# 1962
Chapter 1962
Chapter 1949: Northern Anomaly
Zhao Zhengbin glanced at the various bruises on Su Zhe's body and sighed helplessly.
It had only been two or three days since Su Zhe came here to work as a security administrator, but the order in the shelter had gotten worse and worse... A large part of it was caused by a series of conflicts that erupted after Su Zhe tried to mediate disputes for people...
He was grabbed and had his hair pulled by an auntie who accused him of unfair food distribution, was hit in the eye by a five or six-year-old child running around wildly with a rubber gun, and after scolding the child, the parents came demanding justice, mocked their poor parenting skills, and then got beaten up again...
"Why don't you 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, stubbornly insisting, "I actually enjoy resolving neighborhood disputes. Every day is just a matter of getting beaten up a couple times... After they finish beating me, they aren't upset anymore, right? Honestly, I think I have talent in this area, just lacking some 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 getting beaten up over there... um, mediating a dispute, there was a girl who looked a lot like you sitting right next to me... Do you have a younger sister or something?"
Su Zhe froze.
He jerked his head around, scanning the surrounding area as if searching for something.
"Where is she?? Where did she go?"
"...She already left."
"Left?"
"She got a phone call. It was her team leader on the other end... Something about being moved up, and she had to leave immediately." Zhao Zhengbin paused, but still continued, "She also said you were adapting well here, that you'd found your own life here. Not to worry."
Su Zhe stood呆呆的 on the spot, his mind completely blank.
He stared in the direction of the shelter exit. After an unknown amount of time, he came back to his senses and gave a dazed "oh" in response.
"...Are you okay?" Zhao Zhengbin asked, noticing Su Zhe's odd expression.
"Me? I'm fine!" Su Zhe's mouth pulled into a smile, "I'm doing great, aren't I? She thinks this kind of life suits me... That's what she wants, that's what they want..."
For some reason, Zhao Zhengbin found the smile on Su Zhe's face somewhat awkward...
"Actually, your identity isn't that of an ordinary Night Watch, is it?" Zhao Zhengbin asked curiously, "When she said 'moved up,' what did that mean? Did something happen outside?"
Su Zhe's face paled slightly. Just as he was about to say something, a commotion erupted in the crowd.
"You guys should check the internet! There's a massive earthquake in the north! Is the enemy attacking??"
These words fell on Su Zhe's ears like thunder.
"The north???" Su Zhe snapped back to attention, "The north?? Why the north... The timing isn't right!"
Su Zhe's sudden outburst startled Zhao Zhengbin. He immediately opened his phone, and sure enough, several related messages had already risen to the top of the feeds.
Su Zhe snatched the phone and directly tapped on the top video.
Unlike the professional equipment of the Pioneer Exploration Team, this video was clearly recorded by someone with a regular phone. From the footage, the person recording was also inside a shelter, and several clear large characters were visible on the distant wall.
"(TH)128—002?" Zhao Zhengbin said in confusion, "Where is this..."
"Tianhe City." Su Zhe's gaze remained fixed on the screen, "One of the northernmost cities in Great Xia, with a total of five shelters set up. This number 002 should be at the northernmost location in all of Tianhe City..."
In the video, the shelter was shaking violently, as if something was constantly trampling on the surface. The ceiling lights flickered erratically, and the civilians 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 chaos.
"What's going on here? Did the enemy really attack?" Zhao Zhengbin asked upon seeing this. His mood, like others online, was full of worry, "Are they in danger?"
Su Zhe stared at the screen for a moment, then calmly replied, "Don't panic... Keep watching."
In the midst of the tremors, the ceiling above everyone's heads kept making creaking and groaning sounds, as if something was clawing, gnawing, and trampling on this shelter buried deep underground. The terrified expressions on the faces in the video grew more and more intense.
Almost simultaneously, a streak of light flashed across the shelter's ceiling, and the entire underground structure's roof was illuminated. The dazzling glow traveled along the intersecting mysterious architectural structures, forming a massive pattern, and an invisible ripple instantly enveloped the entire shelter!
The people in the video, as if struck by something, their bodies swayed slightly, staggering backward several steps. Even the phone recording the video slipped and fell to the ground.
Boom—!!
A muffled sound echoed from beneath the shelter. It was as if this building had been replanted back into the earth, and quickly returned to calm.
The confused crowd touched their heads and looked around. The lights that had been flickering just moments ago returned to normal. No earthquake, no trampling—everything just now seemed like a nightmare. Now, the dream was over... Everyone stood unharmed on the spot, their eyes filled only with deep confusion.
"Dear citizens, please do not panic. The shelter just experienced some geological structural effects, resulting in tremors. It has now returned to stability. If you felt dizzy during the shaking just now, this is a normal phenomenon and should recover after one to two minutes of rest.
If your dizziness is extremely severe, please raise your hand immediately. Our staff will escort you to the medical room for rest..."
A deep, sonorous voice broadcast echoed in every corner of the shelter. The calm tone slightly soothed everyone's nerves. After confirming there would be no recurrence of the earlier situation, they patted their chests in relief and began talking amongst themselves.
Here, this video finally ended.
"What's the big deal... It was just an earthquake. There's no foreign enemy invasion, right? Don't spread panic and rumors!" In the crowd, someone couldn't help but comment.
Similar remarks also dominated most of the comments under these trending posts.
【An earthquake scared you all like this... The shelter is underground, so earthquakes would naturally feel more intense, right?】
【Is this Tianhe City? It does seem to be at the junction of continental plates. Normal earthquakes are pretty common there.】
【You people shouldn't be so complacent while standing here talking! I was on-site! The sounds coming from outside were absolutely terrifying! It really did sound like something was gnawing at the shelter!】
【It's probably caused by geological shifts, it just sounds like gnawing sounds.】
【That's right. If enemies really did attack, why did it stop now? A change of heart?】
【Even if the Night Watch intervened, there should be combat sounds, right? Ending so abruptly really doesn't sound like an enemy attack... You all must be overly sensitive.】
【But what about the light on the ceiling just now? Was that emergency lighting?】
【Relax, don't be nervous. You can do some yoga if you have time. Staying underground for a long time really can make you uncomfortable.】
【Our shelter is also in the north. We did feel the earthquake just now, but not as intense as in the video. Probably just an aftershock.】
【...】