Because Monkey and his family were among the first to actively go to the countryside, to boost everyone's enthusiasm, they were provided with building materials for four rooms per family. A construction team was also sent to help them prepare the foundations. As for building the houses, that was up to them. Fortunately, they were all hardworking people, and with the help of the Yun family and the two families working together, the construction progressed quickly. Since it was a single-story house, the roof was completed soon. Looking at the houses they had built with their own hands, everyone was filled with a great sense of pride.

Si Cheng then asked a few of his cousins ​​to help them set up several earthen beds in one afternoon. The rest was just simple renovations; no one paid much attention to it. They painted the walls, mopped the floor, and tidied up the yard, making it look quite presentable.

After consulting the almanac, Hou's father and the other elders chose an auspicious day and moved into their new home with great fanfare. To better integrate into local life, both families held a joint housewarming celebration. This small feast couldn't compare to the Yun family's 100-day celebration, where they invited the entire village, while theirs was a small affair with only one person from each family attending. The celebration also strengthened their relationship with the villagers. Before, when walking through the village, people would at most smile or nod; after the celebration, they would stop and chat for a bit when they met again.

Everyone in the village was busy every day. As the predicted tsunami date approached, the elderly in the families grew increasingly anxious, sensing a major crisis was looming. They urged their children and grandchildren to collect as much as possible, even gathering dry branches and rotten wood. This tense atmosphere gradually affected the surrounding villages. Daughters-in-law in the village, returning to their parents' homes, recounted these events as jokes to their elders. Unexpectedly, the elders, after some reflection, also joined in stockpiling supplies. Although price controls were in place, there are too many clever people in this world, and prices had unknowingly risen significantly.

The day before the predicted tsunami finally arrived, and the atmosphere was more tense than ever before. Even the children dared not make a sound. All kinds of earthquake preparedness leaflets were handed out to everyone, and everyone was nervously reviewing their studies, even more so than before the college entrance examination.

At this time, the model prefabricated houses that Sicheng had placed next to the village school played a big role. Everyone stored some necessities and several days' worth of food in them, and set up tents next to them by family unit.

The poultry had become restless a few days ago. The dogs in the village were afraid of biting people, so they were all tied up by their owners. Even Yun Qi's little puppy was tied up.

Having not slept all night, everyone gathered early the next morning on the flat ground in front of the ancestral hall. Seeing that everything seemed the same as before, they thought the prediction had been inaccurate, and some people were already making sarcastic remarks. Some even thought everything was fine and prepared to go home, which was criticized by the village chief, who declared that anyone who went back would be responsible for any accidents that occurred.

The Yun family sat silently at a distance. Yun's father held Junjun, Yun's mother held Lele, while Sicheng and Yunqi stood guard nearby, their faces filled with tension. Da Xiong and Houzi also sat not far from the Yun family, seemingly ready to watch over and help them.

Suddenly, the entire sky went dark, and this unexpected change filled the square with screams.

Si Cheng and Qi Bao held hands tightly, protecting the two elderly people and two children in their arms. The group immediately lay down on the ground. After a while, a strong tremor came from the ground. At this moment, Jun Jun and Le Le were also frightened and started crying. Hearing the children's cries, Yun's father and mother quickly calmed themselves down, adjusting to the shaking while comforting the children in trembling voices.

Loud noises occasionally echoed from afar, making the dark square particularly eerie.

For a moment, the square was filled with cries and screams. Everyone felt a deep-seated fear, realizing how insignificant they were in the face of nature. Gradually, the screams and cries subsided, leaving only intermittent sobs.

After an unknown amount of time, the earth gradually stopped shaking, but the sky remained dark. Some people turned on their phone flashlights to check if their loved ones were safe. Gradually, beams of light illuminated the square. After a family-by-family check, no one was found missing or injured. Only a few people had soiled their pants from fear, but no one mocked them; the atmosphere was still tense.

"Don't rush back, and don't go near buildings, there might still be aftershocks," village chief Yun Mingwu dutifully advised everyone.

When Junjun and Lele saw so many lights in the square, they thought everyone was playing games together, and they clapped their hands and laughed happily.

With aftershocks occurring every so long, no one dared to move around.

Just then, someone shouted, "Why is there no signal on my phone?" Everyone rushed over to check their phones, and sure enough, there was no signal at all.

"It was probably caused by an earthquake, and it should recover in the future," some people said optimistically.

Si Cheng and Yun Qi exchanged a glance, because they knew that the signal recovery was a long way off, otherwise they wouldn't have been unable to contact their families for ten years after the apocalypse until their deaths.

"I don't know how my parents are doing now, and I can't get in touch with them. I'm so worried!" Someone shouted anxiously at that moment.

Another wave of panic swept through the area. People wondered if their loved ones had been as lucky as they were to escape the disaster. Everything was pitch black, and the sounds they had heard earlier were unclear—whether they were houses collapsing or the ground cracking. Nobody dared to move.

Time passed slowly, and everyone felt like an eternity in the square. Finally, the sky began to brighten.

It was then that everyone noticed many trees had fallen to the ground, and some old houses that were no longer stable had also collapsed. The most surprising thing was that a large pit had appeared on the road leading into the village, and the road connecting the village entrance had disappeared. Fortunately, the residential areas of the village remained largely unchanged. Only a few houses had cracks in their walls.

Si Cheng also stood at a distance to observe his home and found that only one side of the courtyard wall had collapsed. Looking into the house from the outside, he did not find any major problems for the time being.

"Don't go home yet. People's safety is the most important thing." Seeing some people running towards their homes, the village chief started shouting anxiously again.

As the intervals between aftershocks grew longer, each household sent one person home to check on the situation after each aftershock.