213: earthquake

Jiang Fei and Lu Yu met up with Mo Yanan's team and then drove towards the capital.

As night fell, the team stopped in the wilderness to rest.

Mo Yanan's voice came from outside the RV.

"Jiang Fei, we caught three pheasants today and plan to stew them. Do you want to come down and eat with us?"

With a ready-made meal and no need to cook, Jiang Fei opened the door and got out of the car.

Uncle Liu and the others had already set up a long table and were chopping chicken pieces.

Noticing that only Jiang Fei and Lu Yu had come down, Mo Yanan asked, puzzled, "Where is Xiao Chuxia?"

"She stayed in the Underground City in Changhai."

As she spoke, Jiang Fei habitually took three bottles of water from the table and distributed them to the people around her.

She suddenly remembered that Xiao Hua Lao, who always liked to stick close to her, was no longer there.

Jiang Fei silently put one bottle of water back and sat on a small stool nearby, waiting to eat.

Sensing Jiang Fei's low mood, Mo Yanan abandoned the idea of asking why and went to sit on a chair behind her.

Lu Yu sat in the seat right next to Jiang Fei and gently comforted her:

"The organization's conditions are very good; they won't mistreat Chu Xia's family."

"Moreover, the Medical Research Institute is full of top talents. Chu Xia will learn a lot there. Maybe the next time we meet, she'll be a very capable researcher."

Jiang Fei hummed, "I'm just worried Chu Xia won't get used to life in the Underground City."

It was a good thing for Xiao Hua Lao to stay there and study.

But he had been by her side for so long and hadn't endured much hardship.

She was afraid Xiao Hua Lao wouldn't adapt to the Underground City, wouldn't eat well, wouldn't sleep well... "Caw—caw—"

Suddenly, the rough, hoarse cawing of a crow sounded, pulling Jiang Fei's thoughts back.

The birds in the nearby forest uncharacteristically flew collectively into the sky.

Jiang Fei's right eyelid twitched violently, and just as she stood up, a violent shaking sensation suddenly struck.

"It's an earthquake! Get in the car quickly!"

Everyone scrambled to their respective cars.

Mo Yanan was closest to Jiang Fei's RV and immediately ran to it; Jiang Fei and Lu Yu followed closely behind.

Lu Yu quickly started the car and sped away, pressing the accelerator to get away from the area.

Crack—!

A crack opened in the ground ahead, instantly spreading in all directions.

Like cracks in shattered glass, it rapidly expanded.

Before they could turn, the RV's tires sank into the fissure.

Just as it was about to overturn and fall, Jiang Fei, with quick hands and eyes, handed Mo Yanan a membership card and entered the Supermarket, car and people included.

Mo Yanan hadn't even realized what was happening when Jiang Fei knocked him unconscious with a chop to the neck.

Lu Yu in the driver's seat felt a lingering fear.

They had almost fallen into the fissure and been shattered to pieces... Jiang Fei also felt a wave of fear.

She had predicted the earthquake would arrive in half a month.

This was because, in this life, after every natural disaster, there would be a safe period of 15-30 days without new disasters.

Who knew that only five or six days after the hail, the earthquake would strike?

If not for the Supermarket, she would have died today.

In her previous life, this massive earthquake, over magnitude eight, affected the entire globe.

The situation abroad was the most severe, with countries like Y and M losing two-thirds of their populations.

The domestic situation was better, but millions of survivors still perished, with countless dead and injured.

Natural disasters that arrived early would have a reduced duration.

She wondered if the earthquake would also be like this.

Was Xiao Hua Lao safe over there... Jiang Fei couldn't help but pull out the special walkie-talkie, but she didn't call Xiao Chuxia, waiting patiently instead.

She had used the walkie-talkie in the Supermarket before and could contact the outside world.

But now there was an earthquake outside, and she was afraid Xiao Hua Lao might have an accident if she tried to get the walkie-talkie.

Lu Yu came from the driver's seat to wait with Jiang Fei.

