Afternoon.
Work Party Secretary Office.
Dong Xuebing stares at the copy of Guang Ming Subdistrict Office’s internal e-newspaper without saying a word. Is this a joke?
Fen Zhou City’s earthquake has been amended to 8.0 on the Richter Scale?
An 8.0 earthquake is going to happen in Fen Zhou City!
Dong Xuebing dares not to continue reading the e-newspaper. He put it down, walked to the window, and lit a cigarette. This is too shocking. Earthquakes over 7.8 happened in China before, but it’s rare for such strong earthquakes to happen in densely populated cities like Fen Zhou City. If the earthquake happens, it will be devastating. Residential and commercial buildings, schools, and houses might collapse, and hundreds of thousands of people will be affected by it.
This piece of news is real.
An earthquake is going to happen.
Dong Xuebing paced around in his office and snubbed his cigarette. He returned to his chair and started reading the e-newspaper.
This copy of the e-newspaper is printed after the earthquake.
The article states the earthquake happened a few days ago, and the epicenter is confirmed to be in Da Feng County. Fen Zhou City is confirmed to be the worst-hit zone. Numerous buildings are damaged, and there are countless victims. 89,223 people are killed, 379,112 people are injured, and 35,103 are missing. Dong Xuebing’s heart sank when he saw the figures. It’s only a few days after the earthquake, and the death toll is almost one hundred thousand. This number will continue to rise because of the aftershocks. All the buildings on the streets and neighborhoods at the epicenter should be collapsed.
Dong Xuebing quickly opened another drawer and took out a Fen Zhou City map.
If the earthquake’s epicenter is at Da Feng County, Yan Tai County, and Nan Shan District, which are near it will be the disaster zone. There’s no way for Dong Xuebing to avoid that.
Damn!
Why is this happening?
Dong Xuebing is frustrated. This is an unavoidable disaster.
Dong Xuebing looked at the papers again, hoping to see the earthquake-affected zones. But Guang Ming Subdistrict’s e-newspapers only state the incidents within their jurisdiction. The article did not state the damage of other Districts and Sub-districts. A few pictures on the e-newspaper show a collapsed billboard on the road, crushing a few cars. The building at the back is full of cracks. A shop selling construction materials beside the building had collapsed. The shop’s signboard can be seen among the debris.
This is Guang Ming Subdistrict after the earthquake.
Dong Xuebing took a deep breath. He had driven past this area before, which will become ruined after the earthquake.
Dong Xuebing continues reading the following pages of the e-newspaper. It reported the damage from the disaster in Guang Ming Subdistrict in detail and pictures.
Dong Xuebing is looking terrible as he reads the papers.
Guang Ming Subdistrict’s damage is too severe. Dong Xuebing knows his Subdistrict will be affected because its population is higher than other towns and villages. But he did not expect it to be so severe. A set of figures on the last second page made him speechless. The death toll in Guang Ming Subdistrict reached 827, 2,200 people were injured, and 121 people were missing after the earthquake and aftershocks.
Dong Xuebing cursed out loud when he saw the figures.
The death toll is nearly one thousand!
Only tens of thousand people lived in the Subdistrict when they checked previously.
The ratio of the victims against their population is….
Dong Xuebing got to the last page of the e-newspaper. Guang Ming Subdistrict’s number of victims is among the top five in Fen Zhou City’s Districts, towns, and villages.
At the end of the article, Dong Xuebing saw his name.
Guang Ming Subdistrict Office Director and Work Party Secretary Dong Xuebing took responsibility and resigned.
Dong Xuebing slapped his forehead and locked the copy of the e-newspaper in another drawer.
Took responsibility and resigned?!
I was forced to resign?!
That’s right. Although earthquakes are natural disasters and are unavoidable, people can take precautions. For example, most residential and commercial buildings are built to withstand 6 to 8 earthquakes nowadays. Most buildings should survive the earthquake. He can strengthen the residents’ knowledge of taking precautions against disasters and clearing the escape routes. These are the duties of the Subdistrict Office. Guang Ming Subdistrict Office Director should take responsibility for it. Even if he had done his job well, the higher-ups would need a scapegoat to take the blame.
There’s still one month to the earthquake.
Dong Xuebing only has one month in his job.
Dong Xuebing frowned. He thought he could use FORWARD to find an opportunity to get results and be promoted. But he found out that he could not even keep his position because of the disaster. The number of people killed and injured is bothering him. These people are his residents, and it was his job to protect them.
Almost one thousand people are going to die!
Dong Xuebing banged his desk in anger.
That’s right. Those people are not dead yet!
The earthquake still has not happened yet! This e-newspaper is from the future!
Dong Xuebing is forced to a corner. Without any way to escape, his fighting spirit rose. Since he knows the earthquake is happening, he must do his best to change the outcome!
There’s still one month!
