Chapter 94: The People

An abandoned sewage pipe somewhere in the factory.

Several alcohol stoves were lined up, with small pots on top boiling water the color of honey. In the water, dates were cooking until they plumped up and split open.

People were waiting by the pots holding their meal containers—about twenty in total.

The containers varied: some used mouthwash cups, others washed disposable packaging, and even cut-open milk cartons.

These “lunchboxes” all held broken pieces of biscuits or bread chunks.

The sweet soup from the stewed dates was poured over them, soaking the starch chunks and making them somewhat more palatable.

At the very least, it was served hot.

After eating this kind of food for many days, no one rushed to eat when they received theirs.

Some even cried while holding it.

It was a young man.

“How much longer do we have to eat this pig slop?”

“Stop crying, at least there’s still food. If we’re stuck here too long, even this will be gone.”

“Wuwuwu, I regret it. I should’ve studied harder in school. My classmates who are the same age as me may not earn a lot, but at least they’re working regular 9-to-5 jobs back home. Unlike me, suffering in a foreign land just to make money…”

The one who had tried to comfort him sighed and said no more.

Instead, others around them began to cry.

Scenes like this happened every day. Everyone was crammed into this suffocating space, with no clear way forward. Those with weaker mental endurance had long since collapsed emotionally.

The crying grated on the nerves, but even more unbearable was the thought of not even being able to vent.

Amid the muffled sobs, the people in the pipe finished their meal quickly and silently.

When the crying subsided and silence returned, a woman with a low ponytail raised her voice.

“Something this big has happened here—there’s no way the country will ignore it. They’re definitely trying to gather our fellow citizens scattered around and bring them home. We’re stuck here, they can’t find us, and we can’t reach them. Some colleagues have already gone out to gather information. Once we know the evacuation points and routes, we won’t have to hide here anymore. Please, everyone, just hold on a bit longer.”

A man with glasses next to her added loudly, “Yes! Our immigration and embassy records show exactly how many people are still here. They won’t abandon us, and we must not abandon ourselves.”

The young man who had cried earlier mumbled, “People have been going out every day to look for news, but there’s still no result. What if we run out of food before any news comes?”

That question echoed the worries in everyone’s hearts.

“They will come. We will leave this place.” The woman with the low ponytail looked toward a quiet middle-aged man in the farthest corner. “Even if we can’t find a way ourselves, the country will come to save us.”

The man she was looking at was Yang Zhongjiao.

His meal container was an old thermos cup he’d carried with him for years.

He focused all his energy on research, never caring much for food. It was common for him to drink glucose or meal replacements during experiments.

To him, date soup soaked biscuits weren’t so hard to swallow.

After finishing, he set down his thermos and thumped his legs.

The man with glasses walked over.

“Teacher, are you alright?”

Yang Zhongjiao smiled, “I’m fine, just some leg numbness.”

A young man next to him offered, “Teacher, let me massage them for you.”

“No need, Xiao Luo. I just stayed in one position too long. I’ll get up and walk a bit.”

Yang Zhongjiao stood, carrying a black suitcase.

The space inside the pipe was limited. Excluding the designated waste area, there wasn’t much room to move.

He was tall, unable to even straighten his back in the pipe.

So “walking” just meant shuffling around hunched over.

Xiao Luo accompanied him.

“Teacher, let me carry that for you.”

Yang Zhongjiao waved him off.

“I’ll do it myself. You young people are too careless.”

Xiao Luo didn’t insist.

“Okay, Teacher.”

Walk a bit, sit a bit, eat a bit, sleep a bit, then walk again…

Time wore on in the repetitive monotony of refuge.

At midnight, everyone in the sewage pipe was asleep.

But no one slept soundly.

When rustling sounds came from the opening that led to the surface, nearly everyone woke up.

No one moved. No one spoke.

—

Zhao Fei pushed aside boards and weeds, spotting a pitch-black hole. He gasped with surprise, “Consultant Qin, there really is a tunnel here. Your reconnaissance skills beat all of us.”

