Chu Zhiqin handed over a screenshot of the light screen. The public screen was also in chaos, with various voices intertwined and mixed, all condemning the person who initially spread the earthquake cycle theory.

Various chilling conspiracy theories have emerged, all claiming that these baseless rumors have caused great panic and must be the tactics of enemy spies!

So, the public chat started investigating the source of the "rumor," and eventually, the investigation led back to Cui Quan.

"Isn't this the rascal who tricked the Liu family girl?" Xi Zhongcang said with some surprise.

Cui Quan generated a lot of buzz during the food competition, and Xi Zhongcang, who was completely unaware of the situation, had a very good impression of him. However, after hearing about Liu Enxi's various experiences in Bingyuan these days, Xi's father immediately developed a dislike for this person, even to the point of being indignant.

“Yes,” Xi Xi’s lips curled up slightly, “not only that, he was also tricked by Li Jinshao.”

Just hours earlier, Li Jinshao had obtained new information and immediately informed Xi Xi. By analyzing the geological information of the frozen ice sheet, he had obtained new key information—the earthquake would be postponed until the day after tomorrow.

In fact, this was all thanks to Cui Quan.

It turned out that Cui Quan had somehow obtained an escape route map and was trying to use Li Jinshao's connections as a "geological researcher" to confirm it.

His commission was—another handwritten sheet of recipes from the Food Competition, "Stir-fried Eggs with Conch".

Having learned about the entire book "Dongli's Descent: A Beginner's Cooking Tutorial" from Xi Xi early on, Li Jinshao was amused by Cui Quan's shameless behavior and decisively rejected him.

Cui Quan panicked and quickly provided some valuable information—a complete map showing the distribution of islands in the sea area.

“That map was quite useful,” Li Jinshao said. “The previous two refuge islands were ordinary deserted islands with a reasonable area, but this icy plain is just too vast. I had a feeling something was wrong. Since you hadn’t replied to my messages, I made the decision on my own.”

In fact, after escaping the passenger ship, Xi Xi opened the chat messages on the light screen and saw that Li Jinshao had proposed a deal with Cui Quan a few days earlier, but she did not dare to make too much of a fuss because the Liu sisters were present at the time.

Although the escape route map was jointly owned by Li Jinshao and her, Li Jinshao did not object when she wanted to inform Liu Enxi, Cheng Xu and others about the relevant information. Similarly, Xi Xi also believed that Li Jinshao's behavior did not overstep any boundaries.

After that, Li Jinshao said to Xi Xi with a solemn expression that the future earthquake cycle may change, it will only be postponed and not brought forward, but the specific time of occurrence has not yet been calculated.

"In the end, I wasn't exactly lying, since it was just a guess at the time. I only truly confirmed the idea after I got the map," Li Jinshao continued. "As a bargaining chip, I subtly asked him to adjust the timing of the previous earthquakes..."

Cui Quan actually took Li Jinshao's ambiguous words to heart. After calculating, he suddenly realized the truth and thought he had grasped the essence of the matter.

To establish his authority, he used this ambiguous information gap to speak eloquently on the public screen and gave it a catchy name—the earthquake cycle theory.

According to Li Jinshao, Cui Quan also used the prestige he had built up during the previous competition to form a new organization and recruit many talented people.

I wonder how much face he will lose at this moment due to the damage to his reputation and the backlash from the masses caused by misinformation?

Chu Zhiqin silently gave Li Jinshao a thumbs up in her heart, while Xi Zhongcang sighed and then asked about Cheng Xu and his group.

It turned out that Liu Yunyan and Cheng Xu's family had an unexpected encounter on their way to the refuge island. This should have been a fortunate event, but unexpectedly, a huge whirlpool suddenly appeared on the sea while they were crossing it, instantly swallowing both cars.

"It's a dungeon! We've fallen into a dungeon!" Liu Yunyan's voice clearly reached Xi Xi's mind through the synesthetic ring. She had originally thought she was going to die, but she became overjoyed after learning that it was a dungeon.

Liu Yunyan fainted the moment the vehicle was caught in the whirlpool, but fortunately, she did not lose the synesthetic necklace around her neck. She was then awakened by Xi Xi's voice.

Once she regained her senses, she was shocked to find herself in a completely unfamiliar underwater world, surrounded by dark water and swaying seaweed.

"Both people and the car are safe and sound!" she reported to Xi Xi. "However, this dungeon doesn't seem to be a rare one. Uncle Cheng said that it was discussed on the public chat before. It's an underwater maze, and we can just use the left-hand rule to get out!"

"Dungeons are great! There are special treasure chests to get..." Xi Xi exclaimed. She really wanted to encounter a dungeon and see if she could pull out a "Heavenly Dynasty" cultural relic to complete the six-piece set...

Xi Xi then informed Liu Yunyan about the changing earthquake cycles and suggested they spend a couple more days in the instance. After all, the instance is free from external interference, making it a good place to avoid natural disasters.

After clearing their minds, the three of them were finally able to discuss what to eat for dinner.

The cold wind, carrying snowflakes, pelted against the car window. Xi Xi was curled up in the dinette seat, her knees against the edge of the table, where the self-heating rice in the plastic bowl was steaming.

The tangy aroma of tomato and beef brisket, the numbing and spicy flavor of Kung Pao chicken, and the rich and savory taste of mushroom and chicken soup—the three aromas intertwined in the small space. Xi Xi also heated up two more packets of self-heating side dishes.

"Eat quickly, don't let the smell escape," Xi Zhongcang said softly, covering the gap in the car window with a quilt.

In order to avoid making too much noise and attracting attention, they decided to eat various fast foods for the next few days.

Chu Zhiqin wrapped the handle of the soup pot with a towel, and the steam from the egg drop soup wafted out. Although the small RV was cramped, it was more than enough to accommodate three people.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!