Normally, there would be no shaking at all. The farther away, the weaker the quake felt. Even now in J City, as always, there was no tremor.
But why was the tremor here so strong?
In an instant, Lan Jin realized the key.
The H City base was built on a mountain with streams leaping beside it. Its elevation was naturally high. Earthquakes often struck mountainous areas, so it made perfect sense that the tremor was so strong. Not to mention the "top floor" that Captain Zhang had mentioned earlier—it sat right at the peak of this mountain.
From the hall, the path to the top floor could not be fully seen. Just as Brother Zhang grew anxious, the intense shaking abruptly stopped.
But anyone living nearby knew earthquakes were not so simple. After the main quake, there were always aftershocks. The danger was not over. Brother Zhang shouted, "No one move."
Yet no sooner had he finished shouting than the world spun again. This tremor felt even stronger than before. Then came a loud "crash" from afar, like something collapsing. Everyone remembered that Brother Zhang had just told people to leave the top floor. The few professors in white coats could no longer stand still and tried to run toward the top floor.
But they had only taken a few steps before Brother Zhang and Brother Li blocked them.
Brother Li said, "Professor Pei, you cannot go up. That sound? Almost certainly the top floor collapsed."
Professor Pei's face twisted in distress. "Ah, that is exactly why we need to go up! All those mutated creatures are on the mountain. If it collapses, fine, but if they get out, it will be dangerous! And the data… the data!"
"One's life work, Professor Pei…" another person said immediately.
Brother Zhang refuted firmly. "Which is more important, life or work?"
No one could argue with Brother Zhang. Without people alive, what good was work? Besides, with the state of the building above, the data might already be gone.
Captain Zhang's foresight was sharp. He had issued the correct command first. If those on the mountain followed his instructions, lives could be saved even if the data were lost.
As for the mutated creatures, Lan Jin and the others were still in the hall. Even if they all swarmed out, it would not be impossible to handle.
"Don't worry about those things," Brother Zhang reassured. "The mutated creatures can still be controlled by the base's psychic squad. The most important thing is everyone's safety."
"I know. I just feel so worried. So close… just so close." Professor Pei said, eyes already moist.
Speaking of Professor Pei's life work, Lao Gao suddenly remembered his Ashen Blaze. "Oh no, my Ashen Blaze… could it be damaged? I spent a lot of contribution points on it, and there's even a tier one crystal in it."
Lao Gao's voice was loud, clearly anxious about his Ashen Blaze being ruined in the earthquake. But compared to Professor Pei's life work, his concern was trivial. Everyone just glanced at him, with no intention of answering.
Just as Lao Gao fretted, Brother Zhang spotted a group running down the passage from above. Seeing them, Brother Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. They must have listened to his instructions.
When the group stumbled into the hall, Professor Pei and the others immediately saw that one person was carrying his computer. Professor Pei could not contain himself and cried tears of joy. "Smart… so smart! As long as this data is safe, everything is fine."
The team member holding the computer said, "I know how important this computer is for the base. Of course, I had to bring it."
But…
Yes, the computer was carried, but what the team member actually brought was only a monitor.
Professor Pei's computer had very specific functions, so it was custom-built. It was a desktop, made up of a monitor, main unit, keyboard, and mouse. The most important part, of course, was the main unit.
This person did carry the computer, but only the medium-sized display.
Professor Pei did not think too much. He assumed one person could not carry all the parts, so perhaps each took one. But when he could not find the main unit in the group, he could not control his excitement despite the shaking. "Where is the main unit? The computer main unit?"
The young man looked confused. "Ah, main unit?"
"The computer main unit."
The young man froze. "Professor, your computer isn't an all-in-one? I didn't see a main unit. I never saw one before. I thought it was all-in-one. I only saw this, keyboard, mouse, nothing else."
Professor Pei's expression turned from joy to ashen.
A young man in a white coat gently reminded, "Professor, you should have known he could not bring the main unit. You locked it in your cabinet in case it was stolen. Without your key… or fingerprint, it cannot be opened."
So all of Professor Pei's earlier joy was unnecessary. It was impossible for anyone to bring out the computer. Realizing this, the young man saw his efforts had been pointless. He glanced at the white-coated youth, who gestured for him to put the monitor down. He then moved to the back of the group.
As for Professor Pei…
Even in old age, he still felt the emotional highs of youth. For a moment, he could hardly bear it. He took a deep breath, forced the unsettled emotions down, and lifted his eyes calmly. The familiar faces were no longer in front of him. His gaze then settled on Brother Zhang.
Brother Zhang tensed and asked, "Is everyone down? Anyone hurt?"
The person at the front of the group replied, "Everyone came down after the order. No one was hurt. But the buildings below are badly collapsed. The structures above were already falling when we ran down."
As soon as he finished, another strong tremor shook the ground.
Lan Jin asked, "When will this earthquake end?"
A staff member at the material exchange counter said, "Not long. Maybe ten minutes. Then there will be aftershocks, but not as strong or long."
Ten minutes? God, it had only been a few minutes. Lan Jin felt she could not stand it anymore. She stopped leaning on the wall and instead sat directly on the ground, letting herself touch the floor to reduce the shaking she felt.