Qin Qing: “Cut the chatter. Can we get down?”

Zhao Fei shone his flashlight.

“Not deep. We can jump down.”

But he didn’t go first. He leaned into the hole and shouted in Arabic, “Hey, anyone in there?”

No response.

After a pause, he shouted in Mandarin, “Anyone in there? Say something. We’re Chinese evac personnel—any compatriots inside?”

Still no answer.

Zhao Fei leaned in further.

Then out of nowhere, he said, “How much is the wine?”

Finally, a voice came from inside—low, hesitant, but filled with joy and excitement: “Little hammer, forty?”

Zhao Fei yelled back, “Hahaha, that’s right—Pagoda Town suppresses the river demon! Hold tight, we’re coming in!”

He stood and grinned at Luo Yuan’s disapproving glare. “See? These silly codes still work. You rural broadband guys don’t get our youth’s romance.”

He jumped in.

Qin Qing was about to follow but was stopped by Luo Yuan.

“Wait. Let me check first.”

Qin Qing hadn’t received any danger alerts from her system panel. The tunnel was safe.

She didn’t mention it and accepted Luo Yuan’s offer.

Noise rose from the tunnel—it sounded like quite a few people inside.

Zhao Fei and Luo Yuan spent a while below, likely explaining things and assessing the situation.

Then Zhao Fei came back up to help Qin Qing down.

“Consultant Qin, come on down. It’s safe. All our people.”

Qin Qing grabbed the edge, took Zhao Fei’s hand, and jumped down.

She immediately regretted it.

It hadn’t seemed bad up top.

But a few steps inside and the stench hit her hard—it was overpowering.

She’d rather be up there.

But up there wasn’t necessarily safer.

The only light source in the pipe was a low-wattage windproof lamp. No one knew where it came from.

Its dim yellow light wasn’t nearly enough.

But Qin Qing had her own way of seeing in the dark.

Her system panel emitted a faint glow like a screen—not affected by lighting, allowing her to read it clearly.

Likewise, in harsh sunlight, the panel stayed anti-reflective.

Now, in the dark—

The panels above each person’s head glowed like little screens, lighting the space like a sea of tablets in Qin Qing’s view.

Luo Yuan introduced her: “Our teammate—surname Qin.”

He didn’t elaborate.

Immediately, someone rushed over, grabbing both her hands and shaking them excitedly. “Comrade Qin, hello! Thank you for all you’ve done!”

They probably thought she was a special forces soldier like Luo Yuan and the others.

No one would guess she was a fortune-teller.

No one went back to sleep—everyone was excited.

They clamored with questions about evacuation and returning home.

When they heard a plane was waiting in Fuyade, nearby, they couldn’t sit still. Everyone began packing, ready to go.

Luo Yuan talked to the woman with the low ponytail—she seemed to be the leader of the group.

“Fuyade is dozens of kilometers from here. The roads are rough. Moving as a large group is too obvious. Even in ideal conditions, it would take over ten hours on foot. Best case, we need a vehicle.”

Low ponytail: “The factory shuttle took the earlier batches out and didn’t return. The garage probably only has freight trucks left.”

“In times like this, even a truck can carry people.”

Low ponytail: “No idea if they’ve been hit by shelling.”

“I’ll check. Where’s the garage?”

The man with glasses next to the woman with the low ponytail said, “I’ll take you.”

The woman pulled a work ID card from her pants pocket.

“Not sure if the garage access control still works.”

Luo Yuan took the card and gestured for the man with glasses to lead the way.

Qin Qing followed them. “I’m coming too.”

Zhao Fei stood up when he saw her go. “How about I go instead? You take a break.”

Qin Qing gave him a light shove and casually pressed him back into his seat, sitting down between Yang Zhongjiao and his student.

“It’s just checking out a vehicle. Doesn’t need that many people.”

Zhao Fei said, “But I can…”

Qin Qing tapped his shoulder rhythmically and firmly.

