Lucy was so excited she almost shouted, but thinking of Peter sleeping soundly in the ward behind her, she held back and quickly walked to the door to open it.
Of course, she didn't forget to grab some handy tools along the way.
While the situation in Washington is not out of control yet, it is not entirely peaceful either. There are just not as many lunatics lurking there as in the semi-abandoned areas of New York.
Lucy waited anxiously for sounds to come from outside, so she could confirm who was outside.
But the next second, a sentence that surprised her came through the Horn:
"The person behind the door, immediately identify yourself, lay down all weapons, and then open the door and come out!"
Well...
Lucy was stunned; she hadn't expected this turn of events at all.
Then she subconsciously glanced at the stick she had casually picked up in her hand.
Perhaps this can be considered a weapon?
Lucy put her things down and then obediently opened the door, facing the blinding light outside.
Meanwhile, the fully armed Mutual Aid Society soldiers outside breathed a sigh of relief and lowered the brightness of their headlights to a normal level.
At that moment, a white soldier from a North America underground city jogged up and snapped to attention, giving Lucy a military salute.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am."
"Given the current special circumstances, it's difficult for us to determine whether the people inside are rioters or ordinary residents, so we have no choice but to resort to this relatively violent method."
"We belong to the No. 3 Spacetime of the Mutual Aid Society, responding to the call of the United Government..."
Lucy stared at the soldiers in protective suits and exoskeletons, looking like they came from the future. She didn't even hear them introduce themselves. She was still in a daze. This was the first time she had ever seen these legendary visitors from another dimension.
It wasn't until the soldier finished stating his squad number that Lucy suddenly remembered the most important thing:
" Peter! He's still alone in his hospital room..."
She quickly turned around and walked into the hospital.
Several soldiers quickly followed.
In the hospital ward.
Peter had already woken up, his face filled with panic and worry. Although he had been lying in the hospital bed and was still young, he was aware of the situation outside. He knew not only that everyone else had left, leaving only him and the doctor, but also that if the doctor left, he would be left to die...
However, due to his frail health, he could only stay in bed and was unable to get up or cry out loud. He was so anxious that sweat poured down his forehead.
Lucy hurried back, gently took Peter's hand, and then wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"I haven't left, don't be afraid..."
Seeing the person he'd known most for the past few days reappear, Peter had been gasping for breath, gradually calmed down. With a ventilator in his mouth, he choked back tears, "Aunt Lucy..."
Two soldiers walked in behind Lucy.
What preparations should be made before leaving?
Peter had just been sobbing, immediately stopped crying and stared intently at the two unfamiliar men in the ward.
Lucy gently told Peter about their origins, then turned around and began to explain the equipment that needed to be moved.
The two soldiers did as instructed and quickly completed all the preparations. Then the three of them covered Peter with a thick blanket. The two soldiers held firmly to the two corners of the blanket, while Lucy walked along the head of the bed, creating basic space for Peter under the blanket.
And that's how a special "umbrella" is made.
The three of them worked together to push the hospital bed out of the hospital, and before the snow could soak the blankets, they quickly opened the car door and transferred Peter inside.
Lucy, who was standing next to the car, realized that the car in front of her seemed ridiculously large, almost like a land-based train.
After she got into the car, she realized that the interior was ridiculously spacious; it was more like a mobile ambulance station than a vehicle.
The carriage, at least five meters high, was divided into two levels, each with berths and equipped with various emergency instruments.
The vehicle is now almost fully loaded, with patients or injured people lying on almost every bed, and doctors watching over them every few steps.
"This is our timeline's emergency medical vehicle. Ms. Lucy, please follow me."
The white soldier who had first contacted Lucy came over, gave a brief introduction, and then led her to Peter. The Little Boy had already been assigned a bed on the second floor, a spot by a small window where he could see the swirling snowflakes outside.
"This is such a pleasant surprise... I, I originally thought we'd get a regular one."
