Dancing with Catastrophes / After the Catastrophe

The others also saw Suika and stood up to greet her.

"Aunt Su Qi, and the three young men, I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

Suika greeted the group with a smile.

What happened?

After sitting down, Su Qi asked her husband.

It was Catastrophe.

Catastrophe Cloud appeared in the southern sky.

Just then, Miss Suika discovered it when she returned with George.

Fortunately, the Catastrophe Cloud is still in its formation stage, giving us enough time to evacuate.

According to George, "For the safety of the personnel on the block, we will suspend operations at this mine and evacuate a distance to the north."

Upon hearing George's words, no one seemed flustered; instead, they appeared quite used to it.

"But what about our mining operations?"

Trevor asked.

They were able to take this position because they were entrusted with a task by their family.

Mobile Block from its location will halt mining operations, which significantly impacts their tasks.

"There's no need to worry about that. About 30 kilometers to the north, at the foot of a mountain, there is a mine shaft that was buried due to Catastrophe."

We sent the safety officer and his team to conduct a preliminary survey first, followed by the block. If the mine shaft there is suitable, we will proceed with the mining operations there."

Matt remained calm and pointed to a location.

It's clear that he had already found a way to Mobile Block.

After he finished speaking, no one else had any objections.

After listening to this, Suika felt a pang of emotion.

The Rim Billiton family is the real powerhouse.

For an ordinary family, one mining area is enough to feed their entire family for several generations, but the Rim Billiton family owns several mining areas.

Unless a catastrophic Catastrophe wipes out all the mining areas, they will be able to continue supporting their families with the remaining mines.

In comparison, the Siracusa family seemed rather petty.

Speaking of which, Suika discovered something interesting.

Rim Billiton and Siracusa are not considered military superpowers. Yet, both countries are doing quite well among the nations of Terra.

This is largely due to their excellent location.

Rim Billiton borders four countries: Great Yan, Iberia, Siracusa, and Kazdel.

Among them, the Great Yan's own territory was large enough that it looked down on the poor and remote area of Rim Billiton.

Siracusa itself was in a state of chaos; it was fortunate not to be invaded by others, and it had no ability to invade other countries.

As for the remaining two, they had long since lost the power to expand.

Chapter 501 Dancing with Catastrophe

According to Suika, among the Rim Billiton, only the Cautus race is the best for survival.

After all, among other races, those who can reproduce are not as good at digging burrows as they are, and those who can dig burrows are not as good at reproduction as they are.

In addition, these people are truly capable of enduring hardship.

To be honest, the living conditions in other countries of Terra are better than those in Rim Billiton, but almost all of the Cautus in Terra live here.

It exists in other places, but it's extremely rare.

However, Suika thought about it and realized that as soon as Cautus stepped out of the house, a group of Lupo were squatting at the door, watching him intently. It was understandable that he didn't want to leave.

After playing with Lainie, Suika stayed at their house for the night. The next morning, Suika heard that George was going to observe the Catastrophe Cloud up close.

She volunteered to go along.

"No, that's too dangerous." George shook his head in refusal.

Suika turned her head away.

"Hey, so you know it's dangerous!"

Upon hearing Suika's words, the people around him quickly advised George not to take the risk.

George was speechless. "I was trying to give you some good advice, and you dragged me into this."

Just as he was about to give up after being earnestly persuaded by his friends, he saw Suika carrying supplies and preparing to leave.

"Hey, where are you going?" George asked, puzzled.

Suika pointed to the south.

"You've all gone too far. How can I observe the Catastrophe up close? I'm about to go back..."

George was completely numb. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly realized that the other person wasn't from here, but just a tourist, and he had no reason to persuade her at all.

"No, according to the Catastrophe Interference Management Regulations, as Catastrophe Messenger, I have the right to declare the area affected by Catastrophe a no-entry zone when I discover Catastrophe!"

George recalled Rim Billiton's laws and declared, "If I can't get in, neither can you."

Suika chuckled and pointed to her armband.

"Excuse me, I've seen the regulation you mentioned. There's a clause after that that says, 'Except for Catastrophe Messenger.'"

After saying that, he swaggered out of the entrance/exit amidst George's envious gaze.

"Mr. Matt, aren't you going to stop her?" After Suika left, George looked at Matt, who was not far away. Matt had clearly arrived a long time ago, but he didn't seem to care at all when Suika left.

Matt recalled that night, looking in the direction Suika had left.

She is not like you.

In terms of skill, she is far more terrifying than you imagine.

Given our status, we have no reason to stop a Catastrophe Messenger.

Moreover, everyone knows that Catastrophe Messenger chase after Catastrophe. Even you can't resist this temptation, so what reason do I have to stop an outsider from pursuing the Istina?"

After Matt finished speaking, George was speechless.

