The deafening blast cin an instant, Philip's pupils contracting in an instant. The following sound was unbearably loud.

Phil stood in the doorway, buffeted by a force that sent him stumbling backward, slamming the door shut in its wake.

The world inside the base began to spin out of control, a cacophony that sounded like the heavens themselves were collapsing.

Pinned against the wall by the invisible hammer of the blast, Phil struggled to his feet, oddly numb to the pain. It felt as though

something was cushioning his fall.

Turning, he saw Philip splayed out behind him, acting as a human shield and already spitting out blood.

"Philip!" His voice was a whisper against the roar.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have gone after that insect. Philip, con, wake up."

Meanwhile, the entire base was lifted by spowerful force. In face of nature, human engineering designed to withstand a

magnitude 8 earthquake, seemed trivial against the dual onslaught of the landslide and the earth's violent shaking. Every secure

door had been breached.

The base was uplifted from its subterranean stronghold by the landslide and then harshly flung down, carried forward unstoppably.

Even the citizens could hear the earth-shattering noise. Sfell to their knees in prayer, murmuring for salvation.

Maja was about to dig into her meal when she felt the table quiver. Dropping her fork, she rushed to her apartment door and stood

in the hallway. But outside, everything looked like normal; beyond the initial rumble, there was only the sound of fervent prayers.

Her neighbor, a woman who had mostly recovered from recent injuries, stepped out looking particularly pale.

"Seems like it's from the southwest. I cfrom there. The disease was bad enough, but with an earthquake.The authorities might

just write off that whole area. No help's coming anytsoon."

Maja's heart sank; that was where lan was headed.

"How strong was the quake?"

The woman went back to check her computer, her face turning ashen, "Preliminary estimates say 8.1."

An earthquake that strong could shatter skyscrapers, even could crack open the earth and then shut it in a split second.

Maja felt dizzy with worry and called for lan's contacts immediately.

"Can we get through to the local officials to check out the situation over there?"

"Ms. Pennyfeather, the news reported it just a minute ago. 8.1 on the Richter scale. The higher-ups aren't evacuating the area.

They're even lying, saying they've sent help, but they've just barricaded the place with wire fences. Anyone trying to escape gets

shot on sight."

"Why?"

"That district's the epicenter of the disease outbreak. With the earthquake, panic villagers would definitely want to get out. The

disease currently has no cure, and if it spreads, the country is done for."

So, the grim directive was to abandon those villagers and take them out if necessary, to prevent the disease from spreading.

Moreover, to save face internationally, the media would be told that the villagers were casualties of the quake - not left for dead by

their own government.

In order to maintain a good reputation around the globe, scountries would choose to create multiple lies. The despair of such

deceit was new to Maggie.

If she were one of those villagers, abandoned by her country, what then? Without a nation's support, hopes for survival were

meaningless.

And that was the direction lan had gone. She had to check it personally.

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