In the morning, the sky had been clear for miles, but by noon the weather suddenly changed. Fierce winds raged, and rain poured down in torrents.

Shen Xiaoxiao trembled as she hugged her phone, scrolling through one desperate message after another in her social media feed and local group chats.

“Oh my god, how can it be raining this heavily? My car stalled, I’m stuck on the road—what should I do?”

“I’m at the subway station, water is already flooding in. Wuwuwu… Dad, Mom, I’m not ready to die yet.”

“Does anyone know what’s happening in the old Yindu district? My parents’ house is on the first floor—I’m afraid it’s flooding. I can’t reach them. Does anyone know friends over there?”

“Everyone must stay away from windows! Just now, a neighbor in my community went to the balcony to collect clothes and was blown away along with the window frame. They still haven’t been found.”

“My community is Fengdu Xinyuan. The property office just notified us—the rain came too fast. The underground garage barrier failed, and water is already pouring in.”

“I can’t believe you people. Didn’t the weather forecast warn about heavy rain and strong winds today? Why wasn’t anyone prepared? Who do you blame now?”

Message after message flew past. Almost all were pleas for help. Because too many people were calling, emergency lines couldn’t get through, so everyone was forced to ask for help online.

Shen Xiaoxiao glanced around. Only her gaming group remained calm.

One cautious member asked, “Nobody went out today, right?”

Replies came quickly.

“No, no! That thunder scared me to death. My wife insisted on going to work today; I barely managed to keep her home. I’m still bruised from it. Haha, now she’s serving me tea.”

“I pretended to have a stomachache to skip class today. My mom’s out there feeling relieved—everyone who went to tutoring is trapped.”

“I just took a nap. Didn’t expect the weather to flip like this. My parents and little sister are all home, going back to sleep.”

“My god, what kind of luck is this? We stocked up and stayed home early. Looks like this rain won’t stop anytime soon.”

“Not only won’t it stop—check the forums. This storm is global. Some places even have tsunamis, massive tornadoes, rainfall up to 1,000 millimeters.”

Shen Xiaoxiao quickly opened the forum, full of users sharing local updates from around the world.

As posts scrolled by, she saw shocking images.

Countless people buried by sudden flash floods, swept away by rushing waters, or trapped in cars submerged past the rooftops, unable to open the windows.

Others, blinded by the downpour, drove straight into rivers, cliffs, mountain ravines, or coastal waters.

Tornadoes were unimaginably destructive, ripping off rooftops and leaving millions homeless.

Tsunamis in the deep ocean swallowed islands and surged onto low-lying coastal lands, submerging entire cities in water.

Soon, these reports spread worldwide.

Shen City was comparatively lucky. Its high elevation spared it from tsunamis and tornadoes. Only the relentless rain hammered down.

“Xiaoxiao, is all of this really true?”

At that moment, Father Shen walked over with his phone, Mother beside him. Both had tightly pressed lips, brows full of worry.

It seemed they had seen the news too.

Shen Xiaoxiao nodded and handed her phone to her father. “This is the prophecy posted by the site owner. Our group decided to stock up and stay on high ground, and especially not to go out today.”

After reading, Father Shen sighed, approving his daughter’s actions.

“Yes. You did the right thing.”

“So yesterday when you told me to hurry back, it was because you knew this was coming?”

Shen Xiaoxiao nodded. “I told Mom yesterday. She agreed it was better if you returned early.”

Father Shen and his wife exchanged a look, relief evident in their eyes.

Everything had turned out exactly as their daughter said.

They had originally thought the “apocalypse” talk was just her exaggeration, and stockpiling was a whim. Once the excitement passed, it would be over.

If he hadn’t rushed home last night, and instead took today’s flight, he would have been caught in this storm.

With such terrifying rainfall, even airports might not have been safe. Up in the sky, with lightning and thunder striking so frequently, landing safely would have been extremely difficult.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

Opening it, they found Auntie Wang from the second floor, crying desperately and asking for help.

“The rain just now was too heavy; our house flooded. My son tripped on the balcony—he can’t move. Doctor Shen, you must help us!”

She was covered in mud and dripping water, clearly having fallen, looking completely bedraggled.

At such a time, she couldn’t reach the hospital and had no choice but to turn to her upstairs neighbors.

Father Shen was a renowned orthopedic doctor at a top hospital. Hearing this, he immediately agreed to help and rushed out.

Shen Xiaoxiao told her mother to lock all doors and windows, then followed.

The elevator shaft was flooded, the control panel shorted out, making it unusable.

Even though Auntie Wang’s apartment was only on the second floor, she had climbed up ten floors to seek help.

Some stairwell windows hadn’t been closed properly, so water pooled on the steps, even flowing down like small waterfalls in some areas.

Father Shen followed carefully. The three held the railing, inching along for nearly ten minutes before reaching the second floor.

One look revealed that the rain had already flooded the first floor and basement—everything submerged.

Inside, Auntie Wang’s son lay on the floor, groaning in pain.

Her daughter-in-law clutched their child, crying bitterly.

A balcony window had shattered, letting water pour in freely, flooding the room.

Father Shen asked Shen Xiaoxiao to assist with a quick examination.
“Does it hurt here? Can you feel it? Try moving this arm… Can’t move?”

He looked around and cut the apartment’s main power to prevent electrocution.

Then he said, “We can’t stay here. Move him to a higher place—a bed or sofa. But don’t move him too much to avoid further injury.”

Auntie Wang wailed, “Doctor Shen, he can’t move! Did he break his spine? Are his nerves affected?”

Father Shen frowned. “Go get some people to help lift him carefully. Make a simple brace to move him onto the bed. Then I’ll do a more thorough check.”

Auntie Wang nodded and rushed out to find help.

At this point, property staff couldn’t reach them, ambulances couldn’t get through, and with the current rainfall, even hospitals were likely starting to become paralyzed.