Chapter 22

Yun Xin looked at the still howling little yellow dog, but noticed both the dog and its owner had a countdown to death on them. Occasionally, pedestrians passed by, keeping a safe distance from the dog, yet they too had a death countdown.

A quick scan of the room revealed Zhu Lin, Zhou Rui, the barbecue shop owner, waiters, and other customers—almost everyone had a countdown timer except for one child.

The child, around seven or eight years old and likely the owner’s son, sat in the corner absorbed in playing with toys.

After waiting for a moment, Zhu Lin noticed no one was laughing and looked at Yun Xin in puzzlement, “Why aren’t you teasing me for overthinking?”

Yun Xin replied, “Don’t underestimate a woman’s intuition. The sixth sense isn’t unique to me; many girls have it.”

Zhu Lin, a bit slow from drinking, didn’t catch on at first. When it sank in, she turned pale, “Are you saying… I also…”

The conclusion was too frightening, sending shivers down her spine and sobering her up instantly.

Zhu Lin shook her head like a rattle drum, “No, no, I’ve never had such abilities since I was a child… Besides, I was just talking nonsense earlier.”

“The so-called intuition is just a person’s initial reaction,” Zhou Rui chimed in, realizing for the first time that conversations could spoil one’s appetite. Fortunately, he had eaten enough earlier and was mostly full. “The more subconscious the thought, the more it aligns with the sixth sense. Conclusions reached through thought are already influenced by logical thinking and subjective judgment.”

Zhu Lin was bewildered.

She suspected she had drunk fake alcohol.

Otherwise, why couldn’t she understand what everyone was saying suddenly, even though they were speaking the Federation’s common language?

Zhu Lin thought of having a beer to calm her nerves again.

But as soon as she lifted the beer can, she thought, what if Yun Xin was right? Drinking alcohol slows reaction times and clouds the mind, making it difficult to escape.

Quickly, she put the beer down, poured herself a glass of warm water, and took a sip.

Continuing from there, she looked at Yun Xin, feeling uneasy, and asked, “Are you serious about this? You’re not joking to scare me?”

As she spoke, several deliverymen entered the shop. It seemed the barbecue shop owner managed both a physical shop and delivery service. After chatting briefly with the deliverymen, he handed them the packed orders.

Out of the five deliverymen, three had countdown timers.

Yun Xin could sense that staying in the barbecue shop any longer would put her in danger as well.

As for the level of danger… if ranked on a scale of SABCD with S being the most dangerous and D the least, it was probably a C—minor injuries might occur if precautions weren’t taken early.

“I thought the dog was howling like that because a major earthquake is coming, and it’s imminent. That’s why it was trying to break free from its leash and escape,” Yun Xin said.

Zhu Lin stared at Yun Xin for a while and finally squeezed out a sentence, “This is serious business, not a joke.”

Yun Xin looked back, “I just had that feeling when I looked at the dog, I’m not joking.”

At the right moment, Zhou Rui added, “If the dog’s howling is indeed due to an earthquake, it’s said that dogs can sense earthquakes half an hour before they happen.”

“Oh my god!” Zhu Lin stood up abruptly, “Boss, bring the bill!”

She motioned for Yun Xin and Zhou Rui to follow as she took out her phone to call her parents, “Mom, Dad, I’m out playing, and the dog’s howling like crazy. Some knowledgeable friends said there might be an earthquake soon. Whether it’s true or not, find a safe place first.”

“If an earthquake really happens, be careful…”

She paused. She wanted to offer some constructive advice, but when it came down to it, she realized she didn’t know anything about it herself.

How do you protect yourself during an earthquake? What did they teach in safety education?

Zhu Lin tried hard to remember.

But first, she had just had a drink, so her mind wasn’t sharp. Second, when binge-watching dramas on the computer, she couldn’t skip over safety education segments, so she seized the time to play with her phone and continued watching when the drama resumed.

Not a second was wasted, truly a “time management master.”

She had been proud of this approach at the time, but now that something had actually happened, she hadn’t retained any of the knowledge points, and she was more despairing than failing an exam or facing possible academic probation.

After struggling for a while, knowing there was no time to waste, she simply told her parents, “Look it up online, how to protect yourself in an earthquake. Anyway, the most important thing is that you’re safe.”

“I understand.”

She hung up, quickly searched online for earthquake-related information, and hurriedly caught up on the lessons.

Zhou Rui also called his parents. Although he was from out of town and his parents were not in the city, who knew if he might be in trouble? While they were still reachable, he quickly made a call.

Meanwhile, Yun Xin dialed the emergency hotline. “Cats and dogs on the street are all restless, it looks like an earthquake is coming soon. Can you evacuate people in advance?”

The operator was stunned, “Um, we haven’t received any notifications. The Earthquake Bureau uses specialized instruments, and if there’s a tremor, they’ll…”

“Earthquake warnings are only issued 17 seconds in advance. What can you do in 17 seconds? You can’t even run,” Yun Xin interrupted, “How about sending someone to check if there are any anomalies in the underground water? If well water warms up, changes color, tastes different, bubbles, or froths, there’s a high probability of an earthquake.”

