"Attention, attention! The seawater will submerge this city in four hours. Rescue cannot arrive in time, so we must save ourselves! Leave C City before the water rises! Do not bring unnecessary luggage; travel light. Let us help one another and weather this crisis together!"
"We have driven iron rods into the walls. Those who cannot swim, grab onto the rods and move forward!"
"Inflatable rafts, wooden rafts, and large basins have priority to transport the elderly and children!"
"Those with lifebuoys, please carry as many people as you can!"
"Hold on, everyone! Hurry! There are many compatriots behind you fleeing for their lives—"
The seawater had already reached the height of the sixth or seventh floor. There was no longer any solid ground beneath their feet. The water was murky and churning violently, and the relentless rain from above only made progress more difficult. Even those who could swim were forced to cling to the walls, gasping for air after long periods in the water.
Exhaustion was not the only issue; their bodies, soaked in seawater for so long, were gradually succumbing to hypothermia. Countless people vanished into the depths, unnoticed and unheard.
The number of people fleeing grew, and the surface was crowded with survivors. Occasionally, a corpse would drift by. Cries and shouts rose and fell in succession; this city, on the verge of being submerged, was shrouded in despair.
Thus, what were once roads had become waterways. In the center of these channels were survivors clinging to wooden boards, lifebuoys, and various large basins. Clinging tightly to the buildings were those who could not swim. There were too many of them, and everyone moved by gripping the walls. Those in front could still hold onto hemp ropes, but further back, where the water level was higher,