102: Chapter 102 The Calm Before Disaster

Chen Mo swept across the high altitude.

At full speed, he crossed over a thousand kilometers in twenty seconds.

The clouds were torn into intermittent white lines beside him, and the earth below spread out, contracted, and spread out again.

He arrived at Han City.

Chen Mo looked down from mid-air for a moment.

On the surface, rows of two-story concrete houses were neatly arranged, with every buffer zone clearly marked.

Firebreaks, evacuation routes, and supply transport lines—all functional zones were clear at a glance.

This was a new city built from its foundations according to extreme disaster standards.

Every house had a density of steel reinforcement embedded in its concrete that far exceeded civil standards, and the depth of the underground shelters was sufficient to withstand any conventional geological disaster.

On the ground, everyone was making final preparations.

Some were repeatedly practicing the training movements of the Human Breathing Method in the open spaces along the street, their sweat-soaked vests clinging to their backs, their breathing rhythms perfectly steady.

Some were organizing disaster relief equipment boxes, checking the seals and cushioning layers one by one, while those around them silently helped out.

There were elderly people sitting on the steps at their doorways, not doing anything specific, just holding their family members' hands, their lips moving slightly as they prayed in low voices for the whole family.

Their prayers were scattered by the wind, blending into the low and continuous background hum of human voices throughout the city.

There was no chaos, no crying.

Chen Mo withdrew his gaze, turned slightly, and descended toward a cluster of houses.

At the courtyard gate, his uncle's family was already waiting.

The aroma of food drifted from the house, mixed with the cool evening breeze.

His uncle stood at the doorway, looked up and saw him, and a smile appeared on his face.

His aunt poked her head out from the house, holding a dish in her hand, and waved at him.

Brother Wei was setting the bowls and chopsticks, and hearing the commotion, he also looked toward the courtyard.

"You're back? Sit down, quickly sit down."

His uncle greeted him, his tone casual, as if Chen Mo had just gone out for a stroll.

These days, whether he was flying through the sky or burrowing into the earth, or lifting mountains with his strength, in his uncle's eyes, his nephew was still just his nephew.

Having seen it often, it was no longer surprising.

But the fine lines at the corners of his uncle's eyes were full of hidden smiles, his mouth moved very slightly, and he reached out to pull over a chair, signaling for Chen Mo to sit down.

His aunt grabbed Chen Mo's arm and pressed him into the seat next to his uncle.

The movement was natural, exactly the same as every time he had come home over the past dozen years.

The dishes on the table were still the same dishes.

Braised pork, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, a bowl of soup.

They were all things Chen Mo liked to eat.

At the dinner table, the family sat together, the clinking of chopsticks and bowls creating soft sounds, and laughter drifted intermittently through the courtyard.

His uncle ate a few bites and put down his chopsticks.

He looked at Chen Mo, a hint of uncontrollable worry in his tone.

"Xiao Mo, the disaster is only a few days away. Are you still going out?"

He already knew about Chen Mo's strength.

The whole world knew.

But knowing was one thing.

Facing the upcoming unknown cataclysm, facing something this planet had never experienced before, he still treated Chen Mo as a child.

Chen Mo put down his chopsticks, his voice gentle and certain.

"With your nephew's current strength, nothing can threaten me."

He paused and added, "I won't go out these next few days; I'll stay with you."

Chen Ting cheered immediately: "Great! With Xiao Mo here."

She spoke with conviction, as if Chen Mo staying behind was itself a protective talisman.

Brother Wei watched his wife from the side, smiles overflowing from the corners of his eyes.

Chen Mo also smiled, his eyes turning to Brother Wei and Chen Ting, and he changed the subject: "Perfect, let me see how you two are doing with your Human Breathing Method training."

Brother Wei immediately chimed in, pointing at Chen Ting and his wife and saying: "Your aunt and Xiao Ting are the best at slacking off; they think about skipping training every day. Their strength hasn't even caught up to the average level yet, even with your previous guidance. Xiao Mo, you need to catch them and train them properly."

Chen Ting widened her eyes, just about to retort, when Chen Mo already continued: "Don't run, any of you."

He didn't stand up, and he didn't release a shred of Aura.

But just his posture while sitting there made Chen Ting and his aunt obediently put down their bowls and chopsticks.

An afternoon of training was spent in laughter and cheer.

Chen Mo didn't require any high-difficulty movements; he just corrected their breathing rhythms and adjusted the subtle misalignments in their force-generating chains.

He demonstrated the basic movements in the courtyard, moving very slowly, breaking down every step clearly.

Brother Wei watched from the side, occasionally following along with the gestures.

The family practiced and laughed in the courtyard, the cooking smoke and the setting sun sinking together into the distant horizon.

After dinner, the family sat in the courtyard.

The night sky was clear, the stars had not yet fully brightened, and only the brightest few hung in the sky.

In the corner of the courtyard were planted a few Chinese roses, planted by someone unknown; their colors were unclear in the night, but one could smell a faint, sweet fragrance.

His uncle suddenly spoke.

"Xiao Mo, you seem to have changed."

Chen Mo looked at him.

His uncle waved his hand, weighing his words; he knew Chen Mo too well, so he spoke very accurately.

"I don't mean physical changes. It's like your mindset. You've become very relaxed, very natural."

Chen Mo did not answer immediately. He looked at the night sky and was silent for a moment.

This silence was not hesitation, but rather like he was searching for an accurate word.

"I had an epiphany before," he said, "and completely mastered myself."

His uncle did not ask what kind of epiphany it was.

He didn't know what the Inner World was.

