Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 63 Please put the bullet in my head
Time waits for no one, and everyone is racing against the clock. After the meetings at the various hub bases ended, the senior management of the subordinate shelters returned to their posts that same day.

Meetings at all levels were shortened as much as possible, and various slogans were painted on the walls of the various shelters, the most common of which was—abandon illusions and prepare for battle.

Haizhou, Shelter No. 32.

Haizhou has no subway. For similar cities, in addition to the emergency renovation of a large number of air-raid shelters and underground parking lots, ASEAN mobilized manpower and resources to increase the construction of its shelters.

Many shelters are closer to the city center than other areas, which involves rather complex issues of population movement and planning, but fortunately, the construction was finally completed before the apocalypse.

Han Zhong, who returned to China from another region, works here. After years of working in foreign lands, he quickly transitioned from reserve to active duty due to his outstanding personal abilities and was selected to join the shelter's garrison.

Most of those entering the shelter during this period are students who came in as a group from school, and they are not very old—the older ones have already been transferred to the reserve or militia groups.

At that moment, Han Zhong was distributing a box of handcuffs to the students and giving them advance training on how to use them.

Even with teachers leading the way in each class, it still brought some difficulties to the work in the shelter. Han Zhong's side was relatively okay, as the area he was responsible for consisted of fourteen-year-old kids. These days, fourteen-year-olds are all very clever and quick to develop physically, some even taller than Han Zhong.

As for his class monitor, Han Zhong felt a headache just thinking about those children who were not even ten years old.

Even though they are taller than Han Zhong, children are still children. Their cognitive abilities and resilience are still lacking. In this extremely tense situation, the fear on the faces of these young people is obvious.

Han Zhong himself is not yet thirty, and is still considered a young man, but in front of these children who look terrified, he has already realized the importance of being an 'adult'.

He tried to keep his tone gentle as he explained how to use the device in front of a group of students: "Adjust the size, then cuff it to your feet. When you get there, you'll be able to put it over the railing on your bed and cuff both your feet!"

A group of students stood around, some curious, but mostly nervous.

There was a little girl who seemed to be a good student, but now her fingers were trembling and she couldn't learn anything.

Han Zhong couldn't bear it, so he patted her head. The little girl looked at Han Zhong and asked, her voice trembling, "We'll all turn into zombies, won't we?"

"…Who told you that?"

"Everyone's spreading it."

Han Zhong understood that these rumors had already spread widely. Although all internet signals had been cut off by today, they had still caused considerable panic through word of mouth alone.

Prior to today, such remarks were prohibited and had to be controlled whenever they appeared. However, after today's meeting, the higher authorities ordered a tacit approval of the information, which speaks volumes.

He paused for a moment, then reassured them, "Don't worry, everything will be alright. Many people will survive."

"I look forward to the day when the handcuffs are removed and we are reunited."

Taking the handcuffs from the girl, Han Zhong carefully demonstrated them to her again. The size of these handcuffs was adjustable, and they could be used to cuff the hands, feet, or even the neck. However, the girl's ankles were slender, so she didn't really need them.

After explaining it again, looking at the clear, black and white eyes in front of him, Han Zhong felt a little breathless. At this moment, the teachers of each class also finished their meetings and returned to the students to maintain order, so Han Zhong hurriedly left.

When he returned to his post, he saw his squad leader disassembling his rifle. Han Zhong sighed and sat down next to him.

Why are you sighing like that? Are you under a lot of pressure?

Han Zhong nodded silently.

"It's normal, don't overthink it, just treat it like you're about to go to the battlefield." "..."

You must still be quite nervous, right?

With a sigh, Han Zhong looked at the somewhat empty corridor.

The civilians entering the shelter each had their own room, while the soldiers waited in the corridor outside the rooms. Every few meters, there was a fixed ring on the ground where they would lock themselves.

Han Zhong thought of the people waiting outside his home at the shelter and had some doubts. He asked, "I feel like this shelter can hold a lot of people. Why don't we put up a railing along the wall and handcuff everyone here?"

The old squad leader wiped his gun, tilted his head and thought for a while, then said to Han Zhong, "I don't know what the higher-ups are thinking, I'm not entirely sure, but I have some guesses."

He lowered his voice: "Look, now everyone's saying there might be zombies coming, or they might just randomly appear. That's why we're distributing handcuffs and leg irons to prevent that."

"They also have to cuff both feet. Why do you think that is? The strength to spread two legs isn't that great. I guess if they only cuff the hands, the superiors are afraid they'll tear them off."

Han Zhong nodded; this speculation had already spread.

"How do you feel about teaching those kids all day? Do they all listen to you?"

Han Zhong hesitated and said, "Most of the children listen, but some seem to... not take it to heart."

"Yes, they just don't take it seriously enough. In fact, there are some who simply can't learn it at all—it's strange, isn't it? They just can't learn something so simple."

“These students are the most capable learners and the most obedient group. If they are like this, imagine what would happen if the outside population came in and filled the shelter. You can imagine how difficult it would be to manage them.”

“Someone will definitely try every possible way to take it down. I don’t even need to think about it. Haven’t I seen this kind of thing enough before?” The old sergeant shook his head. He vaguely remembered that when he joined the army, it was eleven years ago, just in time for the city to be under lockdown. He had seen all kinds of people by then.

"What if it really is a zombie? Let's say it's me. I'm so close to you right now, and you obediently handcuff yourself. If I turn into a zombie and pounce on you, can you stop me? At that moment, the slightest restraint will be fatal."

Han Zhong nodded repeatedly, saying that the gun was accurate and fast within seven steps, but in that situation, it was not so easy. He had just entered this melting pot, and he guessed that in the midst of the tension, it would be an extraordinary performance if he could even remember to turn off the safety.

The two men were very worried when the topic of zombies came up. Their superiors clearly knew a lot of inside information, much more than they were guessing here. But judging from all the signs, the entire ASEAN region was still on high alert.

That was clearly not an opponent to be underestimated. Han Zhong pondered for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up: "Hey, squad leader, what do you think about this zombie? We should get some more rope knots like cable ties and lock them around everyone's necks beforehand. If the zombie struggles, it might just strangle itself!"

Without a second thought, the old squad leader said, "Too much of a good thing is bad. Those who are willing to wear handcuffs can have their problems solved by handcuffs, and those who are not willing to wear handcuffs will not wear collars either."

"And what do you mean by sending out two billion collars now? Are you suggesting everyone hang themselves before the cataclysm? The current social pressure is too great; this kind of thing can't be done. Do you believe that if you sent out the collars today, thousands or tens of thousands of people would hang themselves without even waiting for the cataclysm?"

I'm afraid there's more than that.

Han Zhong was speechless. Even if no ropes were actually distributed, he had already heard about and witnessed several suicides in the past two days, one of which even occurred in the shelter.

At this point, the old sergeant finally wiped his gun clean, quickly assembled it, and pulled the bolt with a click.

"Alright, just complete the mission as ordered. Use this time to familiarize yourself with your gun. When that moment really comes... I hope you can put the bullet into my head without hesitation."

　Thinking about the plot is giving me a headache, haha. I'm taking ibuprofen while typing.

　　With everyone's support, I can't let you down!
　　I know what you guys want to see, but the schedule is definitely tomorrow, tomorrow! No more delays, thanks for your support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)