Countdown: Humanity's struggle to survive against yesterday

Wahuai Expressway, a route through Shanghai.

Jiang Yuan has never been as happy as he is today since the world began to regress.

Today went so smoothly. The group set off from Greystone Town and covered 200 kilometers in less than 4 hours. This speed would have been unimaginable a few days ago.

"Dad, that's so cool! We've become big celebrities."

Jiang Hua rode his bike silently without saying a word.

Jiang Yuan didn't care, assuming his father was just focused on driving, and continued talking to himself:

"Dad, you didn't see it just now, Lingmin's mouth was all crooked from smiling. He loves to show off, and he really showed off to his heart's content today."

"And then there's Brother Fumin. I never expected him to have such skills. He can talk so fluently and confidently when being interviewed, without any stage fright."

"Sung-hyun is the most interesting. I saw a girl ask him for her phone number, which made him blush."

Jiang Yuan was holding Jiang Hua's coat with both hands, leaning over and talking enthusiastically, when he suddenly felt his body freeze. He rushed forward and bumped into his father's back.

"What's wrong, Dad?"

Jiang Yuan quickly got up, not understanding why his father had braked suddenly. But when he followed his father's gaze and looked to the side, he was immediately terrified.

A group of people were standing on the highway 300 meters ahead, and their imposing manner was quite intimidating.

Sun Fumin turned to look at Jiang Hua, his expression grave, and said, "Second Uncle, it looks like the Shuangxi Service Area is ahead."

"Damn it, we can't get past this point, huh?!"

Sun Lingmin said, stepping off the motorcycle. "Wu Zi, Xiao Xian, get your weapons ready."

"Don't act impulsively..."

Jiang Hua quickly called out, "Xiao Yuan, you get out of the car first, I'll go check ahead."

"Uncle Dahua, we'll go with you."

Several other young men from the same village, their faces full of anger, shouted together.

Although they did not personally experience the so-called road bullying incident, they had heard the details from the brothers Sun Lingmin and Sun Chengwu.

The group in Shuangxi Town, under the guise of carrying out the "Yesterday" survival plan, actually wanted to seize territory and dominate the area. Calling them road bullies is too lenient; this is far more egregious behavior.

"Nonsense, listen to me, I'll go first."

Jiang Hua turned around and shouted loudly.

This reaction surprised everyone; they had never seen Uncle Jiang Hua speak so sternly before.

In their memory, Uncle Jianghua had a good relationship with the people of the same generation in the village. The elders would give Uncle Jianghua face when they needed something. Uncle Jianghua was also very approachable to the younger generation. On the contrary, he would sometimes get along with them and play games together. He never treated them as juniors.

To be honest, it's more like a friendship.

That's why they were willing to travel with him; they genuinely liked this kind old man who was friendly to everyone.

But now we suddenly realize that Uncle Jiang Hua actually has a temper, but this temper makes them, the younger generation, feel even more frustrated.

The villagers from the neighboring village who were following behind were also astonished when they saw this. They quickly got out of the car, took out their phones, recorded a video, and sent it to the group chat.

"Oh no, another roadblock! [Image][Image]"

"It's the same service area as last time... [Video]"

"Damn it, what service is this? People from Shuangxi Town, come out here, I'm requesting a duel with you..."

The incident quickly spread throughout the country via Xiaohua's live stream, and all netizens who were following the incident were outraged.

All the pent-up resentment and anger suddenly erupted like the pressure cooker having its vent removed.

"Scumbag, utter scumbag! One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel."

"Let me state first that I am from Shuangxi Town. These are just a few individuals. Are there any brothers from nearby who would like to come with me to take down these people?"

"What era are we living in? There are still road hogs..."

"We also have 'road bullies' here. A group of young people have taken over the streets and are causing trouble every day. Is anyone going to do anything about it?"

"Damn it~ This is really awful. I thought today would help heal my wounded heart after so many days, but seeing this scene now feels like swallowing a fly."

"..."

......

Kyoto, Emergency Management Agency.

Chen Xiao watched this scene quietly from the command center.

Behind him, a group of staff members, unusually, all stopped what they were doing and stared intently at the big screen.

This isn't a big deal, because looking at the whole country, there are all sorts of people, especially in these special times, it's easy to reveal the complexities of human nature.

However, it's not a small matter. This issue has started to gain traction on various internet platforms, and it's now safe to say that about 70% of netizens across the country are paying attention to it.

If the situation is not handled properly, it could trigger a chain reaction. In that case, the "natural disaster" will not be resolved before man-made disasters emerge, which would be very detrimental to the overall situation.

Cui Huaimeng quickly walked up to Chen Xiao with a tablet computer and whispered, "The preliminary statistics on public opinion across the internet show that in just five minutes, the people across the country are very hostile. We really need to continue to push forward according to my plan."

"Xiao Cui, you're confused!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao turned to look at Cui Huaimeng with some dissatisfaction, wanting to give her a stern reprimand. However, seeing the other woman's mature face, he inexplicably thought of his own daughter.

He took a deep breath and said calmly, "We must trust the people and also trust their most genuine feelings."

After saying that, he stopped talking and turned back to look at the live footage transmitted back by satellite on the big screen.

In the video, the old man known online as Grandpa Jiang is about fifty-one or fifty-two years old. He is not particularly tall, but his back is straight.

He took off his helmet, revealing himself to be an old farmer with dark skin, deep wrinkles on his face, and most noticeably a scar on the bridge of his nose.

But after years of weathering the elements, the scar no longer looks hideous; instead, it resembles a medal earned through a lifetime of hard work by an old man.

"Is this Grandpa Jiang?" someone asked online.

"He looks just like my grandfather, a true farmer."

"I'm moved to tears. Why is Grandpa Jiang's life so difficult? Or is it just that difficult for ordinary people like us?"

"Good job, Grandpa Jiang! Don't be afraid of them, we support you."

"Are all the people in Shuangxi Town dead? If Grandpa Jiang doesn't make it through today, I don't think Shuangxi Town deserves to exist."

"It's easy for you to talk when you're not the one suffering the consequences. How are you going to punish them?"

"This is indeed a new problem. In this era of great regression, how should we protect ourselves, and how should we punish the bad guys...?"

"..."

Jiang Yuan felt inexplicably ashamed when he saw his father walk across the street with only a helmet in his hand, while he remained standing there without saying a word.

In the era of great regression, people will indeed not die. With each rollback of the world, no matter how much trauma people suffer today, they will recover completely tomorrow.

"Father is not in real danger!"

"We can always try again tomorrow!"

"But, but, memories are continuous..."

Jiang Yuan's face was flushed and his body trembled slightly. As he watched his father's figure grow smaller and smaller, he finally couldn't help but chase after him.

"Dad, wait for me!"

Upon seeing this, the brothers Sun Chengwu and Sun Chengxian hurriedly tried to follow, but Sun Fumin suddenly blocked their way, saying nothing and only shaking his head.

Seeing this, everyone hesitated for a few seconds and then stood still again.

"Nonsense, why did you follow me?"

Jiang Hua was furious when he saw his youngest son running up to him.

"Dad, this is a family matter, how could I not come!"