franphil Chapter 5 Chemical Plant Disaster, Panic Spreads
Chapter 5 Chemical Plant Disaster, Panic Spreads
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The morning mist enveloped the entire city of Cangnan, the air was damp and oppressive, and the thick clouds on the horizon exuded an indescribable sense of gloom.
The blockade works throughout the city are mostly complete.
All eight main roads leading out of the city were sealed off by thickened concrete walls, steel plate barriers, and high-pressure barbed wire, leaving only a hidden side gate, which was guarded by Zhao Lei's veterans in shifts around the clock.
The high walls stand coldly, the barricades are arranged in an interlocking pattern, and defensive traps are buried underground. Everything is taking shape steadily and silently.
Ordinary people just thought it was a temporary urban construction and renovation project, and no one thought much of it.
Only a few passersby, looking at the ever-rising walls, felt a vague sense of unease.
It was exactly 9:00 AM.
Boom—!
A deep, muffled bang suddenly exploded from the west of the city, echoing throughout half of Cangnan City.
Thick black smoke billowed into the sky, and a pungent, corrosive odor swept across the city with the strong winds, instantly obscuring half the sky.
A major safety accident occurred at Hengyuan Chemical Plant in the west of the city.
The violent explosion destroyed the production workshop, caused a large-scale leak of toxic chemical raw materials, and spread corrosive toxic fumes rapidly. The surrounding streets and trees withered instantly, and passersby experienced skin stinging, difficulty breathing, and screams and cries.
Panic erupted in an instant.
Within just ten minutes, all major social media platforms in the city were in an uproar.
Videos, photos, and SOS messages flooded social media, and chaos spread instantly.
"Explosion in the west of the city! Toxic gas leak!"
"The air is pungent, and my throat is extremely sore. Don't go outside!"
"Many people fainted, and all the ambulances rushed over!"
"Urgent official notice: The entire western part of the city is under lockdown; approaching is prohibited!"
The once peaceful and stable city was suddenly shrouded in the shadow of disaster.
Households kept their doors and windows tightly shut, and supermarkets and pharmacies were instantly packed with people rushing to buy things. Drinking water, masks, disinfectants, and emergency food were snapped up, and prices skyrocketed overnight.
People were filled with fear and anxiety, and everyone felt insecure.
All of this was exactly what Lin Chen had anticipated.
Inside the villa's living room, Lin Chen stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the black smoke billowing across the western part of the city, his expression calm and undisturbed.
Emergency warnings and evacuation notices were pushed to mobile phones, sirens wailed on the streets, and people fled in panic.
"Brother Chen, something's happened."
Zhao Lei pushed open the door and strode in, his expression grave. "The chemical plant exploded and toxic gas leaked. The whole city is in chaos. People are looting supplies and running amok everywhere. The police can't control them at all."
"The time has come."
Lin Chen spoke slowly, his voice cold and steady.
"Taking advantage of the chaos caused by this incident, we will immediately close all exits from the city and complete the final section of the wall."
"The unified public statement is: to prevent the outflow of toxic gases, to control the flow of people, and to cooperate with official emergency prevention and control measures."
"If we lock down the city openly and honestly, no one will doubt it, and no one will dare to stop us."
This was the opportunity he had been waiting for.
In peacetime, unauthorized city lockdowns will inevitably lead to investigations, interviews, and forced demolitions.
But now, with a sudden major disaster, the whole city is in a state of panic. The authorities are too busy with disaster relief to take care of themselves. He has used the pretext of emergency prevention and control to completely lock down Cangnan City. It is legitimate and no one can stop him.
Zhao Lei instantly understood: "Understood! I'll lead my men to completely close the city walls and cut off all external access!"
"In addition," Lin Chen added, "strengthen patrols along all defense lines to prevent the influx of refugees from outside the city and the instigation of rioters within the city to cause chaos."
"From now on, Cangnan City will officially enter a state of closed-loop management."
At a single command, all construction workers outside the city sprang into action.
Heavy machinery was put into operation, and the last few sections of the partition wall were quickly poured and sealed.
The steel plates were welded together, and the wire mesh was reinforced layer by layer. Monitoring equipment, searchlights, and temporary alarms were all installed in place.
In just two hours.
The city walls, stretching for tens of kilometers, were completely closed off.
The entire city of Cangnan was completely isolated from the outside world.
A giant cage, a post-apocalyptic fortress, was thus formed.
The chaos outside, the spread of toxic gas, and the omens of future natural disasters were all kept outside the high walls.
……
The western part of the city was severely affected.
The toxic fumes were thick and pungent, forcing large numbers of residents to evacuate urgently. Roads were blocked, vehicles broke down, and cries and arguments filled the air.
