As time passed minute by minute, the traffic finally started to move. But their progress was much slower than Qi Xia had imagined. It seemed the area closest to the entrance had indeed suffered a car accident due to that strange weather phenomenon.
By the time the bizarre crack disappeared and traffic started entering Qingdao again, it was already eight in the morning. During this time, Qi Xia continuously dialed Yu Nian'an's phone, but no one ever answered. After thinking it over and over, only one reason could explain the current situation.
Yu Nian'an had been taken into custody by the police.
"Driver, let's change the destination," Qi Xia, having keenly sensed this, knew he could not go home.
He said to the driver, "We don't need to go to where I got on anymore. I'll give you a new address." After speaking, Qi Xia searched for an address on his phone and handed it over.
"Oh?"
The driver took the phone and knew the destination with a single glance.
"Alright, the distance is about the same. I'll take you straight there."
Finally, at around ten-thirty in the morning, the driver brought Qi Xia to his destination. This place was an area of cheap rental apartments in the old part of Shibei District.
"We're finally here, young man."
The driver let out a long sigh.
"I really didn't expect to be delayed for so long."
"It's alright, Driver."
Qi Xia pulled one thousand five hundred yuan in cash from his pocket and handed it to the driver.
"Thank you."
"No problem, no problem! It's what I should do!"
The driver excitedly took the money.
"Young man, call me again if you need anything!"
Qi Xia nodded. Just as he was about to walk towards the rental apartment, he suddenly seemed to remember something and turned back.
"Driver, I know you must be very tired now, but don't go home before noon. If you're tired, just rest in the car for a while."
"Huh?"
The driver froze for a moment.
"What do you mean? I can't even go home?"
"I have no reason to lie to you," Qi Xia said.
"Something big is about to happen. It'll be safer to stay outside."
After saying this, Qi Xia paid the driver no more mind and walked towards the rental apartment. This was a backup safe house that Qi Xia and Yu Nian'an had rented, precisely for dealing with special situations like this. He planned to pack a few clothes here, then figure out his next steps.
After taking only a few steps, the phone in Qi Xia's pocket suddenly vibrated. His heart skipped a beat. He quickly took it out to have a look.
Incoming call from "A".
"An?"
Qi Xia was startled, feeling like his deduction might have been wrong. Hadn't Yu Nian'an been taken by the police? Or perhaps... someone else was making her call?
"Hello?"
Qi Xia answered the phone, his tone flat. He knew that even if this call was from the police, he had to make them take Yu Nian'an out of the building. Otherwise, the consequences would be unthinkable.
"Xia!"
Yu Nian'an called out weakly.
"I'm sorry... I think I'm sick. I've been in a deep sleep since yesterday afternoon and only just woke up."
"Sick?"
Qi Xia frowned slightly and asked, "Did you feed the fish yesterday?"
"Pfft..."
Yu Nian'an smiled a little.
"What are you doing? Using a 'secret code' on me? Nothing's happened, I'm just really not feeling well."
Only then did Qi Xia understand. He said quickly, "An, listen to me. Pack your things immediately and wait for me downstairs.
I'm coming to get you right now."
"Hmm?"
"There's no time to explain, just trust me," Qi Xia said anxiously.
"I've lied to many people, but I have never once lied to you."
"Okay..."
Yu Nian'an agreed.
"I'll go pack now. How long until you get here?"
"I..."
Qi Xia looked down at his phone, a bad feeling creeping in. It would take at least an hour to get there by car from here. He feared he would arrive right at the time of that terrifying earthquake.
"Don't worry about how long it'll take me. In any case, you have to leave the house immediately. Even just standing by the front door is fine."
"Oh... okay then."
Yu Nian'an nodded.
"I'll wash my face and be down in about ten minutes."
"Alright!"
Qi Xia hung up and quickly turned to look for the taxi driver. He saw that the man indeed hadn't left and was now sitting in the driver's seat, using a mini UV flashlight to check for counterfeit bills.
"Driver!"
Qi Xia knocked on the car window, startling him.
"Aiya!"
The driver quickly put away the money, only to realize the person before him was none other than his "big client".
"Young man?"
He rolled down the window, glanced around, and asked, "What's up now?"
"Take me to where I got on yesterday!"
Qi Xia said.
"I need you to be as fast as possible this time. A hundred for you!"
"Heh!"
The driver smiled and waved Qi Xia over.
"I get it, hurry and get in!"
Qi Xia opened the door and sat down, his expression still anxious. He kept checking his phone in the car, but unfortunately, he hadn't noted the exact time when the earthquake occurred before. He only knew the earthquake would strike around noon, but was it eleven o'clock or twelve o'clock?
At this thought, he urged the driver again, "A little faster, please."
"Young man, you're asking a bit much. I'm driving while fatigued, you know..."
"Mister, I'm really in a hurry."
"Alright, alright..."
The driver couldn't refuse Qi Xia and could only step on the gas again. A trip that should have taken an hour was completed in just forty minutes.
"Thanks, Driver."
Qi Xia left a hundred yuan and got out of the car without a second glance. But as he looked around, he felt something was strange. Yu Nian'an was nowhere to be seen waiting downstairs for him.
"What's going on?"
Qi Xia's first reaction was that Yu Nian'an might be buying something at a nearby convenience store. He dialed her number, but there was still no answer.
"An, where did you go...?"
Before he could figure it out, a series of massive rumbles suddenly came from the distance. The roaring sounds followed one after another, as if tens of thousands of trains were running on the road. In the next second, the ground suddenly began to shake violently.
Qi Xia lost his balance for a moment and fell hard onto the ground.
"Damn it!"
He knew this was bad. The last time the earthquake struck, he had been standing in this very spot. It was as if everything was fated, the same point in time, the same location.
Even though everything had started over, nothing had changed. Cars all around began to crash into each other in a chain reaction, and people's screams rose and fell. Qi Xia couldn't worry about anything else.
He could only run toward his apartment building. Even if there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance Yu Nian'an was at home, he had to save her. But it was incredibly difficult to move during an earthquake.
Qi Xia fell five or six times before finally regaining his balance.
"An!!" he roared toward the upper floors.
His home was only on the second floor; she should have been able to hear him. Qi Xia calmed himself and stepped into the building entrance. He remembered that the last time he entered the building's doorway, the entranceway had collapsed, and that was how he had died.
Thinking of this, he quickly dodged to the side, and a massive rock instantly crashed down on the spot where he had been standing. This rock was enormous; getting hit by it would have meant certain death.
"It seems I really did die before..."