Chapter 23

“Generally, the government will organize rescue efforts immediately. They will also arrange temporary accommodations for survivors who can’t return home yet, providing food and water,” Yun Xin reassured. “The most important thing is that people are safe. As for the rest… let’s wait and see, there will be an explanation eventually.”

Zhou Rui, however, said, “The communication equipment is destroyed, many buildings have collapsed. Even if people are safe, it will take several years to rebuild and restore things to how they were before the earthquake.”

Zhu Lin, who was a local, born and raised in the city and had deep feelings for it, stubbornly replied, “Whether it takes three years or five, it will eventually be restored to its original state!”

As an outsider, Zhou Rui considered the issue more rationally, “In those three to five years, the economy will definitely be affected. If a local’s house didn’t collapse, that’s fine, they only need to worry about daily necessities. But for those whose houses and office buildings have collapsed, losing both their homes and jobs, how will they get through the next three to five years?”

Zhu Lin was at a loss for words.

“Moreover,” Zhou Rui looked at the devastation and asked softly, “after the earthquake, would you still dare to live here? What if there’s another earthquake in a few years?”

Zhu Lin, “…”

She had deep feelings for the city, but the thought of continuing to live here frightened her.

“Let’s discuss it later.” Zhu Lin sighed, “I’ll talk it over with my parents when we get home.”

An hour passed.

Finally, someone led them to a temporary shelter.

It was a hall filled with the strong aroma of instant noodles, with a few people sparsely sitting in the corners. Staff members were distributing bottled water and instant noodles. Some survivors, hungrily devouring the noodles, looked famished.

“We’ll have to spend the night here.” The person who led them here showed a hint of apology. “Given the situation, everyone will have to make do.”

Yun Xin went to get bottled water and biscuits, then sat down against the wall.

Zhu Lin quickly followed suit. 

Zhou Rui came over, “Why did you choose this spot?”

Yun Xin replied, “I like sleeping against the wall.”

Zhou Rui said nothing more.

Yun Xin looked at Zhu Lin, “If you’re tired, take a nap. Tonight will be rough, the sleeping conditions won’t be great, so sleep while you can.”

Zhu Lin nodded like a pecking chick.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, or maybe the intense shock she had experienced, but knowing she was safe, a wave of peace washed over her, and she fell asleep shortly after closing her eyes.

At the same time, Yun Xin, with her eyes closed, was trying to rest. However, an intense gaze made it impossible for her to ignore.

Yun Xin had to open her eyes, “What’s the matter?”

The owner of the gaze was Zhou Rui. He wasn’t embarrassed at being caught, and instead, he said, “I find it amazing.”

“What’s amazing?” Yun Xin asked.

“When I first met you, I thought you were a recent graduate, introverted, and someone who needed others to take care of you. But after the disaster, everything changed,” Zhou Rui said with mixed emotions. “All this time, you’ve been taking care of us.”

“Is being taken care of a bad thing?” Yun Xin countered.

“No. As long as we can survive, anything is fine,” Zhou Rui said self-mockingly. “I just thought I would be the one protecting others. Being protected feels a bit strange.”

Yun Xin said decisively, “Then get used to it quickly.”

Zhou Rui smiled, “You’re not hiding anything anymore, are you?”

Yun Xin thought, she had once hoped for an ordinary life, but with disasters becoming more frequent, staying low-key was no longer an option.

So she decided… whatever! She would live in a way that made her happy.

“You’ve been busy all day, aren’t you tired? How do you have the energy to think about all this?” Yun Xin was curious. “If you’re not tired, you can keep watch. Consider it taking care of the two girls.”

With that, she closed her eyes to rest, refusing to chat further.

Zhou Rui smiled and dutifully kept watch.

The night was anything but peaceful.

Survivors were constantly being brought into the hall.

Men, women, the old, the young… voices and rustling sounds never ceased.

In the middle of the night, Zhou Rui needed to use the restroom.

Before leaving, he planned to wake Yun Xin to alert her. After all, in such a crowded hall, there was no guarantee that there wasn’t a single bad person.

But as soon as he reached out, before he could touch her, Yun Xin’s eyes snapped open, sharply watching him.

Zhou Rui, “…”

Alright, he was worrying for nothing.

Zhou Rui retracted his hand, “I’m stepping out for a moment.”

“Go ahead,” Yun Xin permitted.

Next to her, Zhu Lin was sleeping soundly, oblivious to everything.

Zhou Rui thought, if Yun Xin had ill intentions, Zhu Lin wouldn’t even know what happened if she were sold.

How could there be such a big difference between people?

When you’re away from home, at least have some caution.

Zhou Rui shook his head and left.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, as daylight brightened the sky, Zhu Lin woke up yawning after a full night’s sleep. Memories of the previous night flashed through her mind, leaving her frozen in place. 

Talking too much, slow to react, dragging everyone down, and on top of that, crying uncontrollably?!!

“Awake?” Zhou Rui was eating instant noodles. Seeing Zhu Lin awake, he greeted her, “You slept soundly. With people coming and going, and all the chatter, nothing woke you up.”

Zhu Lin replied, “That’s because I drank alcohol!”

She explained earnestly, but Zhou Rui didn’t seem to care. He continued slurping his noodles.

“Where’s Yun Xin?” After last night, Zhu Lin developed a strange dependency on Yun Xin. She felt uneasy whenever Yun Xin was out of sight.

“Right here,” Yun Xin appeared behind Zhu Lin with a freshly made cup of instant noodles.

