Rebirth: I have Monopoly System

After breathing in some oxygen, Liu Yongheng felt himself recovering and stood up with Lai Yi’s support.

"That was absolutely terrifying! In that instant, I felt like nothing more than an ant before the might of nature! Like I could be crushed at any moment!" Liu Yongheng said, still shaken.

Wu Yun first used the system to get information on the earthquake. He hadn’t expected them to hit the jackpot and be playing around right at the epicenter.

"Back in ’08, we weren’t at the epicenter, and it still felt this intense! What if we aren’t at the epicenter today either, and it was just as powerful...?" Wen Meng trailed off, but the worry on her face was clear for all to see.

Wu Yun wrapped an arm around Wen Meng’s waist and comforted her, "I think we must be at the epicenter. We’re in the Hengduan Mountain Range, right on a fault line! Earthquakes happen easily here."

Wu Yun glanced at his phone and saw he had no signal. He then said with a smile, "See? None of your phones have a signal! That indicates strong electromagnetic interference. We’re probably not far from the epicenter!"

"Don’t worry! Everyone, check yourselves for injuries! Then check the supplies in the cars! Li Shiming! Pang Guang! You’re with me, we’re going to buy more water!"

Wu Yun glanced in the direction of Zeduo Mountain, his brow furrowed. "If we’re unlucky," he said, "everyone should be prepared to be stuck here for a few days."

"The rest of you, find a good spot and try to get a signal! See if you can find out what’s going on!"

As Wu Yun gave methodical commands, the group’s panic began to subside.

The great rumbles and the roar of the avalanche gradually faded, leaving only the hubbub of the crowded parking lot.

On the distant grassland, the horses used for tourist rides were being calmed by their owners. Only a few yaks were still scattering in a panic, but fortunately, they were far enough away that no one was hurt.

After buying water and some yak meat, Wu Yun decided against leaving immediately. He planned to wait for news or for the signal to return before deciding what to do. In any case, they had plenty of food and water in the cars; holding out for a few days would be no problem at all.

The parking lot was a scene of chaos. Some people, panicking, got in their cars and sped off toward Zeduo Mountain.

Of course, there were others who thought the same way as Wu Yun.

A couple in their thirties, standing beside a pickup truck camper parked next to the white G63, watched the chaos unfold. The man shook his head as he watched the cars drive away. "Heading for Zeduo Mountain now is just asking to get stuck in traffic. Once they drive up, it won’t be easy to get back down."

"It’ll definitely be below freezing on the mountain tonight. With no food or water... we’ll see how they manage then."

"There’s news! I’ve got news!"

The couple from the camper looked over at the group of young people standing between two parked G-Wagens. A pretty girl was holding up her Huawei phone.

The couple walked over. "Sweetie," the woman asked curiously, "what’s the news? Could you tell us, too? This stupid Apple phone of mine has no signal at all!"

Qin Rui read the news from her phone aloud: "Huaxia Seismological Bureau reports: At 4:55 PM on November 22, 2014, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurred in Ta Gong Grassland, Kangding County, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The epicenter was located at 30.3 degrees north latitude and 101.7 degrees east longitude, with a focal depth of 18 kilometers."

"Ta Gong Grassland?! Isn’t that right here?!" Chang Yuanyuan exclaimed. "No wonder it felt so intense!"

Hearing this, Wu Yun frowned. "Looks like we’re spending the night here."

Ta Gong Grassland in November wasn’t at its coldest, but the temperature at night would still drop a few degrees below freezing.

Wu Yun and his group faced a problem: they had packed enough clothes, but no blankets for sleeping.

It seemed their only option was to let the cars idle all night. Wu Yun recalled reading a report that said idling for an hour consumes between 0.5 and 1.5 liters of fuel.

Both cars had been filled up before coming to Ta Gong Grassland, so the heat from the engines would be enough to get them through the night. They’d just have to crack the windows for ventilation to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.

Wu Yun glanced at the "No Service" message on his own phone, then asked Qin Rui, "Qin Rui, can your phone make calls right now?"

"Still no good. I just got a single push notification, and now the signal’s gone again," Qin Rui said with a nod.

