At this moment, a large crowd had gathered outside the main gate. Judging by their attire, they appeared to be local villagers, each holding wooden sticks or hoes, shouting loudly into the military camp with intense emotions.
Several soldiers stood at the gate, blocking their entry and continuously trying to persuade them.
On the roadside nearby, a brown off-road vehicle was parked, its windows rolled down, and the occupants were looking towards the gate.
The people in the off-road vehicle were Dante and his group, whom they had met at the hotel.
Evidently, they too were unable to enter due to the crowd blocking the entrance.
Dante noticed Monica and her group arriving and gave her a mocking gesture.
Monica glanced at him and rolled up the car window.
“President, please wait in the car for a moment. I’ll go check the situation,” her assistant said to Monica before opening the car door and stepping out.
Leo also opened the car door and said to Monica, “I’ll go take a look too.”
After Leo got out, Monica hesitated briefly before opening her door and following Leo towards the gate.
Seeing Monica get out of the car, Dante and his group also opened their doors and curiously followed.
“Bastards! You’re all damned bastards!”
“You brought disaster upon us! It’s all your fault!”
“Get out! Leave now!”
The shouting villagers had a strong local accent, confirming they were from nearby villages.
As they shouted, they waved their sticks and hoes, banging on the tightly locked gate.
Inside the iron gate stood a row of armed soldiers with rifles, coldly facing the rioting crowd.
“Dr. Bloomer, stay back a bit. Be careful not to get hurt,” Monica quickly reminded Leo as she saw the agitated crowd ahead.
“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Leo replied with a calm smile.
“I repeat, please disperse immediately! Please disperse immediately!” An officer inside the gate spoke sternly. “Or we will use force!”
As he finished speaking, the sound of rifles being loaded echoed.
“Come on, shoot me in the head! Do it!” A middle-aged man with a receding hairline shouted fearlessly, pointing at his head.
“Yes, if you dare, shoot! You’ve already killed many of us anyway!”
“Go ahead, shoot us all! End it once and for all!”
“Monsters! You’re all heartless monsters!”
The enraged crowd began shaking the iron gate, some even throwing stones at the soldiers inside.
The captain’s face turned livid with anger. If not for orders from above, he would have already subdued these troublemakers.
“Put down your guns! Everyone, put down your guns!” A deep voice commanded.
A group of uniformed soldiers quickly walked out from the camp, led by a stern-faced middle-aged man whose expression was as icily cold..
The middle-aged man held the rank of colonel.
“Your guns are meant for enemies, not for your fellow countrymen!” The colonel reprimanded again.
The soldiers quickly lowered their rifles.
The crowd outside calmed down slightly but continued to shout.
“Villagers, please calm down. Please listen to me!” The colonel raised his voice while pressing his hands down. “I am the highest-ranking officer here. You can talk to me!”
“Alright, everyone quiet down!” An elderly man in a suit with dark skin and deep wrinkles shouted to the villagers behind him. “Since their highest officer is here, I’ll represent everyone in talking to them!”
The elderly man seemed highly respected among the villagers, who immediately quieted down.
Seeing the crowd calm down, the colonel let out a sigh of relief.
“Sir, may I ask your name?” The colonel asked as he instructed to open the gate and handed a cigarette to the elder.
The elder took the cigarette and after the colonel lit it for him, took a few puffs before saying, “I am the village head of Stone Village. These are villagers from Stone Village and nearby villages.”
Due to illness or death of other village heads, he was the only one present representing them.
The colonel shook hands with the elder and said, “Sir, as a village head, it’s not appropriate to lead so many people to cause trouble at our camp.”
Hearing this, the elder snorted coldly and said angrily, “Do you not know why we’re causing trouble!? Six villages nearby with over two thousand households have lost nearly half their people! Do you know that!?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the villagers behind him became agitated again, cursing loudly.
“Sir, please calm them down first,” the colonel sighed helplessly. “Let’s talk this through.”
The elder gestured for the villagers to quiet down again.
“Sir, I’ve already explained to everyone that this virus outbreak caught us off guard. To be honest, over a hundred soldiers in our camp have been infected too…”
“Serves you right!” The elder’s face twisted with anger. “It’s because of your military exercises that angered the mountain god! The mountain god sent this plague to punish us!”
“Yes! It’s your fault!”
“You deserve it! But you’ve also made us suffer the mountain god’s wrath!”
“You disrespectful people should go to hell!”
The villagers started shouting angrily again.
Seeing how superstitious they were, the colonel smiled bitterly and said helplessly, “Folks, I’ve told you there’s no such thing as a mountain god!”
Hearing this denial enraged the villagers further. They raised their weapons again, and chaos seemed imminent.
The colonel quickly tried to calm them down. “Folks, we now have pills that can suppress the virus!”
“For caution’s sake, we haven’t distributed them yet. We’re testing them on our soldiers first. Once proven effective, we’ll distribute them to everyone!”
“We don’t believe you!” The middle-aged man with a receding hairline pointed angrily at the colonel. “Earlier we trusted your so-called experts to treat our people, but they ended up killing them!”