Chapter 166: Strange Phenomena

“Wife, where are Zhou Wei’s family?” Sun Jingtao had clearly noticed something was off with apartment 3203 and asked his wife.

Ye Qing was puzzled too.

She guessed that the whole family probably left with that big ship, but the fresh bloodstains at the door were quite shocking.

Su Dai’s eyes darkened. “Let’s go inside and pack while we talk. Didn’t you say the people downstairs only gave us an hour?”

An hour wasn’t long, but it wasn’t exactly short either.

Their things were already packed up for the most part.

It wouldn’t take long to gather them, but since they could only take so much, they needed to pick and choose again.

It was a shame about the newly built clay stove—they’d barely used it before having to abandon it.

And the freshly planted vegetables, too.

Su Dai planned to dig them up, soil and all, put them in plastic bags, and take them along.

As for the hydroponic plants in bottles and jars, she packed those up as usual.

These were all precious items now.

Whether they’d survive was another matter.

Thinking of this, she turned to Jiang Yan. “Jiang Yan, once you’ve packed your supplies, come meet us at our place, okay? If you have anything heavy, get these two to help you carry it.”

Earlier, when Sun Jingtao mentioned that they’d be taking Mo Jing Sheng’s boat to Dongshan, he hadn’t said anything about Jiang Yan not coming.

She’d just assumed they’d all be going together.

After all, they’d been sticking together this whole time.

“I still have things to do in Anming, so I won’t be going with you,” Jiang Yan said directly, not hiding anything.

“Huh?” Su Dai was taken aback and was about to ask more when shouts of “Oh my god!” and “What the—” came from downstairs.

The exclamations were coming from all five buildings in the complex.

They instinctively rushed to the window.

What they saw outside shocked them.

In the once-calm central garden, a huge school of giant fish were leaping out of the water with loud splashes.

There were so many that it was jaw-dropping.

People from other buildings were already getting ready, putting on life jackets and grabbing mosquito nets and other makeshift fishing gear, heading into the water.

It was only one or two degrees outside, but that didn’t stop anyone from jumping in to catch fish.

“Look! There are birds in the sky!” Su Dai looked up, her face full of surprise.

They all looked up to see a dense flock of black birds flying overhead.

Since the heatwave ended, this was the first time they’d seen living creatures in the sky.

“Those aren’t birds, they’re bats,” Sun Jingtao said, frowning.

Bats usually live in caves, so it wasn’t surprising they’d survived the extreme heat.

“Could the earthquake be coming sooner than expected?” Ye Qing had barely finished speaking when Su Dai lightly smacked her, pretending to scold, “Don’t jinx it, Xiao Ye…”

Jiang Yan’s heart sank.

She was a native of Anming and had experienced several major earthquakes as a child.

Though her memories were a bit fuzzy, she still remembered the basic signs that precede an earthquake.

Usually, before a big quake, nature would show some strange signs.

Animal behavior was often the clearest indicator.

Cows, sheep, and pigs refusing to enter their pens, dogs barking wildly, fish leaping out of the water, rats scurrying everywhere, birds and insects suddenly taking flight or migrating abnormally, and so on.

Scientifically, it’s believed animals can sense low-frequency sound waves that humans can’t, causing these unusual behaviors.

Sometimes, there would even be colorful lights in the sky—so-called “earthquake lights”—usually blue-white or red.

But when those lights appeared, the earthquake was often imminent, so animal warnings actually gave a bit more lead time.

Later on, everyone’s phones had automatic earthquake alerts, and living in the city, people didn’t pay as much attention to these natural warning signs anymore.

In her past life, the earthquake happened after the water froze over and the blizzard and extreme cold set in.

But now, it seemed the order of disasters was changing.

Jiang Yan took a quiet breath, thinking all this over.

“I wish I could be a prophet. Then I’d know what’s coming and could keep everyone safe,” Ye Qing said, glancing at Jiang Yan.

He pressed his lips together, finally mustering his courage:

“Jiang Yan, why don’t you come with us?”

If there weren’t any new disasters, he believed Jiang Yan could manage fine on her own.

But if an earthquake hit, high-rise buildings would be the most dangerous place to be.

With the world outside turned into a vast ocean, and their homes uninhabitable, where could she go?

Would she drift alone in a rubber dinghy, playing a female Robinson Crusoe?

Dealing with one or two bad people was one thing, but what if she ran into a whole group?

Even if her handgun was intimidating, she’d run out of bullets eventually.

Not to mention food and other supplies.

“Yeah, Jiang Yan, come with us,” Su Dai said, grabbing her hand, eyes full of hope.

“Brother Sun, let’s move the boat outside first! We’ll come back in a bit!” Downstairs, Song Qian and the soldier piloting the boat called up to Sun Jingtao and the others at the window.

They’d noticed the strange happenings on the water and in the sky too.

“Alright!”

Sun Jingtao frowned, turned to Jiang Yan, and said sincerely, “Jiang Yan, it really isn’t safe for you to be alone. How about this—you think it over, we’ll go pack up, and then come find you.”

Now wasn’t the time to waste words.

After all, Song Qian and the others were still waiting downstairs.

“Okay.” Not wanting to hold them up, Jiang Yan said goodbye and went back to her apartment.

She’d already packed all her supplies into her space before, so now the place looked completely empty.

She didn’t take anything out, just willed herself—and her backpack—straight into her space.

Inside, the sun was shining.

The fruits and flowers were lush and thriving.

“Jie jie jie!” Mama, we’re finally home!

The flower sprite, who’d been quietly following her, leapt off her shoulder in delight.

“Jie jie jie! Mama, hungry, food!”

The flower sprite licked its fangs, belly rumbling.

Jiang Yan almost burst out laughing.

The gold bars she’d put in her space earlier had automatically gone to the [Storage Area].

She willed the boxes of gold bars out.

The flower sprite couldn’t wait, prying open the boxes and stuffing gold bars into its gaping mouth.

As it devoured the gold, the progress bar above the little stream began to move!

Speaking of gold bars, Jiang Yan suddenly remembered she’d also put a glass box containing a “Taisui” (mythical flesh fungus) into her space.

She focused her mind.

The glass box was now sitting at the boundary between the illusory stream and the spiritual spring."