Chapter 87 - 86 Population Relocation

Words : 1140 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 87: Chapter 86 Population RelocationEven before the disaster, it was an incredible task for a country or government to relocate thousands of people at once, requiring strong organizational and execution capabilities. The various potential safety issues were even more headache-inducing. And now, it’s even more challenging than before. The dim environment relied solely on the spotlights of surrounding police cars for illumination. Under the stark white light, the faces of the people were filled with anxious fear of the unknown and worry for their own future. This wasn’t like the past, where when the government mentioned relocation, everyone was willing to trust them because the image cultivated by the Flame Country’s government made the public willing to believe it. But under the apocalypse, the threat of disaster already made everyone live in fear and anxiety, worrying daily about how they would survive. Now, having to move from a relatively stable shelter is nothing short of a major blow for these people. If it weren’t for the city government’s staff tirelessly calming the crowd and with the special police standing by, it might have already descended into chaos. However, even so, there was constant unrest within the crowd, uneasy whispers passing through. This shelter housed just over five thousand people, and the city government organized about a dozen buses that could still run to transport them in batches. The group currently waiting were the third batch. Each bus could carry about fifty people. A single trip would transport a tenth of the people, so the more than five hundred individuals waiting at the entrance were only this batch, with the rest still inside the shelter. This was for safety’s sake. Managing five hundred people was far easier than five thousand, and it also prevented the remaining people from waiting indefinitely, becoming restless, or worse, suffering from frostbite. The temperature was already extremely low, dipping below freezing. While it wouldn’t immediately freeze people to death, making them stand outside for a long time was very grueling. Especially since the current air was particularly bad. Without the rain to bring them down in this cold, the toxic substances and dust in the air lingered. Engaging in outdoor activities without protective gear was simply impossible. Even the special police, fully equipped with protective gear, had to rotate shifts after a while. However, the people didn’t wait long. A dozen or so buses soon arrived and stopped in front of them. Seeing the buses arrive, the waiting people appeared slightly relieved and reassured. Though the future remains uncertain, at least they could now rest assured that the government hadn’t abandoned them. Watching the waiting people board the buses one by one under the guidance of city government staff, a member of the special police in the armored vehicle where Qin Lan was stationed asked the team leader, Li: "Leader Li, is this the third batch? How many people have been sent off already?" "Yes, with this batch, it should be over seventeen hundred," Li nodded. Each time a batch left, the city government kept count and reported the numbers to prevent anyone from being missed. Hearing Leader Li’s response, the special police officer couldn’t help but sigh: "Isn’t this the seventh shelter? These people are really pitiful." "What else can be done? If they don’t move, they’ll suffocate!" Leader Li understood what the special police officer beside him was lamenting, but there was indeed no other solution. Hearing their words, Qin Lan also couldn’t help but feel a twinge of empathy—indeed, if they didn’t move, they’d suffocate. In fact, the city’s decision to relocate was out of desperation. With the temperature further dropping, issues of oxygen deficiency or carbon dioxide poisoning were arising in each shelter. If the shelters hadn’t paid close attention to this issue and taken preventive measures in a timely manner, many people might have died from it. Nevertheless, a number of people still died due to this, most of whom were elderly or children. Thus, the city decided to relocate the small shelters’ populations to medium-sized shelters. After all, the three large shelters and six medium-sized shelters were equipped with oxygen-generating devices, providing the most basic survival assurance for the residents. While this relocation would bring about many troubles and issues, as long as more people could survive, the city wouldn’t choose to abandon the residents of these small shelters, letting them fend for themselves. The topic didn’t continue, and after a sigh and a shake of his head, the special police officer who had spoken turned his attention to the buses filled with people and ready to leave. He couldn’t help but worry, "In this weather, these buses will likely need all their air filters replaced after this trip, won’t they?" "It doesn’t really matter. After transporting these shelters’ people, the buses won’t be of any use anyway," Li was indifferent about it. Although car parts were difficult to obtain in the current situation, the buses wouldn’t have much use after transporting these shelters’ people. There were a total of eleven small shelters in the city. The hospital, armed police units, underground planting bases, and factories wouldn’t be moved, so only seven small shelters needed relocation, and this was the last one. Listening to the discussion between Li and the special police officer, Qin Lan naturally thought about this issue as well. Although the buses would be useless after this trip, that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be a need for vehicles anymore. Not to mention, the special police’s daily patrols did wear down the vehicles, not to mention Qin Lan had to make a monthly trip to Chen Xin’s shelter. Even though there was a stock of auto parts from before the disaster, without resupply, all vehicles would eventually break down. Their special police vehicles had undergone protection measures, replacing the paper dry air filters with oil bath air filters more suitable for harsh environments and less prone to wear. Still, the consumption of air filters remained significant. However, as the nation resumed industrial production, these supplies were gradually becoming available, albeit consumption still outpaced supply, necessitating the use of existing stockpiles. This train of thought led Qin Lan to consider that Chen Xin’s car might not have undergone special protection, and its air filters might not be replaceable. Perhaps she could add this item to their exchange list? This idea gave Qin Lan quite an inspiration. If automotive supplies could be added to the list, so could other items like generator repair parts, which could also be exchanged for vegetables with Chen Xin. Needless to say, even though everyone might get by without vegetables, for the special police, getting fresh vegetables from Chen Xin each month had become the thing they most looked forward to, even if the vegetables only lasted for a few days each month.

Chapter 87 - 86 Population Relocation

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