Chapter 4

From a brief nap, Xia Anping's sleep turned into a long one. Although the shelter couldn't provide a comfortable bed, he still managed to sleep there, staying the entire night, for more than 14 hours.

During this night, everyone in the shelter waited anxiously, while the electronic display in the shelter continuously showed only one message.

— The situation outside is under control. The spatial invasion creatures are being gradually eliminated. Please wait patiently!

By 7 a.m. the next morning, the electronic display in the shelter finally showed a different message.

— The order in Xianghe City is being restored. The spatial invasion alert has been lifted!

The green light on the shelter's safety door turned on, and the safety door reopened. All the people in the shelter, dragging their weary bodies, finally walked out, feeling a great weight lifted from their shoulders.

— This spatial invasion was rated F+. The invading creatures were magic rats and sandworms. There were 137 magic rats and 5 sandworms. We eliminated 133 magic rats and 5 sandworms. Four magic rats escaped through the river, and we have dispatched teams to pursue and search for them. We welcome any leads you can provide.

The spatial invasion alert in Xianghe City has been lifted. Power and water supply have been restored, and other public services are gradually resuming. Some areas are still under lockdown for subsequent epidemic prevention and sanitation. Please cooperate.

The casualties and losses from this spatial invasion are still being counted. Please stay tuned for further news updates.

— The National Order Committee of the Great Yan Republic.

The moment Xia Anping stepped out of the shelter, his phone vibrated again. Xia Anping took out his phone and saw a message from the spatial invasion safety app.

Then, just as he finished reading the message, Xia Anping had just walked out of the safety passage and onto the street when his phone received another message from the repair shop owner.

— Yesterday, magic rats invaded our workshop. The company received a notice from the higher authorities that the workshop will be closed today and tomorrow for disinfection and epidemic prevention. The factory will be closed today and tomorrow, and we will resume work on Sunday. Everyone, rest well, and contact the factory if you have any issues.

Just as he finished reading this notice, Xia Anping's phone rang again. It was a call from Xia Ning.

"Brother, are you okay?" Xia Ning's voice was filled with concern and anxiety.

"I'm fine, don't worry. How about you?"

A long sigh of relief came from the other end of the line. "I'm fine too. As soon as we received the notice, the school organized everyone to enter the shelter yesterday!"

"That's good. I'm resting at home today. I'll cook a good meal. You can come back tonight!"

"Okay, hehe, my brother is the best!" Xia Ning laughed, seemingly unaffected by the spatial invasion.

After ending the call, Xia Anping put away his phone and took a deep breath.

Yesterday's spatial invasion must have caused casualties, but life goes on. Most of the time, you don't have the luxury to grieve for others, and you can't predict when an accident will happen.

Countries hope to minimize the impact of spatial invasions on cities and regions, so the propaganda is kept low-key, neither concealing nor exaggerating the tragedy and losses.

Each spatial invasion, when reported in the news, is like hearing about a disaster caused by an avalanche or a traffic accident.

People die every day in hospitals. The number of deaths from a small-scale spatial invasion is not more than the number of people who die in hospitals in a city each day. In fact, the number of people who die from traffic accidents in Yan Country each year is more than the number of deaths from spatial invasions.

Many people who spent the night in the shelter returned to their vehicles, looking dazed and tired. If the vehicles parked on the road were not moved within a few minutes, the fines would make the owners shudder.

Traffic police and tow trucks began to appear on the streets, directing traffic and clearing obstacles. The city's traffic gradually resumed.

If you didn't pay attention, you wouldn't notice much change in the environment. The injured had been taken to the hospital or removed, and the bodies of the magic rats had been cleaned up, leaving no trace.

However, in some special areas, you could see police tape, broken glass on the ground, and unrepaired potholes in the road.

You could also see epidemic prevention personnel and vehicles in protective gear, and municipal authorities repairing damaged streets. Insurance companies would handle vehicle damage. When fire trucks or ambulances passed by with sirens blaring, everyone would silently make way.

Many people who spent the night in the shelter would have to go to work today.

It's not that people are numb, but they have to get used to this life, to get used to spatial invasions.

Xia Anping got back on the same bus he took yesterday. After waiting for a while, the driver returned, and the traffic on the road gradually resumed.

...

About twenty minutes later, the bus arrived at the old southern district of Xianghe City and stopped at an old station. Xia Anping got off the bus and bought some noodles, soy sauce, and vegetables for dinner at a small supermarket that had already opened. Then he returned home.

