June 6th. Beixing Country, Pinglu City.
This high-altitude western mountain city, being far from all seismic sources, had not suffered severe disasters.
However, it could not escape the global climate changes.
Amidst the drizzling rain, a large number of people were shuttling and bustling about outdoors.
Relocating the official functions of the capital, Yong'an, here required a great deal of work. Additionally, tasks like the academy's relocation and the mobilization of some disaster relief supplies were also being conducted here.
After entering the city under an umbrella, Guan Tong saw some volunteers nearby wearing red armbands and protective raincoats. These volunteers all appeared to be locals of Pinglu, responsible for guiding people who had come from other places.
In the previous information-based society, everyone would know where to go by looking at notifications on their phones. But now, with the work unable to be restored in the short term, people had to revert to the most ancient mode of human-guided directions.
Moreover, Guan Tong particularly noticed that among those constantly entering the city were many foreigners. He wondered if they had come to Beixing using the Human Consortium's open policy before the earthquake disaster.
At that moment, a young woman wearing an armband proactively walked over and greeted Guan Tong.
"Hello, do you need any help?"
Probably because Guan Tong had been looking around everywhere since entering the city, clearly a newcomer from out of town, the woman, as a volunteer, came over to inquire.
Guan Tong asked, "Hello, I'd like to ask where people from other places should go to settle down?"
Since he had agreed to Shi Jingyi to be her course teaching assistant and teach her classes for a few months, he naturally wouldn't go back on his word.
The academy had moved to Pinglu City along with other official functional departments, so he had naturally come here as well.
As for his book page shelter, he had indeed previously placed it at sea, thinking that would be safer. After all, its airtightness was strong enough, so there was no need to worry about seawater seeping in.
As for Shi Jingyi herself, after discussing with Guan Tong, she contacted the academy. Both parties agreed on a location, and the academy sent a dedicated person to take her to a specialized medical center to assist in her recovery.
Before she recovered enough to return to the classroom, Guan Tong would come to fill in for a while.
Since he and Shi Jingyi had agreed that she would recommend him in a few days, he couldn't directly report to the academy's campus in Pinglu now. He could only find another place to stay in the city first.
The reason he didn't wait a few more days to come was also because he wanted to get to know this city in advance.
The female volunteer wasn't surprised by his question. According to what their leaders had said, for a long time to come, starting recently, there would be a continuous stream of people coming to Pinglu City from all over the country, and even from all over the world.
"May I ask which city's shelter were you in before?"
"I didn't live in a shelter."
"You didn't live in a shelter?" The female volunteer was somewhat surprised, not expecting to encounter a very rare wilderness survivor.
This was the first one she had encountered in her few days as a volunteer. There were few people in the wilderness to begin with, and even fewer who could survive this earthquake disaster.
"Do you need to have lived in a shelter before to be settled in Pinglu?" Guan Tong asked curiously.
"Ah, no, that's not it." The female volunteer, snapping back to reality, shook her head. "It's just that our arrangements for accommodations are centralized based on the city of the shelter, so the probability of encountering fellow townspeople is higher."
"I see."
"Then, may I ask where you are originally from?"
"I'm from Yunhua."
"Yunhua, okay." The volunteer took a map from her backpack, which had many marks of various colors drawn on it.
"The area marked with the blue pen and numbered 2 is the residential area for the Yunhua shelter. When you get there, a dedicated person will arrange a room for you."
"Okay, thank you."
"You're welcome."
Guan Tong took the map, and the female volunteer immediately went to help the next person entering the city.
Settling people from the same place together was indeed better than having a messy mix of people, and one might even run into someone they knew.
Holding the map, Guan Tong wasn't in a hurry to go to the Yunhua settlement point. Instead, he wandered around this mountain city.
Unlike inland cities, this mountain city was completely three-dimensional, divided into many layers from top to bottom. Often, you might think you were on the first floor, but when you walked to the railing and looked down, you'd discover there were still over a dozen similar "first floors" below.
This structure was to adapt to the mountain terrain, strengthening the city while also creating more living space.
In fact, if not for so many layers, it really wouldn't be able to accommodate so many people pouring in. Coupled with those coming from abroad, a conservative estimate suggested that Pinglu's population would inevitably exceed one hundred million in the future.
As he walked along the road, observing everything around him, he passed by two girls. After they crossed paths, one of them suddenly stopped, turned back in astonishment, and looked at Guan Tong's retreating figure.
The girl's pupils behind her glasses were filled with disbelief.
Guan Tong... it was definitely him...
The girl's companion and friend asked curiously, "Qianqian, what's wrong? Do you know him?"
"Qianqian?"
"Ah..."
Fang Qian snapped back to reality. Seeing her friend's puzzled expression, she somewhat flusteredly averted her gaze and pushed up her glasses. "It's nothing, he's... my former high school classmate."
"High school classmate?" Her friend looked surprised. "Then why didn't you say hello? How rare!"
After entering the era of the Doomsday Rules, everyone's relatives, friends, and all people they had connections with could die at any time. Many people even had all the people they knew die, leaving only themselves.
Even if you made new friends during some rule, it was very likely they wouldn't be around after the next rule. So, in this era where everyone was somewhat indifferent, maintaining a relationship was truly rare.
Therefore, even a relationship like "classmate," which wasn't considered particularly close before, had become extremely precious in this era.
Fang Qian and her friend were precisely classmates who had joined the academy together and were placed in the same class, later becoming good friends.
"I'll go help you stop him."
Her friend said and was about to chase after Guan Tong, but Fang Qian grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Don't!"
"Huh?" Her friend was puzzled. "How come... Did you not get along?"
Fang Qian's expression was complicated. She really couldn't bring herself to talk about what had happened between her and Guan Tong. In fact, suddenly encountering him again today, she wasn't mentally prepared at all, and her thoughts were extremely chaotic.
Seeing her pale expression, her friend knew there might be some unpleasant past involved and stopped pressing further.
Fang Qian said, "Xiao Qing, how about we go back first? I don't feel very well..."
"Okay, let's go back then."
As academy students, after the academy moved from Yong'an to Pinglu, they naturally came along.
It was just that the academy wouldn't reopen in the short term; at the very least, it would take until July to complete all the relocation and personnel arrangements.
After returning to the temporary dormitory area, Fang Qian stayed in her room, thinking about the boy she had seen on the street earlier, wearing a black jacket over a T-shirt printed with a warrior pattern. She was sure it was Guan Tong.
Although he had grown much taller, Guan Tong's face hadn't changed much; she couldn't possibly mistake him.
Had he also come to Pinglu?
After joining the academy, Fang Qian had quietly inquired and found out there was no one named "Guan Tong" in the academy, confirming he hadn't joined.
She was very surprised by this because, based on her judgment, Guan Tong definitely met the admission criteria.
After over a year without any contact, she didn't know if Guan Tong was still alive. She never expected to run into him on the street today.
The only thing she was grateful for was that Guan Tong hadn't recognized her.
"That's good..."
She muttered softly. If Guan Tong had recognized her on the street at that time, she really wouldn't have known how to face him and might have fled in panic.
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