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墨書 Inktalez
Unfortunately, before Li Xiaoming could bring his precious Fried Locusts to help those children, the Safe Zone completely collapsed. This disaster plunged the entire Safe Zone into another crisis.
An earthquake! Such a catastrophic event, which even before the apocalypse was hard to resist and predict, just happened. It all occurred very quickly, in just a few minutes or perhaps a little over ten minutes. Just after midnight, many people were still asleep and had no time to react.
Li Yan heard a faint cracking sound, as if it was coming from underground. He had just stepped out of his room holding a child when he saw Yu Tian and Zhou Miao supporting Zhou Daye in the yard.
"Zhou Miao, what’s going on?" Zhou Daye appeared to have woken up in a hurry; he usually paid attention to his appearance but was only wearing a white tank top and shorts.
"I don’t know; there’s something happening underground." Zhou Miao's face was unusually serious. He considered himself somewhat of a cultivator and had a bad feeling—no, a very bad feeling. "What do you think?" Zhou Miao looked at Li Yan, and through the moonlight, he saw that Li Yan's expression was also grim.
"I think..." Just as Li Yan was about to speak, the ground began to tremble slightly. The tremors were so subtle that most people wouldn’t notice them. Great, no need to say more; it’s an earthquake!! "Quick, get outside!!"
The ground shook more violently, and the chickens and ducks inside the house were flapping around excitedly. No! If you leave, what will we do? We are also part of this world! We are your food supply!!
As they stepped out of the house, the ground began to shake violently. Then came the rumbling sound, as if something was collapsing or something else... Li Yan and the others couldn’t be sure; they could only try to stay in open areas while struggling to maintain their balance on the shaking ground. The other four were okay, but Zhou Daye, being older, accidentally fell down. Yu Tian was the fastest and immediately lay under the old man; otherwise, the consequences of that fall were unimaginable.
After an unknown amount of time, it seemed someone was shouting for help. That voice was weak amidst the rumbling collapse but sounded particularly clear and alarming. The old man sighed repeatedly; what a calamity.
Jin Yu was the first to wake up from the tremors. Since the apocalypse began, she hadn’t had a single peaceful night’s sleep. This had almost become her habit and instinct. The moment she rushed out of her room in panic, she had already decided who she would wake up first: Li Zhi.
That’s right; it was Li Zhi—a young and capable person. In this apocalypse, the elderly and weak naturally chose those who could survive better. When they both ran out and bumped into Li Jingfeng, Li Zhi shouted with red eyes, "Dad, where’s Mom?"
Only then did Li Jingfeng realize that he hadn’t thought about his partner in his rush. The ground continued to shake violently; things in the house were starting to go wrong. At that moment, Jiang Yuejiao was inside crying out: "Li Jingfeng! Xiao Zhi! Help me! Help me! Li Jingfeng! I’m your wife! Xiao Zhi! Save Mommy! How does Mommy usually treat you? Yuan Yuan! Quickly save Mommy!"
Seeing the pleading look in Li Zhi's eyes filled with desperation for his son and wife... Li Jingfeng gritted his teeth and rushed back inside. Just as Li Zhi tried to follow him in, Jin Yu pulled him back. Jin Yu's face was already streaming with tears; she couldn’t tell if she was scared or pretending.
"Please don’t go in there, Xiao Zhi! I love you; I’ve always liked you. I didn’t say anything before because I was afraid you’d dislike me for being older than you. Think about it—if I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t have come looking for you first just now. Please don’t go in; let’s get out first. Auntie and Uncle will be fine; it’s an earthquake! If you go in there, you’ll die! If you die... boohoo..."
At first, Li Zhi didn’t listen to her pleas, but hearing that word "die," his heart trembled and stopped momentarily. Death? Yes, earthquakes can kill people; as the shaking intensified, worry slowly turned into fear in his eyes. No! He didn’t want to die; he was still so young with a bright future ahead of him. He hadn’t died during the apocalypse—why should he die here?
