CHAPTER 165: DEPARTURE TO RED MOUNTAIN ECOLOGICAL GARDEN SHELTER!

Jing Shu shook her head. "This year, many Japans have disappeared, and the global population has dropped by 20%."

The TV screen then showed a sped-up satellite video, where waves tens of meters high viciously crashed down, submerging half of the city’s skyscrapers.

The spread of the seawater visibly surged at an alarming rate, completely swallowing the high-rises in minutes, and within an hour, the entire city had vanished.

Life seemed extremely insignificant in the face of disaster.

In less than a day, the entire island was submerged except for the peaks protruding from the water.

This scene shocked everyone; last year’s prophecy had come true. Could it be that the Earth was really going to be covered by the ocean?

"International news reported that, as of now, only the African highlands had not suffered from the flood disaster. The local government there was encouraging people to continue living in burrows. Several European countries were currently negotiating to relocate to Africa. ’Our channel will continue to follow this,’ the report concluded."

Because of its topography, it was only a matter of days before the floods reached Africa...

Grandma Jing was scared. "If the skyscrapers are flooded, is it still safe to live in high-rises? What if Wu City gets flooded too? What will we do then?"

The whole family fell into a panic. If a country could be submerged, a city stood even less of a chance.

Wu You’ai lifted her phone and said, "Grandma, don’t worry. There’s up-to-date information about Wu City from big data analysis, updated every half hour. Currently, the flood is moving towards the city center, not in our direction."

"Exactly, Grandma. We’re by the mountain, so the ground is higher here. You can rest assured," said Jing Shu, trying to relieve everyone’s anxiety. She continued, "Wear the automatic life vest on your wrist when you sleep at night. I also have two inflatable boats here, so we won’t be afraid even if the floodwaters come."

After dinner, the family discussed how to rescue themselves in case of a flood and then went to pack their belongings. Starting from that day, everyone conscientiously wore emergency life vests on their wrists.

Jing Shu sat in the courtyard, gnawing on a hairy crab. She meticulously ate the crab legs before moving on to the crab roe in the middle, then threw the discarded shells to the fat chicken, which gulped them down, though whether it tasted anything was a mystery.

Jing Shu also took the opportunity to mentally organize her space.

After the space upgraded to level six, she still had dozens of cubic meters left. Jing Shu moved all the items susceptible to dampness from the basement into the space, and now it was full again.

It seemed it would be difficult to upgrade the space enough to accommodate all the villa’s supplies before they had to relocate.

Every half hour, Wu You’ai would broadcast the latest news to everyone and the people in the chat group.

"@everyone, the flood has already submerged buildings up to four stories high in the new district. The oil community in the Development Zone has been completely evacuated, and the old city remains intact. The other five affected areas are still in the process of evacuation."

"The flood’s volume has expanded by one-third, but it is still quite far from our residential community."

Regardless of the distance, the seventy-odd people in the group still chose to move to the upper floors of high-rises, each just taking a damp blanket and heading up.

After everyone packed their belongings in the evening, Jing Shu carried up tents, bedding, mats, water, and food—and, of course, disposable toilets.

Grandma Jing wanted to bring the pigs and chickens as well.

"Grandma, are you going to carry the pig up to the 18th floor by yourself?"

Only then did Grandma Jing give up the idea. She reluctantly fed them one more time before following everyone else out.

Leaving the fat chicken to watch the villa, Jing Shu locked the door, set the alarm system, and activated the surveillance before leaving.

The family took the basement corridor so they could reach Building No. 25 opposite without getting wet from the rain.

Having drunk the Spiritual Spring for a year, everyone in the family was in top physical shape; they climbed up in one go. Jing Shu’s strength, in particular, was formidable—even carrying a large amount of luggage, she moved incredibly fast.

Mrs. Jing swept the floor once, Mr. Jing mopped it twice, and Jinglai wiped everywhere with a cloth, even spraying Wind Oil Essence. They were used to the clean environment of their villa, so living in such a dark, unfinished apartment felt truly uncomfortable.

They would just have to get used to it for today; tomorrow, they would move to the mountain.

The commotion at Jing Shu’s house was so great that even Fatty Girl, who had also moved to the top floor, was alarmed and shone a flashlight outside to see.

Seeing the major preparations at Jing Shu’s apartment—wiping, mopping, carrying wooden boards, tents, and sleeping bags—Fatty Girl said apologetically, "Sorry for disturbing you all. We just put on a few extra clothes and came up to sleep; we thought everyone else was doing the same... Take your time settling in."

The slight disturbance soon passed. Then, Mr. Jing laid out the wooden boards, and Jing Shu set up the instant pop-up tent.

Jing Shu also inflated the inflatable boats, providing her family with an extremely secure environment, and then they all went to sleep.

"You guys sleep; I have good eyesight. I’ll stand here and keep watch," Mr. Jing ultimately couldn’t rest easy and decided to watch over the family through the night.

Jing Shu then crawled into the soft sleeping bag, zipped up the tent, stripped off her clothes, and was asleep in the blink of an eye, unaware that she had become a sensation on the Wu City news that day.

She slept quite soundly, only to be woken up at six in the morning.

"Jing Shu, wake up! The flood is coming! We need to run!" Mrs. Jing unzipped the tent and shook Jing Shu vigorously, seemingly unconcerned about shaking her daughter into a concussion.

The flood is coming? That can’t be right. Is my memory failing, or has history changed?

Jing Shu quickly dressed in sportswear and then put on a down jacket, as it was still very cold in the morning.

"How far has the flood reached?" asked Jing Shu, just as Mr. Jing’s snores were timely heard.

Wu You’ai, with dark circles under her eyes like a panda’s from lack of sleep, said, "The city center is completely submerged. Buildings as tall as thirty-something stories have disappeared. Last night, tens of thousands didn’t heed the evacuation notices, thinking they’d be safe in the high-rises. The latest news is they’ve all gone missing, and the city is now a vast expanse of water."

"The flood has already spilled over from the Ai Family Supermarket’s side. Though the rise is slow, looking at this situation, it might flood over here in a few hours."

Jing Shu exhaled sharply. Just like in her past life, the floodwaters won’t reach here!

"Wu City has 35 emergency shelters, but many are now submerged, and the remaining ones were filled with people yesterday. The Red Mountain Ecological Garden to the north is on the highest ground and can accommodate over a hundred thousand people. It’s not too far from us. Our residential community has been assigned to go there," Wu You’ai continued.

The Red Mountain Ecological Garden was a famous tourist spot in Wu City and had also been heavily invested in as a shelter. It was well-maintained year-round, sturdy, equipped with various emergency measures, and the inside of Red Mountain was hollow.

In addition to a super-large cave in the center, there were also thousands of small caves forming a gigantic maze. If one didn’t get lost, it would take hours to walk through all of it.

But fortunately, it was crisscrossed with innumerable entrances and just as many exits.

What a coincidence. In her previous life, Jing Shu and her family had spent three unforgettable, desperate days inside it. Would they really have to stay there again in this life?

Wu You’ai sighed. "Let’s pack up and go; otherwise, it’ll be too late when the flood spreads over here. I’ll go round up the others."