Chapter 34 – Earthquake
The two brothers stared at each other, speechless.
Xia Lu Nong guiltily let out a soft “mew” and shrank his head. He hadn’t expected his transformation to go in this direction.
Xia Huo Qu stared at him for a while before rubbing the now larger, softer belly. “This is fine too. You seem sturdier now.”
The tiny kitten, though cute, didn’t offer the same sense of security as this bigger, fluffier version.
“Mew.” The kitten closed his eyes, resting his snowy white paws lightly on his brother’s arm.
Lying on his brother’s lap, Xia Lu Nong felt his entire body being rubbed and moved. The restless energy inside him subsided a little, but not completely.
The wind had stopped without him noticing, leaving behind only the heat.
Xia Lu Nong felt like his fur had become a big net, wrapping around him uncomfortably.
“Mew.” The kitten nudged his brother’s arm with his head, his emerald green eyes glistening. He felt miserable.
Xia Huo Qu’s heart skipped a beat when he saw his brother’s expression. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
“Mew.” The kitten kicked his back legs, lying limp on his brother’s lap, unable to muster any strength.
He had a bad feeling but couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from.
Xia Huo Qu was also feeling irritable, unsure whether it was something buried within him or triggered by Xia Lu Nong’s condition.
He continued to stroke his brother’s soft, sleek back, his face darkening.
At some point, the sky had changed from a clear blue to a yellow haze.
It wasn’t even dusk yet.
An unspoken fear crept into Xia Huo Qu’s heart.
Suddenly, he scooped up the kitten, gently covering its ears, and turned to the mountain, shouting with all his might, “Yan Xi Nian!”
The roar erupted from his chest, reverberating and echoing back from the mountain.
Up on the mountain, everyone was already feeling irritated, their brows furrowed with tension.
Ba Niu and Cong Lian had already argued over something trivial, their faces tightening. You could even see Ba Niu clenching his jaw from the side.
Hearing Xia Huo Qu’s shout, everyone was startled.
Yan Xi Nian immediately dropped his tools and sprinted out, cupping his hands around his mouth to shout back, “What’s wrong?”
“Have you finished? Hurry down the mountain!”
Xia Huo Qu yelled so hard that his chest felt like it was about to burst. He could taste blood in his mouth.
Yan Xi Nian turned to look at the ruins behind him.
Everyone had stopped what they were doing, holding wrenches and pliers, looking at him. The sky behind them was a menacing yellow.
There was an ominous feeling in the air.
Yan Xi Nian’s heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly shouted, “Everyone hurry! An earthquake might be coming!”
Everyone looked alarmed.
Luo Cong Xin stammered as he looked between the nearly dismantled generator and the sky, “No way, right?”
Yan Xi Nian shouted sharply, “Nothing’s impossible. Hurry!”
No one hesitated after that. They immediately went back to work, speeding up.
Ba Niu wiped the sweat off his wrinkled shirt, pushed Cong Lian aside, and dove in to help with the dismantling.
Yan Xi Nian turned his face toward the base of the mountain and shouted at the top of his lungs, “An earthquake—might—be coming—Huo Qu—be careful—!”
He yelled so hard that his eyes nearly popped out.
Wiping his face, he grabbed a wrench and turned back to the cooling unit of the generator. Pushing Luo Cong Xin aside, he sped up the disassembly. While working, he quickly instructed, “Quan Nan, take Cong Lian and Cong Xin, carry the turbine and generator down the mountain immediately.”
Liao Quan Nan responded quickly, “Got it!”
He was the first to hoist the dismantled turbine, his face red as he shouted to Cong Lian and Luo Congxin, “Hurry up!”
Cong Lian and Luo Cong Xin rushed over, carrying parts of the generator and running down the mountain.
The descent was much faster than the climb, and in just a few minutes, the three of them reached the foot of the mountain.
Xia Huo Qu hurried over to help Liao Quan Nan with the load, his backpack containing the kitten. “Where’s Xi Nian and the others?!”
“They’re still dismantling the cooling and excitation units. Almost done,” Liao Quan Nan panted. “How’s Xiao Nong?”
“He’s not feeling well. He’s asleep in the backpack,” Xia Huo Qu replied quickly. “Let’s load these parts onto the truck, then we’ll head back up to help them.”
Liao Quan Nan and the others nodded without hesitation.
They had brought a large truck this time. Once the parts were loaded, the truck bed was still quite empty, with no proper way to secure the items.
Under normal circumstances, they could have taken the time to wrap and secure the delicate instruments with straw or branches.
But today, there was no time.
Looking at the truck bed, Xia Huo Qu’s brow furrowed. Suddenly, he said, “No! Don’t head back up yet. Let’s load the truck with rice first. The rice can act as a cushion!”
Cong Lian was the first to catch on, “Good idea!”
He and Liao Quan Nan jumped into the truck bed, ready to help.
Xia Huo Qu called out to Luo Cong Xin, “Luo Cong Xin, I need you to shift into a wild goose and fly overhead to keep watch! Go now!”
Luo Cong Xin quickly stripped off his clothes and tossed them into the truck bed before transforming into a wild goose, spreading his wings and soaring into the sky.
Xia Huo Qu climbed into the driver’s seat, carefully placing the backpack on the seat beside him. Taking out the truck keys, he started the engine.
The truck rumbled to life and headed toward the grain storage.
The road was rough, and the truck jolted from side to side. In the back, Liao Quannan and Cong Lian had to use all their strength to steady the swaying equipment.
