Chapter 321: Chapter 321

Half an hour later, international news released the latest update: over the past half hour, an average city on Earth experienced dozens of earthquakes. This made it a world-class seismic event. There were tens of millions of epicenters, with magnitudes ranging from 3 to 8!

For the third time since the apocalypse, Huaxia issued a red alert. The first was for a super high-temperature warning, the second for a nationwide flood warning, and this time, an earthquake warning, signaling the official start of the third year of the apocalypse!

At this very moment, a piece of news was flooding Wu City’s main data feed.

"Wu City is gone!" These bold characters stood out starkly, accompanying live footage from a drone flying with its searchlight on, capturing just the tip of the iceberg.

Several hundred-meter-wide gaping holes, their depths unfathomable, could be seen in what was once the city. The floodwaters that had inundated Wu City poured madly into them. These formed gigantic whirlpools that swallowed more and more nearby objects, continuously expanding their territory.

From the drone’s perspective, it was like a terrestrial tornado sucking everything in like a black hole. Coupled with the earthquake’s tremors, buildings around Wu City’s vortex were sucked in. Within minutes, the city’s structures were wiped out.

So Wu City is truly gone? Originally, there were plans to move back after the floodwaters receded, but this earthquake had obliterated half the city.

"According to reports, Wu City’s water level did indeed visibly recede over the past few days. The culprits are these ’Dragon Eyes’ that swallowed all the water. The earthquakes then directly caused the surrounding land to collapse, leading to this phenomenon. Experts are currently trying to find a remedy."

"Experts warn that these unstable areas are extremely dangerous. The Wu City Government has cordoned off an area several kilometers wide around them, prohibiting entry." Suddenly, a loading circle appeared on the data feed on her phone, followed by a network error message after ten-odd seconds.

At this moment, none of the family’s phones had a signal. Jing Shu knew the signal towers had been destroyed by the earthquake, marking the end of the 5G era in the apocalypse. From now on, they would have to make do with the glacial pace of 2E networks. Luckily, Jing Shu had downloaded all the necessary data in advance, even updating her offline maps to the latest version.

The family had packed their belongings. Zijin had climbed out the window ten-odd minutes earlier; she insisted on joining the government rescue efforts. Jing Shu could only give her the hard pancakes Grandma Jing had baked as provisions and let her go with Xiao Liz of Second Team, who was at the door.

Anyway, she would soon realize how much the world had changed.

Accompanied by rumbling thunder, the main earthquake seemed to have lessened in severity, but aftershocks continued. They were unpredictable, sometimes occurring a minute apart, other times after ten-odd minutes. These caused occasional light tremors or violent jolts.

Grandma Jing held the fat chicken. Every time there was a tremor, she would clutch its feathers tightly, causing the poor chicken to squawk in pain, unable to escape. However, the fat chicken was scared too and found some semblance of safety in Grandma Jing’s arms.

"Let’s go, we should also gather on the rear mountain," Grandma Jing said nervously, clutching the chicken’s feathers. The intermittent quakes were making her a nervous wreck.

"Let’s go," Mr. Jing sighed. "Youai said people have been evacuated to the rear mountain, so we should join them. I’m worried these tremors might lead to a major earthquake. The entire world is shaking now; disasters are likely severe. The authorities probably don’t have time to look after us anymore."

Just then, a succession of gunshots suddenly erupted outside.

The family, who were just about to leave, were all startled. Jing Shu opened the door and saw a pile of bodies at the entrance of the neighboring villa, owned by Su Malie. The doorman was Uncle Liu, whom Jing Shu greeted every day. At that moment, he blew smoke from the barrel of his rifle, waved his hand, and other bodyguards behind him began clearing the bodies to one side.

Seeing Jing Shu come out, Uncle Liu said apologetically, "Did we scare you? At times , there’s always some blind fool thinking they can take advantage of the chaos to make a quick buck. Unfortunately for them, they miscalculated. Even though the boss and the young lady have left, we have to stay and watch over the house."

Jing Shu squinted. It sure is nice to have wealth and bodyguards,

As Uncle Liu wiped his smoking gun, he said, "How about it, want to hire me for some private work? Twenty Virtual Coins a day, plus five Virtual Coins extra per bullet."

After a moment’s thought, Jing Shu nodded. "Okay, that could work. Then I’ll have to trouble you."

"Hey, I was counting on making a little extra from you, haha!"

Jing Shu returned to the villa. "Mom, Dad, let’s hurry. Someone tried to rob the place outside, but they were killed by the bodyguards next door. Oh, and I hired him to help keep an eye on our home. There aren’t many people around now, so let’s take the RV and leave."

"Is the RV going to be okay?" asked her mother. "These earthquakes vary in intensity. What if a strong one hits and the vehicle flips over?"

Jing Shu had, in fact, already planned for this. To ensure the RV could be driven safely during an earthquake, she had spent a hefty sum at Qian Duoduo’s to buy a batch of materials. She had fashioned these into a type of support wheel system. Of course, the RV already had a similar defense system, but Jing Shu had added an extra layer—after all, she was terrified of dying. If the RV really flipped over, it would be a disaster.

Although the RV had the ability to tilt 40 degrees without flipping, with a sudden, intense earthquake, nothing was certain.

But Jing Shu couldn’t admit right now that she had prepared all this specifically for the earthquake. So, she casually lied, saying the system had always been there, and managed to coax her family into the RV. Mr. Jing then slowly drove it out of the villa complex.

As they were leaving, Grandma Jing also wanted to take some of their domestic poultry. She feared it would be a terrible shame to lose them if the house collapsed. Since they were taking the RV, it perfectly suited Grandma Jing’s wishes. They brought along some chickens, ducks, and even fish from the fishpond, thinking that if the worst happened, at least they would still have breeding stock. They even brought the pigs and sheep. The rıghtful source is 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝓷𝓮𝓽

Good heavens, the RV certainly became a lively place now!

Grandma Jing wasn’t wrong to do this; after all, they might not be able to return for many days. Jing Shu didn’t object, simply helping load all the animals into the RV. Besides, with the uncertain times ahead, this would be a good opportunity to see if raising domestic poultry in the RV was feasible, and how to manage things like odors. Her previous experience with the RV was just a temporary stay during a trip. This time, in a real disaster, she would learn much more.

The RV quickly drove off. Just then, a thunderous rumbling echoed from the rear mountains. A deafening clap of thunder followed. Jing Shu’s eyes narrowed. Something terrible is about to happen!