For a moment, he also envied Suika, who was like a free-flying Fowlbeast, able to go wherever she wanted.

Unlike myself, I am like a kite, no matter how high I fly, there is always a string holding me tightly.

However, he shook his head again. If it weren't for the ties that bound him, his past self would probably be dead long ago, and he wouldn't be in the position to be thinking such nonsense.

After leaving the block, Suika arrived directly beneath the Catastrophe Cloud around noon.

She took out two portable monitoring devices that Closure had specially made for her when she was in Rhodes Island. The biggest feature of these two devices compared to ordinary devices sold outside was their durability.

Closure specifically reinforced and thickened the equipment at the request of the Suika.

Now, with the help of Shanghai, Suika took out the two instruments and tied them to her horns with chains, one on each side.

After doing all this, she clapped her hands in satisfaction.

Normally her horns are quite troublesome, but now they have finally found a use.

Shaking her head to make sure the two devices wouldn't fall because of her actions, Suika found a big tree, sat on a branch, and drank wine while waiting for the Catastrophe to strike.

In the middle of the night, Suika was suddenly woken up by Shanghai.

"Ouch, what are you doing?" Suika said, covering her face.

Shanghai pointed to the sky, Suika realized that the cloud cover was now less than a hundred meters above the ground.

The phrase "dark clouds loom over the city, threatening to crush it" perfectly describes this feeling.

Having studied Catastrophe in detail, Suika understood that they had reached the final stage, like a water tank already full, with Originium being the water that was still being added to it continuously.

Water overflows when it is full, just as Catastrophe can strike suddenly at any time.

"Where's the equipment? Is it turned on?" Suika asked, pointing to the device on her head.

Shanghai nodded to indicate that it had been opened.

Suika took out her phone from her pocket. The data recorded by the device above her head would be copied to both the device Suika's phone.

At this moment, the screen is displaying changes in the surrounding environment.

Suika looked at it and then bared her teeth.

The concentration of Originium in the surrounding area has reached a critical point; even people with full protective gear can easily become infected due to minor accidents.

Suika pinched a leaf, which was now covered with Originium microparticles, as if the leaf had been coated with wax.

After being pulled down from the tree, Suika looked around.

Apart from the plants that couldn't escape, there was no other life around.

The insects and beasts that can survive in the harsh environment of Rim Billiton are all masters of survival; they would have fled long ago if they sensed something was wrong.

For a moment, Suika seemed to see what the line "Birds have vanished from a thousand mountains, and human tracks have disappeared from ten thousand paths" looked like before her eyes.

Before she could continue her reflections...

Suddenly, a tremendous light flashed across the sky and earth.

Then came a terrifying thunderclap that sounded like a thousand troops pressing in from all directions.

At this moment, the Originium particles that had been sleeping peacefully like obedient babies on the surrounding trees seemed to be awakened by the thunder.

The active Originium began to spread and devour in all directions.

Soon the trees turned into Originium trees, the grasslands into Originium grass, and restless Originium burst forth from the ground, vying to appear on this land.

Suika didn't dare take out her phone at all. She suspected that with the current concentration of Originium in the outside world, if she dared to turn on her phone, it would die instantly.

So she picked up her camera and quickly started taking pictures of her surroundings.

In her photos, the surrounding environment changes every second.

Fortunately, this item comes from Gensokyo and is not subject to the Originium restrictions of Terra; otherwise, it would probably have been destroyed long ago under such a high concentration of Originium.

Beneath Suika's feet, sharp Originium like bamboo shoots breaking through the soil, one after another.

Suika was initially on the ground, but as more and more Originium appeared around her, resembling spears, she was forced to fly into the air to observe her surroundings.

The Catastrophe lasted for four or five hours.

When the Catastrophe passed and the clouds dispersed, Suika looked up and saw that the Touhou sky was already turning a pale white.

Landing atop a large tree completely enveloped in Originium, Suika crossed her arms and let out a long breath.

Chapter 502 After the Catastrophe

Thinking back on last night's "thrilling" experience...

Suika checked her luggage with great satisfaction.

The two monitoring devices were still running, but the concentration of Originium in the surrounding environment could be seen rapidly decreasing from the phone screen.

Suika did a quick calculation and estimated that at this rate, the concentration of Originium in the atmosphere would return to normal in about two hours.

But...

Suika looked at the strings of Originium on the ground, which resembled blades.

These Originium, formed due to Catastrophe, won't lose their activity so quickly.

Therefore, for a long time, this place remained a forbidden area inaccessible to ordinary people.

Once the Originium's activity dissipates, these sites will become the best open-pit Originium.

Therefore, in Rim Billiton, Catastrophe and wealth go hand in hand.

After taking a few photos of the aftermath of the Catastrophe at dawn, Suika flew south and left the area.

"Ding ding ding..."

Her phone kept ringing during the flight.

She opened it after she landed.