80: Chapter 80 This Night, the Tacit Understanding of 1.4 Billion People

The announcement was issued at 2:17 AM.

The official account of the State Council's Emergency Management Department, pinned in bold red, used extremely rare phrasing —

"Emergency Notice: Following joint monitoring and confirmation by the National Earthquake Bureau and the Institute of Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, abnormal stress accumulation in the deep crust of the Hangzhou region has reached a critical value. A strong earthquake of magnitude 8.3 or higher is expected within two weeks. Effective immediately, a city-wide population relocation is initiated. Economic losses will be fully covered by the state."

"Repeat: This is not a drill."

The comment section flooded with 100,000 comments within three seconds.

"Is this fake? Can earthquakes be predicted two weeks in advance?"

"Official account, blue V verification, it's not fake."

"I'm in Hangzhou, just got woken up by messages in the property management group, the neighborhood committee is already knocking on doors one by one."

"Holy crap, is this real? My parents are in Hangzhou!"

"Aren't earthquakes impossible to predict in advance?"

"The person above! This was sent by the official account!"

"Oh my god! Magnitude 8.3! Hangzhou has a permanent population of 13 million!"

"Hurry up and pack, might as well treat it as a vacation!"

"Anyone with nowhere to go can come to my place! Coordinates: Suzhou!"

Ten minutes later, the top ten trending searches were all occupied.

#Hangzhou Earthquake Warning#

#City-wide Evacuation#

#State Covers Losses#

#Emptying a City in Two Weeks#

There was a lot of skepticism.

But skepticism aside, no one dared to gamble.

Because the entity issuing the notice wasn't a marketing account or self-media, but that red-on-white text that never jokes.

TV stations, portals, and short video platforms all pushed the notification simultaneously.

In the top right corner of the screen, a blood-red countdown began to tick.

13 days, 23 hours, 47 minutes.

---

Hangzhou, west of the city.

The living room TV was still on.

The host's voice came from the speakers, speaking half a beat slower than usual, enunciating every word heavily.

"...In the past, we lacked the technology to foresee impending disasters. But now, we have predicted it in advance. We cannot let history repeat itself."

Li Jianguo sat on the sofa, clutching the remote, motionless.

His wife, Zhang Min, stood behind him, hands twisted together, knuckles white.

The countdown on the TV ticked down one increment.

13 days, 23 hours, 46 minutes.

Li Jianguo spoke.

"Ask for leave from the school teachers."

"I'll go report to the company. Dabao and Erbao shouldn't go to school today. We'll pick up Mom and Dad tonight and leave the city overnight."

Zhang Min opened her mouth.

"But..."

"No 'buts'."

Li Jianguo stood up and turned off the TV.

"The country told me to evacuate, so I'm evacuating. Life is the most important thing."

Zhang Min nodded heavily.

"It just so happens Second Aunt is in Shanghai, we'll go to Shanghai. I'll ask for leave from school now, then notify Mom and Dad."

She turned to make the call.

Li Jianguo took out his phone.

He flipped the address book to 'Boss Wang'.

His thumb hovered over the dial button for two seconds.

He was in charge of this project. He had negotiated with the client for three months, the contract was to be signed next week, and the amount was eight million. If he walked away now, who would bear the company's losses?

He was forty-two. With elderly parents and young children, and seventeen years of mortgage left. If he lost his job at this age, finding another one...

He dialed.

Beep — beep —

"Hello?"

On the other end, Boss Wang's voice came crashing through, with the sound of rummaging through boxes and cabinets in the background.

"Old Li! You haven't left yet?!"

Li Jianguo was stunned.

"The country requires evacuation from Hangzhou within two weeks, you hurry up and take your family and go! I'm packing too! Reports and whatever can be filed after the earthquake is over!"

"But this project—"

"Is the project more important or life more important?!"

Boss Wang interrupted him.

"Old Li, don't be foolish! We'll talk about the project after it's over! No more talking, I'm driving — help me tell everyone in the company group, don't add trouble to the Motherland!"

