“Let me go! I’ll turn off the instrument!” Huo Shaoheng turned back and saw red lights suddenly start flashing on the two rows of instruments. The data rose rapidly and quickly crossed the red line at the top!
The data actually exploded! A crisp popping sound immediately followed. The two rows of instruments emitted blue-violet electric sparks and began cracking chaotically in the tiny enclosed space of the van.
Huo Shaoheng reflexively pulled Song Jinning over, then turned around and pushed her out the door. This movement made him turn his back on the instruments that had been sparking. Fortunately, under his thin military uniform he was wearing the high-performing No. 5 soft body armor, which could block even semi-automatic sub-machine gun bullets, so he was not worried about being injured by the electric sparks.
Besides, the lethality of these electric sparks was nothing compared to bullets. Before those hot sparks could hit his back, Huo Shaoheng did a somersault and leaped out of the van’s door.
Cracking and popping sounds continued behind him. At times it sounded like firecrackers and occasionally like fried beans. The crackling quickly attracted the attention of passersby.
Huo Shaoheng took Song Jinning by the arms, and they both quickly left the van. At the same time, Huo Shaoheng immediately issued orders to his subordinates through his Bluetooth headset. “An accident has occurred! Block the scene! Call fire trucks and ambulances!”
“Orders received! Area 1 blockade is complete!”
“Orders received! Area 2 blockade is complete!”
“Orders received! Area 3 blockade is complete!”
This continued through several sectors until the last report came in. “Orders received! Area 7 blockade is complete!”
The Special Operation Forces personnel divided the entire area into seven sectors for heightened security. In less than a minute, all seven areas were closed and cleared, and they were waiting for the ambulances and fire trucks to arrive.
Those little girls who were still watching the news broadcast on their cell phones were also asked to step outside the enclosed area. They were extremely discontented and complained, “What happened? Why is there no cell phone reception?!”
However, not only was there no cell phone reception, the entire area started to successively experience a power shortage. One by one the skyscrapers started experiencing blackouts, and even the street lights on the road eventually went out. The downtown area that had been brightly lit and bustling just a moment ago was now engulfed in darkness.
“A power outage? Why is there a power outage at this time?”
“Yeah, this is so weird, right? There’s no wind or rain, so why on earth is a power outage happening? I’m going to file a complaint!”
Everyone was busy expressing their dissatisfaction, when at that moment, the crowd suddenly started exclaiming even louder. “Look at the sky! Look at the sky!!”
In the dark blue sky set against the high-rise buildings, an iridescent halo suddenly appeared and started swaying in the night sky. It seemed like someone had tipped over a fluorescent paint bucket, and using the sky as a mural and the light as a brush, was painting a thick kaleidoscopic abstract painting.
Song Jinning held up her laptop and gazed up at the halo ribbon in the sky, her mouth agape with shock. “An aurora has even appeared!” she murmured, even rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, worried that she was hallucinating.
During such chaos, not only was there no phone reception and Wifi, even the electricity went out, but for some reason, Huo Shaoheng’s mood was much improved. He kept Song Jinning behind him protectively, smiled calmly, and asked, “How can there be an aurora here? Ms. Song, you must be flexible and adapt to changing circumstances.”
Song Jinning rolled her eyes at Huo Shaoheng and reprimanded him with confidence. “You’re the one who doesn’t know how to adapt to changing circumstances. I will give you a free lesson. The aurora appeared because we just had a high-energy magnetic storm here. You see, all communication is paralyzed. The circuit system has also been greatly impaired, and we have experienced a power outage. Yet there is still higher magnetic storm energy, so it got released in the form of an aurora. So you tell me why it’s so impossible to have an aurora here!”
Huo Shaoheng was rendered speechless. Well, professional people were experts in their professions. Of course, Huo Shaoheng was cognizant that he was not as knowledgeable as Ms. Song on the subject of high-energy physics.
At this time, the middle of the intersection in the downtown area and the small square next to it were being blockaded and quarantined. A large number of people were on the road across the street, holding phones in their hands and taking pictures of the astronomical wonders that just appeared against the sky.
Huo Shaoheng looked back at the large van equipped with instruments and discovered that although there were electric sparks and even a small fire, the entire situation at hand was not that severe.
He watched the car calmly until the fire truck finally came over. Firefighters held fire extinguishers in their hands and sprayed at the van. The electric sparks were extinguished quickly, but the van had been burned to the ground. The two rows of instruments obviously could not be used anymore, although the data should have been secure, because these instruments were synchronized to the cloud. Although the data in the instruments themselves was gone, the cloud system still had stored backup data. Furthermore, Huo Shaoheng also had the option of taking the hard drive in the instruments to experts in their organization, and they could try to recover the data.
He stood in front of the van with his hands behind his back and eyebrows tightly scrunched together. It was the same circumstance: fire erupting in an uncanny magnetic field. Yet why didn’t this van explode into a mushroom cloud like Gu Nianzhi’s car had last time this happened? And the fire was so robust that it didn’t even leave residue behind? The van’s interior had been burned to the ground, yet its outer shell was still in decent condition.
Could it be said that the source of Gu Nianzhi’s car explosion was not in the magnetic field but in the car she was in? If that were the case, then the accident she experienced was not an accident at all but actually attempted murder!
Huo Shaoheng’s fists were clenched tightly. His jaw hardened, his eyes were as sharp as a hawk’s in the dark, and his handsome face had a unique and striking charm due to his fierce expression. He even dwarfed the aurora above his head.
Song Jinning kept sighing beside him. “Why is this happening? How is this happening? Why is the magnetic field so powerful this time? This makes no sense!”
Huo Shaoheng asked without looking back, “What will happen to the magnetic field after the magnetic storm?”
“After a magnetic storm, the magnetic field disappears.” Song Jinning looked at Huo Shaoheng as if it were common knowledge. “The magnetic field is made up of energy. So after the magnetic storm consumes all the energy, of course the magnetic field will no longer exist. Shaoheng, didn’t you graduate from college?”
Huo Shaoheng ignored Song Jinning’s teasing and asked, “Are you sure all the energy was released? Are there any instruments to measure it?”
Song Jinning said with regret, “There is one more, but it’s not as efficient or accurate as the two instruments that were in that van. However, measuring the magnetic field energy is still possible.”
“Where is the machine?”
“It’s inside the branch office here.” Song Jinning pointed in the direction they came from. “Over there.”
Through his Bluetooth headset, Huo Shaoheng immediately ordered his subordinates to bring the instrument over to him. Ten minutes later, that simple-functioning magnetic field measuring instrument was brought over. Song Jinning quickly began operating it, and after ten minutes, she was convinced. “No, the magnetic field has completely disappeared, and all the energy has been released.”
Then, the enchanting aurora in the night sky began to fade away. The skyscrapers nearby started to light up again one by one, and soon the street lights began to light up as well. The power was restored, along with cell phone reception and Wifi as well.
Huo Shaoheng looked up at the night sky, took a deep breath, and said, “Ms. Song, I’m returning to the imperial capital soon. Will you come along with me?”
…
At this time, almost all the TV stations across the country were broadcasting this breaking news: “Auroras that normally only appear at the north and south poles suddenly appeared over the city…”
