Shadow 380,000 Level 17 Suspended Spirit Hurricane Arrives

Chapter 29

With the ribbonfish beside me, and Lin Wen's view blocked by Xiahou Ying's body, neither of them could see my little movement.

Xiahou Ying's eyes swept over my beard, and he suddenly laughed, "Indeed, I almost didn't recognize you."

My heart is finally at peace.

Just now, I only mentioned hair and not beard, and winked at her to hint that, given Xiahou Ying's intelligence, it wouldn't be hard for her to guess that my presence here was strange. But what I'm unsure about is the true nature of her relationship with Zheng Yu. Xiahou Ying and I aren't close. In fact, she helped me a great deal, but I haven't done her any favors. If she and Zheng Yu were truly close, she wouldn't have covered for me.

Fortunately, it seems we're out of danger for now. I need to find a chance to tell her my current name.

Curiosity is a dangerous thing; lingering a little longer almost led to my doom.

“Miss Xiahou, so you and Mr. Dai are old acquaintances,” Lin Wen said as he walked up.

"Yes you are?"

"I am Lin Wen," the old man said with a very gentlemanly smile.

"Oh, so you are Dr. Lin Wen. It's an honor to meet you." Xiahou Ying nodded slightly.

When did Lin Wen get his doctorate? I wondered.

Since we knew each other, Lin Wen had us get into the Hummer and drive deeper into Yi Island.

"The boss is on his way here. We'll all have dinner together later. Some friends have already arrived before you two, but our work isn't going very well. So we really need Mr. Dai to join us and lend a hand. And Ms. Xiahou's abilities are crucial to our success. While the boss is still away, I'll take you two to see what's going on."

As Lin Wen spoke, a building was already faintly visible to the left front.

Thirteen, Shock (1)

Turning my gaze away from Kou Yun's hurried departure, I quickly caught up with Xiahou Ying and Lin Wen. I was really curious about what kind of person Zheng Yu, this Bi'an, was.

As I was leaving the house, my legs suddenly gave way, and I staggered slightly, but I managed to regain my balance by using my legs.

A strong sense of unease welled up inside me.

It wasn't that I tripped over something, but rather that the ground shook.

This is the second time.

On the wide lawn surrounded by trees outside the base, a roaring sound accompanied by a strong wind accompanied the helicopter's slow landing.

The hatch opened, and a person stepped out.

Zheng Yu has a darker complexion and is tall. His facial features are not entirely Asian, so it's unclear how much of his ancestry is Chinese.

He looked to be in his forties, and when he stepped out of the helicopter, he had a big smile on his face and a very gentle and friendly expression, without any of the arrogance that comes with being Zheng Hai's son and in a position of power.

Zheng Yu had intended to step forward and greet Lin Wen and Xiahou Ying, but the smile on his face suddenly froze, and he stood firmly in place, not taking a single step.

Not only him, but everyone's expression changed.

The ground shook again.

This time, unlike the previous two slight swaying movements, it was as if someone had buried a giant spring beneath the island, giving it a heavy jolt. This jolt almost sent people flying; even the most oblivious person would know something serious had happened.

A few seconds later, an indescribable roar rose from the ground, engulfing everyone in fear. It wasn't a deafening thunderclap, but a low, guttural growl that seemed to engulf both body and soul. In that instant, several people nearby collapsed to the ground as if their spines had been ripped out.

On the ground, all sorts of snakes and insects crawled out of their nests like headless flies, all the birds took flight, and large, unidentified flying insects swarmed around us, not caring if they bumped into us.

Zheng Yu turned around abruptly and crawled into the cabin. The helicopter's rotors, which had gradually stopped spinning, began to whir again.

In just a moment, before we could even react and before the helicopter could take off, the real disaster had already struck.

I live in Shanghai and have never experienced an earthquake of magnitude 3 or higher. What magnitude is the tremor feeling now? Is it magnitude 7, 8, or even higher than 8?

