Chapter 144: Doppelganger Attack |
Bai Mu opened the door and stepped into the entryway.
A conical beam of light shone from the direction of the living room. It was Leon holding a flashlight, with Sam and Katie huddled behind him. "Did the power go out in the house too?" Bai Mu asked.
"It just went out," Leon replied, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "What happened outside? Mister, we heard a really loud noise."
"Something blew up," Bai Mu said, closing the security door. "It might be the military fighting the Doppelgangers. Let's head inside first and listen to the radio."
Bai Mu's calm demeanor gave the children a sense of security. They followed behind him and gathered around the radio. Static-laced voices crackled through the speaker: "This is dispatch, calling the Quarantine Zone. We are conducting a status check, code 51. Please provide a detailed report on the explosion that occurred at 9:34."
"Unit 32-8 reporting, code 60. Heavy civilian casualties, personnel have been affected."
"Unit 28-1 reporting, code 451. Requesting the deployment of an Incineration Squad to handle the corpses."
"Copy that, initiating code 984. Locking down the entire city pending investigation. Please hold your positions and await backup."
"Locking down the city?" Bai Mu caught the crucial piece of information.
The military was launching a counterattack. Through the radio's military channel, Bai Mu heard a flood of dispatch orders; all the soldiers stationed across the city were being mobilized.
The roar of engines erupted outside Bai Mu's house.
Glancing out the window, he saw military vehicles with their headlights blazing rushing toward the explosion site. The soldiers from the Gas Station were heading out as reinforcements. Furthermore, the piercing shriek of fighter jets tearing through the sky echoed overhead.
The human military system had been fully activated. Bai Mu did not know exactly what was happening on the front lines, but it was undoubtedly brutal. Perhaps the Doppelgangers had launched a coordinated assault, infiltrating the military and seizing human weapons.
Gunfire and explosions rang out in the distance once again, indicating a fierce firefight in that area.
Leon tightly gripped his pocket knife, while Sam and Katie remained dead silent, their little faces pale with fear.
Bai Mu switched off the radio. There was no point in listening to the chaotic chatter any longer.
"Gather everything up. We need to leave," Bai Mu declared.
Right now, two choices lay before him.
The first option was to stay in the house and pray that the flames of war would not reach them.
The second option was to take action and escape this dangerous place before the military completely locked down the city.
He had never liked being passive. Placing his hopes in others at a time like this was no different from lying down and waiting for death.
The outside world had completely devolved into a warzone. Heaven knew whether the Doppelgangers or the military would win, and even if the military emerged victorious, it would not be good news. The entire city was going to be locked down. Clearly, the military had no intention of letting a single Doppelganger escape; they were going to conduct a purge.
But for those highly-strung soldiers, would they really have the patience to discern whether the person in front of them was a Doppelganger or a real human? Order would completely collapse. The Doppelgangers had planted the seeds of suspicion in everyone's minds. The soldiers holding the guns possessed absolute authority. As long as they suspected you were a Doppelganger, they would pull the trigger.
And the moment you resisted, it would only serve as further proof that you were a Doppelganger.
The moment Bai Mu understood the situation, he made his decision.
Tonight was the best time to leave the city. If they missed this window, the environment would drastically change, regardless of whether the Doppelgangers or the military won. Bai Mu directed the children to help move their supplies. Over the past three days, they had not been idle during daylight hours. By the second day after finding the map, Bai Mu had already started organizing their belongings.
During the day, they had transferred water from the cistern into separate plastic buckets. Every night, apart from visiting the Gas Station, Bai Mu would also briefly scout the surrounding area to chart the map. These buckets were containers he had scavenged from a junkyard.
A total of four water buckets were moved to the door, while the rest of their miscellaneous items and food were packed up.
Bai Mu's inventory was already stuffed to the brim with items and gasoline. To prevent high temperatures from causing the fuel to spontaneously combust and explode, he stored all the gasoline inside his personal inventory.
There actually was not much they needed to take with them. The essentials were mainly water, food, and gasoline.
However, they still lacked a vehicle. From his house to the green zone outside the city was a distance of over thirty kilometers. This was not a journey they could complete on foot while carrying heavy loads, especially since he had to bring three children along.
After taking a few minutes to gather everything they needed, Bai Mu stepped up to the door. "I will be right back."
"Mister, is there anything we can do?" Leon asked, looking up at him.
"Keep the door locked and wait for me to return. That is all you need to do."
With that said, Bai Mu closed the door and rushed toward the Gas Station once again.
Before leaving, he summoned Witch, leaving her behind to protect the three little ones in the house.
He quickly arrived at the Gas Station. The soldiers had been fully mobilized, with military vehicles driving out one after another.
Additionally, several vehicles carrying wounded soldiers were returning from the warzone.
A few military transports parked near the Gas Station, loaded with injured troops. They bore bullet holes and burn marks. The wounded groaned in agony as they were carried onto ground lined with white sheets. The Gas Station's power grid was no longer functioning, but someone had brought out a diesel generator. Amidst its deafening rumble, a pale yellow light illuminated the faces twisted in pain.
The stench of sweat, fresh blood, mutilated flesh, and excrement mixed into a foul, nauseating odor. Medics sprayed disinfectant everywhere, frantically applying bandages to stem the bleeding of the wounded.
The medics did their utmost to treat the injured, but suddenly, a gunshot rang out from the crowd.
A wounded soldier who had been groaning in pain just a second ago abruptly pulled out a handgun and shot a medic right through the temple.
Warm blood streamed from the medic's head. His eyes remained wide open as he collapsed onto the hard concrete, his expression forever frozen in a look of anxious urgency.
"It's a Doppelganger! This guy is a Doppelganger!"
Someone shouted. In a panic, the surrounding soldiers opened fire on the imposter.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
It instantly dissolved into a chaotic firefight. There was more than one Doppelganger among the wounded. After the first shot, it was as if they had received a secret signal; the Doppelgangers all sprang into action at once, seizing the initiative.
The soldiers stationed at the Gas Station fell rapidly, while the Doppelgangers remained utterly unfazed even after taking bullets.
Wounds that would be fatal to a human had absolutely no effect on the Doppelgangers. These monsters had already learned how to use human weapons and employ ambush tactics.
When Bai Mu reached the scene, the gunfight was already in its brief, dying moments.
Without a doubt, the Doppelgangers emerged victorious. In just a dozen seconds, not a single soldier was left standing at the Gas Station.
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