169: Chapter 169 Seawater Intrusion, Mass Evacuation

"Based on the speed, should we announce an evacuation of the coastal areas now?"

Jiang Chen asked with a frown.

Five days sounded like almost a week.

But if an entire city needed to evacuate, even a week might not be enough.

"Twenty percent of Zhujiang City's citizens have already evacuated. The rest are leaving in succession, and those who haven't left yet are ready to go at any moment."

"The hardest to evacuate right now are the large equipment enterprises. Some of their equipment is extremely valuable and urgently needs truck transport, but unfortunately, transport resources are tight and cannot be arranged."

Commander Tang Ze shook his head.

Places like the Longke Academy have a lot of large equipment ready to be moved, but they lack heavy-duty trucks for transport.

Therefore...

Xia Zhongxun had already turned around and requested Commander Tang Ze to arrange for warships to help with the transport.

However, the warships were still some distance from the Longke Academy, unless the sea level continued to rise and pushed them closer...

"Alright, I understand."

Jiang Chen nodded, preparing to arrange for Jiang Xiaoran and his parents-in-law to evacuate together.

Commander Tang Ze suddenly called out, "Jiang Chen!"

"Hmm?"

"You should hurry and evacuate too! The Longke Academy will arrange a place for you."

"Okay."

Jiang Chen nodded.

Aside from Jiang Xiaoran and his parents-in-law, he had no other concerns left in Zhujiang City.

"Uncle, where are we going now?"

"First, to my parents-in-law's house. I'm going to get you all out of here."

As Jiang Chen spoke, he led Jiang Xiaoran to the small fishing boat.

Watching Jiang Chen enter the small fishing boat's cockpit with practiced ease, Jiang Xiaoran was confused. "Uncle, aren't we going to Auntie's parents' house? Why are we getting on a fishing boat?"

She was a bit puzzled. Could it be that her aunt's parents lived on an island?

Jiang Chen smiled.

He knew she had no idea the small fishing boat could fly.

So he said, "Get in first, you'll find out in a moment."

"Oh!"

Jiang Xiaoran climbed into the cockpit, half-doubting.

The next second...

As Jiang Chen started it up, Jiang Xiaoran was completely stunned.

This tiny fishing boat not only had a sci-fi-like operating system but even extended wings on both sides.

"My goodness, the small fishing boat grew wings?" Jiang Xiaoran was dazed.

However...

As the small fishing boat hovered...

The Horse Terracotta Warriors underwater also broke through the surface, with tall soldier figurines several meters high riding them.

high-energy particle beams pulled the small fishing boat higher and higher.

It stopped directly at an altitude of a hundred meters.

"What... is this?!"

Jiang Xiaoran, who had been shocked by the aircraft carrier for a long time before, was stunned once again.

Jiang Chen smiled. "You can think of them as mecha."

"Mecha? Like the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals?" Jiang Xiaoran gasped; it was too shocking.

The mecha she saw on the internet and TV were powerful but still within her comprehension. These Terracotta Warriors were not only uniquely shaped and massive, but the particle beams they released were like the energy of an alien spacecraft—incredibly sci-fi!

"Sit tight, we're going to speed up."

Jiang Chen warned her and handed her a red bag.

Jiang Xiaoran quickly took the bag.

She gripped the handrail tightly.

Whoosh!

Instantly reaching Mach 0.5.

Then it maintained a speed of Mach 1 as it flew forward.

Jiang Xiaoran felt a massive force pushing her back into her seat.

Jiang Chen had originally wanted to fly at Mach 20, but on second thought, Jiang Xiaoran's physical condition wouldn't be able to handle it.

So, he could only crawl along at the "snail's pace" of Mach 1.

Even so...

By the time the small fishing boat stopped at the plaza in front of Qin Guohua's residential complex, Jiang Xiaoran couldn't help but bury her head in the red bag.

The sound of vomiting followed.

"Rest here for a while; I'll be right back."

Jiang Chen patted her back, letting her rest for a bit.

He rang Qin Guohua's doorbell.

At this moment, Qin Guohua and his wife had already packed their things.

