Countdown: Humanity's struggle to survive against yesterday

Chapter 35 Arrival

He was the first internet celebrity to livestream "Grandpa Jiang's Trip to Shanghai".

Xiao Hua said with heartache in the live broadcast room: "I still can't forgive these kids from Shuangxi Town. Grandpa Jiang has had it so hard. He has tried nine times in a row. Today he had a great chance, but because of this delay, I'm afraid Grandpa Jiang will have to start all over again today."

Moreover, everyone saw how hard those Greystone Town escort riders worked, and all that effort was wasted…”

Xiao Hua's words startled the viewers in the live stream, but they quickly came to their senses.

"Yeah, we're here to see Grandpa Jiang today. He's only gone a fifth of the way to Shanghai, are we going to have to start all over again?"

"What a pity. Grandpa Jiang traveled a long way to visit relatives, encountering many obstacles along the way. He finally made it here, but now he's been delayed again."

"That's right, even if those kids admit their mistake, it can't make up for the losses suffered by Grandpa Jiang and the escort riders."

"Sigh... does it always come down to the older generation paying the price for the younger generation in the end...?"

Just as many netizens were still expressing their feelings, another sentence appeared in the live chat:

"Shuangxi Town, Group 16, applying to join the team."

Immediately following, another similar message appeared: "Tanghe Town, Group 17 applies to join the team."

While most netizens were confused, the comments section instantly underwent a dramatic change:

"Eighteen groups have been requested for the Shangqing Service Area!"

"Wanjiazhuang has applied for Group 19..."

"At kilometer 470 of the Wahuai Expressway, seventeen passing drivers applied for group 21."

"..."

"Hongyu Town has applied for 56 groups..."

"Application for 80 groups at kilometer 170 of the Hurong Expressway..."

"Shanghai's Zhongshan District applies for citywide escort!"

The messages about joining the team were initially mixed with comments from netizens, but soon only neat rows of applications remained.

Faced with this situation, the onlookers couldn't help but feel a tremor in their very souls.

They dared not send messages casually, and everyone tacitly left the bullet screen space for strangers who were applying to join the team, quietly watching these people fight each other for a spot.

……

Meanwhile, on the Wahuai Expressway, Jiang Hua was accompanying several elderly people as they bid their final farewell.

Jiang Yuan took out his phone and accidentally saw the dense stream of team joining applications on the screen. His eyes instantly welled up with tears. He quickly walked to Jiang Hua's side and whispered everything to him.

Jiang Hua was stunned for a moment. After seeing the old people off, he looked up into the distance. The sunlight fell on his face, and the heaviness in his eyes was tinged with emotion. A faint smile slowly appeared on his lips.

Nan Shaofei and his friends also saw the comments. They exchanged smiles, took out their phones, and sent a synchronized message: "Group 8 escort riders, welcome all brothers and sisters to join us and escort Grandpa Jiang all the way to Shanghai!"

In the live stream, there was no more noise or arguments, only neat rows of applications to join the team, and the occasional pop-up message, "Uncle Jiang, we'll walk with you."

……

Meanwhile, in Kyoto.

Inside the Emergency Management Agency, enthusiastic applause suddenly erupted.

"It's done, it's done..."

"Yes, who could have imagined such a turn of events! We were initially worried that the conflict would escalate and trigger negative emotions, but it unexpectedly turned into a heartwarming event that resonated with the entire nation!"

"This is the real emotion! This is the real emotion! Quickly go and collect statistics on the number of people joining the team in various regions and the emotional data of netizens. We can't miss any details!"

A moment later, Cui Huaimeng walked briskly to Chen Xiao with a tablet computer in hand, her face beaming with undisguised joy: "Minister Chen, 'Luoshu' has just released its results. At least 90% of netizens across the country are discussing this matter. According to 'Luoshu's' analysis, this level of interest will last for at least a week."

"What are the true feelings of the people?"

Chen Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression turned serious again after asking the question.

"Big data analysis shows that public sentiment is generally trending positively, completely exceeding our expectations!"

Cui Huaimeng quickly swiped the tablet, her tone becoming increasingly excited. "Among them, 'moved,' 'warm,' and 'admiring' accounted for as much as 78%, mainly focusing on Grandpa Jiang's concern for his son and his insistence on going to Shanghai again."

Empathy and support accounted for 15%.

Most netizens were moved by the efforts of the escort team and the goodwill of those who spontaneously joined the team from various places, and expressed their willingness to do their best to provide assistance.

Less than 7% of the emotions expressed were "regret" or "indignation," and most of these were directed at the earlier acts of road bullying, failing to spread into a questioning of the overall social order.

Chen Xiao took the tablet, his gaze slowly sweeping over the data analysis charts on the screen. His tense shoulders completely relaxed, and the heaviness in his eyes was gradually replaced by relief.

He lightly tapped the statistics section for "Applications from Various Regions" on the screen and said softly, "Great, great... even better than I expected!"

"Minister Chen, what's our next step?" Cui Huaimeng asked.

Chen Xiao looked up and glanced at his colleagues who were staring intently at him, then smiled and said, "Regarding how to solve the traffic problem, I think the formation of the Gray Stone car team has already given us a reference..."

……

Consciousness Day, March 2nd, 2:15 AM.

"Look, look! Grandpa Jiang has finally arrived in Shanghai!"

After a 19-hour journey covering 800 kilometers, with 80 escort teams and 1351 volunteers working tirelessly along the way, Jiang Hua and his group finally arrived at the last stop on the highway – Shanghai North Station, just one exit away from entering Shanghai.

The netizens who had been waiting in front of their screens breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, and immediately began spreading the news online, sharing their joy.

……

"Clang clang clang..."

"Thump thump thump clang..."

In Graystone Town, even though it was already late at night, the area in front of the stage was brightly lit.

When thousands of villagers in Huishi Town saw Jiang Hua and his two companions begin to exit the highway via the large screen on the stage, gongs and drums sounded, and Mayor Zhang personally led the cheers.

The sound seemed to trigger a chain reaction, spreading southwards to Daweizhuang, where the atmosphere was equally joyous and celebratory.

"Hey, that's my kid, see? He's from Daweizhuang..." An old man excitedly pulled the person next to him and pointed to a young man behind Jiang Hua.

"Uncle Jiang, Uncle Jiang..."

When Li Xiuyun heard on TV that a group of people from Shanghai were enthusiastically cheering for Jiang Hua at the highway exit, tears streamed down her face.

"Oh dear, Xiuyun, why are you crying!"

The plump auntie quickly hugged Li Xiuyun, and a group of aunties and sisters-in-law around them also hurriedly comforted her, both laughing and crying, "Xiuyun, didn't Dahua arrive? Why are you still crying? Okay, okay, we know you're happy."

A crisp "bang" echoed from outside the courtyard, mingling with the joyful laughter inside.

"Crackling and popping..."

A group of young people lit firecrackers in front of the Jiang family's house. Along the north-south avenue in the middle of the village, fireworks were lit at five-meter intervals, as if they had heard a signal.

In the dim light of the night, all the villagers of Sanmiao Village crowded onto the street, watching this scene with great excitement.

"Bang, bang, bang," the sounds came one after another.

With a series of loud bangs, colorful sparks illuminated the entire sky and the expressions of all the villagers on the road, each face beaming with pride and excitement.

Only Chang Chen leaned against a big tree in front of the Sanxiao Niangniang Temple, sometimes laughing and sometimes frowning.

"Our superiors ordered us to protect Xiao Ning, but with so many people around and so much gossip, how are we going to prevent this?"

……