The lower relief quarter filled with families carrying transfer papers. Ning led Yan and Wei along the street where the clinic volunteers had posted a capacity board. The route notices sent people to the same few blocks, while some of the listed gates remained locked.
One old woman held her paper open beneath the board. “This says I report to the registered zone. Which road gets me there?”
Ning checked the street map. “The west road is open. The river route is still restricted. We can show you the way, but you don’t need to leave before you know where there’s room.”
Some residents trusted the Registry because its barriers had held through earlier storms. Others wanted to know why the written routes led to locked gates. Ning answered what she could, then recorded what she needed to check. She did not ask anyone to choose a side before they saw the options.
Bai’s drivers had supplies for two shelters, but a Registry checkpoint blocked the third route. The carts held medicine and blankets for a clinic that had space but no delivery pass. Wei spoke with the checkpoint captain.
“The medicine can pass if you have a Registry seal,” the captain said. “I can’t move it on a spoken order.”
