Li Jie stood in the lobby, twirling his car keys as he watched Cobblepot passionately promise a whole series of social welfare programs on the news channel. Suddenly, everything before his eyes jolted violently.
"Huh? Is my eyesight going?"
The next second, the television and surveillance screens on the wall came crashing down one after another like dominoes, showering him with glass.
Fuck!
Before he could even process what had happened, his hands instinctively covered his head and he dove under a desk. Through his fingers, he saw the fluorescent tubes overhead swing violently and burst one after another, raining sparks and fragments. Large chunks of ceiling plaster began falling onto desks, computers, and the floor, kicking up clouds of choking dust.
"Everyone down! Find cover!"
He snapped out of his daze and shouted, but the entire building was shaking. Everything on the desks was sliding off. He saw a coffee cup fly across the room and smash into the clock falling from the wall, while documents scattered across the floor. The enormous national flag came crashing down with its pole, almost striking Anna where she crouched in a corner.
The shaking lasted nearly seventy or eighty seconds. When the earth finally stopped and the dust began to settle, Li Jie realized his legs were trembling uncontrollably.
"Fuck... fuck... fuck..."
When shit really hit the fan, it all came down to luck. The system? Fucking useless.
He pushed upward. The desk shifted, apparently caught on something, though it didn't seem firmly lodged. He steadied himself, took a deep breath, twisted his back and waist, and drove with his legs, overturning the desk with a crash.
"Whew..."
The emergency light overhead still gave off a ghastly white glow. It flickered for a dozen seconds, then went out completely. The entire police