Li Zhi's expression darkened; a hint of madness and ruthlessness flashed across his face as he turned around and pulled Jin Yu outside with him. Mom and Dad—this can’t be blamed on me; if anyone is to blame, it’s your bad luck.
Li Jingfeng finally managed to push the wooden plank off Jiang Yuejiao, feeling exhausted. Who would have thought that a wooden stake would come crashing down from above? Jiang Yuejiao screamed and pushed Li Jingfeng towards the stake while she ran out. Fortunately, she was quick enough. "Li Jingfeng, I have feelings for you, but you’ve always had that wretched woman and her two little brats in your heart. She has worked hard for the Li Family for so many years; it’s time for you to repay her!"
The door of the Li family soon swung open, and Li Zhi and Jin Yu were the first to rush out, followed closely by Jiang Yuejiao. They saw Li Yan standing not far away and called out for help. Jiang Yuejiao's eyes lit up as she shouted, "Xiao Yan, hurry over! Your dad and sister are still inside! They are your family; you can't just stand by and do nothing!"
Zhou Miao whistled while carrying the old man, saying, "I tell you, those animals of yours sure know how to scream. At a time like this, they run out first and leave you to face danger alone. They wouldn’t dare go in themselves."
Seeing that Li Yan was frozen in place, Jiang Yuejiao smirked slightly. She was genuinely afraid that Li Yan would rush in to save Li Jingfeng, but with such a large piece of wood, the chances of Li Jingfeng surviving were almost nonexistent. However, Yuan Yuan... Jiang Yuejiao felt a pang of anxiety and grabbed Li Zhi's arm, urging him, "Quickly! Call someone to save your sister! I pity Yuan Yuan!" At this moment, she was truly anxious; after all, she had carried her for ten months. Seeing Li Zhi obediently go to call for help, Jiang Yuejiao anxiously looked inside the door. She occasionally shot venomous glances at Li Yan and the others. If anything happened to Yuan Yuan, I will make you all pay!
Jin Yu bit her lip and ran up to Yu Tian, pleading with a weak and helpless cry, "Please, save my uncle! I’ll be your servant in my next life; please!"
"Why don’t you go in yourselves? Why didn’t you save them when you were inside?" No one expected that Li Xiaoming would be the first to speak up. He continued, "It’s still shaking; my brother can’t go in."
Li Xiaoming didn’t mean to be sarcastic; he was just stating facts as a child. But Jiang Yuejiao immediately grabbed him and hit him hard. Li Xiaoming didn’t react in time and received a sharp slap. "You two ingrates! Your own father is inside, and you just stand there watching! You’re not human; you’re animals!"
Li Yan's cold gaze pierced through Jiang Yuejiao like a sword as he kicked her hard. The kick was definitely not light. Jiang Yuejiao fell to the ground in shock and didn’t get up for a long time; blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Terrified, she crawled backward; she thought she could take the initiative, but Li Yan was a madman! "Ah!! Someone's killing me! Help!!"
The people who arrived later saw this scene. Zhang Hong's family was fortunate; during the earthquake, he and his wife were busy with their own activities. When they felt the tremor, they quickly grabbed their child and rushed outside. Luckily his wife remembered to grab a piece of clothing; otherwise, they would have been embarrassed.
"Everyone! Evaluate this situation! These two beasts won’t even save their own father!! Heaven has no eyes; why hasn’t it crushed them?!" Jiang Yuejiao yelled loudly on the ground, throwing a tantrum. Covered in dirt with disheveled hair, she did indeed look tragic.
The villagers were not very clear about the matters concerning the Li Family; since those involved wouldn’t speak up themselves and Jiang Yuejiao always portrayed herself as a victim, many people cast blameful glances at the four members of the Li Family.
"Let’s focus on saving people first," Zhou Laoyezi said as he patted Zhou Miao on the shoulder. "Alright now, don’t feel wronged; there may be reasons why their son and wife aren’t saving anyone. As younger generations, regardless of how they treated you before, saving lives should be your top priority."
