[ D-day 0 ] [ 00 : 00 : 59 ] [ China ]
" Young master Song ! We are ready to land. " The pilot informed Song Zi Yu.
" Good. Start the landing procedure. Even if there's a risk of an accident, try to complete the landing before the clock strikes midnight. We don't know what happens at midnight. It's best to be on the ground, even if we are a bit injured. " Ziyu advised the captain.
The air space was busy.
If their flight isn't in the usually traffic-free chartered flight runway, they may not be able to land at all.
The captain listened to his advice.
By the time the clock struck 11:59:59, the aircraft landed on the runway, and was just about to connect to the walkway.
The door extended and latched on one side when the tremor started.
All the grassland that's visible outside the airport started moving away. Every bit of land that's not been built on has expanded ten times.
Some places which are connected to each other by bridges, roads and somewhere deep within the foundation had stayed together, while all the places that were merely connected by earthen channels moved away. Some suburbs moved as a single piece all the way.
Even on the runway, they could see flights poised to land had to fly up, so as to avoid the expansion of the land.
At the same time, somewhere within the city, the portals burst.
The Army has left a token force, and the police force has been ready to take over most of the work of clearing portals, along with hunters.
The least dangerous portal has cleared, crumbling away the gate, just a second after midnight struck.
Unlike most other cities, the people of the coast did not move away.
At the behest of Ziyu, his uncle ordered all transport ships to load people and anchor in the bay.
What they did not expect is that when the land increased, so did the sea.
The ships which were anchored a mile off the bay were now ten miles off the city.
The port itself remained intact, however, that is all that could be said about the port.
God knows how it happened, but while the road networks which were a single piece of construction remained intact, the buildings they were connected to have moved away, as if they were part of a different dimension.
So much so, some of the apartments were sunk straight into the river, the windows opening straight onto the bridge.
Thousands of people gathered on the boats, ships, cruises, all anchored, watching the coast.
While the people who were anchored straight to the port were happy, the people who were dragged away were panicking like the ants in a hot pan.
Most of them do have some amount of fuel, but it's not enough to get them all the way to the land.
Worst of all, expansion of land did not mean the communication system got cut off.
After all, S city was a big city, on top of that, it was the city with the tallest skyscrapers. On these skyscrapers were the antennas, which could reach ten miles into the sea.
So, people used one hand to hold the boat rail to brace themselves against the rough sea, while with the other, they opened their cellphone to read the latest updates.
The cellphone culture was so well developed among the city dwellers, at this point, one would care more if their cell phone fell in to the sea compared to their wife.
Ping !
Ping ! ting ! zzz!! Lalaa!
For those advanced users who set different alerts for different networks, all alerts started going off like mad.
" Everyone ! Everyone ! Silence your phones for a moment and listen to the captain ! " The announcement on the boat rang.
Few listened, while others just silenced their phones and started browsing right away.
" We will start sailing towards S-city, or at least where the S-city used to be. Due to the nature of land expansion, most ports were destroyed. Only the port-w, which was a minor port but still a single structure built on a natural cliff, remained as it used to be. Due to the number of ships on the sea sailing towards this port, we will be in a situation similar to traffic jams for the coming few days. Fresh water will be rationed. We request help from the passengers in the form of labor to catch and clean the fish, for every fish we catch would be able to save that much in the form of rations. We promise to sail responsibly and safely to the port. From now on, the cell phone charger will be in control of the captain. All charging needs to be paid for, as do all the snacks. We will update the latest price list soon. "
Just as the passengers were calming down, a gigantic shark jumped over the boat, catching one of the guys standing on the tip of the boat, sweeping him straight off in to the sea. Chaos ensued as the passengers scrambled.
The ship careened this way and that, allowing those with good sight to see, a pod of orcas seized their boat.
The ship, which is right in between the size of a little boat and yacht, almost came close to capsizing with the hits from Orcas.
Fortunately, it was headed by an iron blooded old sailor, who ran a smuggling ring on a raft, and faced worse than a few fish seizing a fully functioning ship.
He immediately rang the fog horn.
The screeching fire alarm sounded on the boat, stopping all the panicking people to silence, owing to their trained response to the sound.
The captain took over the mic from his extremely well mannered son.
" If any of you F***ing retards make one more sound, I will throw you over board. From now on, you will follow my commands like your butt is on the fire ! Stop babbling, you son of b**ches! "
" First and second ! to the port and starboard. " the captain commanded his seconds.
He had three children, two daughters and one son. The daughters are sturdy as old oaks, while his son is as flexible as a willow. However, owing to his son's pretty face and silver tongue, he did pretty well as a show ship.
His daughters managed internal affairs, he sailed the ship, and his son was the face of their little business.
He was born in the sixties, when the country was going through a tumultuous period. He made his fortune in the troubled eighties, and gave up when the law enforcement tightened. After all, unlike others, he had no backing, nor did he have any major skills save for sailing.
Sure, the government said they will arrange for residences and all when he goes into land. But his entire life, he spent on the sea. He could not be a landlubber if you put a knife to his throat. Thus, he put all his family, including his darling grandson on the boat along with their most valuables, and set sail on the sea, boarding as many passengers as he could.
He bet the others are similar. They were born and raised here, even if everything collapses, they could still make a fishing village and live on till civilization reaches them one more time.
The passengers stayed silent. Despite saying passengers, they all belonged to the same community. They know the old rumors that old man wang used to be a mafia man. They have no doubt if old man wang said he will kill them and throw them to fish, that's probably what he will do.
The pretty son sat down between two freezer decks like a shivering quail when his elder sisters came out.
One woman grabbed the sailing line, while the other grabbed a red flag.
" To the right ! " She commanded the passengers.
Most of them already sat down on the deck, this time, they obediently crawled to the right, and then sat in the respectful position, with their hands linked.
The ship teetered to the right as it made a close turn.
One of the passengers gasped in horror, as his eyes met the Orca's eyes, blood dripping off its jaws.
" To left ! " The command came from the girl once more.
They crawled left obediently, this time, far more willingly, knowing this is a necessary process to get out of this danger.
The tense situation lasted till an hour, when they got out of deep sea, to the calming coaster lagoon waters.
" At ease. " The girl announced, then entered the boat control center.
Then, all of them opened their cellphones as if being released from the prison.
" Hey ! A gigantic alligator is in east sea waters ! " one of the exclaimed.
" Gods ! You see here ! Young master song, and his silver streak guards defeated more than one horned deer ! "
" They are distributing meat for free ! I never had venison till I grew this old ! " another exclaimed.
" You only see the meat. Did you see the horned deer they killed ? it speared a man straight through the heart ! Young master Song's guards are so brave ! " the boy's girlfriend exclaimed.