Hearing Yan Qi’s response and realizing she made a very good point, Zhao Liang scratched his head a little sheepishly and said,
“You’re right, Xiao Qi. I don’t even know the answer to that question myself, so it really is pointless for you to ask me.”
“Exactly. Oh, by the way, Zhao Liang-gege, before the person in charge from the sister department in this area calls you, can I make a quick call to my parents first? Just to let them know about the upcoming city-wide evacuation and get them prepared?”
Hearing that Yan Qi wanted to call her parents, Zhao Liang figured there was no reason to refuse her request, so he nodded and replied,
“Oh, of course you can.”
With Zhao Liang’s permission, Yan Qi nodded to him in thanks, then quickly walked to a spot where he couldn’t hear her conversation. She pulled out her phone and dialed her parents’ number.
“Hello, Mom, it’s me, Xiao Qi. I have something really important to tell you and Dad, so please listen carefully, okay?”
She spent about a minute explaining to her mother about the upcoming city-wide evacuation of Fangfeng City, telling her to make sure she and Dad found the safest underground bomb shelter as a refuge today. After also letting them know she was safe, Yan Qi hung up the phone.
“Xiao Qi, are you done with your call?”
Zhao Liang, who had been waiting there for the contact from the sister department’s area head, asked as Yan Qi came back to his side.
“Zhao Liang-gege, I’m all done. How about on your end?”
“I haven’t heard from the person in charge yet. Probably still a little while longer.”
No sooner had he finished answering Yan Qi than the phone in his hand rang again.
He glanced at the unfamiliar number on the screen. Figuring it was most likely the person in charge from the sister department in this area, he quickly answered the call.
After confirming that the person on the other end was indeed the area head from the sister department, Zhao Liang immediately asked for the details of the civilian evacuation mission and how they planned to use him and Yan Qi as helpers from the Paranormal Affairs Bureau.
After a thorough discussion, Zhao Liang fully understood every detail of their evacuation mission and knew exactly where the area head intended to deploy him and Yan Qi.
“Looks like today’s task is going to take a lot longer than the ones we’ve done before.”
“Well, it is an evacuation of thirty thousand civilians, after all.”
“True. Xiao Qi, let’s get moving now.”
“Okay, Zhao Liang-gege. I’ll give it my all.”
“Then hop in the car. The area head from our sister department is waiting for us.”
With that, Yan Qi and Zhao Liang got into the car one after another. They didn’t linger for even a second in front of the neighborhood where their original mission was supposed to take place, heading straight for the location of the area head in charge.
After nearly a full day and night of city-wide evacuation, more than three million civilians living in Fangfeng City were safely transported into over forty secure shelters by the authorities, just before the Three-Star Abyssal Rift was set to appear.
Though plenty of things happened along the way, at least the outcome was good.
“Phew, I guess that’s pretty much wrapped up.”
Standing atop a skyscraper, looking down at the empty city below, Si Yexing couldn’t help but raise her arms, stretch, and mutter that to herself.
“Miss Yexing, so this is where you are. I’ve been looking for you for nearly half a day.”
Bai Yuling, who had followed directions to find Si Yexing at the top of the building, called out upon spotting her.
“Oh, Director Bai, what do you need from this clumsy Death God?”
“I do have something very important I need to discuss with you, Miss Yexing.”
“Is it about the shelter defense plan?”
Walking up to Si Yexing and organizing her thoughts for a moment, Bai Yuling replied,
“Yes, that’s exactly what I need to talk about—the shelter defense plan.”
“Captain Bai, which shelter are you assigning this Death God to protect?”
Not wanting to waste too many words, Si Yexing cut straight to the point.
“I’d like to assign you to the No. 4 Middle School location.”
“No. 4 Middle School? The old campus or the new one?”
“The new campus. That’s the only one big enough to hold tens of thousands of Fangfeng City civilians.”
“Got it. This Death God is on it. By the way, Director Bai, have you notified my other companions about the defense plan?”
“I already sent the plan to your teammates through the chat app your organization developed. If you hadn’t forgotten your phone and stayed offline the whole time, I wouldn’t have had to come all the way up here just to tell you in person.”
“Then I really appreciate the trouble, Director Bai.”
“It’s no trouble at all for something this small.”
“Alright, enough small talk. This Death God is heading to the new campus of No. 4 Middle School now. You should go take care of your own business, Director Bai. Oh, and if I’m not mistaken, the Abyssal Rift is supposed to appear at noon today, right?”
Pretending to sound a little unsure, Si Yexing asked Bai Yuling.
“That’s correct—exactly at noon today.”
“Then we’ve still got about five hours until noon. That’s just enough time for this Death God to get fully prepared. Well then, I’ll be off now, Director Bai. Take care of yourself.”
“You take care too.”
With that, Si Yexing left the top of the skyscraper and made her way toward the new campus of No. 4 Middle School, where she was assigned to provide protection.
“Today’s the day the Three-Star Abyssal Rift opens over Fangfeng City. Xiao Qi, are you nervous?”
Shen An’an, captain of the Fifth Team and in charge of defense near the underground bomb shelters, asked Yan Qi, the temporary worker on her team.
“Shen-jiejie, we’re already at this point—what’s the point of asking that now?”
“Of course it matters. At the very least, asking you like this helps ease the tension in my own heart.”
