Tension was high on the mountain, but even higher along the coast.
“Attention, the second wave of the big tide is approaching. Assist the citizens in evacuating as quickly as possible.”
Nurse An remained on the shore, coordinating the evacuation efforts for Feisi City.
(Note: In the previous chapter, there was an oversight— Nurse An did not land on the island. Please interpret her two lines on the island as remote communications.)*
Under the relentless high-intensity work, some people cracked and made mistakes, while others entered a flow state, growing stronger with every challenge.
Nurse An was among the latter.
The so-called flow state was like the Union of Heaven and Man in novels—a complete focus on the task at hand, with greatly enhanced efficiency.
“The tide is receding. Team One, keep neutralizing the acid pools. Team Two, continue clearing the residual acid in the city. Teams Three through Eight, assist the citizens in retreating along the southeast highlands. The other teams, keep assembling the rescue boats.”
“Be cautious of the residual acid. Though most of it has diluted, even a small contact still stings badly.”
Protective suits had all been dismantled and repurposed to line the Acid Cages.
The remaining suits were mostly missing critical parts—heads, hands, knees—making their acid resistance highly questionable.
The Asklei Mountains’ movement had triggered a tsunami. Seawater flooded the streets, carrying small patches of residual acid suspended like swarms of pale, eerie jellyfish.
That horrifying sight posed immense challenges to the rescue operations.
“Your Honor! Hurry up and get on!”
On a kayak, Nurse An extended her hand to the Judge from the Feisi City Tribunal.
Nurse An’s elbow had been corroded by acid in a small patch, the pain sharp enough to make her grit her teeth.
The Judge silently took Nurse An’s hand and climbed onto the kayak.
This scene was playing out in every corner of Feisi City.
Those being pulled onto the rescue boats included citizens who had protested the Raiders earlier that day, shouting for them to leave Feisi City.
Also among them were high-ranking Feisi City officials.
The Xinhua members put aside grudges, pulling them one by one onto the boats, sending them toward the highland evacuation zones.
Watching these Raiders, smoke rising from their acid-burned bodies as they screamed in pain but still waded through waist-deep seawater to drag Feisi City residents to safety, the Judge suddenly felt a sharp pang of guilt for his earlier suspicions.
“I’m sorry. On behalf of Feisi City’s residents, I must say to you all: I apologize…”
“Let’s discuss this after we’re safe,” Nurse An cut him off coldly. “Do you have any city alarm bells? Ones loud enough for all residents to hear?”
“We do.”
“Then why haven’t they been sounded?” Nurse An’s tone was urgent. “So far, we’ve only evacuated the coastal residents. Half the city still knows nothing about the tsunami. They think they’re safe and are waiting confusedly inside the Acid Mist Tents. This can’t continue—when the seawater arrives, they’ll be swept away!
We have to get everyone to the highlands immediately!”
“The alarm bells were probably destroyed by the first wave of acid corrosion,” the Judge frowned.
“Any alternatives?”
“None.”
“Then I have one!”
?!
In her flow state, Nurse An answered brilliantly.
Then she sent a message through the team channel.
[Attention all members who have been relocated to the safe zone: immediately teach all Feisi City residents there how to make Kongming Lanterns and use them to signal evacuation.]
[Everyone mobilize. Once ready, release the lanterns at once.]
Hot air balloons were humanity’s earliest form of manned flight, but the same principle had been used over a thousand years ago to convey feelings of longing.
People had once used them to pray for the deceased, remember loved ones, and wish for peace and health.
Now, the Raiders would once again light these lanterns, using them to gather all Feisi City’s survivors.
[No matter what methods you use, tell the survivors to evacuate toward the signals under the lanterns.]
……
Wu Xiaomi looked back toward Feisi City.
Flames flickered in the sky above the city.
The entire Pioneer Squad felt heavy at heart.
They could already imagine the seawater surging back into the streets.
The tsunami’s threat was not the towering giant waves shown in movies but more like a boiling frog in warm water—a gradual, unstoppable rise.
At first, the seawater moving into the city flowed slowly, but as the streets narrowed, the flow’s speed and depth both multiplied.
By then, houses would collapse, the water’s speed would surge to dozens of kilometers per hour, and anyone caught would be like a speck on a highway full of heavy dump trucks.
This kind of overwhelming natural disaster was beyond the capabilities of ordinary Sequencers.
[Pioneer Squad – Wu Xiaomi: Time is running out.]
[Wu Xiaomi: Heart, six arteries—follow the paths I’ve drawn. You’ll find the entrance to each artery and the weak points in the seawater… Remember! Steady, precise, fast!]
[The other five: Received.]
Wu Xiaomi was already struggling to breathe.
She clutched her chest tightly, hobbling forward.
Damn it, what’s going on?
Why does telling stories drain my spiritual source and actually create a real Asklei Mountain?
When did I get this ability?
Or rather… what is it that gave me this ability?
No, I can’t keep going.
[Enforcer: We’ve arrived.]
[Han Nuo: Ready.]
[Ah Lei: In position.]
[Miss Nuo: Ready.]
[Bai Xiaozhi: Ready, brother?]
The other five had all reached the target location successfully; only Wu Xiaomi was dragging behind with no news for a long time.
All six had to act together, or else they would immediately attract the Chicken-footed Bears, which would clear them out like immune cells.
The situation on the shore was critical, no more delays were allowed.
Wu Xiaomi clenched her small fists, closed her eyes, and began murmuring to herself.
“At the edge of the third artery’s passage in the heart of Asklei, there’s a tiny countercurrent branch.
This branch connects directly to where I’m standing now…
If I enter this branch, it can take me to the weak spot on the third artery’s edge.”
If the story she told could come true, then this newly added detail might just solve her pressing problem.
However…
The familiar sensation didn’t appear.
Her spiritual source didn’t drain, and that mysterious feeling she had when telling stories didn’t return.
It failed.
Her impromptu use of the modifier… failed.
“Alright, looks like I’m not a Creator God after all.”
Wu Xiaomi stuck out her little pink tongue in self-mockery.
Looks like she’d have to trudge forward step by step.
She forced herself to stand.
[Wu Xiaomi: Wait for me a moment, my path here is a bit winding. I’m almost there.]
She gave a casual excuse and used the Ray Sword sheath as a crutch, inching forward step by step.
The mountain was vast, the road long.
Fortunately, she finally arrived.
Facing the huge, writhing mudstone artery before her, Wu Xiaomi felt as if she had just run a lap around the Earth and was nearly exhausted.
[Wu Xiaomi: Ready. Get ready. I’ll count down—three, two, one.]
Three.
Two.
One!
Sword raised, strike!
Six beams of light flashed simultaneously, and the thick blood vessels snapped with a sharp sound.
[Han Nuo: I’m done! What about you guys?!] voices rang out in the Pioneer Squad channel.
[Success.] The team responded one after another.
Wu Xiaomi also breathed a sigh of relief and replied: [Success.]
However, at the same moment the arteries were severed…
Wu Xiaomi’s delicate body shook violently.
That storytelling connection feeling returned!
She muttered uncontrollably:
“The arteries are cut, but the nerves still live on.
To stop it completely, there’s still one more sacrifice needed.”
“That sacrifice…”
“Is me.”
*Author’s note.