Chapter 308: Tides of Catastrophe

The assistant had a massive gash on her head, her skull seemingly cracked. It was clear she had just been struck by a heavy object.

She dragged her onto the jammed table and cautiously reached out to check for breathing—there was none.

She checked for a pulse again, but there was nothing.

Han Bing quickly began rescue breathing on the assistant while also clearing the seawater from her stomach.

He then started CPR on her, shouting, “Xiaomin, wake up! Hurry, wake up!”

“You promised that as long as you were with me, you wouldn’t be afraid. Wake up!”

Despite the frantic efforts, the outcome was grim: the assistant’s eyes closed forever.

Han Bing slumped on the table, scanning his surroundings—a vast expanse of water enveloped the area. The table was wedged against the collapsed roof of a building, and the seawater had yet to recede.

At this point, there was nothing left to do but wait for rescue.

++++++++

Heaven Realm Sky City.

“Boss, a second fault line has appeared!”

Du Qiu was busy in his lab when he received a holographic video call from Han Guoqiang, the head of the Geological Research Institute.

Once connected, Han Guoqiang’s projection appeared before Du Qiu, exclaiming excitedly.

“A 9.5-magnitude earthquake just struck Sumatra Island. We immediately deployed the Kunpeng Exploration Drone to scan the strata. Sure enough, a fault was detected 1200 meters underground. This fault will likely trigger the second fault line.”

Du Qiu projected a live map of Southeast Asia and said, “Point out the direction of the fault line.”

Han Guoqiang drew a line on the map and replied, “This fault beneath Sumatra will undoubtedly be part of the fault line.”

He continued, “We’re not sure which way it will turn once it reaches Java, but current scans from the Kunpeng Exploration Drone suggest it won’t extend further south.”

“Since the tectonic activity in the southern ocean isn’t as intense, no new fault line should form. We suspect the fault line will redirect upon reaching Java.”

Rubbing his chin, Du Qiu asked, “With an earthquake this massive, there must be a tsunami, right?”

Han Guoqiang explained, “The tsunami has already hit. We didn’t have time to deploy the Acoustic Gravity Wave Generator for rescue. Expect the southern coasts of Sumatra, Java, Bali, and surrounding areas to be impacted—the alert is out.”

“If we can’t stem the tsunami in time, we’ll focus on post-disaster rescue. I’m dispatching our rescue team immediately.”

Han Guoqiang nodded, adding, “I’ll continue scanning the strata with the Kunpeng Exploration Drone to track the deviation of the second fault line and prepare our predictions.”

After ending the call, Du Qiu immediately ordered Star Ocean to deploy Dream Technology’s rescue team.

Following the catastrophe caused by the submergence of the Japanese Archipelago, Du Qiu had recruited a group of young people from Dream Technology’s staff to form the Dream Rescue Team.

After initial training and with the aid of simulation robots, they began conducting rescue operations in natural disasters around the globe.

This initiative was part of Dream Technology’s efforts to train and cultivate young talent.

It was also Ning Shuangshuang’s idea, as a growing population in the Heaven Realm had left another group of young people without work.

These youths had matured past the age for fresh schooling and were ill-suited for rigorous research tasks.

Since many jobs in the Heaven Realm were handled by robots, these idle youngsters could easily become a destabilizing factor.

Ning Shuangshuang explained, “Dream Technology is a global leader in innovation. In these turbulent times with frequent disasters, equipping these youths with advanced gear for rescue missions will undoubtedly attract them.”

Du Qiu wholeheartedly agreed, and once the recruitment announcement was broadcast throughout the Heaven Realm, it indeed drew in many young candidates.

After rigorous screening and assessments, a 500-strong rescue team was formed.

Lin Feng glanced at the youthful faces before him—these recruits had only been trained for a month and were clearly too green.

He had been comfortably handling global recruitment, but a notice from the Safety Department suddenly promoted him to Commander of the Dream Rescue Team, doubling his salary.

Lin Feng understood why; before joining Dream Technology, he had served as deputy leader of the Blue Sky Rescue Team.

He turned to look at the rows of simulation robots, feeling reassured—these reliable partners should be more than enough to complete the rescue missions.

“Guys, count yourselves lucky!”

No sooner had Lin Feng spoken than every fully geared team member felt an icy chill down their necks.

Over the past month, every time the commander uttered those words, it meant grueling training was imminent.

Today, as everyone donned their full rescue gear under the blazing sun, it didn’t bode well.

“At 7:12 AM local time today in Badong County, Sumatra Island, a 9.5-magnitude earthquake struck. At 9:10 AM, a catastrophic tsunami hit Sumatra, Java, Bali, and nearby areas. Casualty figures remain unknown.”

Lin Feng continued, “Though our Dream Rescue Team is relatively new, in the face of this massive natural disaster, the boss has ordered our deployment!”

Lin Feng paused, noticing that none of the team members reacted.

He added, “What, you don’t want to take on the mission? Want to keep training instead?”

“No, we’re ready for the mission!” As the first voice rang out, many others echoed in unison.

“Excellent, morale is high, but I expect you to follow training protocols during the rescue and, above all, ensure your own safety. Understood?”

“Understood!”

“Form your squads and board immediately!”

At that moment, the training hall’s doors slowly swung open, and all team members lined up in orderly succession. On an open field ahead, 50 aircraft resembling U.S. Military B21 bombers were parked.

Given that the Dream Rescue Team was organized into 10-person squads, it was clear that each squad would have its own plane.

In fact, the team wasn’t new to these planes. Over the past month, they had frequently boarded them for missions in diverse environments around the world.

The team affectionately nicknamed these aircraft “Eagle Nests!”

In reality, these planes were of the same model as the private jet once used by Rein Leinar, Dream Technology’s global president, known as the Sky Eagle.

The interior of these Sky Eagle planes had been redesigned specifically for rescue operations, ensuring that team members could leave headquarters and circle half of Earth in just 7 hours.

This was an island base in the Indian Ocean; from here, it took just over two hours to reach Southeast Asia.

Hopefully, the affected communities would manage to wait for their arrival.

Once all team members boarded, the planes took off vertically and swiftly soared to an altitude of 20,000 meters.

“Look, what is that?”

“Oh my, it’s huge!”

“It’s even bigger than the Swan-class landing bus!”

……

Everyone crowded to the windows, watching as the colossal object grew closer.

It was a gigantic, circular craft, with a diameter exceeding one kilometer and standing 50 meters tall!

At one spot, it appeared to have an enormous, gaping mouth through which the team’s planes were flying one by one.

Inside this massive structure, the planes landed sequentially.

“Everyone, take your seats and fasten your seatbelts—the space aircraft carrier will shuttle you to Southeast Asia! Arrival in half an hour!”

Upon hearing this, everyone realized that the Sky Eagle planes were too slow; the company had brought in a high-speed space aircraft carrier.

“My goodness, that space aircraft carrier flies at no less than Mach 15!”

“Oh my, are we inside a giant fireball?”

“Are you crazy? The exterior definitely has cooling measures. When have you ever seen a Dream Technology craft, flying at high speed in the atmosphere, resemble a fireball?”

“Exactly. The space aircraft carrier is designed to operate outside the atmosphere with comprehensive safeguards for high-speed flight. Without these, the acceleration alone would be fatal.”

……