Chapter 612: No Responsibility
Chapter 612: No Responsibility
Yun Tao charged forward and struck back the large men shoving their way through the crowd of elderly, weak, sick, and pregnant women. Above their heads, the thick, thorn-covered vines of the thorn ball flower unfurled like fox tails, clinging to the icy ceiling and stretching toward the northwest tunnel.
“If you want to leave, then go through that tunnel!” Yun Tao barked, pointing sharply toward the passage leading to the community exit. “If you’re not leaving, then stand here and protect the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the pregnant!”
“Why?!” A burly man stepped out of the crowd, glaring at Yun Tao. He pointed at the huddled group behind him and sneered, “What do these people have to do with me?”
“If that’s your attitude,” Wang Wei said coldly as he helped an old man toward the soldiers’ cordon, a child cradled in his other arm, “then why should we risk our lives to shelter you?”
The man froze, speechless.
Yun Tao stepped forward, his voice booming through the tunnel. “Exactly. You have two choices—leave, or stay and fight the wolves. There’s no third option!” He turned to the crowd, shouting, “Elderly over seventy! Children under ten! Women, pregnant women, and the disabled—step forward! Only those four groups can enter. The rest—we won’t take responsibility for you!”
The tunnel erupted in noise again. Panic surged through the crowd. A few men who had been at the exit earlier shoved their way back, shouting, “The exit’s full of wolves! You lied to us!”
In chaotic times, people grew even more chaotic. Hearing that the exit was blocked, the young and strong who hadn’t made it into the safe zone panicked. Someone yelled, “We’ll die out here if we don’t rush in!”
Everyone could see the line of soldiers forming a barrier before An Ran’s villa. Behind them stood the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the pregnant—people who couldn’t fight, people they saw as burdens. Yet the soldiers didn’t move, didn’t retreat.
That could only mean one thing: Fatty, An Ran, and their people had the strength to handle the situation.
So why shouldn’t they be let in too?
The thought spread like wildfire. If the strong couldn’t get in, then they’d all force their way in together!
Behind the soldiers, the elderly, women, and children grew terrified. Watching the men outside push and shout, their tears turned to sobs. The narrow tunnel shook with the noise.
Just then, Zhang Boxun burst from a side tunnel, dragging Liu Shasha behind him. Both were covered in dirt and frost, clearly having just escaped death.
Seeing the crowd ahead, Liu Shasha’s eyes lit up with desperate hope. She cried out, “Auntie! Grandma! Uncle! Where are you?!”
Inside the cordon, a woman’s voice called back in shock, “Zhang Boxun! Zhang Boxun, I’m here!”
It was Tang Siluo. She pushed through the crowd of women and yanked at the soldiers’ joined hands, shouting, “Open it! Let him in! Let Zhang Boxun in!”
But the soldiers were unyielding. Linked arm in arm, they stood like a wall of steel—impossible for a single woman to break through.
Outside the cordon, Luo Feifan grabbed Tang Siluo by the shoulder and shoved her back. “Get a hold of yourself!” he shouted. “Your Zhang Boxun isn’t old, weak, sick, disabled, or pregnant! Stop making things worse! Can’t you see it’s chaos enough already?!”