"Even if I have to wear this hat until today, and then I'm sent home to retire tomorrow, I'm not afraid!"
Chen Haiting pushed open the door and entered, his back straight and his expression solemn. "Comrades, there are seven districts and four counties in Yanling City, eight million people. If an earthquake really happens in the middle of the night while we are sleeping, how many people will die? Have you thought about that?"
"Is this hat more important, or are eight million lives more important?!"
Chen Haiting's voice was powerful and resonant, each word like a sharp sword piercing the conscience of everyone present.
The noise inside the room instantly decreased by half.
"Mayor Chen, all the districts and counties have received the anonymous letter that said there would be an 8.0 magnitude earthquake tonight. However, the letter was pasted with words cut out from a newspaper, and we have searched for a long time but have not been able to find the source of the letter."
"How can you be so sure that this wasn't done by hostile foreign forces or spies lurking in our country?"
"Our Yanling City is a major steel-producing city in the country. It has been shut down for five days and five nights now. Have you calculated how much loss this is?!"
Vice Mayor Wang is also a veteran; while others may fear Chen Haiting, he is not.
He refuted Chen Haiting while slamming his fist on the table repeatedly.
"Old Wang, is economic loss more important, or human life?"
"Economic losses are predictable. Earthquake? Humph! Where's the earthquake?"
Vice Mayor Wang turned his attention to Director Sun of the Earthquake Bureau, saying, "Old Sun, you're a professional, so you tell me, where are the earthquakes?"
Director Sun has been under tremendous pressure these days, pressure he has never experienced before in his career.
He kept wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. "This, this, the seismographs at the earthquake monitoring station haven't detected any seismic waves yet..."
Before Director Sun could finish speaking, Vice Mayor Wang shouted, "Mayor Chen, shouldn't we trust science? The seismograph didn't detect any seismic wave signals. How could someone hiding their identity know there was an earthquake?"
As he spoke, he glanced around the room and said, “I strongly suggest that production be resumed immediately and all the people be allowed to return to their homes! In this cold weather, if any elderly, weak, sick, or disabled people fall ill from the cold, Mayor Chen, you will be held responsible!”
Chen Haiting remained silent.
He remembered what Liu Donglai had said to him when he called.
“Brother Haiting, you might not believe this, but he’s a very special child. He told me so seriously that there would be an earthquake in your city, and I really believed him.”
"As I've told you, I truly have no scientific basis for this. The decision is entirely up to you, Brother Haiting."
"But I think we went through fire and water to create a new China. We didn't do it for an official position."
Chen Haiting glanced at his watch; the hands had reached 1:30. He said in a deep voice, "Everyone, go and stay in the tents in the yard!"
He then asked his secretary, "Xiao Zhao, have the wires for the confidential telephone been installed?"
"All phones have been moved to the tents in the yard, ensuring smooth communication!"
Vice Mayor Wang was furious when Chen Haiting remained unmoved. "Chen Haiting! In this freezing cold, you want everyone to stay in the tents outside? Are you crazy?"
"Xiao Zhao, Xiao Luo, drag Vice Mayor Wang out!"
Seeing that Mayor Chen had taken down all the veterans, no one dared to step forward and object anymore.
A group of people followed Vice Mayor Wang, who was being half-pushed and half-shoved, into the tent.
A biting wind blew in through the gaps in the tent, and despite the leaders being dressed in cotton-padded coats, they were still shivering from the cold.
Time passed by, and all was calm outside.
Many people were secretly complaining and exchanging glances. If there was no earthquake after 2 a.m., they wondered where Chen Haiting would put his old face!
Five minutes until 2 a.m.
Sudden.
"Ring ring~"
A phone rang, and everyone's attention immediately tensed up.
Chen Haiting gestured for Xiao Zhao to answer the phone.
Xiao Zhao picked up the phone, "Hello~ Oh, Director Sun, someone's looking for you!"
Director Sun answered the phone, "Oh, that's good, that's good!"
Everyone listened intently to Director Sun's conversation, and when he said no, they were immediately relieved.
Vice Mayor Wang rolled his eyes at Chen Haiting and snorted heavily, expressing his dissatisfaction.
Director Sun had just hung up the phone when it rang again, startling him.
He quickly grabbed the phone. "Speak! ...Hmm? Seismic waves detected?!"
Upon hearing the words "seismic waves," the people inside the tent all instantly narrowed their eyes.
Director Sun said in a trembling voice, "Mayor Chen, the seismograph has detected seismic waves..."
Chen Haiting stood at the tent entrance and waved his hand, "The earth has turned over!"
Before the words were finished, a tremendous rumble came from the depths of the earth, followed by a violent tremor and shaking...
Lijiapo.
As Li Hanzhong was picking watermelons and stood up to put them down, he suddenly saw a huge, bright red fireball flash across the horizon in the northeast. Immediately afterward, he felt a slight tremor beneath his feet.
Li Hanzhong shook his head, feeling a bit dizzy, probably because he hadn't been sleeping much lately.
People who are fast asleep are completely unaware of anything.
Li Xiangdong felt the ground trembling slightly beneath his feet, covered his face with his hands, and sweat seeped through his fingers.
I wonder how things are in Yanling City.
The earthquake in my past life caused 240,000 deaths and countless disabilities; I wonder how many casualties it will cause in this life.
His return saved Sister Guoling, saved Fourth Sister, but can it save the eight million people of Yanling City...?
Tonight, Liu Donglai is another person who can't sleep.
He also saw a large fireball flash by in the distance and felt a slight tremor.
Liu Donglai's mind became incredibly clear instantly. He could feel the tremors even more than a thousand miles away, so it seemed that the magnitude of this earthquake was not low.
He picked up the phone, intending to call Chen Haiting, but when he reached the last number, he put down the receiver.
Chen Haiting must be very busy right now; he's just calling to check on everyone's safety.
However, this will cause many important phone lines to be busy.
...
Chen Haiting is indeed very busy right now; his phone keeps ringing.
The violent earthquake lasted for a full 23 seconds.
23 seconds, but for those in the moment, each second felt like an eternity.
It was as if a sleeping earth dragon was turning over underground.
The streets, lined up one after another, were like land turned over by a plow; the buildings swayed and then collapsed from top to bottom in an instant!
Trees and utility poles were all snapped by the enormous energy released by the earthquake.
The bridge, which was made of concrete, has completely collapsed, leaving only a few bridge pillars.
The railway tracks were twisted and deformed, the city center train station was completely reduced to ruins, and the roads had collapsed and sunken...
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