Chapter 35
However, how exactly will it be implemented?
The Crystal Clan will not directly intervene. Organizing evacuations and implementing rescue operations ultimately require the local government to take the lead.
And the efficiency of local officials... even a long-term "unemployed" manager like Noah knew all too well. It wasn't just slow, it was astonishingly sluggish, comparable to a sloth.
For example, if a major report or action plan is submitted through a step-by-step bottom-up process, it would be impossible to go from conception to initial review and approval in less than ten days to half a month.
Next, we coordinated with various departments, and the documents were passed around and repeatedly confirmed by countless hands. By the time all the required signatures and stamps were gathered, almost another ten days had passed.
When it's finally time to take action, in order to show their importance, the higher-ups often have to conduct random inspections and on-site verifications, which can easily delay things for another two or three days... By the time this complicated and lengthy process is finally completed, let alone the tortoise and the hare race, even the tortoise might have practiced enough to run the 100-meter dash in 9.8 seconds, setting a "world record"!
If this task were left entirely to the local government, coupled with the still inaccurate weather forecasting available to humans—currently they can only predict daytime rainfall—the consequences would be unimaginable. When night falls and they finally discover the rain continues unabated and the river has swelled, then frantically try to contact all sides… By then, people will likely be left only to gather together, helplessly watching their homes and countless lives being swallowed by the merciless flood.
Noah sighed softly.
A person involuntarily popped into my mind.
What is Su Yue doing right now?
Is he frowning and listening impatiently in the classroom? Or is he sitting in the art studio, staring intently at the canvas, his brush flying across the canvas?
He probably didn't know that a flash flood was about to hit...
The system's intelligent voice prompted in a soft yet cold tone: "Manager 2, do you confirm the adoption of this evacuation plan?"
"This is it. Time waits for no one."
Noah confirmed and then opened another floating window. It displayed detailed information about the high-ranking officials of the three towns: names, appearances, education, hobbies, work experience, and so on.
He opened a drawer and took out three palm-sized white CDs.
Tap the button to start the corresponding program and set the delivery path.
Immediately afterwards, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint golden light appeared in his eyes.
The moment the energy fluctuations came into contact with the white discs, the three discs seemed to be coated with a layer of flowing gold, quickly transforming into a dazzling gold. With a slight thought, the three golden discs silently flew out of the window, following a pre-set trajectory.
One of the golden discs traveled at 300 kilometers per hour through the snow-capped mountains and arrived above the town of Weiming. It slowed down in front of the town hall, circled half a circle, and finally hovered outside the mayor's office window before quietly sliding into the building.
The town mayor is catching fish.
He sipped his coffee while browsing the day's news. The webpage displayed updates on the rugby match he was most interested in—a notice stating that due to rain today, the qualifying match scheduled for this evening would be postponed to tomorrow.
The mayor sighed and sullenly downed his coffee.
Then he picked up the landline and called his assistant—asking him to buy two boxes of donuts "to reward his colleagues who might also be feeling down."
"It's my treat," the mayor said generously.
Assistant: "Okay!" Although he wasn't very efficient at handling documents, he was usually very quick at purchasing donuts, which always satisfied the mayor.
Soon, the mayor, with a donut dangling from his lips, strolled leisurely around his office, when he suddenly noticed something new in the room—a golden disc, eerily suspended in mid-air.
UFO?! ... The word flashed through the mayor's mind, but before he could exclaim in surprise, the golden disc suddenly burst out with a dazzling light, leaving him mesmerized and dumbfounded.
An anonymous yet highly authoritative flood warning and a complete evacuation plan were instantly inputted into his mind and marked as the highest priority.
A minute later, the mayor "woke up." Driven by the highest priority information, his expression became more solemn and serious than ever before. He spat out the donut in his mouth, strode to the computer, and began typing rapidly.
Ten minutes later, a concise and efficient "Implementation Steps for Emergency Evacuation from Weiming Town during the Flood" was completed.
He immediately instructed his assistant to contact the three major disaster response departments—the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Fire Services, and the Ministry of Militia—to urgently allocate manpower and organize the evacuation.
The assistant, still with a second donut in his mouth, initially dismissed it: "What? A flood?!... The water level has risen twenty meters?... Mayor, is today April Fool's Day? Haha..."
Without any hesitation, the mayor ripped the donut out of his mouth, threw it on the ground, and said sternly, "A life is at stake, I'm not joking!"
The assistant, who had been slacking off for a long time, was stunned and found it difficult to adapt to this sudden change.
The mayor threatened fiercely, "Get it done right now! If you don't do it well today, you can forget about ever touching a donut again!"
The assistant then realized the seriousness of the situation, abruptly stood up straight, and hurriedly began dialing various departments. The mayor personally called the mayor of the neighboring town of Sterkar, requesting assistance. The entire city hall was suddenly bustling with activity, bustling with activity like never before.
Unbeknownst to anyone, the small golden disc remained suspended in the air above the building, silently observing everything.
Two hours later, the Weiming Town government began urging residents to evacuate via radio broadcasts. Television and radio repeatedly broadcast flood warnings, and several broadcast vans and police cars slowly patrolled the streets, using loudspeakers to issue emergency announcements along the way.
Since most residents own private cars, the evacuation plan primarily relies on residents driving themselves. The government also provided public buses to transport residents without vehicles. As a precaution, the authorities also set up temporary rescue points on relatively flat, elevated areas on both sides of the road to accommodate those who might not be able to evacuate in time.
The government's plan was meticulous and its implementation was orderly, showing a rare level of efficiency and a departure from its previous "sloth-like" image.
However, looking at the light drizzle outside the window, many residents remained skeptical and lingered at home. During the day, fewer than four thousand people drove away, some of whom did not head to the designated town of Steka but instead went elsewhere, treating it as a vacation.
As evening approached, the rain intensified, and the river began to overflow. The first floor of the lowest-lying residential buildings was already flooded. The residents of the small town panicked and hurriedly loaded their belongings into their cars, driving their families out of town.
Ninety percent of the residents of Weiming Town left in haste that evening.
Su Yue's family also persisted until evening before reluctantly preparing to set off.
The family of three even seemed to be on vacation – the father stuffed a portable barbecue grill, a full set of cooking utensils, and a case of beer into the back of the pickup truck; the mother brought chicken wings and skewers, various seasonings, and three novels; and Su Yue crammed his mountain bike and game console into the truck.
The rain was getting heavier.
As the pickup truck approached the edge of town, it discovered that the highway had been flooded by a river, with water about five centimeters deep. Driving through the water significantly increased resistance, causing fuel consumption to spike.
Looking back towards the town center, the lowest section of the road was flooded to a depth of one meter. Two cars, abandoned in the middle of the road due to the drivers' misjudgment and reckless driving, had stalled and looked pitiful and out of place.
The family of three looked at each other in disbelief: "It really is... a flood?!"
It turns out that the city hall's warning in the afternoon was entirely true.
Su Yue suddenly realized something, and his expression changed abruptly. Ignoring the car's warning lights, he unbuckled his seatbelt and shouted urgently to his father, "Stop the car! Stop the car! I left something very important at home!!"
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