Beep beep beep.

He hung up.

Li Jianguo stood in the middle of the living room, holding his phone.

Was this still the same Boss Wang who only cared about performance and KPIs? The same Boss Wang who forced him to work overtime for three weeks and revise the plan to the seventh version?

He opened the company group.

It was already blowing up.

"Brothers, should we ask for leave?"

"I just saw the news, is this real?"

"Whether it's real or not doesn't matter, would you dare not believe what the official account posted?"

"But the project..."

Li Jianguo typed a line and sent it.

"Boss Wang's exact words: We'll talk about the project after the earthquake is over. Everyone, take your families and evacuate immediately, don't add trouble to the Motherland."

The group was silent for three seconds.

Then the messages flooded the screen.

"Received!"

"Leaving, leaving!"

"Old Li, thank Boss Wang for me!"

"See you outside Hangzhou, brothers!"

Zhang Min came out of the bedroom, carrying two suitcases.

"Mom and Dad are already packing, they started preparing when they saw the news broadcast. The school has closed for everyone, the teachers told parents to pick them up directly."

Li Jianguo put his phone back in his pocket.

"Let's go. Pack the valuables and we'll head out right away."

---

Scenes like this were playing out simultaneously in every residential compound, every office building, and every school in Hangzhou.

Companies closed.

Schools suspended.

Neighborhood committees organized personnel, knocking on doors one by one.

The streets were full of people dragging suitcases.

Traffic police were all deployed, standing at every intersection, their fluorescent vests reflecting cold white light under the streetlamps.

Police assisted with traffic diversion, allowing one-way traffic, and all roads leading into the city were closed.

High-speed rail tickets, sold out.

Train tickets, sold out.

Plane tickets, sold out.

Long-distance bus tickets, sold out.

But no one was left behind.

On the streets, countless private cars spontaneously hung up handwritten placards —

"Free ride to the station! Hangzhou East Station / Xiaoshan Airport! Get in and we go!"

There were vans, business cars, and ride-hailing cars.

Some drivers emptied their trunks, filled them with bottled water and bread, and waved at anyone they saw.

They didn't ask where they were going, didn't charge a penny, just shouted one thing,

"Get in! I'll take you to the station!"

Amidst the flow of people moving in reverse, a team in camouflage appeared.

Three military troop carriers and seven armed police minibuses, with military green steel bodies, moved against the evacuation flow and plunged into the deep alleys of the old city.

Director Liu from the neighborhood office ran at the very front, clutching a list in his hand, shouting as he ran.

"Grandma Zhang! Grandma Zhang on the third floor! She's eighty-seven, her legs aren't good, she's the only one at home!"

Two young soldiers in camouflage responded, and rushed up the stairs three steps at a time.

The door opened.

Grandma Zhang stood at the doorway, leaning on a cane, dressed neatly.

Beside her feet was a small cloth bag containing her bankbook, household registration book, and a photo of her late husband.

"Have the PLA comrades arrived?"

The old lady smiled, her teeth almost all gone, but her smile was clean.

"I'm packed, let's go."

The soldier was stunned for a moment.

Grandma Zhang patted his arm.

"I started packing when I saw the news. The country told us to leave, there must be a reason. I won't add trouble to you all."

One soldier squatted down, carried the old lady on his back, and the other carried the small cloth bag.

They jogged down the stairs.

In the next unit, Grandpa Wang was already standing at the stairwell entrance with a woven bag in his hand. When he saw the soldiers come out, he shouted,

"Young man! Don't worry about me, go take care of Ms. Zhao on the fifth floor first, she's with two kids!"

Throughout the entire alley, not a single person was wailing or crying.

Not a single person refused to leave.

Grandpas and grandmas were dressed neatly, locking doors as they should, turning off gas as they should, and even took the trash downstairs to throw it away before leaving.

On Director Liu's list, names were crossed off one by one.

Red pen, one stroke.

Representing that the person had safely boarded.