Noticing Mo Yanan lying on the sofa, his eyelashes fluttering, seemingly about to wake up, Lu Yu deftly knocked him out with a stick.

After a full three hours, the walkie-talkie in Jiang Fei's hand suddenly crackled.

"Cough cough, Miss, where are you? Are you safe?"

Jiang Fei quickly replied, "We're fine, how are things on your end?"

"The Underground City has an early warning system. Two hours before the earthquake, Gu Yunshan notified everyone to evacuate and hide in the above-ground shelters."

"I originally wanted to contact you, but the walkie-talkie was out of power. I just found a generator and charged it."

"Miss, you don't have to worry about me. I heard the materials used for the Underground City can withstand earthquakes above magnitude eight. Just in case, City Lord Gu told everyone to wait until the earthquake ends before going back. I'm doing very well here."

It seemed there were no ground fissures in Changhai City.

Jiang Fei relaxed slightly, "My current location isn't far from the Underground City, and I can still contact you with the walkie-talkie, but in two or three days, when I return to the capital, communication will be impossible."

"If you don't want to stay there during this time, contact me anytime, and I'll pick you and your aunt and uncle up and bring you home."

"If you don't have enough supplies, you can also tell me, and I'll deliver them to you after the earthquake."

Xiao Chuxia on the other end of the walkie-talkie felt her nose sting.

"Okay."

Miss, she truly was her rock.

—

Since they couldn't go out during the earthquake, Jiang Fei simply took Lu Yu and Lao Huangniu to the rice fields to plant seedlings.

When hungry, they ate ready-made meals from the Supermarket warehouse; when tired, they set up tents to rest.

Occasionally, they would chat with Xiao Chuxia on the walkie-talkie.

Whenever Mo Yanan showed signs of waking up, Lu Yu would hit him with a stick to knock him out.

His originally smooth and flawless forehead was now covered in several red bumps.

After two days in the Supermarket, Jiang Fei received news that Xiao Chuxia and her family had returned to the Underground City.

Except for two collapsed warehouses on floor -3, the other two floors were largely unaffected by the earthquake.

The organization of her teammates was indeed impressive.

Confirming that Xiao Chuxia wasn't returning and they weren't short on supplies, Jiang Fei prepared to go out and see.

To be safe, she left Lu Yu in the Supermarket.

Jiang Fei exited the Supermarket and gasped.

She stood on the edge of a deep ravine, half a step further and she would fall.

Quickly retreating a few steps, Jiang Fei looked around.

Overcast skies, all trees toppled, and the ground was torn open with deep ravines of varying widths, as if ripped apart.

Only one of Mo Yanan's team's cars survived.

Jiang Fei walked over to see if anyone had survived.

In the car were Uncle Liu and a bodyguard.

The bodyguard in the driver's seat sat rigidly upright, his eyes bulging as if they would pop out; he had been scared to death.

Uncle Liu was curled up in the back seat, trembling uncontrollably, his eyes dull.

He had clearly fallen unconscious after the earthquake, and upon waking, was overly frightened, leading to mental confusion.

Jiang Fei took out a sedative and a bottle of water, forcibly fed them to Uncle Liu, then knocked him out to sleep.

Immediately, she entered the Supermarket and brought out Lu Yu and Mo Yanan.

Retrieving the membership card from Mo Yanan, Jiang Fei then took out a helicopter.

"Can you fly this helicopter?"

"If not, I have several other models of helicopters."

Lu Yu nodded, "I've flown this model before."

After filling it with aviation fuel, Jiang Fei and Lu Yu dragged the two unconscious men inside.

There were four seats in total; Mo Yanan and Uncle Liu sat in the back, while Jiang Fei and Lu Yu sat in the front.

Buckling their seatbelts and putting on the plane's specialized headphones, Lu Yu started the helicopter.

Just then, Mo Yanan woke up, saw the ground getting farther and farther away from him, and his voice was hoarse.

"Am I in heaven...?"