By the time dawn broke, the three of them had reached the nearest county town.
Despite the early hour, a dense crowd had already packed the area outside the Escape Plan registration site.
"Quiet!"
"Everyone, quiet!"
"One at a time! Everyone will get to register!"
Hundreds of soldiers in uniform held firearms and shouted to maintain order.
At the sight of the sea of people before her, Zhang Man instinctively took a step back.
Having grown up in the countryside, she had never seen such chaos.
Faced with the surging crowd, Zhang Bojun and Su Nan hurriedly reached out to shield Zhang Man between them, afraid something might happen to her.
"Hey! Stop pushing!" Su Nan shouted after someone beside her shoved her. "Didn't they say everyone would get to register?"
Su Nan's voice was quickly swallowed by the chaotic crowd.
The next second, the crowd surged again.
Su Nan and Zhang Bojun were no match for the force of so many people.
As the couple was forced apart and their daughter was about to be swallowed by the crowd, Su Nan's eyes went wide with terror. She screamed desperately, "Watch out! Watch out for the child!"
Bang!
A deafening gunshot rang out.
The crowd abruptly froze, and piercing screams erupted from all directions.
Bang! Bang!! Bang!!!
Three more shots rang out in succession.
Like a rooster with its throat seized, the screaming stopped instantly.
"Quiet!" a deep, powerful voice boomed.
The chaotic crowd stopped moving altogether.
Everyone turned toward the voice.
A tall, burly man put away his firearm and strode over to Su Nan. "Where's the child?" he asked gravely.
"M-Mommy!" Zhang Man's voice came from somewhere in the crowd.
Under the burly man's gaze, the crowd immediately parted, revealing Zhang Man, who had been squeezed deep into