"An ambulance would be fine."
Lucy was overjoyed as she looked around at the various novel and advanced devices.
She sat down awkwardly beside Peter's bed, and then other medical staff immediately came over to tell her how to use the equipment around her.
Lucy passively received this knowledge, then memorized it to ensure she wouldn't make mistakes when using it.
It wasn't until the training was over and Lucy sat down again, talking with the medical staff around her, that she learned that the other patients she had seen on the bus were all transferred back from New York by the Mutual Aid Society.
And it wasn't just their vehicle; there were a full fifty vehicles, completely filling up all the ambulances. She was lucky; the one she was in was the only one with an empty seat, so they came along and gave her and Peter a ride.
"Sigh, our original plan was just to send these critically ill patients back to Washington, but the chaos here is far beyond our expectations, and we can't find anyone to take care of the patients."
We couldn't just leave them to die on the street, so we could only help send them south.
One of the nurses couldn't help but complain a little.
"The convoy that returned to Washington with us is now back in New York, starting its second trip, while we're wasting our time on work that can be completely replaced..."
They are serious about their work in saving lives.
They knew all too well that their trip would result in many seriously injured people not receiving timely medical treatment and dying in the freezing cold of New York.
But there's nothing we can do.
The situation at Becker's place is completely chaotic; they have no ability to treat the injured.
Even if they left this batch of patients in Washington and went back to New York to pick up the second batch, the end result would only be the same—two groups of people dying in vain.
If they take this group south, there's a chance they'll survive...
well!
The surrounding medical staff, considering their predicament, sighed once again.
Lucy, who was standing nearby, blushed a little. Washington was indeed in a mess, and the biggest reason for it was their officials.
At the same time, she was also somewhat indignant.
No one will feel resentful after being left behind.
She's not some saint.
She understands the difficulties the authorities are facing, but she is also dissatisfied with being left behind; however, she knows now is not the time to dwell on that.
Lucy kept her eyes fixed on the window. The chaos outside was a stark contrast to the orderliness back home.
The night quietly drew to a close.
After resting for a short while, Jack got up, met with New York at 4 o'clock, and after the group regrouped, they began to return to the library under the cover of darkness.
Jack was unaware that Wang Lei and his team had already begun transporting the second batch of survivors.
But even if he knew, he wouldn't advise these people to cross the harbor and go to Staten Island.
The reason is simple: they might not be able to get a spot on Staten Island's evacuation list.
It's important to know that while Staten Island has a relatively small population, it still has over 400,000 people. Given the current temperatures in New York, as long as you stay indoors and take basic precautions to stay warm, you're unlikely to freeze to death.
Even if some people were unlucky enough to freeze to death, and considering the people killed by the gunmen, the number certainly wouldn't exceed ten thousand.
In other words, there are at least 400,000 survivors on Staten Island awaiting resettlement.
Now that Lund and his group have gone there, they've probably just moved to a different shelter...
Therefore, Jack did not approve of this suggestion.
After hearing that he had experience working in the Mutual Aid Society, Jack's theories, which were already commonplace on the radio, immediately gained everyone's approval.
Everyone agreed with his suggestion to return to the library.
Jack decided to go back to the library with the group, and then continue his search for Sam at the school where the competition was being held, while also gathering some information.
But he never imagined that his son, whom he had been longing for day and night, would actually be in the library!
"Dad?" Sam looked at the man in front of him and opened the door, a little uncertain.
Just half a minute ago, he heard the sound and knew that Lund and his group, who had set off yesterday, were returning, so he quickly came down to meet them. But to his surprise, he spotted a familiar figure in the crowd!
The father and son were stunned.
Lund, standing nearby, was also stunned.
He knew Jack was looking for his son, but was this really such a coincidence? In such a big city like New York, how could they find him so quickly?
After hearing this, he said he had no hope...
After a moment of distraction, the two
The father and son approached each other simultaneously, then opened their arms and gave each other a hug.
