Chapter 72: SWAT and Survivors

Words : 897 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: SWAT and SurvivorsOn the road leading to the suburbs, a black police armored vehicle was moving forward. Sitting inside were a fully armed SWAT team, heading to the suburbs on a mission. Previously, Chen Xin discovered that there might be survivors in a supermarket; he didn’t explore or make contact himself but instead informed Qin Lan to let the police handle it. For Chen Xin, although this meant he couldn’t gain any benefits, it also meant he wouldn’t be in any danger. And compared to him making private contact with the survivors, regardless of whether they were desperate or innocent and pitiable, the police were clearly more capable of handling the situation than he was. "Reemphasize the focus of this mission! This is an abandoned supermarket potentially occupied by survivors. It is currently uncertain whether the survivors are armed or what their attitude is, so everyone must stay alert to avoid an incident like the one last month!" Onboard, the mission leader was delivering a stern briefing. Upon hearing his words, the faces of the SWAT team members aboard grew more grim. The leader’s reminder made the SWAT team members also feel a chill. In chaotic times, harsh measures are indeed necessary, but not everyone can immediately change their mindset and use a gun with cold-blooded ruthlessness against survivors who were merely ordinary people before the disaster. Especially since, before the disaster, Flame Country’s laws seldom allowed officers to shoot at criminals, and police regulations strictly limited firearm use. For ordinary people, this disaster brought more fear, anxiety, and worry about their future and survival. Those who could immediately change their mindset the day after a disaster, becoming ruthless and cold-hearted, either had latent murderous intent before the disaster, had a tendency towards violent crime, or were extremely selfish and evil. Extreme environments breed extreme emotions. When survival is feasible, not everyone’s first thought is to kill others and seize their opportunities for survival. While the national government still exists and government departments are still functioning normally, the police continue to perform their duties as before, ensuring the safety of people’s lives and property. However, compared to before the disaster, their methods of handling situations will inevitably undergo some changes. Just as now, when the armored vehicle arrived at the entrance of the underground supermarket Chen Xin discovered and saw the glow of fire from within, these SWAT members did not disembark to make contact as they would in the past but instead stayed inside the armored vehicle, using the vehicle’s loudspeaker to call the people inside out. The arrival of the police undoubtedly terrified the survivors inside the supermarket. They were just a group of ordinary survivors who didn’t have the opportunity to enter shelters before the disaster. Luckily, they found a relatively secure basement, stockpiled some food and water, and managed to survive the initial days of the catastrophe. Although during this period, their numbers dwindled from over a dozen to just a few now. The reduction in their numbers was not due to conspiracy or human darkness, but simply because those people didn’t survive. Having endured disasters such as fires, temperature drops, acid rain, and meteorites falling every two or three days, the fact that they survived from over ten people to just a few already seemed notably fortunate, avoiding total extinction in depleted conditions. But this also turned these survivors into quivering quails. Initially, the basement helped them survive the post-impact fire, but the smoke suffocated two elderly people. Then came acid rain, flooding the basement, ruining one-third of their food supplies and forcing them to relocate to a relatively intact small building. They stayed there for some time, but a peanut-sized meteorite smashed half of the small building, and they once again had to move. During this process, three girls caught in the rain developed high fevers, and two didn’t survive it. When the meteorite struck the building, two people were in the part that got destroyed, and when they went for rescue, they only found one leg and three arms. As for their stockpiled food and water, those were almost entirely lost until they found the supermarket, where they could breathe a sigh of relief. Most of the supplies in the supermarket were looted before the disaster, but they still found some uneatable food left behind in the supermarket’s warehouse. This allowed them to survive until Chen Xin discovered them and reported to the police. "Anyone inside please come out and speak? We are from the city’s SWAT team, here to understand the situation. You don’t need to be afraid. If you need assistance, we can provide help." The SWAT members stayed at the supermarket’s entrance, continuing to hail inside with the loudspeaker. Meanwhile, inside the supermarket, a group of survivors, like startled birds, were holding weapons improvised from steel pipes and mop handles, looking disheveled and shaking like chickens rolling in mud. A few who seemed to be female survivors were shaking like sieves. Having not seen daylight for two months, living as survivors lacked adequate clothing and food, and even had trouble bathing or washing faces, their spirits had long collapsed. Now, facing the police’s call from outside, these survivors were too frightened to even speak, viewing the supermarket’s door as a bloodthirsty maw that would devour them if they dared to step outside.

Chapter 72: SWAT and Survivors

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