death of hope

Chapter 77 "Flying Windfall" (77) Farewell

The car passed the road along the canal at the junction of the north and south of the city,

A rusty garbage truck was overturned on the side of the road, the doors were wide open, the driver had gone somewhere, and the plastic garbage in the cargo compartment was scattered all over the place, completely blocking the road.

"Come on, let's move out together."

Roy and Ferguson got out of the car, rolled up their sleeves, and threw the rubbish blocking the road to the side of the road. Fortunately, most of them were plastic products, which were very light, and quickly cleared a road enough to drive past.

Before getting on the car, I heard the sound of the horn from the other side, so I looked over from a distance,

There are several barbed wire fences across the bridge, and behind it are heavily guarded by the police station and the National Guard, all armed to the teeth and equipped with deadly weapons.

The high-power speakers shouted over and over again:

"Warning! The northern part of the city has been under the military control of the Terra Federation ZF. Anyone who trespasses the checkpoint will be killed!"

This warning is obviously not a joke,

Along the river bank, a large number of light tanks, multi-purpose armored personnel carriers, and small battle armor formed an impenetrable steel defense line, dividing York City into two parts.

The wealthy residential area in the north of the city accounts for only 5% of the city's population, but owns 37% of the land, has its own water supply and sewer network, and is hundreds of times cleaner than the southern urban area.

Beautiful and tall sycamore trees are planted along the flat asphalt road, and the retro castle-style mansions compete with the trendy villas.
Hard-working gardeners work in the baroque gardens, and workers with lawnmowers mow the lawns on the golf course.

As the New Year approaches, successful people gather in luxuriously decorated clubs and hold carnival salon banquets.

The graceful lady enjoys the elegant harpsichord music,
Children wore napkins, held silver knives and forks, and enjoyed the top filet steak. Gentlemen stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows drinking fine wine and teasing the recent stock market.

There's a tacit agreement here that no one mentions what's happening on the other side of the line, and no one tunes the TV to the news station as if nothing happened.

At the same time, half of York City is burning, no one maintains order, only endless violence and death.

The low-rent housing with more than 200 floors constitutes cages made of reinforced concrete. The poor are shivering in the cages, listening to the gunshots on the street, wondering if they will see the sun tomorrow.

The thick smoke from the burning poured into the gap, forcing all the gutter rats and cockroaches out.

The dark and damp alley became bright and dry, and the air was filled with the smell of blood and burning.

There are no police officers to maintain order, vandalism and looting are everywhere, and hordes of thugs are carrying machetes looking for their next target.

Someone is trying to maintain order in this chaos,

The superheroes who stood up for justice in the storm fought alone, and then fell one by one, their bodies hung from street lamps as trophies.

Just in time for the mayor's election, the major polling places have naturally become the hardest-hit areas and the arena for the two major companies to compete.

Corporate-sponsored gang members are gathering to fight near polling places,

The campaign workers in blue uniforms have already fled, the huge portraits of the candidates have been sprayed with graffiti, and the authority of the general election in the hearts of the people has disappeared.

The tents at the polling sites were shot full of bullet holes, the ballot boxes were kicked over, the seals were torn, and the envelopes containing the ballots were scattered all over the place.

Unfortunately, there are two polling places in the block where Old Jon lives, and it is no surprise that it has become the hardest hit area.

When they drove by, the windows of the small supermarket they frequented were smashed and flames burst out of the store.

The corpses of the owner and the proprietress lay at the door, and the wallets and jewelry had been stripped away by the thugs.

The veteran's heart was bleeding, and he couldn't help but clenched the handle of his gun:
"My neighborhood... these bastards have turned it into a living hell."

Anna woke up a little bit, but still didn't say a word, clutching her family's necklace with a blank expression.

Roy said, "Someone gestured for a ride, and it was a girl."

"Don't stop."

The veteran quickly saw through the deception: "That girl is not a resident of this block at all, she is a trap, the purpose is to lure us out of the car, and her accomplices will rush to her at that time."

