It was already 5:31 PM.
As time passed, more and more vehicles were being stopped, and the people's anger was growing.
This put a lot of pressure on Qiu Shihan, who was in charge of the scene. She wished that time would move faster and reach the prophesied moment.
But more than that, she hoped that something unusual would happen, even the slightest sign of an accident.
Unfortunately, when there was only one minute left until the prophesied time, there were no signs of any abnormalities at the entrance of Nanhu Tunnel.
Qiu Shihan stood at a distance, looking at the entrance of Nanhu Tunnel with a complex expression on her face.
From the signs at the scene, she couldn't determine the possibility of a tunnel collapse. If there wasn't a miracle, her career would likely end here.
All she could do now was wait for time to pass quietly from the prophesied moment, then lift the roadblock, go back to the office and write a resignation letter, and wait for a higher-up investigation.
At 5:33 PM, there were only 48 seconds left until the prophesied time.
Qiu Shihan still stared at the entrance of Nanhu Tunnel, hoping for a miracle.
Twenty seconds later, there were still no signs of anything unusual happening at the entrance of Nanhu Tunnel.
She knew that a miracle was unlikely to happen, and the complex expression on her face turned into despair. But she still looked at her watch, waiting for time to pass.
As her breathing became more and more rapid, time advanced another 27 seconds to 5:33:47 PM, one second before the prophesied time.
The entrance of Nanhu Tunnel was still calm.
Qiu Shihan's breath seemed to stop at this moment.
The ticking of the second hand seemed to slow down like the minute hand.
But time eventually arrived.
The ticking of the second hand finally stopped at 48 seconds, and Qiu Shihan's expression became painful as she closed her eyes.
"Squeak..."
Qiu Shihan heard a faint sound of steel tearing, and her eyes opened wide. Then she saw concrete falling off the entrance of the tunnel, hitting the road below.
Shortly after, she saw a scene that shook her to the core.
The frequency of concrete falling from the entrance of the tunnel became higher and higher. Eventually, the main structure could no longer support the weight, and the road collapsed along with the tunnel, about ten meters inward from the entrance.
The sound was deafening, and thick smoke filled the air.
The people stuck outside the tunnel were petrified. If the road hadn't been blocked, those vehicles that came after would have faced certain death.
The curses and lamentations at the scene had disappeared.
The car owners took out their phones and took pictures and videos of the scene, uploading them to their social media accounts. Some people silently deleted the insults they had posted under Jiang Feng's post.
Then they added a few words:
"Boss, I was wrong. I'm wise after the event..."
"Thank you, benefactor. I kneel to you. I'm an idiot..."
"I accept being scolded. I now recognize you as a great prophet. Witnessing history together is not a loss..."
...
After the smoke cleared, the scene looked as if it had been plowed over. Large pieces of concrete road were torn apart, and steel bars were scattered everywhere, creating a huge and deep trench.
Qiu Shihan was still shocked and couldn't digest what had just happened. Her body trembled uncontrollably, and her heart pounded wildly.
She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, and then arranged the aftermath work.
After everything was settled, Qiu Shihan took out her phone and called her father, Qiu Shengqiang.
It felt like a century had passed before Qiu Shihan could gather her thoughts and tell her father in a trembling voice:
"Dad, Nanhu Tunnel collapsed..."
...
"I'll organize the scene data and head there right away..."
After hanging up the phone, Qiu Shihan immediately logged in to the East China People's Exchange Network and replied three "thank you" under Jiang Feng's post, then pinned the post to the top.
The post quickly caused a sensation among the car owners on the forum, and the thank-yous under the post continued to pour in.
Soon after, pictures and videos taken by the car owners at the scene flooded the East China People's Exchange Network. Within a short period of time, more than ten threads were created with the topic "Collapse of Nanhu Tunnel from East to West."
Jiang Feng's post quickly became popular:
"Fire tongs leave a name!"
"Picture with the famous post!"
"Witnessing history!"
"So fragrant!"
"I don't believe it, but at 5:33:48 PM, the entrance of Nanhu Tunnel from East to West...The time and place match perfectly!"
"Although I don't know how he did it, I still want to say: a true, true, true prophet!"
...
(End of Chapter 4)