Chapter 354: Chapter 174: Citywide Panic (Part 2)

Gu Ji had long known that doing so would incite public panic, leading to violence, looting, and crime.

But he had no choice; if he did not inform the public of the truth or used mild language, it would be impossible to convey the severity of the massive flood. Many people might not take it seriously, either leisurely returning home or refusing to cooperate with the government’s military, and in the end, when the flood struck, they would be the ones to suffer.

In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken.

“Marlo!”

“Understood!”

Hearing Gu Ji’s call, Marlo swiftly chambered a round into his AK-203, switched the fire selector to semi-automatic mode, rolled down the window, leaned out, and fired—da-da!

The noise from the AK was significant. The urgent gunfire exploded over the intersection like a switch, shutting down the entire world.

It was as if even time had frozen.

Just a moment ago, the street was loud and chaotic, but now only the pattering of heavy rain remained. The rioters who were looting and ignoring the disaster emergency response rules were surreptitiously moving to the side, attempting to evade Marlo’s line of fire, while more people crouched on the ground, covering their heads, not daring to move a bit.

The military still held control.

Taking the opportunity, Gu Ji pulled out a megaphone, rolled down his window, and shouted:

“Everyone listen, we are disaster emergency response personnel. I hope you will immediately comply with the municipal authorities’ response notice, park your vehicles by the roadside, and restore traffic. You must trust the government and the soldiers; believe that we are capable of handling this disaster. However, if anyone dares to disobey the orders or commits a crime amidst the chaos, we will not let it go and will take strong measures immediately!”

“Officer, where should we go now?”

“Can’t motorcycles pass either?”

“Officer, my son is still at school. I… I have to pick him up! He’s only eight, he can’t be on his own!”

Marlo and Gu Ji’s routine of good cop, bad cop frightened the frantic citizens back to their senses, yet quite a few people were still concerned about this and that, crowding around their military vehicle, chirping away with questions nonstop.

Fatima also came out to explain:

“Please rest assured, whether it’s schools or hospitals, the municipal authorities have arranged management personnel for a unified evacuation. If you go there now, it will only waste time. For your safety and that of your family, please promptly head to the nearest command post and follow the arrangements of the emergency response staff to evacuate!”

It was only after much persuasion from the two, along with Marlo’s ominous gun, that order was restored among the populace.

At this time, municipal traffic police also arrived on the scene. Drivers returned to their vehicles, and under the guidance of the police, began parking on both sides of the road. The traffic lights at the intersection all turned red.

Da-da-da-da…

Above the sky, military helicopters flew overhead, one after another. Gu Ji glanced at the direction—they were heading north, to the slums of Calcutta, the most densely populated area. Something serious must have happened.

Because he noticed a change in the task progress bar at the bottom left corner:

[Current number of deaths: 2/200]

It’s only the beginning, and two people have already died. Gu Ji couldn’t imagine, if he hadn’t destroyed the two dams ahead and forcibly persuaded the senior officials of West Bengal to initiate an emergency response and evacuation, how many people would die in this disaster!

“The cars up ahead have cleared, let’s move on!”

“Got it, Captain!”

Under the direction of the traffic police, the intersection was finally cleared. At Marlo’s command, the driver stepped on the gas, steering left along the riverbank.

The downpour made the Hugli River’s waters exceptionally turbulent, with waves constantly crashing against the stone embankment. At this moment, several firefighters were busy evacuating the Hindu devotees who were praying.

Yes.

Despite the air raid sirens blaring, municipal notices, and public rioting and unrest, some people still refused to leave the riverbank, as if isolated from the world, unaffected by external influences. They sat by the riverbank, eyes closed, mudding themselves in the accumulating water, muttering something to themselves, even if the rain would soon wash everything away.

Gu Ji never believed in such things, but he respected faith.

But the situation was too urgent now, so Gu Ji raised the megaphone to emphasize the seriousness, yet these devout followers remained unmoved. “There’s no choice, Marlo, take your men and forcibly remove these people from the riverbank!”

“Alright! Teams one to five, with me!”

Now that the Eastern Command of India had entered Calcutta, Marlo not only commanded two special border teams of the 57th Mountain Division but also a full division with nearly 1,500 personnel.

“Let me go! Don’t disturb my prayers to Shiva!”

“Let go!”

“You crude soldiers, let go of me! I won’t leave until I’m done praying!”

“Ah—! Damn!”

The soldiers didn’t expect the devotees to have such resolute will. An elderly man in an orange robe even bit a soldier’s wrist on the spot.

Just as the soldier was about to retaliate, Fatima shouted just in time:

“Stop! Elder, for your safety, you must leave here immediately. The flood is about to inundate Calcutta, and the entire place will be covered with Ganges River water. If your heart is sincere, you can continue praying in the safety zone!”

Believe it or not, her words did persuade many devotees.

Gu Ji gave her a thumbs up.

“Well done, Fatima, nicely rephrased!”

“That’s the truth. The Hugli River where they’re praying is a tributary of the Ganges River, so flooding of the Hugli River into the city still means Ganges River water!”

Fatima brushed the wet hair tips from the rain, “Vidi, after resolving the riverbank issue, what should we do next, do we have enough time for the evacuation?”

“I don’t know either. The main concern is the evacuation speed of the northern slums.”

Although Gu Ji had technical personnel stationed near the Farakka Dam, closely monitoring the dam and reporting to him and the command center, predicting the exact time of collapse remains uncertain.

Fifteen minutes later, collaborating with firefighters and army soldiers, they finally cleared the 20-meter vicinity of the riverbank.

Gu Ji then promptly ordered Marlo to lead the army to support the northern shantytowns.

“The main issue now is vehicles; even with closed and controlled traffic, there aren’t enough buses, especially with several hospitals up north with poor medical conditions, many critical patients, and a lack of medical equipment. Forced transfer on such preconditions could result in fatalities while en route, slowing down the evacuation massively!”

“Then find a way to each draft 10 additional buses from the central and southern districts, add three rounds of ships for the northern river routes, and have the military divisions allocate 10 transport vehicles for the north, quickly!!”

In the military off-road vehicle, Gu Ji was busy communicating with the Chief Secretary Lanate.

Now, Calcutta’s streets were fully taken over by the Police Headquarters’ traffic bureau, with private cars, motorcycles, tricycles, and bicycles all parked on both sides, leaving the central road clear. It’s hard to imagine such smooth traffic in India, one of the world’s most congested countries, on this particular day.

Unexpectedly, just after he’d hung up, Fatima urgently handed him her phone, “The technical personnel monitoring the Farakka Dam just called. There’s been a landslide on the eastern hill of the dam— the dam might not hold on for much longer!”

“But we’ve only managed to evacuate half of the main urban population so far…”

Gu Ji gritted his teeth; if they continued at this pace, it would be difficult to complete the action plan before the flood hit.

Rumble…

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