March 22nd, 12:04 PM — Gu Tianhao's Compound, South Longwan
Jiang Roulan POV
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The sun was high, but it felt like night.
They headed us in like cattle, hands tied behind our backs, boots scraping dirt as the men in military gear barked orders. Their uniforms didn't match. Some were from the army. Others wore patched jackets or scavenged riot vests. Fake soldiers. Real thugs.
Beyond the gates of the Gu estate, a sea of suffering greeted us.
A field, divided by wire fences and guarded by gunmen, stretched out before the main mansion. Rows of tents filled with the broken. Pale faces, hollowed eyes. Men with untreated wounds. Women carrying buckets, dragging sacks of grain too heavy for their frames. Kids with dirt-streaked skin and too-silent mouths.
Not zombies.
Just survivors. Enslaved.
My hands clenched.
