Chapter 167: Earthquake (Part 1)

Jiang Yan quickly walked over to the not-yet-fully-formed spiritual spring.

Beside it was the source of the small stream in her space—a wall of dense, white mist, looking just like thick fog.

The box containing the Tai Sui was placed there, steady and secure.

A faint, sweet fragrance that refreshed the mind lingered around the box.

Jiang Yan finally realized where the scent she’d smelled earlier in Warehouse No. 1 had come from.

Most likely, it was emitted by the jelly-like Tai Sui itself.

Logically, only living things would be automatically identified by the space and placed wherever it deemed appropriate.

Just like the fish, shrimp, crabs, and turtles she’d put in before—the space had tossed them straight into the pool of water.

Could it be that the space had determined this Tai Sui should live in the stream or the spiritual spring?

With that thought, Jiang Yan quickly returned to the Apple Pod.

She turned on her computer and started searching through offline data.

From the database, she learned that Tai Sui was originally a living organism, but not an animal, plant, or fungus—it was a unique and mysterious life form.*

It was said to have powerful regenerative abilities and a complete cellular structure; every piece cut from it could survive independently.

In folklore, Tai Sui is also called “meat lingzhi.”

It comes in red, white, black, green, and yellow varieties.

People believed that eating “meat lingzhi” could prolong life, even grant immortality, so it was highly sought after by alchemists and emperors alike—some even mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers to search for it.*

Even in modern times, any Tai Sui found is worth a fortune.

And the one she had now, in terms of size and quality, was truly one in a million.

No wonder it was placed separately in that spot.

Thinking back to the elderly man in the white lab coat, Jiang Yan suspected he’d been researching this Tai Sui for some purpose.

But as for why there was a golden mesh wrapped around the box, she had no idea.

To be safe, Jiang Yan decided not to open the box for now.

She just left it there as it was.

Standing up, she glanced at the progress bar floating above the stream and was overjoyed.

【99.70%】

It would only take half a day more to reach 100%.

Remembering the strange behavior of the fish and bats earlier, Jiang Yan gave a few instructions to Hua Bao, who was busy eating, then exited the space.

It was just then—

As soon as she stepped into the living room, she felt the floor shaking violently beneath her feet, buzzing and trembling like a sieve.

The chandelier on the ceiling swayed and creaked.

White plaster dust from the ceiling panels rained down.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the previously calm water was now surging in waves, crashing rapidly toward the building.

“Splash!” Some of the spray and foam even hit her window.

Jiang Yan was shocked.

This was completely unexpected!

The earthquake had come early—and the tremors were far stronger than usual!

In her past experiences, earthquakes usually struck at night or in the early morning.

But a quake this strong in broad daylight? This was a first.

She knew that during an earthquake, it was safest to hide in a small space or under a table.

But her apartment was empty, and the nearest thing she could grab onto—the fireplace—was a bit too far away.

As her body lurched and she was about to fall, she immediately flashed into her space.

When she was little, Jiang Yan had heard that you must never fall during an earthquake, or you could suffer a stroke or cerebral hemorrhage.

Whether that was true or not, she didn’t know.

But it never hurt to be cautious.

Judging by how violently the ground had just shaken, this was no minor quake.

Her apartment had been reinforced with steel plates, so it shouldn’t crack easily.

But the whole building hadn’t been reinforced.

And she was on the top floor.

Jiang Yan was worried something might go wrong.

Estimating that the tremors had probably subsided, she put on her red safety helmet and exited the space again.

Looking around the room, Jiang Yan instinctively frowned.

A thick layer of dust now covered the floor.

Both fireplaces had cracks as wide as her finger.

The plaster ceiling and walls had split, exposing the silvery steel plates beneath.

Judging by the damage, this was at least a magnitude six quake.

If her “fortress” of an apartment looked like this, the damage outside could only be worse.

And usually, after a major earthquake, there would be aftershocks.

She wondered if this quake was just the appetizer, or if only minor aftershocks would follow.

It seemed the authorities really did have some capable people—they’d predicted this with remarkable accuracy.

Even better than her, someone who’d lived through a second lifetime.

Thinking of how her plans had been disrupted by this sudden earthquake, Jiang Yan felt a mix of emotions.

“Jiang Yan!”

“Jiang Yan, open up!” It was Ye Qing’s voice.

Jiang Yan took a deep breath and hurried to the door.

The hallway was filled with dust.

Ye Qing stood at the door, looking serious.

He wore protective goggles and a mask, and clutched two puffy square cushions and another mask in his hands.

Seeing her in a safety helmet, he handed her the mask:

“Brother Tao says the earthquake could get worse—grab your most important things and come with us, quick!”

The mask and goggles would help protect her eyes and nose from the dust stirred up by the quake.

The cushions were to shield their heads from falling debris.

One was clearly meant for Jiang Yan.

Seeing her safety helmet, Ye Qing didn’t question it.

Living on an earthquake belt, everyone had strong self-preservation instincts.

Shouts and screams echoed from downstairs, the panic clear in people’s voices.

Ye Qing grew anxious when she didn’t move. “Jiang Yan?!”

Jiang Yan sighed silently.

Man proposes, but heaven disposes.

Oh well.

This wasn’t the time to argue about whether to go with them or not—leaving here was the priority.

With that in mind, Jiang Yan didn’t hesitate. “Okay, wait here for a few seconds.”

She turned and hurried inside.

With a thought, she took out her inflatable boat.

She quickly carried it to the door. “Ye Qing, help me take this—I’ll grab my luggage and be right out.”

With the world outside now a vast ocean, a boat was essential.

Even though they had one, it never hurt to have a backup.

“Okay! We have a high-rise escape rope—we’re going straight down from the window of 3204. Wait for me, I’ll come back to help you!” Ye Qing didn’t dare waste time, hoisting the boat and heading quickly toward 3204.

“Okay,” Jiang Yan nodded and went back inside.

It looked like she’d have to escape by sea with the others.

That meant she couldn’t easily take out supplies from her space.

But “not easily” didn’t mean “not at all.”

She couldn’t just sit on a hoard of supplies and starve to death.

With that thought, she took out two large, waterproof, durable, but inconspicuous duffel bags.

——**——**——

*Content sourced from the internet."