But he could see that Chen Mo's change was good.

He looked at Chen Mo and just nodded.

"That's good."

Chen Mo knew what his uncle was thinking.

He looked into his uncle's eyes: "Don't worry, Uncle. I have always been on the right path."

He didn't say this quickly; every word landed steadily between the two of them.

Chen Ting leaned back in her chair, looking up at the stars that had just brightened, and suddenly said: "Yeah, I feel it too. Being with Xiao Mo is especially comfortable; my heart is especially calm, free and at ease. It's different from the usual kind of rest."

Chen Mo turned to look at her and just smiled slightly.

"Practice the Human Breathing Method well, Sister Ting."

"Once you reach the Rhythm Realm, you can basically keep your youth forever."

The lethality of this sentence was greater than any prodding.

Chen Ting's eyes widened.

His aunt also suddenly lifted her head.

And his aunt had already been leaning against the chair about to fall asleep, but after hearing this, she sat up straight at once.

"Really?" Three voices rang out almost simultaneously.

Chen Mo nodded.

Then the three of them spontaneously moved to the other side of the courtyard and started extra training.

Brother Wei sat next to Chen Mo, watching this scene, and slapped his thigh.

"Xiao Mo, you really have ideas."

The family burst into laughter.

The laughter drifted through the courtyard, caught by the night wind and floated into the distance.

It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that the family members each returned to their rooms to rest.

Chen Mo was the only one left in the courtyard, sitting quietly in place. He didn't practice boxing, didn't fly, didn't expand his Force Field. He just sat there.

The operation of the Inner World never stopped.

His body was like a furnace that never extinguished, continuing to become stronger every minute and every second.

The moment he landed in Han City, his Mental Power had sensed it.

Besides his uncle's family and relatives, some familiar faces also lived nearby.

The new political center was not far away, right at the core of this area.

Chen Mo did not feel surprised.

He understood that this was human nature; putting important people in a safe place was a human instinct.

The next morning.

A simple breakfast was brought to the table; his aunt had gotten up the earliest.

White porridge, pickled vegetables, two boiled eggs.

After eating, Chen Mo walked out of the courtyard gate.

The early morning air still carried a bit of chill.

The training ground was not far away, and he walked over slowly.

Dozens of students were doing the most basic muscle tension training, their breathing sounds steady and solid.

Cheng Jian stood at the very front of the line, demonstrating while correcting their forms in a lowered voice.

Chen Mo stopped at the edge of the training ground without making a sound.

Cheng Jian's gaze swept over and paused.

He jogged over, his steps steady and fast.

Arriving in front of him, he stood still, his voice suppressing habitual respect: "Mr. Chen, you are back."

Chen Mo nodded, not correcting the address.

Long ago, he had told Cheng Jian that he could just call him by his name, and he had said it more than once.

Cheng Jian's attitude did not change; he agreed readily, but every time he opened his mouth, it was still "Mr."

Chen Mo's gaze shifted behind Cheng Jian.

On the training ground, a straight-backed middle-aged man was standing beside the line of students, his hands behind his back.

"The person beside you, aren't you going to introduce him?"

Cheng Jian immediately turned around and waved at the man.

"Old Company Commander!"

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua walked over with big strides.

In his fifties, with a sturdy build and a straight posture, his movements carried clear traces of a soldier.

His eyes were steady, but in front of Chen Mo, there was an undisguised respect within that steadiness.

Cheng Jian said: "This is my Old Company Commander, Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua. Back then, it was to him that I brought the Human Breathing Method to be turned in. Now that the crisis is almost here, he has also become free, so he came over to train together."

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua looked at Chen Mo, his tone solemn.

"Mr. Chen. Thank you."

Chen Mo knew what he was thanking him for.

He waved his hand.

"It's nothing."

The three of them walked to the side of the field.

Cheng Jian spoke up.

He had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Every time he saw Chen Mo, he had accumulated a pile of questions.

"Teacher Chen, this past month, my force generation has been stuck at 2.8 times," he said, his tone devoid of frustration, only a deep sense of inquiry.

"Every time I feel like I'm about to break through that threshold, it ends up being just a little bit short, and no matter what, I can't push it up."

Chen Mo glanced at him.

Cheng Jian's progress was already very fast.

How long had it been since the Rhythm Realm, and he had already reached 2.8 times.

Chen Mo said: "It's a limitation of Mental Power. Your Mental Power cannot keep up with your current force generation."

Cheng Jian did not speak, just listened attentively.

"First, calm your mind. You don't need to obsess over force generation."

"Remember, in the Rhythm Realm, physical fitness is the most important thing."

Cheng Jian nodded.

He had been wound up too tight for too long and needed a direction to tell him it was okay not to keep rushing forward.

"Mental Power can be slowly honed later."

Chen Mo added, "Perhaps before long, methods for Mental Power training will be developed."

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua listened quietly from the side.

He did not interrupt, but his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, clearly also digesting every word in these sentences.

These things were still too far away for him now, but he still remembered every word.

Cheng Jian asked many more things.

From Bottlenecks in the training stage to subtle adjustments in force transmission, and then to the upcoming crisis.

Hearing Chen Mo say that all the preparations Xia Country could make had been put in place, the migration was complete, supplies were locked in, and the national physical fitness had already far exceeded any expectations from a year ago.

Cheng Jian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The conversation ended.

Cheng Jian stepped back and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua.

The two looked at each other, then simultaneously bowed deeply to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo waved his hand.

He turned and left.

And the disaster was also continuing to approach.

September 11th.