Chapter 78: Departure—This Is Migration

Because of the delay, Bian Changxi and her original group had fallen behind the others. But it didn’t really matter; she simply blended into the crowd as usual. After walking two more blocks, they were led by soldiers to a vast open area outside the new district—once rice paddies, now just bare earth. There, a long convoy of vehicles had been waiting for a long time.

The line of vehicles stretched as far as the eye could see, row upon row, their headlights glowing in the darkness. Every so often, a few soldiers would hold up camping lanterns over each small cluster of people. At a glance, the place was packed with people—shouts, roll calls, and urgent commands rose and fell like a grand midnight feast.

Everyone, including the military, was divided into six convoys, each with nearly a hundred thousand people, and each convoy was further subdivided. Every convoy had a medical team assigned, though most were sent to Convoy Five. The same pattern held for Convoy Three, which carried most of the daily necessities and served as the granary, while Convoy Four was loaded with weapons and military supplies, functioning as the armory. There was some overlap in supplies between the two convoys, so that if something happened to one, the other could still provide for the group and prevent any one type of supply from being completely cut off.

Convoy One, leading the way, was the vanguard unit, so the military took up over 25,000 spots, with government security forces occupying nearly 5,000 more. Most of the elite teams and strong fighters were concentrated in Convoy Two. Convoy Six brought up the rear, also heavily armed.

That was the general arrangement, which meant that Convoy Five was relatively weak and less valued...

People were led around for quite a while before finally entering the convoy. Surrounded by vehicles on all sides, everyone struggled to carry bedding and drag luggage, bending over and squinting in the glow of headlights to find their assigned vehicle numbers.

Bian Changxi was assigned to vehicle 5-0523, which was easy to find thanks to the orderly numbering. It was a military truck, but not the kind converted into a mobile clinic—just a standard truck. Up front, there was only the driver and her; in the back, ten to fifteen people would be arranged, give or take. These were all ordinary survivors, with a balanced mix of men, women, children, the elderly, and the weak, and sometimes an ability user would be added depending on the situation. On the road, these people would become a small collective.

Bian Changxi thought to herself that whoever organized this had really thought things through. She remembered that Yue Fushan had originally promised her only one spot in the vehicle, and she’d expected to be crammed in with strangers all the way to Sucheng—eating, sleeping, and traveling together. Now, having her own seat, and in the front no less, was definitely an upgrade—probably a gesture of goodwill from the military.

She fixed her eyes on the painted license plate, preparing to find the driver and confirm her identity. The driver would be with the vehicle the entire journey, and knowing both the vehicle and its driver was equally important. The driver would also have a list of passengers, ready to check at any time to prevent stowaways or missing people.

But before she could reach the cab, someone suddenly sprang up beside the truck. “You—you’re Miss Bian Changxi, right?”

Bian Changxi jumped in surprise. The man had been squatting in a dark spot, and he was dark-skinned himself. With all the noise around, she hadn’t noticed him at all.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Hehehe…” The man grinned, showing a row of white teeth. He scrubbed his hands on his camouflage uniform and stuck one out. “I’m the driver for 5-0523. My name’s Zhang Bubai. If you need anything, just ask me. I can do anything—even if I can’t, just tell me and I’ll learn it as fast as I can.”

So enthusiastic? Bian Changxi eyed him warily.

Zhang Bubai’s smile faltered. “You don’t remember me? I’m the one you saved—the guy who got stabbed.” He gestured as he spoke.

Bian Changxi suddenly understood. “Oh, it’s you! You’re all better now?”

Zhang Bubai rubbed his buzzcut and grinned sheepishly. “All better! I was fine yesterday—can run, jump, and drive. I thought I was a goner, but Miss Bian, you’re amazing!”

Bian Changxi looked at him. Back then, his face had been covered in blood and his hair was much longer—not the close-cropped look he had now. If he hadn’t said anything, she wouldn’t have recognized him.

He said, “The blood was hard to wash out of my hair, so I shaved it. Easier to clean up now. Miss Bian, let me help you with your luggage.”

He kept calling her “Miss,” which made Bian Changxi a bit uncomfortable. “Just call me by my name, okay? By the way, that uniform—are you military?”

Zhang Bubai paused. “Well, I just joined. Didn’t even finish the three months of basic training. I was supposed to be promoted to private last week, but, well, that didn’t happen. So I’m not really a soldier yet.”

Thinking about it made Zhang Bubai feel a bit down.

Bian Changxi didn’t press further.

Zhang Bubai put her luggage in the space in front of the passenger seat. There was plenty of room, so she could still stretch her legs. He tried to help her with her bag, but Bian Changxi shook her head. “I’ll get in myself.”

There were people everywhere outside, and she was blocking the way.

She tried the seat—it was pretty comfortable, and the backrest could recline a bit.

