An earthquake had occurred shortly before noon. Although it had caused no casualties, it had frightened many people.
It was common knowledge that earthquakes were often followed by aftershocks.
Therefore, for several hours after the earthquake, everyone waited patiently for the aftershocks to arrive.
However, by evening, with the sun nearly setting, not a single aftershock had occurred during that long stretch of time.
By then, most of the people waiting for aftershocks believed that no more would occur.
Reality, however, developed in an unexpected direction. The sun set, the moon rose, and just as most people were eating dinner, the aftershocks finally came.
At first, when the people felt the earth tremble, they thought it would be like at noon, and everyone fled in panic toward safer places.
Panicked cries rang out without end, and the entire scene descended into chaos.
Soon, everyone realized that this earthquake was only an aftershock, far less violent than the one at noon.
However, even in the face of an aftershock that posed little threat, no one dared gamble their life against such a natural disaster.
Almost everyone obediently stayed in open areas, waiting for wave after wave of aftershocks to pass.
"This is already the third aftershock. I wonder how many more there'll be." Su Yue clutched Lin Li's arm, her body swaying gently. Not a trace of panic showed on her delicate, pretty face.
Lin Li raised his hand and pointed toward a slightly more spacious area in the distance.
"Natural disasters like this are the hardest to predict. There could be any number of aftershocks from here on... There are more and more people here. Let's go over there."
Su Yue hummed in acknowledgment, then followed Lin Li slowly forward.
When they reached their destination, Lin Li had a thought,