"Boom!" A new explosion rang out from afar. Two won with nowhere to go stood helplessly at the street corner, feeling a sense of despair. The air raid siren kept echoing, and from unseen places ca a series of anti-aircraft gunshots retaliating.
"Do you know where the nearest bomb shelter is?" Curley looked at her neighbor, called Flan. The young Flan tried to identify it and then uncertainly pointed in a direction.
Curley had no ti to worry about much else. She grabbed Flan and headed in that direction. It was only after turning a street corner that she saw the pillar of black smoke rising in the distance.
The smoke pillar was indeed far away from them, but because it was so thick and high, it was still clearly visible even past several buildings.
"Boom!" Another explosion followed. Curley and Flan could distinctly feel the ground beneath them tremble even before the sound of the explosion reached them.
The nearby manhole cover even jumped and made a clang. Further away, a plu of black smoke rose, swirling into the sky as if a gigantic beast was stretching its body.
Curley withdrew her gaze, knowing it was not the ti to watch the unfolding chaos. She held onto Flan’s arm, running towards the direction Flan had just pointed out.
Behind her, between the gaps of buildings, one could see a line of tracer bullets ascending into the sky, disappearing into the distance.
In reality, the ground anti-aircraft guns couldn’t find any targets. They were just firing randomly to prove they were desperately fighting back.
As for what they were retaliating against, no one really cared anymore. Those who knew the truth no longer cared about the anti-aircraft defense network.
Hotwind Port didn’t have a subway. When the Great Tang Group left and handed over the port to the Elves, the technology for subways didn’t even exist yet.
Still, the Tang People had built many underground facilities here, giving the city so semblance of a modern urban form.
Later, due to the ongoing war with the Dwarves, the Elves expanded upon these underground facilities, forming a relatively complete bomb shelter system.
But in reality, most people had no experience using these shelters: who would go there for no reason? A year ago, the Dwarves’ bombings were mostly like child’s play, with barely any bombers making it over Hotwind Port.
Back then, the Elves had an absolute technological advantage. The Dwarves’ Saab bombers were no match for the Elf 262 jet fighters.
But now, the guided weapons used by the Tang Army could attack from outside the air defense network. The airport at Hotwind Port had been incapacitated during yesterday’s air raid by the Tang Army.
Otherwise, why didn’t yesterday’s air raid cause much panic among Elf civilians in the city? Because most bombs targeted the airport and radar stations and port warehouses.
Bombs attacking suburban airports and radar facilities weren’t seen by many civilians. Most people just knew their port warehouse district had been bombed.
As Curley ran, she felt as though her heart would leap out of her throat. She hadn’t run like this in such a long ti.
Even though Hotwind Port’s developnt had stalled for several years, they still had public transportation like buses. But now, Curley and Flan dared not take such things.
The sound of explosions continued in the distance, but it seed to be moving farther away. Curley finally stopped running, as she simply couldn’t run any longer.
Reaching the bomb shelter wasn’t supposed to be like this: typically, you’d hear the air raid siren, gather your valuables, walk to the entrance, and hide in the underground shelter until the raid passed.
But the explosions had already started; the enemy had advanced before the air raid siren even sounded. How was anyone supposed to run in such chaos? It was impossible to make it in ti.
Simply too exhausted, Curley stopped running. Holding the equally breathless Flan, they continued walking toward the bomb shelter to the best of their mory.
As they walked, they saw the telegraph office. Their ho wasn’t too far from it. The bomb shelter in Flan’s mory was actually near the post office, perhaps specially set for it.
But the mont they saw the telegraph building, they were dumbfounded. Or rather, before they could even approach the courtyard of the telegraph office, so soldiers stopped them. Behind the soldiers were fire trucks and so people busily working.
The telegraph office building had already collapsed. What used to be a magnificent facade no longer held its forr grandeur. Charred ruins and an indistinguishable half-roof made the site appear desolate and terrifying.
"Passage forbidden here!" An Elf soldier carrying a rifle spoke politely. It wasn’t because the military had acted swiftly and was the first to arrive, but rather they were dispatched here yesterday to maintain order.
Who would have thought that after setting up checkpoints and guarding for only a few hours, they would be hit by a precise missile strike?
Thankfully, the missile was so accurate that it only destroyed the building, taking out the radio equipnt inside and killing about a hundred workers in the telegraph office.
The soldiers stationed outside barely suffered any injuries. They got up from the ground with only so ringing in their ears and dizziness.
"Wasn’t there a bomb shelter here... We’re looking for a bomb shelter," Aunt Curley said nervously. The surrounding air was filled with a sll that made her uncomfortable. She couldn’t quite describe it but found it particularly offensive.
The soldier was used to the charred sll of burning, mixed with hints of bodies. He waved his hand and pointed at the smoking building, saying: "Sorry, as you can see, there’s no way to get in here... Try finding other bomb shelters nearby."
"Explosions are happening everywhere; where is it safe?" Curley asked, distressed. She was rely a woman, even though both her children were in the military. She was still just a woman who had never experienced war.
"I don’t know either... Maybe going ho... is also a good option," the soldier replied sowhat impatiently, as he noticed other civilians approaching. He then loudly ordered them: "Hey! You there! Move away! It’s dangerous here!"
In the distance, an unexplained explosion occurred again. The ground trembled, followed closely by the sound of another blast. Columns of smoke rose one after another from between buildings, now beyond Hotwind Port’s skyscrapers to obscure.
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