Chapter 276

Zhao Chen stared at the Waveform Diagram on the Tablet, finger sliding across the Screen. That strange audio was still looping, rhythm broken, like someone tapping the Desk. Zhao Chen was about to zoom in on the band to re-analyze when Zhao Xing suddenly lifted their head.

The geological sensor on the Desk suddenly flashed red light, the alarm blaring piercingly.

"Detected deep fault activity, estimated magnitude 4.0, countdown 2 hours 58 minutes." the Mechanical Lesson female voice said, each word deliberate.

Zhao Chen's hand shook, almost dropping the Tablet. Zhao Yang sprang up from the Chair, rushed to the equipment and peered at the data.

"Is this thing not broken?" Zhao Chen reached out and touched the instrument's casing, "It was fine yesterday."

Zhao Xing had already pulled up the crust stress model, finger tracing a few times in the air, the holographic Projection unfolding, a red curve violently jumping. "The signal is genuine, matching historical pre-quake data by over ninety percent. Not a false alarm."

Zhao Chen immediately opened the broadcast system: "All residents of the Siheyuan, note: an earthquake may occur within three hours; please prepare to evacuate immediately."

The sound passed through the Speaker, people in the Courtyard first froze, then fell into chaos.

Wang Nainai held the cat, standing at the doorway, shouting at the top of her lungs: "What? An earthquake? Don't scare me, where would an earthquake come from on such a clear day!"

Next to him, Old Man Li shook his cane: "What do kids know? Maybe some machine is smoking."

Zhao Yang grabbed the emotional resonator and ran outside. Standing in the middle of the crowd, they pressed the button, blue light sweeping around. The clamor gradually subsided, someone rubbed their temples, muttering that their head wasn't buzzing anymore.

Zhao Xing dragged a stool up onto it, pointing at the Projection: "This is the fluctuation diagram of underground strata, the red line representing pressure buildup. The values have now exceeded the threshold—look at this wave, doesn't it resemble the one from 1976?"

No one responded, but a few elders exchanged glances, their faces changing.

The Special Forces' drone also took off at that moment, hovering overhead, transmitting a set of underground vibration spectra. The footage was simultaneously pushed to the public screen, perfectly matching the data from the geological sensor.

"Alright." Zhao Xing jumped off the stool, "Whether you believe it or not, we have to go—if the house collapses, it can't be rebuilt."

The residents finally got moving. Some clutched blankets, others shouldered grain sacks, helping the elderly move to the open space. Zhang Yeye, before leaving, turned back to glance at the roof beams, muttering that this old house had been lived in for thirty years, and if it really collapsed he'd truly be reluctant to leave.

Zhao Chen monitored the evacuation while linking up with the Special Forces communications channel: "We have initiated a first-level emergency response, requesting perimeter security and post-disaster assessment support."

The other side quickly replied: "Two teams have been dispatched to the site, carrying monitoring equipment, to cooperate with your operations."

Zhao Yang turned and asked: "What about Xu Da Mao's home?"

Zhao Chen pulled up the warehouse surveillance; the robot was still standing in place, the screen scrolling the words: "Core data not transferred, mission incomplete, refusing to evacuate."

"It's acting on its own?" Zhao Yang frowned.

"It's probably a preset program." Zhao Xing said, "Xu Da Mao gave it a death order—no withdrawal before the time."

"Then we'll force control." Zhao Chen directly accessed the robot's backend, inputting the forced offline command.

The screen flashed twice, a new line popping up: "Insufficient permission; this unit is protected by an independent agreement."

The three exchanged a glance.

"He really is guarding against us." Zhao Yang snorted coldly.

"Never mind it." Zhao Xing waved a hand, "As long as the people are evacuated, let that lump of iron stay if it wants."

Zhao Chen said nothing, merely marking the warehouse as a key observation zone and setting up automatic recording.

Two hours later, the open space was packed with people. Children huddled behind adults, looking around. A little girl clutching a cloth doll asked her mother: "Will it really shake?"

Before the mother could answer, the ground jolted once.

At first it was a slight tremor, like a large vehicle passing in the distance. Immediately afterward came a second shake, larger in amplitude, water in a nearby bucket sloshing out halfway.

"Here it comes!" Zhao Xing stared at their wristwatch.

The shaking lasted about twenty seconds, then stopped.

Everyone held their breath for a moment, then no one moved.

"Magnitude four." Zhao Chen looked at the returned data, "The epicenter is in the suburban fault belt, depth ten kilometers, matching the prediction."

Zhao Yang let out a breath of relief: "As long as no one is hurt, that's good."

They were still speaking when Special Forces personnel came running from the east, holding portable detectors.

"The shaking was evident, but damage limited." The team leader said, "The walls have hairline cracks, tiles fell in a few places, overall structure sound."

Zhao Xing copied the raw data and handed it to them: "You can take this for verification."

That person nodded, adding: "The warning was timely; this time nothing happened, thanks to your quick reaction."

Zhao Chen was about to say something when the broadcast suddenly sounded.

"Report, abnormal energy fluctuation detected in the warehouse area."

The three immediately pulled up the monitoring.

In the footage, Xu Da Mao's robot slowly squatted, its two mechanical arms bracing the ground, four suction cups shooting out from its feet and sticking firmly to the concrete. The body warmed slightly, internal fans whirring at high speed.

"What is it doing?" Zhao Yang leaned closer to the screen.

The next second, another aftershock hit, slightly stronger than before. Around several houses, wall plaster peeled off, window frames creaking. Only the warehouse building swayed lightly, as if something were steadying it.

After the shaking passed, the robot rose to its feet, the screen lighting up with: "This unit employs the latest shock-absorption technology, automatically activating protective mode. The main structure is undamaged, data intact."

Zhao Chen stared, stunned: "Did he install this himself?"

"Probably." Zhao Xing chuckled, "They badmouth us for dabbling in heretical tech all day, yet behind the scenes they copy our work."

Over at the Special Forces, they also saw the live feed; a technician slapped the desk on the spot: "This design concept is exactly like our anti-seismic platform! Where did they learn it?"

No one answered.

At that moment the System Prompt sounded:

【Successful disaster forewarning】

【Reward: Disaster Prediction Specialty】

A golden Light Pattern flashed in the air and vanished.

Residents began heading back. Someone passing by the Triplets stopped to say, "Thanks!" while another handed over a bottle of water.

Zhang Yeye patted Zhao Xing on the shoulder: "You kids are reliable."

Zhao Chen didn't smile. They gazed toward the warehouse, brow never relaxing.

Zhao Yang noticed they were off: "What's wrong?"

"That tremor just now..." Zhao Chen whispered, "It's not the same as in my dream."

Zhao Xing turned his head to look at him: "Are you still having that dream?"

"Hmm." Zhao Chen nodded, "In the dream the ground cracked open, everywhere was ash, there was no sun in the sky. But this earthquake was too slight, it really doesn't seem like the same place."

Zhao Yang frowned: "You mean... there's something bigger still to come?"

Zhao Chen didn't answer. He stared at the robot in the distance, noticing its camera was pointed at him, the red light blinking faintly.

He raised his hand, intending to cut off the signal source.

Just then, the robot's screen suddenly went dark, then lit up again—no text, only a string of extremely short Morse code symbols flashing by.

dit, dit-dit, dit…

Zhao Chen's hand halted in midair.