The water beneath Chen Hao's feet made a splashing sound. He had just taken a step when the sea in the distance suddenly bulged. It wasn't a wave; it was as if the entire ocean had been lifted up from below, the water wall so high that its top was invisible.

"Press down the door!" he roared, throwing the cement bag on his shoulder to the ground and turning to rush towards the waterproof door.

With a deafening roar, the first wave of seawater crashed against the breakwater, shattering into a large cloud of white mist. The waterproof gate in the south section shook violently, a gap burst open at the weld, and a jet of high-pressure water sprayed in, instantly knocking two workers to the ground.

Carl lunged at him from the side, plunging his foot into the water and yelling, "Sandbags! Build a second wall!"

Those nearby reacted quickly and hurriedly moved sandbags to build a barrier in front of the breach. However, the current was too strong, and one sandbag was swept away as soon as it was placed.

"No!" Susan wiped the water from her face. "We need to absorb the impact!"

She turned her head and saw an abandoned shipping container parked ten meters away. The metal was completely rusted, but the frame was still intact. "That one over there! Push it over here as a buffer!"

Three men rushed over to pry open the chains, while two others braced their shoulders against the edge of the container, pushing it forward. The wheels got stuck in the cracks and wouldn't budge, so someone simply jumped up and kicked them, one kick after another.

Click—

The chain broke, and the container slid forward at an angle, finally crashing into the sandbag wall with a "bang," blocking the water spray nozzle.

The water flow has decreased somewhat.

"Again!" Carl grabbed the sandbags and continued stacking them on top of each other. "One layer isn't enough, at least three layers!"

Chen Hao bent down to lift a bag, but as soon as he put weight on his shoulder, his foot slipped and he almost fell. He looked down and saw that half a piece of broken glass was stuck to the sole of his shoe. He shook it a couple of times before it came off.

“Lighting system malfunction.” Nana’s voice came from behind. She stood in front of the distribution box, her fingers inserted into the connector, sparks crackling from the casing. “Main line short circuit, bypassing the damaged node.”

The emergency lights overhead flickered, then suddenly went out for a second before flashing back on. The drainage pump hummed to life, and the water that had accumulated in the corner began to flow into the flood outlet.

"The light is back!" someone shouted.

"Don't let up!" Chen Hao gasped for breath. "This is only the first one; there's more to come!"

Before the words were even finished, the second wave of impact crashed down. The entire base shook, the south wall emitted a screeching sound, the waterproof door frame cracked another half inch, and water gushed out again.

"The generator room is flooded!" came an urgent voice over the walkie-talkie. "The water level in the low-lying area on the east side is up to our knees! The backup power supply is about to be submerged!"

Chen Hao looked up in the direction he was in, then took off running.

The water level at the entrance to the power distribution room was already 20 centimeters high. He kicked the door open, and inside, two technicians were trying to move the battery packs to a higher position, but the boxes were too heavy, and they had to put them down halfway.

"Change people!" Chen Hao rushed in. "You guys go and pull up the tarpaulin! I'll carry it!"

He bent down to hug the battery box, gritted his teeth, and stood up. The water was up to his calves, and every step felt like walking on mud. There was a splashing sound behind him, and Susan rushed in with a group of people, carrying a large piece of black waterproof tarpaulin. Several people worked together to cover the equipment with it.

"Divert the flow!" Carl shouted from outside the door. "Change the slope of the pipes!"

He removed a section of abandoned water pipe, sawed it in two, placed one end in the flooded area, and connected the other end to the drainage ditch. Some water flowed out along the pipe, but the speed still couldn't keep up with the amount being poured in.

"The flood discharge outlet is blocked." Nana appeared at the door, her blue eyes scanning the ground. "The accumulation of debris has reduced drainage efficiency by 62 percent."

"Get rid of it!" Chen Hao put down the battery box, wiped his face, and said, "Who can dive?"

No one answered.

