After the sixth rule began, people at various gathering points began to surge out rapidly.
Before the official evacuation efforts had even started, many people were already seeking their own way out.
If the virus was only transmitted through the air, perhaps people would still gather for shelter. But if the virus could also be transmitted through blood, then gathering in one place would be far more dangerous.
Especially since infected individuals would burst and bleed to death within 24 hours. If you were unlucky enough to have soone else's blood splatter on you, causing your own infection, that would truly be an undeserved disaster.
Even if you didn't co into contact with an infected person's blood, would an infected person's explosive bleeding produce more viruses? This was also a concern for everyone.
So people decided to seek shelter separately, and many planned to leave the city.
So people with knowledge of viruses knew that airborne viruses might seem terrifying, but they don't necessarily cause a 100% infection rate.
Because viruses like certain strains of influenza are airborne. Yet not everyone gets infected.
This is also related to the concentration of the virus in the air. So believed that this rule might be similar to the Snow Disaster situation, aning that in places with fewer people, the concentration of the virus in the air would be lower, and the probability of infection would be relatively low.
This notion spread across the internet imdiately. Even though the authorities specifically issued statents explaining that the virus was still under urgent collection and study, and no conclusions had been reached yet, people still firmly believed in the idea that "fewer people ans less virus in the air."
Thus, after experiencing the previous massive wave of people entering the cities, major cities now witnessed an equally astonishing wave of people leaving.
A large number of people, carrying food, drove their own cars or shared vehicles out of the city.
So chose to go to remote areas of the city, holing up in so abandoned civilian house, tightly shutting the door, hoping they would have enough luck to survive these two weeks without getting infected.
Besides those who chose to leave, another portion chose to stay at the gathering points.
Among them, so were resolutely waiting for official rescue.
Others stayed because they harbored imnse fear of surviving alone.
In their view, going to places with fewer people might be correct, but even if it was correct, they dared not stray far from crowds. The sense of security provided by a crowd was, to them, even more important than a higher survival rate.
Another portion had completely adopted a "let it rot" ntality, just staying at the gathering point, eating and drinking as usual, not taking any virus seriously at all.
It would be best if they didn't get infected; if they did, they would just die. Besides, there were others at the gathering point for company. If they really got infected, it wouldn't be just them; there would be companions on the road to the Yellow Springs, so they wouldn't walk alone.
Thus, under different perceptions and different choices, the city's population began a massive divergence.
The number of people choosing to stay at gathering points and those choosing to leave to survive was roughly half and half.
But even if only half chose to leave the city, it was enough to keep car horns blaring incessantly throughout the city.
Faced with millions, even tens of millions of people leaving the city, one could imagine how congested the roads would beco.
"Beep! Beep! Beeeep—"
"Move it, car in front!"
"It's completely blocked!"
On the highway leading out of the city via North Avenue, a man pressed his horn hard and slapped the steering wheel frantically, but it was utterly useless. Because the owner of the car in front of him was also urging the car ahead of them.
The man wanted to get out and see how far the traffic jam stretched, but when his hand touched the door handle, he jerked it back as if electrocuted.
"No, no... can't go out, the air outside has the virus..."
Even though the man clearly knew his car wasn't sealed tight enough to keep outside air from entering, for psychological comfort, he still felt staying inside this enclosed space was safer.
"Beep beep—"
The continuous blaring of horns still sounded from front and back, making the man extrely agitated and irritable.
He took out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled, trying to ease the anxiety and unease in his heart.
Although in this era, almost everyone smoked e-cigarettes with privately customized flavors, he was an unwavering traditionalist, always buying packaged paper cigarettes. He believed there were already enough electronic things in life, and so non-electronic products should be preserved.
"Phew..."
After finishing one, the man lit another.
Afraid of the virus, the man didn't dare open the window, so the smoke swirled and lingered inside the car.
Soon, another cigarette was finished. Just as the man was about to light a third, the sound of a crash and screams suddenly ca from not far ahead.
"What's going on?!"
He quickly sat up straight and looked forward. He saw a car not far ahead seed to have lost control, surging forward and reversing wildly, colliding with vehicles in front and behind several tis.
The one screaming seed to be the owner of the car behind, a middle-aged man wearing a mask who had gotten out of his vehicle. He had apparently gotten out to ask the driver in front what was happening, but after seeing sothing, he actually scread, ran back to his own car, and reversed, causing a chain-reaction collision.
While the man was puzzled, he saw the door of the now-stopped out-of-control car open, and a person staggered out.
With just one glance, the man's face revealed a mix of horror and panic.
The car owner's seven orifices were continuously bleeding, dripping onto his clothes and the ground, but he seed not to have lost consciousness yet, still struggling to open his mouth and shout: "Help... help ..."
An infected person!
"Beep beep!"
"Bang—!"
All the vehicles that had turned off their engines to wait imdiately started up, honked, and tried to get away from that person. But everything around was completely blocked; there was no room to maneuver. They could only stomp the accelerator to the floor, trying to ram the cars beside them.
