As the geological team from Daxia University found a safe observation point and most of the residents of Elf City evacuated urgently, the time had come for the earthquake to occur, half an hour before the predicted time.
At this point, the real-time online viewership of Gu Qingshan's live broadcast had once again reached a peak, surpassing six million and still climbing!
After settling in at the observation point, the Daxia geological team did not rush to observe the coastal situation. Instead, they followed the more than six million viewers in Gu Qingshan's live broadcast and watched closely as they eagerly awaited the arrival of the predicted earthquake.
Meanwhile, on the helicopter hovering over the predicted area, Gu Qingshan, for safety reasons, only brought along the cameraman who operated the drone and the beautiful host who was responsible for commentary.
As she observed the sea surface and kept an eye on the time, the beautiful host asked Gu Qingshan, "President Gu, do you really believe in the prophet?"
Since the helicopter had been hovering for over an hour and there had been no signs of an impending earthquake, Gu Qingshan replied without turning his head, "I don't know. I only believe in facts. But based on what we have observed so far, it is highly unlikely that the earthquake will occur at the predicted time."
The beautiful host nodded in agreement but then watched as Gu Qingshan checked his watch and turned to the cameraman to say, "If the earthquake hasn't occurred by 7:38 pm, cut off the live broadcast immediately, retrieve the drone and save its battery."
The cameraman nodded without hesitation, but the beautiful host couldn't help but feel disappointed. She thought to herself, "President Gu must be disappointed after observing for over an hour." However, she herself was also disappointed with the calm sea surface of Elf City's waters.
She looked at her watch and sighed. There were less than three minutes left until the predicted earthquake at 7:37:48 pm. Although she knew that there would be no signs of an impending disaster, she couldn't help but glance at the sea surface.
Gu Qingshan also looked towards the sea surface due to his own expectations. He was probably the most anxious person on the helicopter. Perhaps it was to completely give up hope or to avoid letting the prophecy affect his judgment of when the earthquake would occur. Gu Qingshan looked towards the area of the sea where the prophet had predicted the earthquake would occur.
He only intended to glance at it quickly but found that he couldn't look away after seeing it. The sea surface had changed in an instant from dark and deep to a thick milky white color. Then it quickly returned to its original blue color and was dyed orange by the setting sun.
The ups and downs of the sea surface and unusual fish behavior abruptly disappeared. It was obviously calm and there were no signs of an impending disaster. Gu Qingshan couldn't sit still anymore and suddenly stood up and shouted, "Heaven and earth are one! It's really coming!"
The beautiful host witnessed this miraculous scene of a possible impending earthquake in Elf City's waters. She also stood up suddenly and pressed her head against the helicopter window. Unlike the calm sea surface, her heart was in turmoil after witnessing this scene and hearing Gu Qingshan's words.
She couldn't believe it but had to believe it at the same time. She trembled as she muttered to herself, "Is this... is this really how amazing the prophet is?"
Meanwhile, on land, people watching the live broadcast felt slight rumbling under their feet and sensed that the ground was starting to shake. The scientific team had no doubts about Jiang Feng's prophecy now since they had confirmed that its epicenter was accurate and that there was a high probability that it would occur at around the same time.
Moreover, they could feel how strong it was even though they were far from the city and in a safe refuge area. They could infer that this was at least a medium-sized earthquake or even a strong earthquake exceeding magnitude 6 based on their own perceptions.
It was difficult to imagine how buildings in densely populated areas like cities would fare under such conditions. One of the senior professors in charge immediately took emergency action and shouted, "Attention everyone! Spread out and don't crowd together. Keep your center of gravity low and be careful not to fall. Protect yourselves!"
In another part of Elf City, a family of three who lived in the city center were now crowded into a small space of less than three square meters in an emergency shelter set up by Peacock Prefecture's emergency management agency near Elf City's north.
The little girl was being held by her father while her mother stood behind her, protecting her while holding onto her husband's waist. When she saw this situation, the little girl became nervous and scared. She buried her head in her father's arms and timidly asked, "Daddy, are we really going to have an earthquake and tsunami in Elf City?"
"Daddy doesn't know either, but Peacock Prefecture's emergency management agency has issued such a serious emergency news report and has even suddenly dispatched so many resources for us to evacuate. I think it should be true," replied her father as he gently stroked her back with his warm hands to comfort her fears.
The mother who had been complaining about how crowded and poor their living conditions were became unhappy when she heard this. "Who says we have to believe everything Peacock Prefecture's emergency management agency says? Our city has a history of several hundred years and we've never heard of an earthquake before! I think Peacock Prefecture's emergency management agency is just listening to some self-proclaimed masters' rumors without caring about our feelings as ordinary people!"
"You'll see. Soon enough, if there's no earthquake here, people will start making a fuss..." While little girl's mother continued to complain, her husband suddenly interrupted her by saying, "Shh!"
The little girl's mother was about to accuse her husband of speaking too loudly when she suddenly felt the ground start shaking violently. She screamed in terror and dove into her husband's embrace while shivering with fear.
However, her husband and daughter's faces lit up with excitement as they exclaimed, "It's really an earthquake!" They could feel how strong it was even though they were far from Elf City.
The mother couldn't help but imagine how terrible it would be if such an earthquake occurred within a densely populated area like a city. Even though she was now being held tightly by her husband's strong arms, she still trembled with fear.
(End of Chapter 65)