# 1959
Chapter 1849: Strange Changes in the North
Zhao Zhengbin glanced at the various bruises covering Su Zhe and sighed helplessly.
It had only been two or three days since Su Zhe came here to work as a security administrator, yet the shelter's security situation had gotten progressively worse... and a large portion of it was caused by the chain reactions Su Zhe himself triggered after attempting to mediate disputes for others...
A middle-aged woman who was accused of unfair food distribution had pulled his hair during her tantrum; a five or six-year-old child running around wildly had shot him in the eye with a rubber gun; after he disciplined the child, the parents came demanding justice; he mocked them for their poor parenting quality, and got beaten up again...
"Maybe you should go back to being a Night Watch." Zhao Zhengbin couldn't help but advise.
"No need!" Su Zhe glared, then craned his neck like a proud goose and said stubbornly, "I love mediating neighborhood disputes. Every day's basically the same—just get beaten up a couple times... After they beat me up, don't they feel better? Honestly, I think I have a talent for this. I'm just still lacking experience."
Zhao Zhengbin: ...
Zhao Zhengbin didn't want to waste any more time on this topic, so he changed the subject:
"By the way, while you were over there getting beaten up... um, mediating disputes, there was a girl sitting right next to me who looked a lot like you... Do you have a younger sister or something?"
Su Zhe froze.
He abruptly turned his head, scanning his surroundings as if searching desperately for something.
"Where is she?? Where did she go?"
"...She left already."
"Left?"
"She got a phone call. The person on the other end was her team leader... Something about it being moved up and needing to leave immediately." Zhao Zhengbin paused, then continued, "She also said you're adapting well here, that you've found your own life here. Don't worry about you."
Su Zhe stood there stunned, his mind completely blank.
He stared in the direction of the shelter's exit. After an unknown amount of time, he came back to his senses and dazedly made a sound of acknowledgment.
"...Are you okay?" Zhao Zhengbin asked, noticing Su Zhe's strange expression.
"Me? I'm fine!" Su Zhe forced a smile onto his face. "I'm doing great, aren't I? She also thinks this life suits me perfectly... This is what she wants, this is what they want..."
For some reason, Zhao Zhengbin found the smile on Su Zhe's face rather awkward...
"Actually, your identity isn't an ordinary Night Watch either, is it?" Zhao Zhengbin asked curiously. "What did she mean by 'moved up'? What happened outside?"
Su Zhe's face paled. He was about to say something when suddenly, chaos erupted in the crowd.
"Hey, look at the news! There's a massive earthquake in the north! Did the enemy attack??"
This statement hit Su Zhe's ears like thunder.
"The north???" Su Zhe snapped back to reality. "The north?? How could it be the north... The timing isn't right either!"
Su Zhe's sudden outburst startled Zhao Zhengbin. He immediately pulled out his phone, and indeed, several related posts had already risen to the top of the trending list.
Su Zhe snatched the phone and directly tapped on the top video.
Unlike the Pioneer Exploration Team's professional equipment, this video was clearly recorded on a regular phone. Judging from the footage, the person recording was also inside a shelter. In the distance, several bold characters on the wall were clearly visible.
"(TH)128—002?" Zhao Zhengbin said in confusion. "Where is this..."
"Tianhe City." Su Zhe's eyes remained fixed on the screen. "One of the northernmost cities in Great Xia. Five shelters were built here total. This 002 should be at the northernmost position in all of Tianhe City..."
In the video, the shelter was shaking violently as if something was constantly trampling on the surface. The lights on the ceiling flickered erratically. The people inside let out terrified screams. Even though military personnel were evacuating the crowd in the hall back to their dormitories, the entire scene was in complete chaos.
"What's going on? Did the enemy really attack?" Zhao Zhengbin asked, his mood matching everyone else online—full of worry. "Are they in danger?"
Su Zhe stared at the screen for a moment, then answered calmly, "Don't worry... Keep watching."
Amidst the constant tremors, the ceiling above everyone's heads kept groaning and creaking as if something was clawing, gnawing, and trampling upon this shelter buried deep underground. The terror on the faces in the video grew increasingly intense.
Almost simultaneously, a streak of light flashed across the shelter's ceiling, illuminating the entire roof of the underground structure. The blinding radiance transformed along the mysterious intersecting architectural structures into a massive pattern, and an invisible ripple instantly enveloped the entire shelter!
The people in the video seemed to have been struck by something. Their bodies swayed slightly, stumbling backward several steps. Even the phone recording the video slipped to the ground.
BANG—!!
A muffled sound echoed from beneath the shelter. It was as if the entire building had been replanted back into the earth, and it quickly returned to stillness.
Everyone茫然 rubbed their heads, looking around. The lights that had been flickering moments ago returned to normal. No earthquake, no trampling—the entire thing felt like a nightmare, and now, they had woken up from it... Everyone stood where they were, completely unharmed, their eyes filled only with deep bewilderment.
"Dear citizens, please do not panic. The shelter just experienced some minor structural vibrations due to geological activity and has now returned to stability. If you felt dizzy during the shaking, this is a normal phenomenon and should subside after one to two minutes of rest.
If your dizziness is particularly severe, please raise your hand immediately and our staff will escort you to the medical room for rest..."
The sonorous voice broadcast echoed through every corner of the shelter. The calm tone slightly eased everyone's nerves. After confirming nothing else was happening, they patted their chests in relief and started talking amongst themselves.
At this point, the video finally ended.
"See? It was just an earthquake. What enemy invasion? Don't spread rumors and cause panic!" someone in the crowd said helplessly.
Similar comments dominated most of the replies on the trending posts.
【An earthquake scared you all this much... The shelter is underground, so it makes sense for the tremors to feel stronger, right?】
【Is this Tianhe City? It does seem to be on a tectonic plate boundary. They have earthquakes pretty frequently normally.】
【Stop being so casual about this! I was there! The sound coming from outside was absolutely terrifying! It really did sound like something was gnawing at the shelter!】
【It was probably geological activity creating sounds that just resembled gnawing.】
【Right? If enemies had really attacked, why would they stop now? A sudden change of heart?】
【Even if the Night Watch intervened, there should have been battle sounds. It just ended abruptly. Doesn't really sound like an invasion... You all must be overthinking it.】
【But what was that light on the ceiling just now? Emergency lighting?】
【Relax, don't be nervous. You could do some yoga if you have time. Staying underground for a long time can make you a bit uncomfortable.】
【Our shelter is also in the north. We did feel the earthquake just now, but not as intensely as in the video. It was probably just an aftershock.】
【...】