HCB Chapter 1276 The Broken-Winged 'Protagonist'
Chapter 1276 The Broken-Winged 'Protagonist'
Within each square formation, thousands of simple folding chairs were densely packed and neatly arranged. The chairs were all blue, forming neat patches of color on the open space, creating a spectacular sight.
Each formation has a prominent sign indicating its area or unit:
“Chongyi Ceremony Viewing Area”, “Fellow Representatives Area”, “Combat Heroes and Martyrs’ Families Area”, “War Zone Organs and Directly Subordinate Units”, “Friendly Observers Area”, etc.
At this moment, there is still an hour before the celebration officially begins, but the scene is already bustling and orderly.
A large number of staff members dressed in uniform dark blue work clothes, wearing baseball caps and eye-catching work badges on their chests were moving between the seats in various formations.
Some were checking the stability and neatness of the seats, some were distributing bottled water and simple program lists, some were testing the loudspeakers distributed along the way, and others were acting as guides, holding electric megaphones, enthusiastically and clearly guiding the newly arrived, still somewhat bewildered and excited delegates from various places to take their seats according to the area codes on their tickets as quickly as possible.
"Please follow the signs and take your seats as soon as possible! Do not crowd, and remember your section and queue number!"
"The drinking water stations are located at the back of each formation; you can get water whenever you need it!"
"The celebration will begin promptly at 9:00 AM. Please maintain order and keep quiet!"
……
The staff's voices, broadcast through loudspeakers, mingled with the excited whispers of the crowd, the rustling of footsteps on the ground, and the faint sound of a military band tuning their instruments in the distance, creating a unique and expectant prelude to the celebration.
Chen Shitou followed closely behind the group from the Panjiang gathering area, clutching the cardboard ticket printed with "Representative of Non-Directly Subordinate Gathering Area - Fifth Viewing Area - Row 28, Number 17," his eyes scanning the surroundings intently.
The towering reviewing stand, the endless rows of neatly arranged seats, the elite soldiers everywhere, armed yet reassuring, and the atmosphere in the air filled with a mixture of joy, solemnity, and boundless hope...
All of this was far beyond the imagination of him, the leader of this small mountain village.
It may sound ridiculous, but before coming here, he had fantasized countless times that he was the chosen one!
He is 35 years old this year. Before the apocalypse, he was the youngest village party secretary and village director elected by his hometown Qingyanzhai and several surrounding villages.
Having operated in the area for over a decade, he is a true "local bigwig," owning a sizable agritourism business and contracting a hillside to grow fruit trees. He lives a more comfortable life than many white-collar workers in the city.
Aside from necessary dinners and social engagements, his biggest hobby is reading novels on his phone, especially online novels about post-apocalyptic survival and farming/power struggles.
So when the catastrophe that changed everything actually happened, Chen Shitou did not collapse instantly like most people.
After the initial fear subsided, the "ambition" and "preparation" that had been inspired by the novel but suppressed by reality long ago burned up like wildfire.
Using his experience and prestige in managing village affairs, he quickly stabilized some of the villagers who had not yet turned into monsters. He used the inventory of the agritainment business and the output of the orchard as initial capital, and with his maternal uncle, cousins and other blood relatives as the core backbone, he gathered the survivors who had fled, built simple fortifications, cleared out the zombies, and established the first "Qingyan Village Shelter".
He learned from the protagonist in the novel, establishing a contribution system, assigning tasks, organizing hunting and gathering, and even trying to distill alcohol and collect rainwater using primitive methods...
In just a few months, the small village that originally had a few hundred people has expanded like a snowball to nearly five thousand! They have occupied several nearby hills and valleys, and have become a force to be reckoned with.
During that period, Chen Shitou really got carried away.
In the stillness of the night, gazing at the scattered bonfires and simple huts in the village, he felt a surge of pride and joy.
The chosen one? Who else but me?!
He even secretly considered whether, once his foundation was more stable, he should expand eastward to annex the neighboring small settlement mainly composed of lumberjacks, or explore the area to the west that was said to have old mines.
He felt that he was a replica of the protagonist in those post-apocalyptic novels, no, even more powerful, because he had real management experience and connections at the grassroots level!
However, the first turning point, and the first insurmountable obstacle to his ambitions, has arrived!
The Central Plains War Zone was established at the night market, followed by a large-scale "Internal Security Forces Going to the Countryside" operation.
Fully armed, disciplined, and well-equipped internal security forces appeared like celestial warriors in the vast countryside and scattered survivor strongholds.
Their slogans were clear and powerful: "Move in to protect existing settlements," "Establish directly controlled settlements in areas with no organized survivors, and bring them under unified management," and "Provide basic security, initial medical care, and order."
For ordinary survivors living hand to mouth under the threat of zombies and bandits, the temptation is too great.
Safety, order, and a sense of belonging—these are the most scarce things in a post-apocalyptic world, and the war zone promises to provide them.
During that period, Chen Shitou watched helplessly as more than 3,000 of the nearly 5,000 people he had painstakingly gathered disappeared like the receding tide in just one or two months!
Many people didn't even say goodbye; they packed up their meager belongings and followed the propaganda teams of the Internal Security Forces to those newly established "directly subordinate gathering places" that sounded more secure.
The remaining people also lost heart. In the following months, under the continued "siphoning effect" of the large, directly administered settlement of "Panjiang Town" in the vicinity, its population eventually stabilized at the current level of just over four hundred people.
The reason these people stayed was not because they believed that Chen Shitou could lead them to great success, but more out of a simple fear of the unfamiliar environment and the large group, and because they were worried that they would be bullied in a big city where they were unfamiliar with the people and places.
Qingyan Village, once a potential hegemon, was reduced to its original state, becoming a marginal vassal that could barely survive by relying on the trade of specialty products and depended on the military influence of others for its survival.
Even at this point, deep within Chen Shitou's heart, a trace of inexplicable resentment and expectation, repeatedly battered by reality yet not completely extinguished, would still occasionally surface.
He would think and complain about his bad luck, that he had run into the "national team" and ended up like that.
If it were an apocalyptic world without such strong government intervention, I might very well have been able to achieve something great.
Therefore, his feelings toward the Central Plains War Zone were very complicated. He was grateful for the overall security environment and trade opportunities it brought, but he also harbored a hidden resentment and a comparative mentality towards it for "squeezing out" his ambitions.
However, today, from the time he set off at dawn until now, especially after entering the night market, what he saw and heard was like a basin of cold water mixed with ice shards, completely extinguishing the last bit of resentment and vain "comparison" in his heart, freezing it into a hard block of ice called "recognizing reality".