After hearing the news, Shen Hao was completely shocked and stunned. The earthquake had hit all four cities — including his own, Xianlong City. These cities were all interconnected, right next to each other. He was left speechless.
Then, his father began to speak:
"Now do you understand what's happening? Although it was just a level 8 earthquake and didn't cause serious damage — only some fans and things hanging on walls fell — it's still extremely abnormal. The company gave me the task to investigate and solve this mystery. I'm leading the operation."
Shen Hao listened quietly. After a moment, he finally spoke:
"Well then, good luck, Father. I hope you solve this mystery."
"Ah, thanks, son," his father replied. "Now come on, let's go eat. I'm starving."
That night, the whole family had dinner together. Everyone eventually went to sleep — everyone except Shen Hao. He lay awake, thinking about everything that had happened over the past few days, trying once again to make sense of it all, but with no leads. He mumbled to himself:
"What is going on?
Why is everything so strange? And this earthquake… what does it have to do with me?"
He kept thinking, kept whispering to himself — until sleep finally took him.
The next day, everything felt normal. People were going to work, children played in the streets, families laughed. It was almost as if nothing had happened at all.
Weeks passed.
But Shen Hao's father had found no leads. Scientists and researchers across the Neo Continent were also working nonstop to find answers.
Then... something.
A clue.
A clue that could finally lead somewhere. Scientists discovered something abnormal in the Earth's core — and based on their findings, disasters like the recent earthquake could happen again. Anywhere. Anytime.
And that's exactly what happened.
After the announcement went public, the world began to fall apart.
Earthquakes.
Tsunamis.
Cyclones.
Tornadoes.
Natural disasters erupted on massive scales. Death. Destruction. Chaos. The planet was falling into ruin.
One day, Shen Hao was walking home from school, just like usual. He was thinking about how he could help his father with the investigation.
Suddenly, a woman's scream pierced the air.
He turned toward the sound and saw her running — terrified. More screams followed from different directions. Shen Hao's heart skipped a beat. Then... he saw it.
A crack.
A crack had appeared in the ground, right beneath his feet.
He jumped back instinctively, on guard.
Then he looked ahead.
A hole had suddenly opened in the middle of the road — a giant pit, seemingly out of nowhere. At first, it was far from him... but it began to grow, rapidly expanding toward him.
He was frozen for a split second — but then memories of the school earthquake flashed through his mind.
Shen Hao took off running at full speed, shouting to himself:
"Not again, dude!
Why am I always getting dragged into these disasters!?
Am I cursed or something!?"
But then — suddenly — bam!
A large chunk of debris, the size of a football, flew straight at him. It had broken off from a collapsing building.
The rock struck his leg hard — the pain was blinding. He crashed to the ground, screaming.
His leg was badly injured. Possibly broken.
He couldn't stand.
So he began to crawl, dragging himself with his arms, desperately trying to escape — but the hole behind him was faster. It was growing. It was coming for him.
And then...