"X's! A group of bastards are staring at us maliciously."

"Roy, drive slowly, but don't stop, if someone does not dodge, just kick the accelerator and hit Y to death!"

"Bastard! Don't talk nonsense!" The veteran patted the back of Ferguson's head lightly: "If the old neighbor blocks the car, he must stop and help."

"Really, you always like to meddle in your own business."

"Okay, stop arguing, you two, I know how to tell the difference."

The sights on the streets are increasingly disturbing; burning cars, lying corpses, homeless men dancing wildly on top of garbage cans.

The wheels ran over the speed bump and bumped up:
"Hey, tell me, can the apes beat that monster?"

"I think that's enough. That ghost thing is too strong. Not only did it not die after being blown up by the explosives, but it also split into two independent individuals, and it can continue to evolve."

"That's not necessarily true." Old Jon said, "Do you remember that Miss Susan said that apes have spiritual talents?"

"Psychic energy? Haha, it's so fantasy, don't you always watch too many TV dramas?"

"Young man, don't be smart. There are already psykers in the Federation Legion who are responsible for navigating the fleet. There are many things you don't know."

The car passed by Wooden Barrel Street, a group of gangsters wearing helmets and riding heavy locomotives laughed wildly and threw homemade incendiary bombs at a residential building.

The glass was smashed, the curtains were ignited, and the howling of the elderly and the crying of children could be heard in the building.

"parking."

"Old man...we're not superheroes, it's better to keep our hands off our own business..."

"I told you to stop! Roy, do you listen to him or me!"

Before the car stopped, Old Jon had already pulled the trigger on the bosozoku.
Squad used a light machine gun to pour out a dense rain of bullets, and the lunatics who were shouting and laughing one second became howling ghosts and wolves the next.

The Molotov cocktail in the hand of one of them was shattered, and the liquid splashed down, turning him into a fireball, and ran away screaming.

Ferguson fired while cursing: "Haha, stupid! Let you set it on fire! You deserve it!"

The two riders took out their pistols to fight back, and the high-explosive grenade thrown by Roy blasted them and their motorcycle into the sky.

A bosozoku who was shot in the lower abdomen begged:

"Forgive me, sir, don't dare next time!"

"Let you not learn well! There will be no next time!"

The veteran handed down the harshest judgment, a bullet hit the bosozoku in the forehead, killing him in an instant.

"Why are you so cruel, old man, he begged for mercy."

"These guys set fires everywhere. It would be understandable if it was for money, but this residential area is full of poor people. They are just killing people for fun! Why are such beasts left behind!"

"Okay, you're done venting your anger, let's get in the car."

"I'll go upstairs and have a look, don't follow me."

The veteran entered the burning apartment building at No. [-] Barrel Street with a cigarette in his mouth and a light machine gun.

Ferguson whispered to Roy: "The old man is worried about his old lover."

After a few minutes, the old soldier came downstairs:
"She died, so did her husband, and the whole building was looted."

At this time, most of Anna's sanity recovered. She got out of the car and looked at the veterans together with Roy and Ferguson. They all looked hesitant to speak, not knowing what to say.

Anna lowered her head, thinking: (I'm really useless... I can't help you with anything.)
The veteran was as strong as ever and didn't shed a single tear:

"I failed her 36 years ago by breaking off my engagement to serve in the army, and now I failed her again by failing to protect this neighborhood."

He looked towards the burning apartment building: "I'm sorry, Seid Luoxi, I hope we will meet again in the next life."

"Old man, let's go together and leave this sad place."

"No," the veteran said firmly, "I was born here, and I will be buried here. There are still many old neighbors who need help."

"Then, I will stay with you too." Ferguson said, "There is no feast that lasts forever. It's time to say goodbye, brother."

Knowing that he couldn't persuade him, Roy stepped forward and hugged the two,

Anna flung herself into the arms of the veteran, crying and refusing to let go. The veteran patted her back gently:
"Come on, good boy, for you, there is nothing to miss here."

(End of this chapter)