Zhou Laoyezi’s words seemed to support Jiang Yuejiao and her group; however, everyone present sensed a shift in tone. Indeed, when Li Zhi went to call them earlier, they were fine inside their house but wouldn’t go in to help now? But now wasn’t the time for gossip; fortunately, the ground had stopped shaking. Everyone hurriedly entered the house—strong young men ready to help.
Outside remained a few women: Li Ming, Zhou Laoyezi, and Li Zhi. Due to the wide area affected by the earthquake and many people needing rescue, there weren’t too many who came here either. Most came because of Zhou Laoyezi’s title as village chief; however, seeing Li Zhi now made them feel uneasy. Everyone knew that Li Ming wasn’t very bright; at over seventy years old, it wasn’t wise for him to go inside either—especially since his biological father was still inside! Thinking back on how Jiang Yuejiao had acted earlier made them instinctively distance themselves from her and her son.
Jin Yu also didn’t expect that Li Zhi really wouldn’t go in. He hadn’t gone in earlier due to the danger from the earthquake but now that it had stopped shaking with so many people watching... This person might be strong but didn’t seem very reliable anymore; if only it were still Li Jingfeng instead! Old or not, he could at least ensure their livelihood for a short time.
Li Ming wanted to go in too but was held back by the old man who insisted he shouldn’t because there could still be aftershocks and this child didn’t understand danger!
When Li Jingfeng was rescued, he was still conscious, but his left leg was a bloody mess. As for Li Yuanyuan, she was trapped under the rubble and had no idea where she was in that dark corner; how could anyone find her? They only managed to locate Li Jingfeng by following his cries, and since his house hadn’t completely collapsed, it was relatively less dangerous.
Jiang Yuejiao looked on with tears in her eyes at Li Jingfeng, who seemed about to faint while sitting on the ground. "Li Jingfeng, I'm so glad you're okay. If... if something happened to you, I... I wouldn't want to live anymore!"
Li Jingfeng had been in the political scene for many years, and even though he felt like strangling this woman at that moment, he held back. "Hey, it's not your fault! Where's Yuan Yuan? Where's Yuan Yuan?"
"Yuan Yuan is buried inside. Oh my precious daughter, my Yuan Yuan." She said this while bowing her head to those around her. "Please, please save my daughter. I'm begging you!"
"Miss," one woman said, "given the current situation, we can't do anything. There are others who need rescuing too. As for your daughter, we can only wait until dawn to see if there's still a chance."
People around began to speak up one after another, and soon someone else came over calling for help. Li Yan and Zhou Miao exchanged glances and followed along. Yu Tian and Li Ming stayed behind to take care of the old man; everyone felt this arrangement was appropriate since they had an elderly person and someone with a disability to look after. As for the village chief's family, they had already done their best.
Li Jingfeng refused to give up and called out to Li Yan: "After all, she's your sister; you share blood ties. No matter what others do or don’t do, you can't just ignore it! Xiao Yan, Yuan Yuan is still a child; she’s only 20! Even if you hate me and your aunt, you can’t..." He choked up as he spoke about his daughter.
Li Yan gave a cold smile that seemed somewhat desolate and cruel in the darkness. "Village chief, I’m not noble enough to be willing to trade my life for that of a stranger, especially when that person is your daughter. Whether she lives or dies has nothing to do with me."
Zhang Hong had always thought that Li Jingfeng was an unworthy father; even now he insisted that Li Yan and the others go rescue someone—wasn’t that asking them to go die? There were still aftershocks; the entire house had collapsed. Not only would entering it be dangerous due to falling debris from above, but with so many people in the village, they should prioritize rescuing those who were easier to save.
When Jiang Yuejiao saw people leaving, she burst into tears. Jin Yu comforted her while Zhou Laoyezi stayed back. He had lived a long life and had rarely seen such selfishness.
Their house was built with Azure Brick, which wasn’t particularly stable but also not entirely unsafe. The earthquake's force made the old man hesitant to enter the house; the occasional aftershocks were quite jarring. He instructed Li Ming to put the Tibetan Mastiff in a safe space, fearing it might never come out again in the future.
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