“Miss Bian, you should rest for a while. Not everyone’s here yet, and we can’t move until the vehicles ahead start. At least not until dawn.”

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Bian Changxi asked. “You’ll be driving all day tomorrow. Get some rest—I’ll wake you when people arrive.”

Zhang Bubai quickly shook his head and waved his hands.

Bian Changxi didn’t argue. She put her backpack at her feet, reclined the seat, took off her jacket, pulled a blanket from her suitcase, and covered herself. She was someone who both liked and knew how to conserve her energy.

Seeing her asleep, Zhang Bubai carefully closed the door and squatted by the truck to wait for the others.

He felt relieved and happy, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Being able to look after his savior made him feel at ease. He resolved to thank the person who had given him this opportunity.

When Bian Changxi woke up again, a loud boom of artillery sounded in her ears, followed by a long, drawn-out horn. She opened her eyes to find the sky just beginning to lighten. Zhang Bubai was sitting in the cab, but the truck still hadn’t moved.

“Miss Bian, you really sleep well,” Zhang Bubai said with a smile, both envious and curious. The truck had started and stopped several times, jostling about, but she hadn’t seemed bothered at all. That kind of composure was something most people could only dream of.

“Mm…” Bian Changxi sat up and looked out the window. She couldn’t see much—the glass was frosted over, with tiny beads of condensation inside. She rolled the window down a bit, and a blast of cold wind rushed in. Outside, trucks and lorries were rumbling to life, and the shouts and loudspeakers blended together like ten bustling markets crammed into one. She was a bit confused—where were they? She checked her watch: not even five o’clock.

Then she remembered what Zhang Bubai had said and smiled. “Sleeping is the easiest thing—just practice and you’ll get the hang of it.” In her previous life, she’d suffered for years, constantly on guard against zombies and mutant beasts, rarely able to sleep. Her schedule had been all over the place, and she’d learned to snatch a few minutes of rest whenever she could. She had to make every nap count. Now, as long as she set her mind to it, she could sleep or wake up at will, like a clockwork assassin from a martial arts movie.

She asked, “Where are we?”

Zhang Bubai pulled a face. “We haven’t even left yet. But Convoy One is about to move—listen to that horn.”

Oh? Bian Changxi craned her neck to look. Sure enough, they were still on the edge of the new district, just closer to the highway now. Convoys One and Two were already lined up on the road, forming a long, unbroken line.

At that moment, the vehicles ahead started moving again. Zhang Bubai quickly drove forward to fill the gap, and as they advanced, the view suddenly opened up. Bian Changxi could finally see the head of Convoy One.

Under the pale, bluish-black sky, distant mountains and nearby trees were just silhouettes. To the sound of the slow horn, Convoy One, led by armored vehicles, set off into the distance. Helicopters and fighter jets circled overhead, tanks guarded the flanks, and patrol cars moved from the front to the rear and back again—everything was steady and orderly.

Someone in the rear started cheering, and soon the whole convoy erupted in excited shouts. Convoy Two slowly followed onto the highway, waiting until Convoy One had gone nearly a kilometer ahead before moving up.

Bian Changxi blinked and sighed, “This feels like migration. Hundreds of thousands of people—once we leave, it’s for a lifetime.”

Just as she said, many people outside were crying, gazing longingly in the direction of their hometowns, at the graves of their parents and loved ones. This departure was for life—they would never return.

Each convoy of nearly a hundred thousand people took a long time to get moving from head to tail. From the first light of dawn to sunrise, and then until the ground began to heat up, it was finally their turn.

Zhang Bubai made sure everything was tied down and secure, then stuck his head out to shout to the people in the back, “Hold on tight, we’re moving!”

The truck rumbled to life and climbed from the dirt onto the highway. Convoy Five also had aircraft and tanks for escort, though not many. Their section happened to have none, so three trucks drove side by side on the wide road, with plenty of space to spare.

There were no vehicles on Bian Changxi’s right, so she could see all the way to the horizon, though there wasn’t much to look at—just desolate, abandoned scenery, with no sign of human life.

The sun shone into the cab, making her feel hot, so she took off her jacket, revealing a short-sleeved shirt suitable for outerwear. Her pants and shoes were already daytime attire; she’d endured the cold earlier without wearing thick pants just to avoid the awkwardness of changing clothes in the truck.

Having just woken up, she didn’t feel like sleeping again for now. She chatted with Zhang Bubai for a while and found him to be quite honest and not the type to gossip, so she started practicing her powers in the truck.

She spread a piece of clothing over her lap, placed some long, thin pebbles she’d picked up from the creek on top, and sent out a slender vine to wrap around each stone. Wrapping them wasn’t enough—she had to manipulate the vine to tie knots.

The pebbles were so smooth, and their centers hard to find. To tie them securely, so they wouldn’t slip off when lifted, required a lot of effort, patience, and precise control."