Zhao Fei seemed to catch on. He looked at Qin Qing and no longer insisted. “Alright, I’ll wait for you to come back.”

Qin Qing caught up with Luo Yuan, who had already reached the tunnel entrance.

She noticed that ever since coming down here, Luo Yuan hadn’t shown any special attention toward Yang Zhongjiao.

The mission photo had been very clear—there was no way someone with Luo Yuan’s professional instincts wouldn’t recognize who Yang Zhongjiao was.

So he was deliberately deflecting focus.

Coincidentally, she had made a discovery too.

While Luo Yuan was negotiating with the woman with the low ponytail, Qin Qing had instinctively browsed the surrounding people’s basic data and recent activity.

The group stepped over scattered debris and made their way to the parking lot.

There were several trucks in the lot, all damaged to varying degrees. One even had its cab pierced clean through by a steel plate.

Luo Yuan climbed into a relatively intact-looking truck and surprisingly got it started.

But he said, “The engine doesn’t sound right.” He turned to the man with glasses. “Try the others. If none of them work, we can fix this one.”

The man with glasses nodded. “I’ll check over there.”

Luo Yuan jumped down and glanced at Qin Qing before heading to another truck.

Qin Qing followed. They moved in the opposite direction from the man with glasses.

Once they were far enough, Luo Yuan looked at Qin Qing again.

Qin Qing lowered her voice and said only one sentence:

“The Xiao Luo next to Yang Zhongjiao is suspicious.”

That one line was enough.

Luo Yuan replied, “Got it.”

They split paths. Luo Yuan jumped into another truck.

Unfortunately, this one wouldn’t start at all.

The man with glasses tried two other trucks, but had no luck either.

Luo Yuan had a sense of things now.

He instructed the man, “Get me some tools,” and listed what he needed.

He also told Qin Qing, “Go back and let everyone know—we leave in two hours. We’ll try to get to Fuyade before dawn.”

Then he added, “Travel light unless absolutely necessary.”

Necessary meant passport, food, water, medicine.

Not pots, pans, bedding, or luggage.

Qin Qing returned to the sewer tunnel and informed the others of the departure time and route.

The crowd erupted into chaos again.

One person said, “Comrade, since we’re taking a truck, let’s bring our stuff too. If the truck breaks down, at least we can cook and sleep with our things.”

Someone immediately spat, “Can’t you say something good? You want to camp in this dump? I’ve had enough. Fuyade isn’t far—I say we’ll get there safe and sound.”

The first man laughed awkwardly. “Right, right, we’ll get there safe. I was just saying.”

Qin Qing had already checked their System Panel grey-text predictions.

Ever since Luo Yuan picked the truck and decided to repair it, the predicted events for these stranded people over the next few hours had shifted to show progress on the road.

Just like they hoped—they would get to Fuyade safely.

The people kept busily preparing.

To the stranded group, Qin Qing and the others were complete strangers.

Yet they followed these strangers without question. Their biggest worry was whether the truck might break down—none of them seemed to doubt that a few people could lead a whole group to safety.

When the people’s army arrives, so does their backbone—and their hope.

———

The line “How much is the wine?” (酒多少钱) is part of the code.

It comes from a viral short video clip (around 2018) where someone asks a street vendor, “How much is the wine?” The vendor replies awkwardly, and the interaction became a meme because of the odd, funny delivery. People then started using “酒多少钱?” in online banter as a nonsense password, icebreaker, or setup line.

“Little hammer, forty” (小锤四十) → A classic internet catchphrase from a popular livestreamer (旭旭宝宝, Xu Xu Baobao). In his streams, he would chant “小锤四十” while reforging weapons, meaning “forty hammers.” It became a meme shorthand for luck, risk, and hype in gaming/online circles.

“Pagoda Town suppresses the river demon” (宝塔镇河妖) → A line from old operas, folk tales, and wuxia/TV dramas. It’s an exorcism/incantation phrase, often shouted dramatically before subduing a demon. Online, it’s used humorously as a password-like call-and-response or to hype things up.