The earth shook violently, and I was thrown to the ground, powerless. The world seemed to collapse, draining all my strength. It was like being caught in a nightmare; I desperately wanted to escape, but I couldn't even move my little finger.

In the blink of an eye, a crack appeared on the ground, spreading out like lightning, and then another one... The helicopter was right on one of the cracks, and after tilting its fuselage at a 30-degree angle, it finally took off, its engines roaring as it flew off the island.

The base on this island wasn't built with much consideration for earthquake resistance. Besides, even with Japan's high earthquake resistance design, it would be useless in an earthquake of this intensity.

I lay on the ground, my head facing the direction of the base. The houses in front of me cracked, collapsed, and fell down one by one, as if they were made of sand.

"Kou Yun!" I shouted. Amidst the deafening rumble of the earth and the screams of the crowd, my voice sounded small and insignificant.

With that shout, it was as if the seal had been broken, and strength flowed back into my limbs. I stumbled to my feet, took a step, and was knocked to the ground again, only to get up once more.

"Are you crazy!" I was grabbed and turned around to see Xiahou Ying. She was pointing at a crack in the ground.

The four-meter-wide, ever-expanding fissure in the ground separated me from the base like a chasm. On this churning, raging ground, it was impossible to even stand; to jump across it would only mean plunging into the abyss.

"Hurry, hurry, the tsunami is coming soon!" Xiahou Ying shouted. She had never lost her composure like this before; even a god would turn pale in such a situation.

My already trembling heart was struck a heavy blow. This was on an island; if the ground cracks didn't engulf me, a tsunami would. The probability of such a violent earthquake triggering a massive tsunami was one hundred percent!

Xiahou Ying pulled me along, and I stumbled after her as we ran towards the edge of the island. I didn't look back, afraid that if I did, I would jump into the fissure in the ground.

"Get in the car," I called out, pointing to the Hummer parked in front of me.

"You don't have the keys." Although Xiahou Ying said this, he still changed direction and ran towards the car. At this point, we were almost drowning, and we would grab any straw without thinking.

Someone opened the driver's side door before we could, and then we heard the car start.

It's Lin Wen!

"Wait!" I shouted, rushing over to open the door.

The car, which was about to rush forward, braked suddenly.

"Hurry up!" Lin Wen shouted as he turned around, his usual gentle and mild manner nowhere to be seen.

I jumped into the car and grabbed Xiahou Ying. Before I could even close the door properly, the car sped off, slamming into another person who was trying to stop it with his arms outstretched, and drove off in the same direction I had come from.

The ground was still trembling, and the tremors were still quite strong, though slightly less intense than before. In this condition, it was extremely difficult to maintain balance. Lin Wen braked frantically and then slammed on the gas. Within minutes, the car crashed into a large tree by the roadside, and my forehead slammed heavily against the windshield. The glass shattered, and my forehead felt like it was bleeding. I was dizzy and in a lot of pain, but I couldn't care less. I just hoped that Lin Wen could eventually drive the car to the lake and steal a boat.

The trees lining the road are getting shorter; we're approaching the outer edge of the island. How much further? A thousand meters or eight hundred meters?

The earthquake gradually subsided, and I knew there would be aftershocks soon, perhaps not much weaker than the ones before. But at least for now, driving was much easier.

Lin Wen slammed on the brakes.

Without hitting anything, the Hummer screeched to a halt on the road.

"What's wrong?" Xiahou Ying and I asked Lin Wen, who was in front of us.

He didn't answer, he just stared blankly ahead.

I looked ahead, and then all I could see was a blur.

When a person suffers repeated devastating blows and loses hope for life, their eyes will become unfocused.

I finally understand the despair that tourists felt on the beaches of Indonesia's tourist hotspots on the day after Christmas in 2004 when they saw the towering waves crashing in from afar.

Those few seconds between life and death felt both incredibly long and fleeting.

"boom"!

