attitude is obviously a nail in the nail.
The guard explained a few more words in a loud voice. Unexpectedly, Qiu Jie became more excited and even picked up Aunt Li's vegetable cutting knife!
With a flash of the knife, the guard next to him was about to rush forward when he saw a tail descending from the sky.
"boom!"
"what!"
"Boom!"
Qiu Jie was knocked unconscious by a tail, and fell to the ground with a bang. The guard looked at Shi Yuan, dumbfounded.
After this, the captain of the guard, Xue Yinghao, admired Shi Yuan in particular, and felt that he hated seeing each other later.
He said to Shi Yuan that day: "Look, there is no one in the distribution office anyway, that Aunt Li is too busy, why don't you join us on patrol."
Shi Yuan said, "But, I don't know anything."
"You don't need it." Xue Yinghao earnestly said, "You are the one who played "The Martyr", right? Many people know you and have a good impression of you. Your image is good. If you can help us persuade others, then It could not be better."
Shi Yuan doesn't care, it doesn't matter where he works anyway.
He told Lu Tinghan about this, but Lu Tinghan didn't immediately agree, saying, "Some extremists are more dangerous."
Shi Yuan said: "Captain Xue said that extremists are very few, and they won't let me get in touch."
Lu Tinghan was noncommittal, and finally said: "You make your own decision. As I said, this is your story."
Shi Yuan agreed to Xue Yinghao.
In the weeks that followed, he patrolled with the Guards, persuading one family after another. Xue Yinghao's spur-of-the-moment decision was unexpectedly useful. Shi Yuan's appearance was so pleasing that most people unconsciously slowed down when they saw him.
Shi Yuan bluntly persuaded them to leave the city and start a new life, and the guard team added professional rhetoric, and they persuaded many people away in this way.
When Shi Yuan saw a frail child, he had no choice but to hold his mother's hand and walk on the road. He saw a stubborn old man who refused to leave his home for decades. He saw two suspicious brothers and sisters who suspected that the alliance was a scam... what? Everyone has their own reasons for not leaving.
As Lu Tinghan said, extreme situations also occurred, and Shi Yuan met two emotional nail households again.
The two nail households held different weapons and had different attitudes: one was a screwdriver, the other a hammer, one was so angry that his neck was red, and the other was screaming.
Also, none of them thought the tail could be a weapon.
"boom!"
"what!"
"Boom!"
"boom!"
"what!"
"Boom!"
The nail households all fell down.
Xue Yinghao was amazed, and said to Shi Yuan, "Can you hit my head? I want to see how much it hurts."
Shi Yuan:?
Shi Yuan had never heard such a strange request before, and asked, "Are you sure?"
"Of course, I am very strong." Xue Yinghao compared his arm muscles, "Don't worry, it will be absolutely fine."
Human beings are so strange, Shi Yuan swung his tail round and hit Xue Yinghao on the head with a bang.
"boom!"
Xue Yinghao didn't say a word, didn't even say "Ah!", and fell to the ground directly.
Shi Yuan:?
Shi Yuan:? ? !
"Captain!" All the guards next to him rushed over, "Captain, wake up! Wake up, woooooooo!"
In the end, Xue Yinghao was helped to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a mild concussion. He also received a small punishment for this heaven-defying request.
He is said to have woken up in the hospital and the first thing he said was: "It hurts so **** badly!"
So the entire guard team knew about Shi Yuan.
In this way, the number of people in Gleaming City is decreasing day by day.
Lu Tinghan had been preparing for this day for several years, everything was arranged, and he deliberately picked a time when the battle was good, so the transfer efficiency was very high. The transport ships went back and forth between the three cities again and again, taking away wave after wave of people. During the transportation, they were also attacked by infected creatures many times. Fortunately, the alliance's army and air force cooperated well, and there was no danger in the end.
The houses, streets and alleys gradually emptied, and there were almost no buses. Even if one came occasionally, there were only three or four people on board.
Lu Tinghan also mentioned it to Shi Yuan, asking him to go to another city.
"Let's wait." Shi Yuan said, "I want to stay for a few more days."
Originally, the transport ticket he had drawn was for a month ago, so he should have left long ago. But he talked to Lu Tinghan, and Lu Tinghan canceled the boat ticket for him.
Lu Tinghan said: "As soon as possible, if you want to leave, just tell me."
Three days later, at night, Shi Yuan could hardly see the houses with lights on.
People go to the empty building, like a dead city.
Lu Tinghan told him to ask him to leave tomorrow at the latest, and Shi Yuan agreed.
On this full moon night, Shi Yuan went to the tower in the city alone, and climbed up to look far away.
Looking to the east of the city, there is still a small patch of light.
The evacuation was arranged by region, and the eastern region was the last to be evacuated, and they would leave on the transport ship the day after tomorrow. Shi Yuan saw the Grand Theater there, which blurred into a pale point in the night.
Shi Yuan sat by the window, looked at the city with his head propped up, and when he looked at it, his head drooped and he fell asleep.
He was awakened by the commotion.
His blood vessels began to swell, and he heard countless... the sounds of plants.
The monster is coming!
It was grander and louder than ever before, and the noise was terrifying. Shi Yuan suddenly stood up and looked outside the city, only to see a large area of gorgeous colors blooming in the darkness, magenta, chestnut purple, rust green, pine flower color... The colors rolled in, covering the wasteland, like a landslide and a tsunami. Merry clouds.
They come from the east of the city.
Shi Yuan lowered his head and saw the Garcia Grand Theater in the East District, with bright yellow lights on.
There are people out there.