As time passed by, the traffic finally started moving.

But it was much slower than Qi Xia had imagined.

It seemed that the area closest to the entrance had indeed caused a traffic accident due to this strange weather phenomenon.

By the time the eerie crack disappeared and the traffic resumed entering Qingdao, it was already 8 o'clock in the morning.

During this time, Qi Xia continuously called Yu Nian'an, but there was no answer.

After thinking it over, there was only one reason that could explain the current situation.

Yu Nian'an had already been taken into custody by the police.

"Driver, let's change the destination." Qi Xia keenly noticed this and knew that he couldn't go back home, so he said to the driver, "The place where I got on the car doesn't need to be visited, I'll give you a new address."

After saying this, Qi Xia searched for an address on his phone and handed it over.

"Oh?" The driver took the phone, glanced at it, and knew the destination, "Alright, the distance is about the same, I'll take you there directly."

Finally, around 10:30 in the morning, the driver took Qi Xia to the destination.

This was a cheap rental house in the old city area of North City.

"We've finally arrived, young man." The driver let out a long sigh, "I didn't expect to be delayed for so long."

"It's okay, driver." Qi Xia took out fifteen hundred yuan in cash from his pocket and handed it to the driver, "Thank you."

"No problem, no problem! It's all part of the job!" The driver excitedly took the money, "If you need anything, just call me again, young man!"

Qi Xia nodded and was about to walk towards the rental house when he suddenly remembered something and turned back, saying, "Driver, I know you're tired now, but don't go home before noon, just rest in the car if you're tired."

"Huh?" The driver was taken aback, "What do you mean? I can't go home?"

"I have no reason to lie to you," Qi Xia said, "Something big is about to happen, it's safer to stay outside."

After saying this, Qi Xia ignored the driver and walked towards the rental house.

This was the backup place that Qi Xia and Yu Nian'an had rented, specifically for dealing with such special moments.

He planned to pack a few clothes here and then decide on the next steps.

After walking seven steps, Qi Xia's phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

He was startled and quickly took it out to look.

It was a call from "A."

"An?" Qi Xia was stunned, feeling like his deduction might have been wrong.

Had Yu Nian'an not been taken into custody by the police?

Or... was this call made by someone else on her behalf?

"Hello?" Qi Xia answered the phone with a calm tone.

He knew that even if this call was from the police, he had to make them take Yu Nian'an out of the building, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Xia!" Yu Nian'an weakly called out, "I'm sorry... I seem to be sick. I've been in a daze since yesterday afternoon, and I just woke up now."

"Sick?" Qi Xia furrowed his brows slightly and asked, "Did you feed the fish yesterday?"

"Hehe..." Yu Nian'an smiled, "What are you doing? Are you giving me a 'code'? Nothing happened, I'm just not feeling well."

Qi Xia finally understood and quickly said, "An, listen to me, pack your things and wait for me downstairs. I'll come to pick you up right away."

"Okay?"

"No time to explain, trust me," Qi Xia said urgently, "I've lied to many people, but never to you."

"Okay..." Yu Nian'an agreed, "I'll pack up and wait downstairs. How long will you take?"

"I..." Qi Xia looked at his phone and felt that the situation was not good.

It would take at least an hour to get a ride from here, and he was afraid that he would just make it in time for the terrible earthquake.

"Don't worry about how long it will take me to get there, just leave home as soon as possible, even if you just stand at the door."

"Oh... okay then." Yu Nian'an nodded, "I'll wash my face, and I'll be downstairs in about ten minutes."

"Okay!"

Qi Xia hung up the phone and quickly turned back to find the taxi driver, only to find that he hadn't left and was sitting in the driver's seat using a mini UV flashlight to check for counterfeit money.

"Driver!" Qi Xia knocked on the window, startling the driver.

"Oh my goodness!" The driver quickly put away the money and realized that the person in front of him was the "big customer."

"Young man?" He rolled down the window, looked around, and asked, "What's wrong now?"

"Take me to where I got on the car yesterday!" Qi Xia said, "This time, it has to be quick. I'll give you a hundred!"

"Hey!" The driver waved to Qi Xia with a smile, "I got it, get in quickly!"

Qi Xia got into the car and his expression still looked anxious. He kept checking his phone in the car, but unfortunately, he didn't remember the time when the earthquake occurred.

He only knew that the earthquake was expected to come around noon, but was it at 11 o'clock or 12 o'clock?

Thinking about this, he urged the driver again, "Please go a little faster."

"Young man, you're asking too much of me. I'm already fatigued from driving..."

"Uncle, I really am in a hurry."

"Alright, alright..."

The driver couldn't resist Qi Xia's insistence and stepped on the gas pedal again.

What was originally an hour's journey took only forty minutes.

"Thanks, driver." Qi Xia threw down a hundred yuan, got out of the car without looking back.

But as far as he could see, he felt something was strange.

Yu Nian'an was not waiting for him downstairs at all.

"What's going on?"

A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.

Qi Xia's first reaction was that Yu Nian'an might be buying something at a nearby convenience store. He called her, but there was still no answer.

"An, where are you...?"

Before he could figure it out, there was a sudden loud noise in the distance.

The roaring sound followed one after another, as if tens of thousands of trains were traveling on the road.The next second, the ground shook violently, and Qi Xia, caught off guard, crashed heavily to the floor.

"Damn it!"

He knew something was terribly wrong; the last time an earthquake struck, he had been standing in this exact spot.

It seemed as if there was some preordained arrangement, the same moment in time, the same location.

Even though everything had started over, nothing had changed.

Vehicles around him began to collide in a chain reaction, and the screams of people rose and fell in succession.

Qi Xia couldn't afford to worry about anything else; he could only run towards his apartment building. If there was even a one in ten thousand chance that Yu Nian'an was at home, he had to rescue her. But it was incredibly difficult to move during an earthquake. Qi Xia fell five or six times before finally regaining his balance.

"An!!" He yelled towards the upper floors, even though his own home was only on the third floor, where his voice should have been heard.

Qi Xia steadied his spirit and entered the building.

He remembered that the last time he entered, the corridor had collapsed, and that was how he had lost his life.

With this thought, he quickly dodged to the side, and a massive stone instantly smashed into the spot where he had just been standing.

The stone was enormous; being hit by it would mean certain death.

"It seems I really did die before…"