Plague Doctor

Chapter 432: The Invasion

A gaunt stray dog yapped and scurried frantically down the road. Its matted fur shivered and its tail curled tightly together. The sound of rotors buzzed from the sky. It was accompanied by the broadcast saying in calming tones, “Please stay in order. There is no need to panic.”

Crying, shouting erupted all over Mo Bei City. Evacuation buses were everywhere. Soldiers hurried citizens onto the buses. Armored cars and medical ambulances rushed down the streets. The city-wide evacuation began yesterday morning. It had been a day but the evacuation effort was still not yet complete. The city had over 2,000,000 people and there might be the infected among them. Procedures like inspection, replacement and evacuation took up time. Another problem was where would the people be evacuated to? Before more information could be gleaned about the epidemic, the whole Mo Bei district would be closed down.

Liu Hongqiang was numb as he queued up to get onto the bus. He was just a normal office worker, he had no wife and children. He moved to Mo Bei for his job so he lived alone. He was worried about his parents. Not long after the hordes of insects and birds gathered in the skies of Mo Bei yesterday morning, the city was told to evacuate. The citizens were thrown into chaos. Some of them tried to drive away with their families in cars but the government stopped them. Temporarily, law was still enforced. The evacuation was conducted section by section. At that moment, Liu Hongqiang overheard someone in front of the line ask the soldier on post, “Sir, what is happening, is this another epidemic?”

Ever since the evacuation notice, this was not the first time he heard that question. In fact, he had personally asked that question himself. Despite the heavy monitoring of the internet, rumors flew among the Mo Bei citizens. Some claimed that it was the return of legionella pneumonia and others said it was a second coming of the Black Plague. There was also a speculation of radiation poisoning—since many soldiers wore suit with the yellow and black radiation warning symbol. In any case, none of them believed the official explanation of it being a super large sandstorm.

“It’s not an epidemic.” The soldier answered. “Do not worry, you will all be settled into a safe place.” But suddenly, gasps of fear erupted around him. They all looked into the sky. “What is that?” “Is it a bird?” Ever since yesterday morning, Mo Bei’s sky had been incredibly busy but the new arrival was nothing like the insects or normal birds.

Liu Hongqiang turned to the voice and saw a giant bird with a horse’s head swoop towards them. The combat helicopter countered with heavy fire. The giant bird was shot. It shrilled sharply as its blood and flesh splattered to the ground. However, it did not perish without a fight. At that moment, it picked up speed and the bird rammed into the helicopter which was too slow to evade such an attack.

“Get into the bus!” The soldiers urged nervously. They had been given the latest order by the headquarters. They were to skip the individual inspection and hurry along the evacuation. The citizens exclaimed in horror. That was the result of supernatural energy…

Some children cried but some of the kids jumped excitedly. They saw from tv and learned from school that despite the scariness of supernatural energy, they had Phecda, the Problematic Team and The One to protect them. The well-known heroes would come to save them. Yes, heroes like Doctor Gu, Gu Jun!

Whenever the children played home, everyone wanted to be Doctor Gu, no one wanted to be the plague monster.

“Mommy, there’s no need to be afraid.” A child told his mother confidently, “Doctor Gu will win with the help of the One. They are all superheroes.” But the mother still could not shake off the fear. She hugged her child tightly as she watched the helicopter spin out of control. The rotor creaked noisily as it malfunctioned.

“Warning, we’re preparing for emergency landing!” The broadcast from the helicopter turned anxious, “Look out down there! Clear out a space!”

At the same time, more giant birds came from the horizon. It was like they were infiltrated by a strange army. The city defense responded with more helicopters and fighter jets. However, the clouds of normal birds and insects posed a great problem. They lowered visibility and they could easily enter the engine to cause malfunctions.

Another bird was coming towards where Liu Hongqiang was standing. He was with the other evacuating citizens, there were about several thousands of them. Some of the buses hurried to leave but not every citizen was on the bus yet. Some were too stunned to move. Liu Hongqiang was one of the later ones because he saw the person standing on the bird. It was a girl who wore a green school uniform which he recognized easily. It was the uniform from Mo Bei Gao Ji high school, his alma mater. However, he could not process… what he was seeing.

“The storm is imminent, insects and worms shall ride the wind; The flood is imminent, mayflies shall ride the waves.”

The high school girl on the bird suddenly announced. Despite the din, her clean voice could be heard clearly. Bang! There was an explosion. The crowds screamed. The children cried.

The gaunt stray dog continued to find a hiding place. Due to overwhelming fear, its body shook heavily. He tripped on his own legs several times. Finally, he managed to crawl into a tipped over trash can. He shivered involuntarily as he squeezed as much as he could deep into the trash can…

The many horrible sounds, the gunshots, the explosions, the screams of humans, the shrieks of the strange birds… echoed inside the hollow space.

…

The situation at Mo Bei City was shown on the big screen at Phecda’s headquarters. The atmosphere was negative as people bustled about. They felt lost and confused. Before the actual chaos came, there were already various warning reports. But no one expected shit to hit the fan so fast. The threats that entered into this world included both things that they could see and they could not see.

“Unknown organism spotted at the desert wasteland!”

“The unknown organism is 99 percent similar to the abnormal bird Gu Jun once summoned!”

“There is someone riding on the bird!”

“Facial recognition confirms that it is Lee Yuhan. He is one of the first batch of missing patients!”

“They are flying towards the city!”

“The missile system is down. Whenever the abnormal birds are within 1000 metre range, the signal will be disturbed and the system will shut down!”

“The abnormal birds have entered the city, prepare for battle!”

“Notification of explosion! There are 3… no 4 patients who rushed into the crowd at Mo Bei City and self-exploded. It is confirmed that their heads are carrying parasites.”

“The mutated area… the mutated area at the tree farm has just exploded for the fifth time. Warning, the mutated area at the tree farm has just exploded for the fifth time, the border has greatly expanded!”