NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 58
The next morning, Wen Qian woke up early and started packing her belongings. After breakfast, she continued on her journey.
On the road, as expected, there was still signal, though occasionally in some areas it might temporarily lose connection, but it would quickly restore.
Wen Qian's spirits were high, and her mood was good, which continued until noon.
Because when she checked the earthquake warning app on her phone during the noon break, she saw a new message.
In the neighboring country across the sea to the east, a massive earthquake had occurred, triggering a tsunami.
The earthquake app only displayed a brief message, but on other social media platforms, it had already caused an uproar.
The sheer magnitude of this disaster left people stunned.
In the internet age, people from other countries learned about the horror of this earthquake through footage captured by locals.
The power of nature is so formidable that every time such scenes remind us of the insignificance of human beings.
Some of the footage on the news looked familiar to Wen Qian, as she had seen a documentary about a previous level 9 earthquake in J Country.
Currently, the footage shown on the news was from a surveillance camera, with the camera violently shaking, swinging in a large amplitude, and eventually turning black.
There were also clips provided by civilians, showing phenomena like ground cracks and soil liquefaction, with people fleeing to open spaces unable to stand steadily due to the earthquake.
As for the houses, they were crumbling, with unfixed cabinets even "moving" inside the rooms, accompanied by people's screams.
Dense high-rise buildings began to sway noticeably, with cubicles in office buildings shifting significantly.
People on the top floors of the buildings felt as if they were not on land but on a ship at sea, causing dizziness.
Reports stated it was an 8.9-magnitude earthquake, with some claiming that compared to the previous one, this earthquake had a wider range and should be of a higher magnitude.
However, as far as Wen Qian could find online, the highest magnitude was only 9.
The earthquake occurred around 11 a.m., and Wen Qian only checked her phone after 12 p.m., by which time the news showed that the tsunami was already approaching.
Wen Qian's heart sank, as J Country has always been unstable, with frequent earthquakes, but this time the range was particularly large.
Such an earthquake has immense destructive power, and Wen Qian wondered if any Chinese citizens studying or working there were affected.
She prayed for their safety and hoped they could return to Hua Country unharmed.
She put away her phone and started eating, while the people around her also discussed the event.
Wen Qian slowly finished her meal, and with such a strong tremor, the power of the tsunami goes without saying.
So she didn't look at any more news and decided to continue on to the next campsite.
Seeing too much related content could also be traumatizing, though many people don't realize it, but Wen Qian would try her best to stay away from such trauma.
Along the way, she could hear hikers mentioning the event.
So Wen Qian put on her headphones and started walking while listening to music, but she knew her mood was no longer calm.
The evidence was that she kept walking but didn't appreciate the scenery along the way as she had before; she was now rushing.
Wen Qian, who had quickened her pace, arrived at the campsite early and started choosing a spot to pitch her tent. She was a bit tired and even skipped dinner, going straight to wash up and sleep.
When she woke up, it was already dark. Wen Qian shifted her body inside the sleeping bag, sat up, and decided to eat her dinner right there in the tent.
During dinner, Wen Qian looked for videos to watch while eating.
But no matter which platform she checked, everything was related to the earthquake news, and even if she avoided it, she could still see the clear headlines and footage.
So she chose an animated film to watch instead.
As she slowly ate her dinner, Fang Ya sent her a message.
Fang Ya thought she was in An City and asked if she had seen the news.
She expressed her concern about the recent turmoil on Earth, as disasters had been too frequent, which could easily affect one's life.
Wen Qian could only reassure her that everything was fine and advised her to avoid watching disaster news as much as possible, as those who didn't directly face the disaster would see the videos and images.
This could cause anxiety and depression, so the media would be cautious in their reporting, and viewers should also be mindful of their own state of mind, trying not to repeatedly watch disaster footage.
Only then did Fang Ya realize that she might have been affected, and decided to cut back on watching.
At the same time, Wen Qian told her to learn more about earthquake-related knowledge whenever she felt anxious, as the "survival essentials" book she had given her contained some survival information.
Speaking of which, Fang Ya had found the "essential for time travel" books strange at first, but as she read on, she found them really interesting and useful. She was currently reading the "Barefoot Doctor Handbook."
After chatting with Fang Ya, Wen Qian planned to play on her phone for a while before continuing to sleep.
But after playing a game for an hour, she still didn't feel sleepy. Wen Qian thought she might have been too focused on the game, which is why she couldn't sleep.
To induce sleepiness, she started listening to white noise, the sound of rain.
But as she listened, her mood only became more depressed, as she wasn't in a sturdy, safe indoor environment - she was camping outdoors.
So Wen Qian turned on her phone and found an English story to play, as she used to listen to English words when she couldn't sleep, and the boredom would make her fall asleep instantly.
The story began with a mole painting its house.
Wen Qian finally settled comfortably, nurturing her sleepiness.
Three hours later, Wen Qian woke up again, finding that the story had reached Chapter 7.
It was a few minutes past 11 p.m. on her phone.
Now she really couldn't sleep, and she had a feeling that this night would be a series of dozing off and waking up, which wasn't good.
Wen Qian worried that it would affect her condition the next day, and the more she worried, the less she could sleep. But then she thought, she could simply stay an extra day at the campsite.
What's the harm in being one day late? She wasn't in a hurry for anything.
Even if she wanted to gradually distance herself from human society and adapt to an outdoor life, she hadn't made her schedule too tight.
Years of studying had taught Wen Qian that a tight schedule would only make her feel defeated.
Also, plans don't always keep up with changes, and if one thing fell behind, the rest would be misaligned, making it easy to give up. So Wen Qian's plans were relatively flexible.
After reassuring herself this way, Wen Qian felt a bit more at ease, and then started watching videos of people building houses outdoors on her phone.
Twenty minutes later, having finished one video, Wen Qian returned to the homepage satisfied.
Then she saw an even more shocking news headline.
Wen Qian immediately sat up.
After the earthquake and tsunami, a volcano erupted!