“I’ll pass this on,” suddenly a supervisor appeared, “This number is specially marked. She reported an alert before the collapse of the New World Hotel building. You can trust what she says.”

The operator didn’t quite understand but still replied, “Thank you for letting us know. I’ll have my colleagues verify and arrange for residents to evacuate as soon as possible.”

The call ended.

The operator looked at the supervisor, slightly bewildered, as if waiting for an explanation.

However, the leader said, “The situation is urgent. Waiting to confirm and then evacuating residents would be too late. We should broadcast city-wide now and have everyone move to open spaces. If it turns out there’s no earthquake, I’ll take full responsibility.”

“Understood.”

Upon hearing this, everyone began to act.

Soon, city-wide broadcasts echoed, “Emergency notice, an earthquake is imminent in this city. Please move to open spaces immediately. Be careful not to crowd or trample, and take care of the elderly and children. Repeating, emergency notice, an earthquake is imminent in this city…”

Upon receiving the notice, schools immediately took action, teachers quickly organizing students to move to the playground.

At the same time, malls and office buildings began evacuating people.

It was then that people realized how densely packed the high-rises were. With so many people, even the parking lots and open spaces were almost overflowing.

Seven minutes after the broadcast, the leader received a report from his subordinate, “The well water is indeed abnormal. Not only has it changed color, but it also emits a strange odor and bubbles. The livestock in the village are also acting strangely. Chickens are flying into trees, pigs are running, and dogs are constantly barking. They won’t eat and can’t calm down even when fed.”

All of these are signs before an earthquake.

With more certainty, the leader issued instructions one after another, ensuring that everyone was informed to seek shelter.

“Don’t approach buildings, trees, or utility poles. Don’t approach buildings, trees, or utility poles,” Zhu Lin muttered to herself, repeatedly memorizing her strategy she had just looked up.

The weather was already hot, and more and more people were gathering around.

Having had a drink, Zhu Lin felt even more restless, “Why do I feel like I’m going to have heatstroke before the earthquake even hits?”

Yun Xin had no choice but to pull her along.

As soon as their hands clasped, Zhu Lin looked at Yun Xin in surprise, “Your hands are so cool and comfortable. With so many people here, aren’t you hot breathing in all this hot air?”

Yun Xin replied, “I naturally have a cold body temperature. Even in summer, my hands are cold.”

“Nice.” Zhu Lin admired.

At this point, it had been twenty-one minutes since Yun Xin first saw the countdown to death.

“Don’t approach buildings, trees, or utility poles.” Zhu Lin continued to mutter her strategy. Of course, she kept repeating it because her mind was currently empty, and she didn’t know anything else.

Before she could finish the sentence, the earth shook and people almost fell on the flat ground.

Fortunately, Yun Xin was held back by her arm, and Yun Xin was as stable as Mount Tai, barely able to stabilize her figure.

Beside her, Zhou Rui was embarrassed to catch up with Yun Xin.

“Boom—”

Buildings with inadequate construction quality and old buildings collapsed first.

Then there was another intense shaking, and the trees on the street fell down, and utility poles fell down, and the newly built real estate also swayed.

Zhu Lin held Yun Xin’s arm tightly.

Young people who grew up in peacetime have never seen this before? It’s not too much to say that doomsday has come.

In the midst of chaos, there were people who cried out for help, anger, and fear.

“I told you to run away from the bad stuff and put it down!” Now your legs are being buried and they can’t move!

“Didn’t I say that when an earthquake struck, he moved next to buildings, trees, and utility poles? You can’t see that there are utility poles here?

“Help me! My child was buried in it. Can anyone help her?”

“Why run out now? Isn’t that reckless?”

“What’s wrong with these young girls nowadays? Why won’t they listen?”

“Where nearby is safer than here? Running around will only lead to trouble.”

“Poor guy, he chased after his girlfriend out of worry. I wonder if he’ll make it out alive…”

Before the words could settle, an explosion erupted.

Everyone around was caught up in it; some were thrown far away, some coughed up blood, and in the next second, they slumped over, eyes wide open, frozen in their final moments.

Screams echoed incessantly.

Someone shouted, “The natural gas pipeline burst, gas explosion! Run!”

Zhu Lin heard the commotion behind her and couldn’t help but look back. She saw flames shooting up, explosions everywhere. The open space that everyone had deemed safe had turned into a sea of fire in an instant.

Zhu Lin was frightened. “Why is there another fire?!”

In that split second of looking back, a small tree beside the road fell. Just as it was about to hit her, Zhou Rui reached out to block it.

“What are you standing around for? Run!” Zhou Rui urged.

Zhu Lin snapped out of it and started running again.

Once she had run a distance, Zhou Rui let go of her hand, allowing the tree to fall.

On the other side, the girl’s boyfriend was still shouting, “Don’t run around! It’s dangerous.”

But before he could catch up, a wave of heat surged from behind.

The boyfriend froze, involuntarily stopping to look back.