Thirteen, Shock (2)

The Hummer was like a toy car, tumbling and swallowed by the giant waves.

"To survive all that, with only superficial injuries, proves the ancients were right," Liang Yingwu said, shaking his head.

"What?" My head was tightly wrapped in bandages, making it difficult to even frown.

"Good people don't live long, but evil people live for a thousand years," he said leisurely.

“Go…” I wanted to tell him to go die, but Kou Yun’s smile appeared before my eyes, and I was speechless for a moment.

"The magnitude of the earthquake had already been determined at that time; the epicenter was 8.9 on the Richter scale. It was an unimaginable magnitude."

"I already told you, that wasn't an earthquake."

Liang Yingwu shrugged: "In any case, it manifested as an earthquake. It's a pity that you survived the ordeal but didn't earn that million dollars."

I twitched the muscles in my face, which was my way of responding with a smile.

"I should go now. Guo Dong and the others will be coming to pick you up from the hospital later."

"Yes, they're still waiting for my full report. But I really don't want to recall everything again."

“I’m so sorry, I know this is a memory you don’t want to talk about right now, but…” Guo Dong pushed open the door and said, “The car is already waiting downstairs. Let’s find another place. There are many people waiting to hear your report, from the moment you arrived on the island, trying to cover every detail. I’m sorry.” He stood at the head of the bed, lowered his head, and bowed slightly to me.

It begins with arriving on the island.

The Hummer stopped in front of a cluster of buildings. I saw some large, antenna-like or dish-like signal receiving devices similar to those at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Clearly, this was the space base we had been searching for in Europe.

"Come with me, I'll show you around the workplace." Lin Wen waved for the burly men who had run up to disperse, smiled, and led us out of the car. He then led us into a round building.

He seemed to hold a very high position on the island. The two guards standing at the door bowed in greeting.

"These are the boss's new guests. For the next period of time, they will work here just like the other guests."

The guard nodded in agreement, carefully examining us and memorizing our appearance. Without Lin Wen's words, ordinary islanders probably wouldn't have been able to get in.

The circular building looked like a theater, and that feeling persisted once I entered. It had a circular inner hall with a thick, closed door, though it should be able to be pushed open. Lin Wen didn't push the door; instead, he climbed the stairs beside it.

“Right now, those non-human friends that the boss invited should be working.” Lin Wen turned around and smiled at me: “They have the same abilities as Mr. Dai. In order not to disturb them, let’s go upstairs and take a look.”

Lin Wen gentlemanly opened a sliding door on the second floor for Xiahou Ying, who was following closely behind him, and said, "However, so far, they have not achieved any results. I believe that your arrival, Miss Xiahou, can change this situation."

Now I can confirm that this is a two-story screening room, with only minor modifications. The second floor has a series of VIP private rooms, but they are currently empty. Looking down from the corridor outside the private rooms, the first floor is packed with hundreds of people.

I heard Kou Yun's breathing suddenly quicken, and I knew that the people from Koujia Village were all down below. I quickly and gently grabbed her hand to prevent her from making any rash moves.

These non-humans, sitting in rows, are watching intently with serious expressions as they watch the images projected onto the screen by the projector at the front.

The image on the screen was indeed a piece of helium-3 ore from the moon, but it wasn't the one I had seen at the Jiuquan base. The screen was large, but the image projected onto it wasn't like a normal projection, filling the entire screen. Instead, it only occupied a rectangular area in the center, revealing a large ring of pure white color around the edges.

Beside the curtain, there was a large, transparent container. This square container was about the size of a small room, and it was currently empty, except for a red dot in the center of the bottom.

There is a vertical display board next to the container, but it is currently dark.

"Mr. Dai, can you guess what those friends are up to?" Lin Wen asked me.

"Does it mean we need to transfer the things in the picture to this container below?"

“Absolutely correct,” Lin Wen said with a smile.

"Where is that thing?" I asked, frowning. Given my role, asking that question was perfectly reasonable.