Wu Yun then said, "If the signal comes back tonight, the first thing you should do is call to let your families know you’re safe! And get someone to call the university and ask for a day off. We’re probably not making it to class tomorrow anyway. We’re staying here for the night!"

Seeing Wu Yun arrange everything so orderly, the man from the camper couple, who had been observing, kindly asked, "Hey, brother. You all planning on spending the night here? Can two cars really sleep that many people? Why don’t you have a couple of people come over? My dinette folds down and can sleep another two or three."

Seeing the man’s kind expression, Wu Yun used his glasses to scan their information directly.

Chen Dong... Affinity: 20

Yan Hong... Affinity: 25

Seeing that they had no ill intent, Wu Yun smiled, asked for their names, and introduced himself as well.

"Brother Dong, let me ask my friends first. If they’re okay with it, I’ll have two of the girls come over. Thank you so much for the help!"

Chen Dong chuckled. "It’s nothing. People should help each other when they’re away from home."

Wu Yun gathered everyone and explained the offer to stay in Chen Dong’s camper. Adhering to a "ladies first" principle, he said, "Yuanyuan and Qin Rui, you two can go sleep in the camper."

This arrangement was unanimously approved by everyone except the two women in question.

"It’s settled, then!" Wu Yun said cheerfully, turning and walking toward the pickup camper.

.....

Thanks to the earthquake, a small folding table and chairs Liu Yongheng had brought for tea were taken out. A small gas canister was hooked up to a portable camp stove, its blue-and-red flame bringing the mineral water in a stainless steel pot to a bubbling boil.

"Time to add the noodles!" Li Shiming, who had been watching the pot intently, shouted to Liu Yongheng as he got the instant noodle packets ready by the trunk.

Fortunately, the stainless steel pot Liu Yongheng had brought was large enough, and all six noodle bricks were dropped right in.

Meanwhile, the four girls, along with Chen Dong and his wife, had also finished cooking their instant noodles on the camper’s outdoor slide-out stove.

After the noodles were divided evenly into disposable bowls, Wen Meng added the sliced yak meat. And just like that, they had authentic beef noodle soup.

Other tourists stranded in the parking lot watched this scene with envy. Most of them had only brought pre-packaged snacks or bread. In a situation like this, getting to eat a hot meal—even if it was just instant noodles—was pure bliss.

Two young men, holding instant noodle cups they’d bought earlier, even came over to ask for some of the hot broth to fill them, making others regret not having thought to buy their own.

Night fell, and the crystal-clear sky filled with stars.

The Ta Gong Grassland was like a basin nestled among the mountains. A brilliant Galaxy stretched across the center of the sky, connecting the snow-capped peaks on either side.

The mesmerizingly beautiful sight made them forget the terror of the earthquake, yet it also made them feel their own smallness all the more keenly.

It was no wonder people called the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau one of the last pure lands on Earth. Back in the light-polluted cities, even the moon was just a hazy blur.

Liu Yongheng sighed with emotion. "If it weren’t for the earthquake, I probably never would have stopped to really take in this starry sky. Seeing it from the plateau is just breathtaking!"

"Brother Dong! Could you take a group photo for us?"

Chen Dong took the phone, had the eight of them stand with their backs to the grassland, and said with a smile, "One, two, three... Say cheese!"

Watching this, Wu Yun was reminded of the time he had confessed his feelings to Qi Fei under a starry sky.

At that thought, he was just about to pull out his own phone when it started buzzing with a constant stream of notifications.

"There’s a signal!" someone in the parking lot yelled.

As if on cue, everyone picked up their phones, and the parking lot was suddenly filled with faces illuminated by their screens.

Wu Yun’s phone buzzed incessantly with notifications.

It was a long moment before it finally went silent.

Wu Yun ignored the news alerts and opened WeChat first.

The people who knew he was in Kangding were Qi Fei, Bai Yue, a few of his general managers, Wei Wu, and Wang Hao.

Wu Yun hadn’t posted anything on his WeChat Moments, so most people were unaware of his whereabouts.

"Xiaoyunzi! Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Where are you!? Why can’t I get through to your phone?"

"Please be okay! *Sob*... Answer me, quick!" This was a voice message from Qi Fei. With each passing message, her tone had grown more and more anxious and heartbroken.

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