Sam quickly led everyone back into the library before speaking to Jack.
"I think you're still missing an explanation." Jack looked at his son, and after the brief excitement of seeing him again, he wanted nothing more than to slap him so hard he'd do a ballet on the spot.
Sam hesitated and remained silent.
Jack, on the other hand, went on and on. "You know what? You almost scared your mother to death. She thought the FBI had attacked you."
"Listen, kid, if you want to do it again next time..." Jack wanted to say something harsh, but after stammering for a while, he finally managed to say, "At least leave a note."
Sam, however, sensed something was off.
"What FBI?" He squinted, looking his father up and down. "Weren't you in New Delhi before?"
Jack blinked. "Who said I'm in New Delhi?"
He quickly explained to Sam what had happened to him in New Delhi.
Then Sam realized. "So, you couldn't go back home back then? It wasn't because of work that you couldn't come back?"
Jack shrugged helplessly, forcing a lighthearted tone, and said, "No job is more important than yours, but since I can't go back home, I've had to find a new place to work..."
Sam:???
Sam, who had just felt ashamed for blaming someone, now had a rather interestingly contorted expression.
Jack laughed heartily, then continued recounting his experience, "After being unable to return to China through official channels, I left with Liu, and luckily, I ended up visiting several parallel universes with him..."
The father and son sat facing each other in the corner, and Jack began to recount his experiences and observations in parallel universes: the gigantic mechs and terrifying monsters of the Pacific Rim Spacetime, the romantic yet awe-inspiring Planetary Engine of the Wandering Spacetime, and the railway as wide as a grassland...
Sam listened intently, just like when he was a child and his mother told him fairy tales before bed.
"... And then, it's now. I came to New York with the Mutual Aid Society, and finally found you."
Jack smiled and stroked his son's head. Seventeen-year-old Sam smiled back, not minding.
After a moment, Sam asked, "Was everything you just said true?"
"That's incredible!"
"Of course it's true. I have no reason to lie to you. I lived with Liu in the underground city of No. 3 Spacetime for a while, studying and working at the same time. I also went up to the surface with them several times. The climate there was generally worse than what we have now."
Listening to his father's words, Sam felt a deep curiosity about the Mutual Aid Society and kept pestering his father to ask how he could go to a parallel universe like him.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Then you'll have to join the Mutual Aid Society first."
"How can I join them?"
"Unfortunately, judging from the current situation, the Mutual Aid Society doesn't seem to have the idea of including us as a member country..."
If you can't become a member of the member state, you can't become a member of the Mutual Aid Society, and naturally you can't communicate with parallel universes.
Speaking of this, Jack also felt a pang of regret.
He believed that the Mutual Aid Society was disgusted by Becker's antics, which was why they hadn't mentioned inviting them to Mutual Aid Society.
He has been deeply worried about this.
Since the Mutual Aid Society emerged, the center of the world has shifted to the Mutual Aid Society and to that Spacetime Tunnel.
Most countries in the Northern Hemisphere have now joined the Mutual Aid Society and gained access to resources from other dimensions. Among the major powers, they are the only ones who insist on being special and have consistently refused to cooperate.
Now, they're even worse off, being completely sidelined.
If you're not a member of the Mutual Aid Society, then you won't be able to enjoy any of the benefits brought by the Spacetime Tunnel and other time-space connections...
Jack saw it all and was very anxious.
After all, these resources and benefits are unique.
Sam noticed that his father had suddenly stopped talking, so he asked him what was wrong.
Jack voiced his thoughts, Sam paused, staring at him strangely. "Dad," he said, "I think you should be more realistic about how many of us will be left after this disaster."
These words instantly jolted Jack awake.
Or perhaps he knew how cruel this problem would be, so he subconsciously avoided it.
"Well!"
" Sam, you've grown up."
Jack said with relief.
"Come here, let me introduce you to your two godfathers..."
Sam:???