Soon, the truck reached the grain storage.
Xia Huo Qu gently placed the backpack on the driver’s seat, then quickly removed his T-shirt while saying, “I’ll use my animal form. You stay human to assist.”
“Got it!”
As soon as Xia Huo Qu finished speaking, he shifted into a massive wolf.
Liao Quan Nan and Cong Lian grabbed ropes and baskets and sprang into action.
In just a few moments, they were at the grain storage. The white wolf swiped a stone off the lid with one paw and uncovered the storage.
Without hesitation, the two jumped inside with their baskets, swiftly filling them with grain.
The wolf carried the tied-up baskets to the truck bed, dumping the grain and returning for more.
In under five minutes, the entire storage was emptied.
The back of the truck was now filled with golden grain, about half a meter high.
Exhausted, Liao Quan Nan and Cong Lian climbed into the truck bed, gasping for air.
Tiny bits of rice husk stuck to their skin, mixing with the sweat, causing an itchy and painful sensation.
The wolf was also panting. Without delay, he sprinted to the driver’s seat, quickly transforming back into human form, slipping on a pair of shorts, and started the truck, heading back to the base of the mountain.
The truck was now heavier, and the equipment inside no longer rattled around. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The sky grew more ominous, turning completely yellow, with no sign of the sun.
Xia Huo Qu floored the gas, speeding down the mountain. He yelled up at Luo Cong Xin in the sky, “Watch over my brother!”
“Caw—” the wild goose responded solemnly.
Xia Huo Qu immediately transformed back into a wolf and sprinted up the mountain.
Liao Quan Nan and Cong Lian grabbed ropes and followed closely behind.
The three reached the top, where Yan Xi Nian and Ba Niu were nervously dismantling the last of the braking mechanism, with the other parts set aside.
Upon seeing the giant wolf, Yan Xi Nian subtly relaxed. “Just a bit more.”
The wolf gave him a nod, not wasting time on words. Liao Quan Nan and Cong Lian hurried over, securing the parts onto the wolf’s back, who immediately dashed back down the mountain.
They made several trips back and forth, with blood starting to appear faintly on the wolf’s back.
Meanwhile, Yan Xi Nian and Ba Niu finally finished dismantling the braking mechanism.
Despite their exhaustion, Yan Xi Nian transformed into a giant tiger, carrying parts down the mountain.
The combined weight of the equipment and grain wasn’t too much. Ba Niu checked the driver’s seat and shouted, “Hurry up, change back to human form. We’re heading to the base!”
Without a word, everyone jumped into the truck bed, collapsing as it swayed from side to side.
Before they left, Xia Huo Qu had already retrieved his brother from the front seat.
His brother was still in cat form, curled tightly into a ball inside the backpack, as if he had fainted.
Xia Huo Qu quickly and gently checked him over. The kitten’s breathing was a bit rapid, and his paws felt warmer than usual, but his heart rate seemed stable.
Xia Huo Qu felt like his insides were burning, a frustration he couldn’t shake.
Panting, Yan Xi Nian came over and lightly scratched the cat’s head. “How did he get so big?”
“I had him try to change back into human form, and he grew,” Xia Huo Qu sighed deeply, his attention diverted for a moment. “I’ll ask Dr. Ou to check him out once we’re back at the base.”
He’d never heard of any shapeshifter growing bigger after transforming.
Yan Xi Nian, exhausted, leaned against him. “Humans haven’t been able to shapeshift for long. Xiao Nong’s situation might not be a bad thing. Don’t worry too much for now.”
Xia Huo Qu barely managed to suppress his anxiety. “Mm.”
The truck kept moving forward.
To avoid the sudden earthquake and potential landslides it might cause, Ba Niu took a detour, avoiding the road they had taken earlier.
On the way up, they had passed sections where the road bordered a cliff. Now, they absolutely couldn’t risk taking those same paths.
This detour took them farther than they had expected.
They had some compressed dry food in the truck, but no one had an appetite. They barely got through a meal that night.
The sun had long set, but outside, the sky hadn’t fully darkened. It remained a dusty yellow, as if a sandstorm was on the horizon.
Everyone was on edge, staring unblinkingly at the outside.
No one knew how much time had passed when suddenly the cat on Xia Huo Qu’s lap started meowing. “Meow? Meow—”
“Xiao Nong?” Xia Huo Qu asked anxiously, “What’s wrong?”
“Meow!” The cat stumbled off his lap, grabbed his notebook and pen, and scribbled down a single word: “Quake.”
Before he had even finished writing, Xia Huo Qu recognized it.
It was the word for “earthquake.”
Xia Huo Qu shouted, “Quick! Xiao Nong says an earthquake is coming! Stop the truck and get ready!”
Ba Niu reacted immediately, pulling the truck onto the nearest patch of open ground and slamming on the brakes with a screech.
The truck hadn’t even come to a complete stop when a loud rumbling sound erupted outside, and the entire truck began to shake.
It felt like something was pushing up from beneath the ground, causing the truck to sway up and down. Soon, the shaking transitioned from vertical to horizontal.
The swaying was so intense that everyone had to hold on tightly to avoid being thrown around, trying to avoid the scattered equipment to prevent injury.
At some point, Yan Xi Nian grabbed Xia Huo Qu’s arm tightly, his back hunched to shield him.
Xia Huo Qu, in turn, desperately held the cat in his arms.
The violent shaking made everyone’s ears ring, and it seemed as if their minds went blank.
Thanks for the chapter!