“I’ll do it.” Susan took off her coat. “Give me three minutes.”

She plunged into the water and surfaced in less than two minutes, clutching a tattered fishing net and half a piece of plastic sheet. "It's cleared," she said, her teeth chattering slightly.

The drainage speed immediately increased.

A scream suddenly came from outside.

"The wall is collapsing! Run!"

Chen Hao rushed out and saw a young technician slumped on the ground, pointing at the south wall and shouting. Several people around him also began to back away.

Without saying a word, he climbed onto the toolbox next to him and stood taller than everyone else.

"Scared?" He grinned. "I'm scared too. But look at you—"

He pointed outside.

The sea level is receding.

“The wave has already crashed,” he said. “That last one was the first wave. The fact that we’re standing here means it didn’t wash us away.”

The crowd quieted down.

“It crashed into the wall.” Chen Hao patted the concrete behind him. “The sandbags we piled up are still there, and the welded steel frame hasn’t broken either. It lost.”

No one spoke.

“So now I’m asking you this,” he stared at the young man who had just screamed, “are you going to keep going, or wait for the next wave to come before you start crying?”

The man opened his mouth, then bent down, got up, and silently picked up a sandbag.

Nana walked to the control panel and pulled up the structural monitoring data. "The water pressure is continuing to drop, and the building stress has returned to the normal range," she said. "The first wave of impact is over."

The alarm changed, from a sharp blast to a steady, long wail.

"Hurry up." Chen Hao jumped off the crate. "Clear the silt, repair the walls, and re-secure all the support points. Don't think it's over; the aftershocks might be even more severe."

Carl led his team to begin clearing the collapsed sandbag wall, picking out the usable parts and throwing the unusable ones directly into the recycling truck. Someone brought in scrap steel beams and rebuilt supports at the original weld locations.

Susan organized two-person teams to work in shifts, rotating every twenty minutes to avoid exhaustion. She herself carried sandbags three times, her forehead covered in sweat.

Chen Hao carried materials to the gap one trip after another. His right arm was scraped and burned with pain, but he didn't stop.

“We’re missing a crossbeam here!” Carl shouted from afar.

"Deliver it right away!" Chen Hao replied, turning around to find a spare part.

The warehouse entrance was piled high with junk. He rummaged through a heap of old parts and found a perfectly intact I-beam at the very bottom. As he dragged it out, his arm scraped against the rough ground, and the wound reopened.

He didn't care, he just picked up the steel beam and left.

Back in the South Wing, Carl was welding a new bracket. Sparks flew everywhere, illuminating his face.

“Put it here!” Carl pointed to the empty space.

Chen Hao propped the steel beam against the wall and took a breath. The sea in the distance had calmed down considerably, but the sky remained overcast.

"Do you think... they'll come back?" someone asked in a low voice.

“Yes,” Chen Hao said. “A tsunami never comes in just one wave. Just because we’ve blocked the first one doesn’t mean things will be easier later.”

He looked at Nana: "How much longer?"

“It’s impossible to predict precisely,” she said. “The deep-sea array has partially lost contact, and the existing data is insufficient to determine the intensity of subsequent waves.”

“Then let’s plan for the worst.” Chen Hao wiped his face. “Everyone, immediately check the secondary reinforcement after the repairs are completed. Increase the sandbag height by thirty centimeters, and re-weld all connection points.”

Susan nodded: "I'll go coordinate the supplies."

Carl continued working diligently, steadily advancing the welding torch.

Chen Hao bent down and picked up an empty sandbag, preparing to refill it.

Just then, the ground trembled slightly.

It was very faint, like an aftershock from a distance.

No one spoke.

Chen Hao raised his head and looked up at the sea.

There was nothing there.

But he knew the sea wouldn't calm down so quickly.

He slammed the sandbag in his hand to the ground and shouted, "Don't stop! Keep going! If you take a break now, you'll be struggling to breathe for the rest of your life!"