Chapter 112: Post-Disaster Changes

The most troublesome part was that many people simply could not open their eyes. The flying sand and rocks were so severe that this was the very reason Fang Xia would later provide every young lady in the group with a pair of sunglasses.

From time to time, the shrill cries of the young women reached his ears, leaving Fang Xia feeling uneasy. Fortunately, the few women by his side had yet to encounter any trouble. Even Jing Ru, the elder of the twins, was currently gripping the ground firmly.

"Damn it! Bai Xing, move!"

Fang Xia suddenly let out a roar, and Bai Xing instinctively rolled to the side. A fissure spread with terrifying speed, cutting exactly across the spot where she had been standing just a moment before. Once the crack widened to a certain extent, the earth on both sides began to collapse inward, filling the chasm completely. Had Bai Xing not dodged in time, she surely would have been buried alive.

Fang Xia could not afford to worry about much else; in the face of such a disaster, with their current strength, they were entirely at the mercy of fate.

Compared to them, the situation in Dawn City was far more tragic. Buildings collapsed, the ground shattered, and countless people were buried in the chaos. Even Fang Xia's territory, where high-rise buildings were scarce and sparsely distributed, had been affected.

Lu Dezhi, with his nearly three-hundred-pound frame, remained firmly rooted to the ground, but Zheng Fakun was not so fortunate. Being tall and thin, he had already fallen to the ground at the slightest tremor. At this point, no one cared whether he was the team leader or not; everyone was too busy looking after themselves.

If there was anyone in Dawn City who remained calm at this moment, it was Guo Yu. Before Fang Xia had left, he had informed Guo Yu of the situation, and due to his blind trust in "Brother Fang," Guo Yu had started preparing days ago. Just as Chen Gang was becoming increasingly suspicious of him, he decisively moved his mother out of the centralized residential area of Dawn City and into a house on the very edge of the territory. Chen Gang did not interfere; after all, Guo Yu was one of Fang Xia’s people, and if he wanted to leave, that was for the best.

On the outskirts of the territory, Guo Yu had found a low-lying bungalow with no other buildings nearby. When the earthquake struck, he quickly took his mother to an open space he had scouted beforehand, perfectly avoiding the threat of collapsing structures. They were also lucky that the ground fissures did not reach them; in fact, he was unaware such a thing had even occurred.

...

By now, the city wall near Dawn City had reached a height of thirty meters. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, Fang Xia never would have believed such an absurd thing could happen.

The truth was that this wall now completely encircled the entire city of Dawn City—it was not only incredibly tall but also immensely thick. The disaster lasted for over two hours. When everything finally fell silent, White City had been reduced to ruins, and countless zombies had been wiped out. Dawn City had also suffered heavy casualties, with wreckage strewn everywhere.

When the first wave of the earthquake hit, many had managed to avoid the initial lethal threats, but even those who were only injured found it difficult to survive the subsequent two hours. The exact death toll was impossible to calculate, and at this moment, there was no one left who could do so.

Outside the city, Fang Xia had managed to climb to his feet. Everything around him was in shambles. What had once been a vast, open field now seemed completely transformed.

"Liu Rui? Bai Xing?"

Fang Xia’s first reaction was to call out these two names. After shouting several times, he finally received a response.

"Brother Fang, I'm here."

Following the voice, Fang Xia was startled. Liu Rui was nearly buried, covered under a thick layer of soil. Fang Xia hurried over and dug her out. Bai Xing had also heard his voice and walked over; she was unharmed, though a small mound of earth had blocked Fang Xia’s view of her. Soon, the other women began to climb out one by one.

"Take stock of the casualties."

Everyone split up to gather the survivors. This process took over half an hour.

"Brother Fang, as far as we know, seven are dead. Nearly half of the group went out and hasn't returned, so we don't know their status," Liu Rui reported quickly after finishing the count.

These casualties were not too heavy, but the fate of those who had gone out remained unknown. Nearby, the little girl was limping, her left leg seemingly injured. Her eyes were red, as if she had just been crying.

"What's wrong? You're alive and well, so why the tears? Did your legs get even shorter?" Fang Xia asked curiously.

"Teacher An is dead," Liu Rui whispered.

Fang Xia hesitated but said nothing. Although An Qingyu’s behavior had not been particularly likable, she had been much more restrained later on, even if Fang Xia hadn't interacted with her much. Still, he felt an inexplicable sense of profound sorrow that left him dazed. He hadn't known her long, but he knew she wasn't a bad person—just stubborn to the core. He had even hoped to gain another strategist for his team.

However, as the brain and core of the team, he had no time for grief.

"Brother Fang, everyone has been found. 41 dead, over three hundred injured. We've given the injured upgrade crystals."

Fang Xia nodded. Forty-one deaths was not too bad, and Jiang Wei was already helping treat the wounded. Fortunately, there were many college students in the group, and quite a few were nursing majors, so bandaging and wound care were manageable. With Jiang Wei on board, the team had prepared plenty of basic medical supplies, which were now proving their worth. Upgrade crystals could accelerate recovery, but before the wounds closed, they couldn't just leave them exposed—even if these women had monthly experience with bleeding.

The little girl's eyes looked a bit better. Fang Xia didn't know how to comfort her, so he simply stroked her head silently. Had they stayed in the city, the death toll would have been far, far higher.

"Brother Fang, are we going back to Dawn City?"

Looking at the magnificent city wall of Dawn City in the distance, Liu Rui’s tone was filled with excitement. That was the true home of the survivors. At the very least, they wouldn't have to worry too much about the zombie crisis, and living inside would provide peace of mind.

"We’re going back, but not yet. Since we’re already out, we might as well scavenge some supplies to take with us."

"We aren't the only ones who were hurt by this earthquake. Let everyone who is uninjured rest for a moment, then go out and scavenge for meat."

At the mention of meat, everyone’s eyes lit up.

Soon, Liu Rui gathered all the wounded into two tents, where they were cared for by Jiang Wei and twenty-odd young women with nursing backgrounds. The rest of the group, including Fang Xia, headed out to search for resources—hoping to find half-dead snakes, wild boars with broken legs, flightless pheasants, or headless buffaloes.