Xia Anping and Xia Ning lived in a semi-old residential area. The surroundings were not particularly beautiful, but life was convenient. The neighborhood was lively, and the rent was not expensive.

More importantly, there was a police station at the entrance of the neighborhood, and police cars and officers often patrolled the area, making the neighborhood's security good. After their parents passed away, Xia Anping brought Xia Ning to live here.

Xia Anping and Xia Ning's parents were immigrants. When they moved from China to the Great Yan Republic in North Guangzhou, they bought a house in Xianghe City on a mortgage. However, after the accident, the house was taken by the bank.

The social welfare institutions in Yan Country had once arranged for Xia Anping and Xia Ning to be adopted, but both refused to be separated.

After their parents' death, Xia Anping dropped out of school to work at a repair shop to earn money. Over the years, the two siblings lived a modest life. The house Xia Anping rented in this neighborhood was a small 60-square-meter apartment with a loft. The loft used to leak, and after several complaints, the landlord had it fixed, but it needed to be repaired every two years.

Xia Anping supported Xia Ning's art studies, which were very expensive.

Their main income now came from Xia Anping's work.

Fortunately, the social welfare in Yan Country was good. Xia Ning hardly spent any money on junior high and high school, and medical expenses were covered by insurance. As citizens of Yan Country, Xia Anping and Xia Ning received a monthly population welfare allowance from birth until the age of 18, and Xia Ning received an education subsidy after starting university.

...

Xia Anping greeted the security guard in the building lobby and then walked up the stairs. The handrails in the hallway were peeling, and Xia Anping, carrying the items he bought from the supermarket, climbed up to the seventh floor. He took out his keys, opened the security door, and entered the house.

The 60-square-meter apartment had some old appliances provided by the landlord. There were two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom. Xia Ning's bedroom was on the first floor, and Xia Anping's bedroom was in the small loft. The two siblings kept their small home clean and tidy.

The living room was decorated with colorful paper cranes folded by Xia Ning, and the walls were adorned with her paintings of animals and landscapes, giving the house a warm and cozy feel.

Xia Anping was starving, having not eaten for almost 20 hours. The first thing he did when he got home was to go to the kitchen and cook a bowl of noodles.

After eating the noodles, Xia Anping felt like he had come back to life.

From the living room window, he could see a range of beautiful mountains in the distance, with some snow on the peaks. This ordinary view, which Xia Anping never tired of, even seemed magical to him.

This magical feeling was something only Xia Anping could sense!

A simple bowl of noodles, accompanied by the view of the mountains, was enough to make Xia Anping enjoy his meal.

The mountains outside were the Qianlong Mountains, which were called Qianlong because they were composed of many smaller mountain ranges. The Qianlong Mountains stretched for over 4,800 kilometers, almost spanning half of North Guangzhou. The best ski resorts in the Great Yan Republic were located in the Qianlong Mountains.

In Xia Anping's eyes, the Qianlong Mountains had another name—Rocky Mountains!

Since the discovery of this new continent by Admiral Ma in 1421 and its naming as Guangzhou, over the centuries, whenever China faced natural disasters, political turmoil, or dynastic changes, large numbers of Chinese immigrants came here to seek a living and thrive.

The earliest arrivals were gold prospectors, and the legend of making a fortune in Guangzhou influenced countless people.

Countless people dreamed of coming to this continent to mine for gold.

After centuries of ups and downs, the Great Yan Republic today has a territory of 22.78 million square kilometers, almost covering the entire North Guangzhou, with a population of 680 million. It is also one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

China is still China, and China is still China, but the world beyond China has changed greatly.

By the way, the "Valley of Light" where "the river flows into an endless abyss" and "the sun rises here" (Note 1), which Admiral Ma named, is actually the Grand Canyon...

The inscription left by Admiral Ma when he discovered the place is still there in the Valley of Light.

Xia Anping finished his noodles, and just as he was washing the dishes in the kitchen, the doorbell rang.

It's too early for the landlord to come collect rent!

Xia Anping muttered, wiped his hands in the kitchen, and walked to the door. Without using the peephole, he looked through the security door.

Just this glance made Xia Anping's heart skip a beat.

Standing outside was the man in the black leather coat and sunglasses, looking very cool.

Seeing this man, Xia Anping immediately recalled his image when he was killing the magic rats and sandworms—this man was a summoner, a member of the National Order Committee.

The man took off his sunglasses, revealing a determined face with sharp features, and deep, dark eyes. Through the thick security door, he calmly met Xia Anping's gaze.

...

Note 1: American scholar Henriette Mertz, "The Fading Record."

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