Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 185: Movement Of The Troops

Chapter 185: Movement Of The Troops

It also made sense when it came to expanding the Sanctuary. They could always add more rings and gates and not need to worry about trying to find accommodations for the newcomers.

The only issue was trying to get through each gate when you didn’t have the proper identifications.

"Yes, we are going to the guild to get the badges," growled Bai Long Qiang for the second time. They had managed to get through the first obstacle by saying that they were guests of Doctor Bin An Sha, but without the man being present, they were having issues getting through the second.

"Look, we didn’t buy anything from the marketplace, and no, we don’t live in the second circle. If you just want to call the doctor or send up a smoke signal or something, we can move on and get what we need," continued Bia Long Qiang as he stood in front of the guard with his rifle in his hand.

Personally, Ye Yao Zu thought it was prudent of the guard to not let someone inside the second circle with a gun, but that didn’t really help the current situation.

"Then where did you get your gear?" asked the guard, looking the four of them up and down.

"I told you, we are guests of the doctor; he was the one who gave us this stuff," explained Bia Long Qiang. If this didn’t get sorted out fast, the man was liable to start shooting people.

"The doctor doesn’t have guests, nor would he have the types of supplies that you are claiming he has."

The guard wasn’t wrong; they didn’t get the gear from Bin An Sha. Li Dai Lu, right before she left, dropped a whole pile of guns, swords, vests, helmets, food, and a bunch of towels and sheets. She did it like it wasn’t that big of a deal, but the armory at the City D military base didn’t have this much stuff before the end of the world.

There was now a whole wall of ammo lined up, one on top of another, in Wang Tian Mu’s bedroom, along with more clothes than any one person could wear in a lifetime.

Honestly, the amount of supplies that Li Dai LU had in her space was enough to show that she wasn’t as harmless as she appeared to be.

"And I am telling you that not only did he give us these things, he also considers us his guests," answered Bai Long Qiang, gritting his teeth.

Seeing the breaking point, Ye Yao Zu nodded his head toward Si Dong.

"Hey," smiled the man as he slipped between the guard and Bai Long Qiang. "Sorry about my friend. He is just upset that this was all the doctor had."

Si Dong looked deep into the guard’s eyes as he continued. "But we were military in City D before it fell. Do you think you could write each of us a pass to get us through to the third circle? I am sure that you guys have so much more to worry about than us."

The guard grunted his agreement and went inside the guard house. Within a few minutes, he came out with four passes in his hand. "This is a one-way pass to the guild offices," said the guard as he handed them out to each one of the guys. "You will not be able to use them to get back into the core," he continued, looking down his nose at Bai Long Qiang as he ’hesitated’ to give him the final pass.

Bai Long Qiang rolled his eyes and snatched the paper out of his hand. "Thanks," he smirked as the gate opened in front of them.

The men strolled through it, only to have it closed firmly behind them. "Whoever manufactured fences and gates would have made a killing here," chuckled Si Dong as he looked around the middle-class area. It was a straight line from one guard post to the other, and there were at least other guard posts in each circle, covering the north, south, east, and west.

But in between the guard posts was where the houses were, and people were walking around like it was just another day, waving to each other as they passed. It was something that could easily be seen in the suburbs before the end of the world.

"They really are clueless, aren’t they?" mused Si Dong as they approached the next checkpoint. "So happy, not worried about food or supplies." He moved quickly to the side to avoid a few kids who were barreling toward them, not looking where they were going.

With the warm sun shining down on them, it wasn’t hard to imagine that the rest of the world didn’t exist.

"It is referred to as the normalcy bias," replied Ye Yao Zu softly as someone waved to them. He didn’t even know who it was, but he waved back. "It is a cognitive bias where people either don’t believe or minimize threat warnings. They just go about their everyday life, even if the world around them is burning down."

"So they know that there are zombies outside, but they don’t care about it?" asked Si Dong, amazed. The four of them flashed their passes and continued into the third circle.

"That or they underestimate the impact the zombies would have on them. About 80% of the population experience a normalcy bias during a disaster of some kind," added Ye Yao Zu.

This ring was almost night and day compared to the one before it. It was like they were in a futuristic world where the military-controlled everything.

Troops were marching through the streets, their rifles slung over their shoulder as they stepped in perfect beat. The ground underneath their feet almost vibrated with their cadence. People were lined up on either side of the troops, not wanting to get in their way.

"Is there something going on?" asked Cheng Bo Jing as he turned to the man standing beside me.

"I assume that you are new here?" grunted the man, eyeing Cheng Bo Jing up and down.

"We are," agreed Cheng Bo Jing with a smile and a nod.

"We have ten different troops stationed in circle three," started the man. "Each troop has between 50 to 100 guards, depending on abilities, powers, and their occupation before the end of the world. There are three parades a day: 9 am, noon, and 6 pm. Everything grinds to a stop while they go through the entire circle."

"You know what time it is?" asked Si Dong, looking around Cheng Bo Jing to the new guy in surprise.

"Each troop has its own barracks, complete with a sundial. The rest of us just base our day on what they do and when."