A group of idle and malicious individuals took advantage of the chaos of the disaster to openly rob shops and steal supplies.
It was the same group of thugs that Zhao Lei had driven away three days ago. Now, taking advantage of the disaster, they were becoming even more unscrupulous.
They stared at the ever-rising, completely sealed-off city walls in the distance, their faces filled with resentment.
"The road was completely blocked, now it's difficult to escape if something happens!"
"It must have been those guys who did it; they'll tear it down sooner or later!"
"Once the gas dissipates, we'll bring people over and cause trouble, forcibly tearing down the wall!"
They were still indulging in their past arrogance and shamelessness, completely unaware of the consequences.
This high wall that blocks their way will become the city's only protective shield in the future.
These corrupt and wicked scum, who took advantage of the chaos to commit evil, had already been included in Lin Chen's list of those to be eliminated in the apocalypse.
……
It was afternoon.
The authorities have officially issued the highest level of emergency response, ordering the entire city to stay home and prohibiting cross-regional travel.
The area affected by toxic gas pollution continued to expand, the weather changed abruptly, strong winds howled, temperatures began to drop abnormally, and the cold wind was biting.
No one realized that this was just the appetizer in a series of extreme natural disasters around the world.
A massive earthquake, a super tsunami, a frozen night, a scorching heatwave, a zombie virus, and the mutation of all races are all on the countdown.
At Lin Chen's home.
He meticulously organized each disaster report, abnormal weather data, and regional pollution detection report.
By constantly comparing past life memories, the timelines perfectly overlap.
Chemical plant accident, extreme winds, abnormal temperature fluctuations...
These are all harbingers of a global catastrophe.
"It's getting closer and closer."
Lin Chen murmured, his five fingers clenched tightly.
The three-month countdown has quietly shrunk to eighty-seven days.
Sufficient supplies, city walls, manpower, and combat strength.
The basic layout is complete.
Next, we must begin to eliminate hidden dangers within the city, eradicate lurking villains and violent gangs, and clean up the man-made disasters that threaten the early days of the apocalypse.
If man-made disasters are not eliminated, even the strongest fortifications will eventually collapse from within.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
These are several key personnel we had previously contacted: Dr. Li, the director of surgery at the First Municipal Hospital; Chen Jianjun, a retired criminal police officer; and Lao Wang, a veteran mechanical technician.
The three men looked grave, wearing masks, clearly shaken by the gas attack in the west of the city and the chaos that engulfed the entire city.
"Mr. Lin, we're here." Dr. Li said, his voice tired and uneasy. "The city is getting more and more chaotic. Poison gas is spreading, prices are skyrocketing, and many people are saying that the weather has been getting weirder lately. They have a feeling that something big is about to happen."
They were all people whom Lin Chen had spoken to and warned in advance.
At first, they were skeptical, but after the chemical plant explosion and the chaos that engulfed the city today, they finally became utterly fearful and chose to come and join them.
Lin Chen looked at the three of them with a solemn expression:
"You've come at the perfect time."
"The days ahead will only get more chaotic."
"Natural disasters are imminent, order is collapsing, and chaos is on the horizon."
"I built high walls and sealed off the entire city not on a whim, but to survive."
"From this day forward, you have officially joined the core team of Bastion City."
"Doctors are responsible for the healthcare system, drug control, and disease prevention."
"Old Chen is responsible for maintaining order, identifying potential hazards, and ensuring safety within the city."
"Old Wang is in charge of electricity, machinery, weapons modification, and fortification maintenance."
"The days of peace are numbered. From now on, we must fight side by side."
The three looked at each other and nodded, their expressions resolute.
Having experienced today's chaos and harbingers of disaster, they have long since come to terms with reality.
Following Lin Chen, with his strongholds, supplies, and order, is the only way to survive in this chaotic world.
The core team within the city has been further improved.
The five major systems—medical care, public security, engineering, combat capabilities, and logistics—have all been implemented.
Cangnan City is transforming at a visible speed into an ultimate refuge for the post-apocalyptic world.
But outside the high walls.
The winds grew increasingly violent, the clouds pressed lower, and undercurrents surged on the distant sea surface. Deep within the earth's crust, a massive tremor was slowly building.
The cataclysmic disaster is drawing ever closer.
Lin Chen looked up at the gloomy sky outside the window, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
The reckoning for man-made disasters has begun, and natural disasters are about to strike.
In this life, he holds the reins of everything, with high walls as his shield, resources as his armor, and combat power as his blade.
Despite the collapse of heaven and earth, the rampage of strange beasts, and the hordes of zombies—
He was determined to defend this city, live to the end, and reach the pinnacle of the apocalypse.