“Aha! I knew it!” Xu Mo laughed in Bai Feifei’s mind, sounding like a cynical gambler who had just guessed the right dice roll.
“That flex didn't go quite as planned; I counted a bit too fast. I'll have to try again next time.”
The earth split open, and the mountains crumbled. Massive boulders tumbled down the slopes like a rain of meteors.
Everyone present was a Scavenger—veterans, at that—so they could handle the impact, but the tremors were still exceptionally violent.
This earthquake was far more severe than any that had come before!
Furthermore, they had clearly calculated the cycle to be every three to four hours. Why was there another earthquake right after the last one had ended?
The mine shafts that the Special Action Team had entered earlier were now being swallowed by this unprecedented disaster.
Wan Qianhong and the others whipped their heads around, staring at Bai Feifei in sheer shock.
How did she know?!
The activity levels beneath the coal mine were incredibly bizarre; no one in all of Dawn City dared to draw a conclusion about it, yet she had accurately predicted such a sudden event.
She had even performed a countdown, as if she were the one orchestrating it all!
For a moment, everyone was stunned. They stood frozen, staring at Bai Feifei, neither daring to move nor knowing what to say.
Meanwhile, Bai Feifei’s own shock was no less than theirs. The gold-grade Cognition Filter on her person vibrated incessantly, and her Sanity had already begun to drop.
Some of the shafts the Inner City team had entered collapsed instantly under the force of this powerful earthquake. Faint screams echoed from within.
Under the gloomy sky, those indistinct sounds were like the murmurs of ghosts.
Feeling the world shaking around her, Bai Feifei asked Xu Mo with some difficulty, “Did you... know this would happen?”
“I wasn't certain. Call it experience,” Xu Mo replied casually.
Sensing Bai Feifei’s emotional state, Xu Mo continued coldly, “Most of those people from the Inner City have hidden agendas. It's more convenient if they die early.”
“Cast aside your naivety about saving everyone. If sacrifices must be made, let it be those who do not stand by your side!”
The Evil God's voice wasn't harsh, but the sheer indifference in it sent a chill down the back of Bai Feifei’s neck.
“I told you, if you want more of the people who deserve to live to survive, you must listen to me today.”
“Alright, we can go in now.”
...
Wan Qianhong stood beside Bai Feifei, her expression complex as she spoke.
“What... what should we do now?”
Things had reached a point where there was no time to question Bai Feifei. Everyone had even begun to instinctively ask the girl for her opinion.
“Let's go!”
As the tremors gradually subsided, the East District group moved again, quickly heading toward a shaft that hadn't collapsed.
Only this time, the group seemed to have an additional, unofficial leader.
On the other side, the remaining members of the Inner City team were paralyzed with fear.
No one had expected such a drastic turn of events right at the start. Many of them were still students and lacked the mental preparation for this.
They had watched their leaders enter only to be buried shortly after, their fates unknown.
Among the group of startled quails, however, a pink-haired girl’s eyes were shining as she stared unblinkingly at Wan Qianhong’s group.
It was Ye Yu. As she dodged falling rocks, she felt her heart racing and her hands trembling slightly. Her adrenaline was spiking.
It wasn't fear, but an inexplicable sense of excitement.
Her gaze hadn't left Bai Feifei’s face once. She had clearly seen the other girl stop her own people, and then, seconds later, the horrific earthquake had erupted.
To her, Bai Feifei was already shrouded in a halo of mystery, and this only added to the thrill.
Life in the Inner City was safe, stable, and bound by rules—it had long since bored her to tears. But in Bai Feifei, she felt a completely opposite kind of stimulation.
She clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly until, as if having made up her mind, she suddenly bolted forward, following the East District Scavengers into the mine.
“Hey! Ye Yu!”
“Come back! Students are forbidden from participating in this underground operation!”
The supervisor left in charge of the Inner City team hadn't been paying attention. By the time he realized she had run off, it was too late to stop her.
His vision went dark for a moment. What he feared most were these young masters and ladies from the Inner City running wild and ignoring orders once they were out in the field.
He hadn't expected that Ye Yu, who had always been so well-behaved, would actually charge into such obvious danger to seek her own death!
Naturally, Ye Yu ignored the command and followed the East District Scavengers into the coal mine full of unknowns.
...
The mine shaft was pitch black. The original lighting facilities had mostly been destroyed after a day and night of devastation.
The ground was no longer level, littered with protruding rocks. On the walls, steel rebar jutted out here and there, deformed by the intense pressure.
The earthquake hadn't completely stopped yet. Boulders still fell occasionally onto the already ruined path.
Worried about a secondary collapse, Wan Qianhong and the others didn't linger. They dashed through the passage in one breath until they reached a relatively flat and open space.
Click.
Several people from the East District pulled out portable floodlights, illuminating the cavern-like space.
Within the massive underground mining area, countless tunnels branched out in every direction. Some had collapsed, while others were indistinguishable from dead ends.
The group felt as if they were standing inside a flattened honeycomb.
“Goddammit,” Yang Shuo couldn't help but curse. “What kind of hellhole is this? How was this place even built? Is this even a coal mine?”
“Do you need this kind of construction just to dig and transport coal?”
“Never mind that for now. Count heads,” Wan Qianhong said with a frown.
Earlier, the Special Action Team had split into many small squads to enter different tunnel entrances.
But the East District had fewer people, and seeing the sudden earthquake, they knew the Special Action Team must have suffered casualties.
To avoid unnecessary losses, Wan Qianhong had decided to concentrate their strength and enter a tunnel that appeared relatively sturdy.
After counting the personnel, Yang Shuo and the others were surprised to find an extra person!
Everyone looked at one another until their gazes finally locked onto a panting, pink-haired girl.
“District Head Wan, please let me join! I can help too!”
Ye Yu spoke up proactively. As she spoke, her eyes kept darting toward Bai Feifei.
“Tsk—your luck with women is really something else. Simply incredible!” Xu Mo remarked in Bai Feifei’s mind.
Bai Feifei: ...
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