Zhu Lin relaxed, “You went to get noodles.”

“Yes,” Yun Xin told her, “There are a lot of people in the hall, and you weren’t waking up. Zhou Rui and I took turns getting noodles while one of us stayed to guard you.”

Zhu Lin said, “Drinking causes trouble. I won’t drink again!!”

Zhou Rui glanced up, “Stop chatting and go get your noodles. You don’t want to be stuck with mushroom and chicken flavor, do you?”

Zhu Lin, “?!”

She quickly ran to get in line.

Although the conditions at the temporary shelter were poor, under the circumstances, having hot water and hot noodles was quite good. Additionally, staying there meant that staff would inform everyone immediately if they received any updates.

“The 8.6 magnitude earthquake is extremely rare in history. Fortunately, the government evacuated people in time, preventing major casualties. However, half of the buildings have collapsed, and public infrastructure is severely damaged, making the losses immeasurable.”

“The earthquake caused a natural gas pipeline to rupture, leading to an explosion and subsequent fire. According to statistics, 24 people have died and 7 were injured.”

“Due to the extreme heat, some elderly and children suffered heatstroke while escaping. So far, 31 people have died from the extreme heat.”

“Latest news: the fire has been extinguished. The government is clearing roads and sending ambulances to transport and treat the injured.”

“Some people went home to gather important documents like ID cards, property deeds, bank cards, and jewelry. They were buried in the rubble after the earthquake. The government is rescuing them, and so far, 56 people have been saved.”

As time passed, the data kept updating.

Amidst the announcements, Yun Xin received a notification.

[Player successfully used high perception to provide early warning, indirectly saving 131,973 people in Instance No. 117912—”Earthquake Disaster.” Completion rating: SSS. Reward attribute points: Strength +1, Agility +1, Constitution +1, Spirit +1.]

[Player successfully used high perception to provide early warning, saving 6 people in Instance No. 117915—”Natural Gas Pipeline Explosion.” Completion rating: B. Reward attribute points: Strength +0.1, Agility +0.1, Constitution +0.2.]

Looking at the text on the transparent panel, Yun Xin suddenly remembered that the city she was in had a permanent population of 880,000. This meant that, aside from those who were already safe, 130,000 people were saved because of her.

After the disaster, countless supplies were sent to the affected area, and many volunteers came to help.

Once things stabilized a bit, Zhu Lin went home. To her sorrow, she found that her family’s self-built house had collapsed. Fortunately, her parents were safe.

Zhou Rui looked sadly at the pile of rubble. “I just moved in, and all my belongings are in there…”

Yun Xin found an excuse to go home and check. Unfortunately, her villa wasn’t spared either; it had also collapsed.

Then came the waiting for news.

After over a month of arduous rescue efforts, some survivors buried underground were successfully rescued. The military brought bricks and timber to start building temporary winter shelters for those who had lost their homes.

At that time, their long-lost boss found Yun Xin and the others.

After not seeing him for some time, the once-spirited boss now had a weathered look on his face. “The house I bought was right in the disaster zone. After the ear thquake, it collapsed, and my car was crushed. The government promised to help with rebuilding, but who knows how long that will take. For now, all they can give is some subsidies.”

“I checked on the branch store before. The shop is badly damaged, and the interior equipment is almost completely destroyed.”

“I’ve thought about it a lot and decided not to continue the business. You guys will have to find your own way.”

“Boss…” Zhu Lin didn’t know what to say.

When she first learned her home had collapsed, she felt heartbroken. But compared to the boss’s situation, it seemed insignificant. After all, her house was self-built with limited expenses. Over the years, the rental income had recouped the building costs many times over. Her father said all the rent collected over the years was saved in the bank. Although their home suffered from the earthquake, the losses were limited, and they could rebuild without too much difficulty. Even moving to another city and starting over wouldn’t be a problem.

But the boss’s situation was different.

He had come from the countryside to work, saving money for years before starting his own business. After finally building a successful business, buying a house, a car, and starting a family, he was on the verge of becoming a success story. Then, a sudden disaster wiped out everything he had worked for over the past decade in an instant.

Such a huge loss is hard for anyone to accept.

The boss said no more. He settled their salaries, gave them an extra month’s pay, and then quickly left, waving goodbye.

His figure looked desolate, filled with indescribable loneliness.

Seeing this, Zhu Lin felt heartbroken and wanted to return the money to him.

But Zhou Rui said, “Keep it. If the boss didn’t genuinely want to give it, he wouldn’t have made the trip.”

“It’s because the boss is so kind that it makes me feel even worse,” Zhu Lin said angrily. “Why does a peaceful life have to be destroyed like this!”

Earthquakes are natural disasters, and when they happen, there’s no reason to it.

Zhou Rui looked at Zhu Lin, thinking she might be too angry to think straight.

He turned to Yun Xin, “What are your plans now?”

Yun Xin answered, “I’ll go to another city.”

The last thing she could do for this battered city was to stay away from it.

Zhu Lin wanted to persuade her to stay but didn’t know how to say it.

“That’s funny, I also plan to try my luck in another city,” Zhou Rui added. “The economy here won’t recover for at least three years. If it gets back to normal and there’s an opportunity, I might come back.”

“Why is everyone leaving?” Zhu Lin felt deeply saddened.

Yun Xin told her, “All good things must come to an end.”

“At least exchange phone numbers?” Zhu Lin compromised.

“No,” Yun Xin said her goodbyes to them, then left decisively.

Zhu Lin stood there in a daze, feeling an indescribable melancholy.