They had already received notice from the Longke Academy to be ready to evacuate at any time.

Their only remaining concern was Xue Yao and Jiang Chen.

However!

Xue Yao had called the couple and said she was safe overseas.

However...

When the two heard she was overseas, they became even more anxious.

Fortunately...

Jiang Chen had returned.

He got straight to the point with Qin Guohua. "Dad, pack up. I'm taking you out of Zhujiang!"

"Jiang Chen, where is Xue Yao? Why is she still overseas?"

Qin Guohua didn't even know that Xue Yao had become an aircraft carrier commander. He only heard from Xue Yao herself that she was a medic on a warship and that it was a secret, so the two of them didn't dare ask too much.

Qin's mother was also worried. "Yes, Jiang Chen, what's going on with that girl Xue Yao? Why did she run off to be a medic on a warship? Is it safe?"

Knowing they were worried about their daughter, Jiang Chen said reassuringly, "Mom, Dad, don't worry. Xue Yao's position on the warship is quite high, so she'll be safe. I've come back now specifically to take you to safety."

"We're fine. The Longke Academy has already arranged a transport plane to take us away. The time is roughly tomorrow morning around nine o'clock,"

Qin Guohua said.

The Longke Academy had already arranged evacuation routes for its research personnel.

But they had to wait in line.

Jiang Chen said, "No need to wait for tomorrow. I'll take you away today. Tell them to give your spots from the Longke Academy to others."

"This... that works too."

So Qin Guohua contacted the academy's logistics, telling them he had found a way to leave Zhujiang City and was giving up his spot to someone else.

After some packing...

Qin Guohua and his wife left their home reluctantly.

Upon reaching the entrance of the complex...

They were both stunned to see the small fishing boat and the five Terracotta Warriors parked in the plaza.

"Jiang Chen, what is this?"

As a researcher at the Longke Academy, although Qin Guohua had seen the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, it was his first time seeing this design of the small fishing boat and the Horse Terracotta Warriors.

Jiang Xiaoran chimed in, "Hello, Grandpa and Grandma! Uncle said these are mecha!"

"Mecha? These aren't the same series as the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, are they?"

Qin Guohua muttered to himself.

But there was no time to worry about that now.

Under Jiang Chen's arrangement, they quickly entered the cockpit.

The cockpit wasn't large, only able to hold about ten people.

But the deck was huge, enough to accommodate over fifty people.

Of course...

The deck wasn't as comfortable as the cockpit.

After Jiang Chen had settled the three of them...

...he started the small fishing boat.

"By the way, Dad, where did the Longke Academy arrange for you to go?"

Jiang Chen asked.

Qin Guohua said, "Zhongsha City. The entire Longke Academy plans to move to Zhongsha."

"Zhongsha... that's too far. I still have to go back to the port."

"How about this, Mom, Dad: I'll take you to the nearest city, Beiling City, and from there you can take a plane or train to Zhongsha. How does that sound?"

Jiang Chen inquired.

Beiling was on high ground and several hundred miles from Zhujiang City. Even if the seawater flowed back, it wouldn't reach Beiling City immediately.

They could head to Zhongsha at their leisure.

The same went for Jiang Xiaoran.

Her home was in Xiang Province, so she could also return there from Beiling City.

"Alright! You stay safe."

Qin Guohua said with a worried expression.

Whoosh.

The small fishing boat took off.

Heading north all the way.

During the flight...

...it happened to fly over the airspace of Ocean University.

At this moment, Ocean University...

...was in a state of total chaos.

Many college students from out of town wanted to go home.

But plane and train tickets were already sold out.

Even the highways were jammed with traffic.

They wanted to leave Zhujiang City but were desperately lacking transportation.

Meanwhile...

...the university was arranging some ships.

These ships were part of a collaboration between Ocean University and several shipping groups.

They had already prepared for the worst-case scenario.

If they couldn't evacuate in time, they would have to board the ships.

At first, the students breathed a sigh of relief.

But soon, everyone realized something was wrong.

Because boarding required a ticket, and some shipping companies had actually started selling tickets for fifty thousand yuan each.