The sound of rain hitting the metal plate grew louder and louder, like someone constantly hammering on your head.
Chen Hao squatted by the south-side drainage ditch, panting with his hands on his knees. Muddy water dripped down his trouser legs, and his shoes were already full of water, making a squelching sound with every step.
"The pit opening is almost filled." Karl wiped his face. The sandbags were piled up crookedly, but they had at least covered half of the collapsed area. "Adding two more bags should be enough to stabilize it."
"Don't let up." Chen Hao looked up at the sky. "The rain hasn't let up, and we can't keep up with this little bit of work for long."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the ground trembled violently.
"Here we go again!" Karl jumped back a step.
A crack appeared in the mud at the bottom of the ditch, and murky water slithered out like a snake, rushing straight towards the base of the main retaining wall. The metal plate creaked and began to tilt to one side.
"Quick! Put all the remaining sandbags on top!" Chen Hao shouted, then turned and ran back.
The two men picked up the last two bags of soil and rushed to the base of the wall to pile them up. But the water flow was too strong, and the sandbags slid as soon as they were placed.
"We can't hold on any longer!" Karl shouted. "This water isn't coming down from above, it's gushing out from underground!"
Nana's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "A sharp rise in the groundwater level has been detected, and the bearing capacity of the south wall foundation has reached its limit. We recommend immediate evacuation from the low-lying area."
"Evacuate?" Chen Hao gripped the walkie-talkie. "The first floor isn't cleared yet!"
“The floor of the main control room is flooded, and the water level in equipment room number three is 15 centimeters deep and rising.” Nana spoke quickly. “The power system has triggered short-circuit protection, the backup power supply has automatically switched, and the load is unstable.”
Chen Hao glanced back at the base entrance. Rainwater was pouring in along the slope, and the water level had already overflowed the threshold.
"Susan's still inside!" He turned and rushed back.
Carl followed closely behind: "I'll go get the boxes! You go rescue the people!"
---
The lights in the control room flickered a few times and then went out.
Emergency lights flashed, casting a red glow over the entire space. Several sealed boxes floated on the ground, swaying gently with the water flow. A burst of sparks erupted from a cable connector, followed by a loud pop.
Susan was kneeling at the bottom of the stairs, trying to pull a locker that was wedged in the door. Her ankle was caught on the fallen shelf, and she stumbled as she stood up.
The door frame is deformed, and the door panel is stuck in the track.
A banging sound came from outside.
"Susan! Where are you?" It was Chen Hao's voice.
"This way! The door won't open!" She pushed the door hard, but it only moved a little bit.
Chen Hao kicked the door in the middle, the metal clanging loudly. With a second kick, the door finally opened a crack. He reached out and pulled her out.
"Forget about the box!" he said. "Let's go up first!"
Carl, clutching the last sealed box, rushed to the stairwell: "The power module is here! I'll put it up high!"
"Just put it on the steps!" Chen Hao shouted back, "Nana! Cut off all non-essential lines!"
“Power has been remotely cut off.” Nana stood on the edge of the second-floor platform, the indicator light in her eyes flickering. “Some lines cannot be completely isolated due to water ingress, posing a risk of localized short circuits.”
"Understood." Chen Hao helped Susan upstairs. "Just don't let it explode."
As soon as the three of them stepped onto the second floor, the last light on the first floor went out.
The murky water rose rapidly, submerging the bottom of the equipment rack. A server tilted in the water, its screen remaining lit for a few seconds before going completely black.
---
The second-floor platform was smaller than I had imagined.
The building has ventilation windows on all four sides, two of which are broken, allowing rainwater to stream in at an angle. There are several leaks in the roof, and water droplets fall onto the floor, forming puddles.
Chen Hao leaned against the wall, panting. His right arm, pressed against his wet clothes, stung painfully. He looked down and saw that his cuff was torn, the skin pale, unsure whether it was from being soaked or injured.
"Is everyone here?" he asked.
“They’re both here.” Carl helped Susan sit down. “Her ankle is swollen.”
"I'm fine," Susan said through gritted teeth. "I can still move."
Nana walked to the corner, squatted down, opened the back access panel, and quickly moved the internal modules with her fingers. "Activate the backup energy storage unit to restore basic lighting and monitoring functions."
The lights brightened up a bit, making it barely possible to see the surroundings.
Chen Hao took out his portable flashlight and pressed the button a few times, but only a faint light appeared. He shook it, pressed the button again, but the filament seemed to have broken, and it could only maintain a dim yellow light.
"Alright then." He put the flashlight back in his pocket. "At least it can still be used as a lump of metal."
Karl looked around: "How much did we bring with us?"
"Two sealed boxes, one containing the main control module and backup hard drive, and the other containing an emergency power supply and connectors." Nana closed the access panel. "We didn't bring a medical kit, food, or drinking water."
“In other words,” Karl said with a wry smile, “we are now in a predicament where there are leaks above and floods below, we have no food in our hands, and we are all soaking wet.”
“Accurate.” Nana nodded.
“That’s good.” Chen Hao slid down to the floor against the wall. “I like this kind of situation the most—we have nothing, we just have to tough it out.”
Susan leaned on Carl's shoulder, her breathing a little rapid: "What do we do next?"
"Wait," Chen Hao said. "Wait for the water to rise to its peak, or wait for it to recede on its own."
What if you don't want a refund?
“Then let’s keep waiting.” He looked up at the ceiling. “Anyway, there’s nowhere else to go.”
Carl stared at the dark water below: "That muffled thud just now... was it a crack in the wall?"
“It should be.” Nana looked northwest. “The surveillance footage shows a structural crack in the west exterior wall, about 2.7 meters long, and it’s still expanding.”
"Does that mean this building could collapse at any moment?"
"This possibility cannot be ruled out."
The air suddenly felt heavy.
No one spoke. Only the sound of rain hitting the metal sheet and the creaking of metal twisting somewhere in the distance.
Chen Hao felt in his pants pocket and pulled out half a crumpled bag of biscuits. He looked at them, divided them into four portions, and put a small piece in each person's hand.
"Eat sparingly," he said. "Maybe it will last until tomorrow."
Carl chuckled, pinching the crumbs between his fingers. "Don't you think we're like clothes thrown into a washing machine? Spinning around and around, not knowing when it'll stop?"
“It’s even worse than that.” Chen Hao chewed on a biscuit. “At least it dries faster in the washing machine.”
Susan whispered, "I thought we could hold on after the reinforcement."
"I thought so too." Chen Hao looked at the crumbs in his palm. "People always think they can win at least once, but they always fall just short."
Nana suddenly stood up and walked to the center of the platform.
“An abnormal power fluctuation was detected,” she said. “The backup system’s output power dropped by 30 percent.”
"Can it still be repaired?" Chen Hao asked.
"We need to check if water has gotten into the wiring ports." She bent down to remove the panel.
"Wait," Karl suddenly raised his hand, "Did you hear that?"
Everyone fell silent.
A slow, thumping sound came from downstairs, like something hitting the wall.
One pause, then another.
"Is it a floating box?" Susan asked.
“The box doesn’t stop,” Carl said softly. “It keeps moving.”
Chen Hao slowly stood up, walked to the railing, and looked down.
The black water lay still, reflecting no shadow. The crashing sound returned, this time closer, as if it were right beneath the stairs.
"Nana," he said softly, "turn off the lights."
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