If the girl hadn’t run away just then, they would have been standing right where the explosion happened…

The girl finally stopped running blindly. She cried out, “How many times do I have to say it? It feels really bad standing there, but you just won’t listen!”

The boyfriend was alarmed. “I’m sorry! I’ll listen to whatever you say from now on! Please don’t run around anymore, okay? Let’s find another safe spot.”

The girl sobbed and agreed.

“Okay, it should be safe here,” Yun Xin said after running for a while, finally stopping.

Zhu Lin felt her legs go weak.

On one hand, she was out of breath from running so far.

On the other, after witnessing one earthquake, explosion, and fire after another, her face was pale, clearly overwhelmed.

Yun Xin couldn’t bear it. “Sit down and rest.”

Upon hearing Yun Xin say she could rest, Zhu Lin relaxed and collapsed on the ground.

Yun Xin looked at Zhou Rui. “What happened to your hand?”

Zhou Rui mumbled, “Just now, a tree fell by the roadside. I tried to block it and got hit.”

Zhu Lin realized, “Was it because of me?”

Zhou Rui shrugged, “It’s just a minor injury, nothing serious. A few days’ rest will do.”

Fear, regret, and relief washed over Zhu Lin.

“Waah!” she cried, “I couldn’t do anything to help. Why am I so useless? I didn’t want to burden you. I just… lost focus…”

“I know. I didn’t think much of it either, just acted on instinct and helped out,” Zhou Rui reassured her. “When I looked back then, it wasn’t just you; it was me and others too. You just had the misfortune of having a tree fall where you couldn’t see.”

Zhu Lin continued crying.

Zhou Rui joked, “If you really feel bad, just cover my medical expenses, provide meals during recovery, and waive a year’s rent. That should make up for it.”

He expected to get punched for saying that, but instead—

“Okay, deal,” Zhu Lin agreed.

Yun Xin tried to search for information online, but the interface showed “no signal.”

“It looks like communication equipment has been destroyed too.”

Ultimately, the only way to get the latest updates was through word of mouth.

“I heard casualties were moderate. Most people evacuated in time.”

“Just now, there was a natural gas explosion over there, and several people died. It also started a fire.”

“The firefighters have rushed to the scene. But nearby water pipes have burst, so the fire won’t be put out quickly.”

“It’s scorching hot, and now we have earthquakes and fires. It’s really life-threatening! I saw an elderly person faint while escaping, carried by their son.”

“I just saw an ambulance, probably going to rescue someone. But the middle of the road is full of debris, utility poles, and abandoned cars. The ambulance can’t get through!”

Survivors shared everything they had seen and heard with each other, sighing with emotion.

At that moment, someone’s stomach growled.

Embarrassed, they held their stomach, “I didn’t eat enough at lunch, and now I’m hungry.”

No one had mentioned it before, but once someone did, everyone realized they hadn’t eaten dinner yet.

But looking around, collapsed houses and rubble everywhere, where could they possibly find food?

Everyone felt lost.

“We barely survived

“I know. I didn’t think much about it either, I just saved you instinctively,” Zhou Rui said nonchalantly. “At that moment, it wasn’t just you who looked back; I did too, and so did others. It was just bad luck that a tree fell in your blind spot.”

Zhu Lin was still crying.

Zhou Rui deliberately said, “If you really feel guilty, you can cover my medical expenses, provide food while I recover, and waive a year’s rent. That should do it.”

He thought he would get scolded for saying this, but unexpectedly—

“Alright, let’s do that,” Zhu Lin agreed.

Yun Xin tried searching for information online, but the screen showed “No Signal.”

“It seems the communication equipment is also damaged.”

In the end, the only way to get the latest news was through word of mouth.

“I heard the casualties are manageable; most people evacuated in time.”

“There was a gas pipeline explosion earlier, killing quite a few people and causing a fire.”

“The firefighters have rushed to put out the fire. But nearby water pipes have also burst, so it won’t be extinguished anytime soon.”

“In this heat, with earthquakes and fires, it’s deadly! I saw an old man faint while escaping, carried by his son.”

“I just saw an ambulance, probably going to rescue someone. But the road is blocked with debris, power poles, and abandoned cars, so it can’t get through!”

People kept arriving at the safe area, sharing what they had witnessed along the way.

The survivors listened with a heavy heart.

At that moment, a stomach growled.

Someone, clutching their belly, said a bit embarrassed, “I didn’t eat enough at lunch; I’m hungry.”

This reminded everyone that they hadn’t had dinner.

But looking around, all they saw were collapsed houses and rubble, nowhere to eat.

Everyone felt at a loss.

“After surviving the earthquake and gas explosion, are we going to starve to death?” someone murmured.

Zhu Lin, having eaten before escaping, wasn’t hungry. She was thinking about another issue, “With the city in this state, where are we going to sleep tonight?”

She wanted to go home, but her car was still near the barbecue restaurant, some distance from where she was now.

After shaking for two minutes, there was no guarantee the car was still intact.

Even if it was, with the current road conditions, driving was impossible.

Walking home… would probably be too much for her legs to handle.

Zhu Lin looked around, lost and unsure of where to go.