In the past, they often encountered groups who wanted to kidnap others for their morals. Regardless of whether the military was present or not, they would find ways to get what they wanted by selling them hard and taking advantage.
Today was a surprise to Sun Rui.
"That's because it's not safe yet." Zhao Peng could understand what Sun Rui meant and whispered: "They don't need to worry about something that might fall into the cracks."
"That's right." She sat down on her knees and looked around at the people nearby: "When the magnitude of the earthquake becomes smaller, the situation should be different."
"Whatever." Yao Chengwei clutched a towel and put a cold compress on the swelling on his forehead: "We are leaving anyway."
As for the chaos that will occur after the earthquake, they are completely out of their consideration.
He was more concerned about the vigil issue, so he glanced at Wen Qizhou who was eating bread: "Brother Zhou, who will keep watch tonight?"
"The three of us."
Wen Qizhou had already made arrangements.
He didn't want to be separated from Chi Yue, and he didn't trust Yao Chengwei and the three of them to guard together, so he simply separated them, and Xie Changxiao, who had a slightly higher force value, took Zhao Peng and Sun Rui to guard him for the rest of the night.
"Then let's go to bed first." In order to change shifts with the three of them earlier, they went into the tent to rest without delay.
The earthquake struck so suddenly, and they were all exhausted mentally and physically. As soon as they relaxed and lay down, sleepiness swept over them like a tide.
They fell asleep, and Wen Qizhou hugged Chi Yue, who was wrapped tightly, and chatted with Yao Chengwei from time to time.
Not long after, the second wave of aftershocks came.
The magnitude of this earthquake was obviously smaller, but they could still feel the shaking of the earth and did not dare to relax their vigilance. They all raised their flashlights to observe the situation around them.
The crunching sound of cracking ice made people panic, and coupled with the cries of children, everyone who fell asleep was awakened one after another.
Fortunately, the aftershocks did not last long and the cracks showed no signs of extending forward, so they did not need to change places for the time being.
But those who were awakened by the shock could not sleep.
Xie Changxiao, who was full of energy, put on his coat and told them to go to bed. However, less than two hours after they lay down, the shaking caused by the third wave of aftershocks woke them up again.
Repeatedly, the six of them were so tortured that they could not close their eyes peacefully, so they simply sat around on the thick blanket outside the tent and waited for dawn.
"Let's find a house to take a rest." Wen Qizhou took a sip of water and packed up his things with them and walked to the small western-style building.
"Then let me look at the map."
"No need to bother." Zhao Peng put his hand on Yao Chengwei's shoulder: "The villa they lived in before is suitable."
"What if it collapses?"
"Let's go over there first." Chi Yue approached the off-road vehicle with her eyes closed: "If it collapses, look for another place."
"Okay." They got into the car separately.
The two vehicles avoided the cracks caused by the earthquake, drove out of the base in a large circle, and headed out against the light of the morning sun.
The situation outside the base is not good either.
Cracks can be seen everywhere, buildings and advertising screens are crumbling, and many residential buildings have been collapsed. It seems that the entire city will be turned into ruins, which is frightening to see.
Xie Changxiao, who was sitting in the passenger seat, picked up his binoculars to observe the road conditions to avoid accidentally getting stuck in a crack.
He gave Wen Qizhou directions, and Wen Qizhou slowed down appropriately. The usually ten-minute journey took him 40 minutes to reach the villa area because of a detour.
Most of the houses in the villa area are intact, but one or two are tilted because the cracks extend to the courtyard door.
He stopped downstairs of the villa where he once lived.
The car behind followed, but as soon as Nai stepped on the brakes, a small crack on the ice was unexpectedly crushed into a spider web, causing the front of the car to sink with a crunching sound.
Half of the front of the car was stuck in the ice. Yao Chengwei's heart tightened and he shouted loudly: "Brother Zhou, please help us take a look!"
"It's not a big problem." Wen Qizhou reassured him and asked Xie Changxiao to open the doors on both sides of the car together and help them get out.
Everyone worked together to drag the car back, away from the area, find another place to park, and then entered the villa together.
There were signs that others had been in the villa. The air conditioners in each bedroom and the owner's remaining winter clothes and quilts were all taken away.
But they had no shortage of clothing to keep out the cold. They each chose a bedroom and sleepily laid out their bedding or sleeping bags to catch up on their sleep.
Chi Yue leaned on Wen Qizhou's arms, gently smelled the fragrance of cypress on his body, and fell into a deep sleep with a sense of security.
They slept peacefully until the afternoon.
When I woke up again, the golden wheel hanging in the sky poured down warm light, and the temperature also climbed unknowingly.
She shrank into Wen Qizhou's arms and cast her eyes towards the beam of light squeezed into the gap in the curtains: "It seems to be heating up again."
"Yes." He lowered his head, resting his chin on the top of her hair, and said in a low voice, "We can leave tomorrow."
Chi Yue responded lightly: "Do you still want to sleep?"
"In no mood."
"Then let's get up and have something to eat." She raised her hands and put them around Wen Qizhou's neck, motioning for him to hug her.
Wen Qizhou held her and sat at the end of the bed, picked up the sweater and coat next to the sofa, and put them on her gently.
He asked: "Should we call them?"
"Go and see if they are up first." Since moving to the base, Xie Changxiao and Yao Chengwei have invited them to dinner from time to time, and she has never thought of leaving them alone and eating secretly.
"Okay." He then went to the next door and knocked on the door.
Xie Changxiao and Yao Chengwei came the fastest. The former sat on the sofa with his legs crossed: "What should we eat for lunch?"
"Preserved meat soup pot."
"Are there enough ingredients? Not enough for me to get."
"That's enough." Wen Qizhou picked up the ingredients and a bucket of water that was said to be obtained by cutting ice, and asked them to help in the kitchen.
After working for a while, the six of them sat down to eat the soup pot.
Chi Yue talked about heading north: "It's easy to encounter landslides on the expressway now. We can't follow the original route. The best way is to take a detour from the next city."
The detour must have been time consuming.
But in comparison, the safety factor is higher.
"Okay." Xie Changxiao had no objection. He glanced at Wen Qizhou and Zhao Peng: "How much gasoline do you have left now?"
"200 liters."
"We still have 80 liters." Zhao Peng swallowed the bacon in his mouth and calculated: "It can probably run six to seven hundred kilometers."
"Then we have to find a way to find it." After all, they would have to travel more than 2,000 kilometers on the highway alone, not to mention taking a detour.
"If it doesn't work, let's exchange it for medicine." Yao Chengwei immediately said: "The medicine I have there should be able to exchange for a lot of gasoline."
"The medicines are too scarce now. We should keep them as much as possible if we can. If we can't find them, we will have to exchange them with others."
"Okay." After discussing the gasoline issue, they re-planned their route after dinner and set off early the next morning.
On their way through the city, they encountered many cars driving from the base, and those people were also driving in the direction next door.
To ensure safety, they keep a certain distance from all vehicles and will not stop on the road unless necessary.
(End of chapter)
