Chapter 168: Earthquake

The next day, the same issues occurred at even more low-rise apartment buildings. The government made an interim decision to evacuate everyone to an open area outside the city and set up tents for these people to stay outside for a period of time. They would arrange for people to return to their homes only after repair and restoration works were completed.

At first, there were people who did not want to cooperate and even kicked up a fuss at the ground floor of their building. There were even people who had already left the city but insisted on returning to their homes to retrieve their valuables. However, before these people could resist for too long, the building collapsed with a loud sound. It scared everyone so much that they did not dare to think of it as a minor issue anymore and they actively cooperated with the government’s arrangements.

Qiao Mei had not been idle during this period of time. She sat at an empty plot of land to take a rest, feeling a little tired.

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A few sinkholes in the city had indeed collapsed due to the loss of groundwater, but most of them were caused by Qiao Mei scattering a large number of plant seeds into the ground, making them reproduce and grow quickly and incessantly taking root inside the ground. Then, when Qiao Mei absorbed the energy of these plants, the instant withering of the plants would cause a hole underground, causing the ground to collapse.

There were tall buildings everywhere around the city and there were no plants providing energy for her to absorb. After making sinkholes over the span of a few days, Qiao Mei was starting to feel that she was unable to do as much as she would like. If she went back to the village to absorb natural energy before coming back, it would be too late. Right now, Qiao Mei was racing against time.

“Sigh.” Qiao Mei took a breath and lamented.

Qiao Mei looked at the pendant hanging on her chest. The originally crystal clear pendant now looked a little dull and lackluster. It seemed that the energy was indeed unable to support her in creating more sinkholes.

However, there were still many low-rise buildings and houses in the city. Many people still felt that what was happening had nothing to do with them, that only the high-rise buildings were in danger and that the low-rise houses would not be affected. Qiao Mei needed to create more sinkholes in order to save more people.

Qiao Mei opened her backpack and took out the seeds of the ginseng king from home. She sprinkled them on the ground and induced their growth, and then absorbed the energy contained inside them. These seeds were all wild ginseng that could grow to a thousand years old and their energy was not something that ordinary wildflowers and weeds could emulate.

Qiao Mei took out the vine seeds and managed to locate a water drain. She scattered the seeds into the drain and began to induce their growth. The vines quickly grew and covered the entire city’s drainage system. If she were to make more sinkholes, even though no one would think that it had anything to do with her, she would still miss out on many people. It was better to do this so that she could reach everyone.

Qiao Mei kept watch on the time and continuously urged the vines in her hand to extend further. With Qiao Mei’s current ability, she could already sense plants within 20 kilometers, but for an entire city, this span meant that there were still areas that she could not manage to cover.

Qiao Mei could only stretch as far as she could feel.

“Not enough… not enough… still not enough,” Qiao Mei muttered to herself.

Qiao Mei induced the growth of wild ginseng and vines with one hand and used her other hand to constantly absorb the energy of the wild ginseng. Her entire body was emitting a sparkling green light and in less than 15 minutes, she was already drenched in sweat and her lips had become pale. Her hands and feet also began to tremble without her knowing. Many plants had already turned to ashes before she could absorb their energy.

Qiao Mei looked at her watch and then at the sky.

It was time.

Qiao Mei shook the vines violently and the vines kept hitting the drainage pipes all the way to the end. Soon, the remaining people in the city felt the violent tremors, each stronger than the last. Everyone ran out of the house and instinctively went to take cover in a wide open area.

When she was done, Qiao Mei reabsorbed the energy from the vines and collapsed to the ground while panting heavily. There were still about 20 minutes before the real danger arrived, and she hoped that what she did would be effective enough to be able to save more people. She had already done her best.

Qiao Mei quickly lost consciousness and blacked out onto the ground. Then the violent shaking started after 20 minutes.

The world seemed to spin away and the sun and moon went dark as if they lost their light. The mountains and rivers appeared to be roaring as huge rocks rolled down and dust filled the air in an instant. In just 25 seconds, the entire city was in ruins.

The plants around Qiao Mei spontaneously surrounded her, forming a cocoon-shaped protective barrier that silently shielded Qiao Mei and her children, and reduced the impact of the tremors from the ground. At the same moment, the pendant quietly emitted a dark green light that was slowly being transmitted to the surrounding plants.