Chapter 459: The Toughest Time (1/2)
Chapter 459: The Toughest Time
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
As he was making his way back, another earthquake rocked the area!
It was an 8.0 magnitude earthquake. The ground shook intensely and people ran everywhere screaming at the top of their lungs.
Luo Yuan stayed rooted, his feet planted firmly on the ground. He did not move at all to the violent tremors around him. The cracks on the ground and the giant boulders that fell around him had him worried for the people of the region!
Since the anti-matter bomb attack as well as the state of the moon which now orbited the earth at a further distance, the tectonic plates entered a turbulent period of chaos. Volcano eruptions and earthquake were not out of the ordinary anymore and happened a few times almost every day. Some were minimal while serious ones went up to a magnitude of 6.0. It was the first time that such an intense earthquake happened after the disaster.
The space between each layer of the underground city was eight meters thick, which greatly strengthened its resistance to earthquakes.However, this earthquake was unbearable even for the thick ground layers. Moreover, the structure was loose due to the frequent earthquakes. There were huge cracks in the gaps which weakened the structure significantly.
20 seconds after the earthquake, the ground started to collapse. Fortunately, it stopped not long later. Besides a small part which collapsed, there was no major damage. Luo Yuan wasted not a second longer and rushed to the City Hall to initiate rescue protocols.
The collapse happened at the gap between the fifth and sixth layer where the entire 100,000 square meters of rock plates had collapsed. Luckily the floors below it were strong enough to withstand the collapse, so a domino effect did not ensue.
The fifth layer of Hope City’s underground catacombs was a warehouse. The sixth to tenth layers were residential areas and light contaminated industrial area, while the eleventh to thirteenth were agriculture areas. Apart from two factories being buried by the earthquake debris, a major part of the residential area was also affected.
Fortunately, most of the people were hiding in the warehouse area and factories while only some of them, mostly old people and children, stayed at home. However, the disaster covered a massive area. Rough calculation estimated more than 1,000 people were dead. It was impossible to survive being smashed by eight meters of solid rock!
More and more bad news continued to flow in and Luo Yuan was completely swamped.His plan to visit Chen Xinjie in the afternoon had to be canceled. Many people teamed up for disaster relief aid but that was not the most important thing at the time. The utmost priority was to strengthen the structure of the underground layers to prevent a collapse from happening again.
Although all of the people in Hope City would move into the spacecraft not long after, the transition would not happen overnight. They would have to make sure that the underground layers were stable for the remaining time they resided in Hope City. Looking at the situation, there was a high possibility that the earthquake would happen again.
Luo Yuan and a couple of geological experts were busy checking the weakness of each underground layer the entire afternoon. His Earth Pulse allowed him to sense the hidden risks from the difference of frequency on the ground. Large amounts of reinforced concrete stock were moved to the weak and crumbling locations. More than 100,000 workers were busy fixing the support columns, stabilizing the underground structures to brace it for the next earthquake.
…
It was 9 p.m., vice-mayor Tian Jinping came to Luo Yuan with a good news.
”Mayor, due to the hard work and team effort of all our factories, they have managed to produce almost 500,000 electric blankets. We estimated that they could produce up to 650,000 of them by 12 a.m,” he said carefully, his husky voice controlling his excitement from the success.
As compared to the figure that they promised, which was 80,000, the new figure was six times more. However, it was still not sufficient. But looking at his eyes that were red and blisters around his lips, it was obvious that he had done his best.
”That’s great, distribute them to the people immediately!” Luo Yuan instructed.
”Sure, mayor. I’ll do it now!” he replied. Tian Jinping was surprised as to how encouraging Luo Yuan was. He exhaled in relief.
Just when he wanted to leave, Luo Yuan stopped him.
”Wait, there’s something odd about the free give-away. To prevent the people from complaining about unfairness, let’s sell the electric blanket at a cheap price and tell them it’s a limited edition offer. Use the broadcast system to let everyone know!” Luo Yuan said.
”You’re a genius, mayor!” Tian Jinping said respectfully.
Luo Yuan laughed,”Also inform the people to hold on for one night, they get to rotate shifts and rest tomorrow!”
The staff who were working for the government had not rested for the past few days. If the situation persisted, they would all be ill with sickness and fatigue.
Tian Jinping then left, and the office was quiet again. Luo Yuan massaged his temples and stood up. He paced around his office. After today, the toughest time for Hope City would be over. After the cold situation was resolved, most of the issues in Hope City would be much easier to handle.
…
Fortunately, nobody had died from the cold.
Humans were conscious creatures, and even without an electric blanket to keep them warm, they started fires and also put on more clothes to fight the cold.
But as there were more electric blankets and other warmth related goods being produced, the people had less to worry about. The crisis was eased and Luo Yuan was relieved. Since he had not been home for a few days, he planned to go home today.
”Mayor!”
”Mayor!”
…
It was hectic at the City Hall. Many expressed their gratitude when they bumped into Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan had been taking the lead these few days and his great act of preserving mankind had earned him a halo in the eyes of the people.
Although most of the people were exhausted, whenever they saw him, they got all excited and pumped to cheer his successes and express their gratefulness for his aid. It was a great achievement where the phenomena happened during the toughest times for mankind.
He arrived at the hall and stopped walking all of the sudden. Everybody stood up.
Looking at all the staff who stood with admiration for him, he was touched.
”Everyone, your handwork is noted. We survived the alien’s attack. Credit should not be mine alone but a team effort, for everyone. Now the toughest times have passed us, our lives will get better soon enough. Let’s change shifts and take a much-deserved rest!” Luo Yuan said, with a hearty laugh after he finished.
He gestured to the office manager who walked out of the office,”Get the canteen to prepare a scrumptious breakfast. If there’s no more high-class meat, please get it from me!”
”There… there are, I’ll arrange right now.” The office manager said immediately and rushed off to make the required preparations.