The scene beca chaotic in an instant. The man holding the third cigarette, through the front car's windshield, personally witnessed the infected person struggle for over ten seconds before his entire body pop exploded with a massive amount of blood, then collapsed to the ground dead.
"Fuck!"
The man imdiately jerked the steering wheel hard, stomped on the accelerator, and like everyone else, ramd into other cars, wanting to get away from that infected person who had exploded and bled to death as quickly as possible.
Who knew if, after an infected person exploded and bled to death, the virus on their body would surge into the air again? Wouldn't the probability of infection for people nearby be higher than elsewhere?!
Those who saw the situation wanted to drive away; those who didn't see it followed others who were running. For a ti, the entire road beca utterly chaotic.
...
Lihua Hotel.
This gathering point where Guan Tong had briefly stayed for a period had, after experiencing the Snow Disaster rule, stabilized its resident population.
Most were the sa old residents from before. New residents who wanted to join had to participate in the daily morning Mutual Aid Sharing Sessions as required by the old residents.
When Guan Tong was here before, these sharing sessions weren't mandatory. But during the Snow Disaster rule, the sessions' original founder, Teacher Feng, died from a high fever illness. After the rule ended, the old residents unanimously set the rule: anyone living here must participate.
Now, one hour after the sixth rule, [Fatal Blood Plague], was announced, all residents of Lihua Hotel were gathered in the lobby, sitting in a circle.
"We don't need to be afraid. As long as our hearts are firm, we will definitely pull through."
"That's right, the rules can't defeat us. As long as we unite, any virus is fake, it cannot invade our bodies."
Soone suggested, "Let's all sing the group song together!"
This suggestion was imdiately t with everyone's response. Holding each other's hands, they began to sing the group song, "Tomorrow Will Be Better."
"The wings of hope are flying."
"The wishes of anticipation are shining."
"Let us shout together, tomorrow will be better~"
The singing of over a hundred people echoed in the hotel lobby, with warm smiles on everyone's faces.
"Knock knock knock!"
Just then, urgent knocking ca from outside the door. Looking through the window, they saw staff wearing Ergency Managent Bureau uniforms and viral protective masks.
After the hotel's glass door was damaged during the Snow Disaster rule, the residents had replaced it with a large wooden door, leaving only a small window for external communication and receiving items.
The person in charge of the gathering point got up and went to the window, asking, "What is it?"
"We're from the Ergency Managent Bureau, delivering viral protective equipnt to each gathering point as ordered," the staff mber asked. "How many people are at this gathering point?"
The person in charge shook his head. "We don't need any protective equipnt. We are all people with pure hearts. Singing the group song can resist the viral disaster."
The staff mber outside the window was stunned, wondering if his ears were malfunctioning.
"What did you say?!"
"I said we don't need it. Give those devices to those with weak hearts; they might need them."
The staff mber angrily said, "Who are you! What right do you have to reject equipnt on behalf of others?"
"I am the person in charge of this gathering point. And I'm not representing others, because everyone thinks the sa as I do."
"That's right, we don't need those things."
"Take them away quickly!"
"Our group song can resist the virus. Look, there are over a hundred of us here, and not a single infected person has appeared."
Others ca to the window and spoke one after another.
The few still sitting on the floor showed faint signs of wavering on their faces. They undoubtedly wanted the protective equipnt, but faced with the firm attitude of the majority at this mont, they were montarily swept along, not daring to show their true thoughts.
Seeing this, the staff mber outside the window didn't know what to say for a mont. Then another staff mber stepped forward and asked, "Are you sure you don't want the protective equipnt? This equipnt is limited in quantity. Once it's distributed, if you want it later, you'll have to wait for newly manufactured ones."
The person in charge of the gathering point nodded. "Yes, we are sure we don't need it."
"Then let's go," that staff mber said to his companion. "We're responsible for delivering equipnt to twenty gathering points. We can't waste ti here with them!"
"You... you'll regret this!" The previous staff mber said with both incomprehension and heartache, then left with his companion, returning to the transport vehicle to head to the next gathering point.
After the vehicle drove away, the person in charge turned around and smiled at everyone. "I saw the firmness of everyone's faith. Very good. As long as we continue to hold a devout heart, we will definitely..."
As the person in charge spoke, he felt his cheek was a bit wet, as if so water had dripped onto it. Puzzled, he looked up. The ceiling above was dry, no water.
Looking down and forward again, he saw everyone looking at him with terrified expressions.
He subconsciously raised his hand to touch his cheek. The wet liquid on his cheek was red. Was it blood? Where was it flowing from? His eyes?
The person in charge ca back to his senses. Looking at the people moving away from him, he lifted his foot and walked toward the stairs. As he walked, he spoke with a smile.
"Don't be afraid. It's because I had a montary wavering of faith just now, allowing the virus to take advantage of the weakness. But I will fight it to the end in my own room. Twenty-four hours later, I will walk out of the room with a healthy body. Then, please everyone witness the miracle."
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