Chapter 433 Creating Cracks
In Green Valley City, the day started like any other, with the sun shining and a gentle breeze blowing through the streets.
People went about their routines, chatting with neighbors and enjoying their day.
Suddenly, the ground shook—a slight tremor at first, then a violent rumble like a heavy truck barreling down the street.
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Conversations stopped as people glanced around, startled.
A mother pulled her child close, and an elderly man steadied himself against a wall.
The shaking intensified, rattling windows and causing loose items on porches to drop.
A few kids giggled, thinking it was a game, but their laughter quickly turned to nervous whispers as the adults urged them to be quiet.
Some even left their homes, afraid that it would collapse on them.
As the shaking finally stopped, people began to step outside, looking at each other with a mix of relief and worry.
The usual sounds of traffic vanished, replaced by an unsettling silence that hung in the air.
Even the drivers, usually honking and rushing about their day, had decided to pull over and take a moment to collect their thoughts.
While some pedestrians had paused mid-step, eyes wide with confusion.
"What just happened?" people began asking, checking their phones for the latest news.
The tremor felt unusual; earthquakes of this magnitude were rare not just in Green Valley City but across the continent.
Most residents had heard stories of earthquakes but had never experienced one themselves, largely due to the miasma .
The emergence of the black miasma had changed everything.
Geological surveys had shown that many regions, once prone to seismic activity, had entered a period of dormancy.
The underground magma chambers, which had been the heart of volcanic systems, were now silent, their energies cooled down because of the lack of heat from the real sun.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, in Lilith's mansion, she paced back and forth in her office.
That tremor wasn't natural; something far more powerful was at play.
'Did the humans test some kind of weapon of mass destruction?' she mumbled to herself, frustration bubbling up.
It never occur to her that the one responsible for the chaos was someone she knew all too well.
The idea that Reign was capable of such a feat was just too hard to believed.
Her thoughts swirled as she considered the possibilities. If humans were experimenting with such weapons near Green Valley, the consequences could be catastrophic for her.
She needed information—quickly.
Lilith grabbed her phone, intent on contacting her network of spies.
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Green Valley - Hazard Department
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
The loud alarm echoed through the hall, startling everyone as the floor began to shake beneath their feet.
Scientists and engineers hurried to their stations, their eyes fixed on the giant monitor at the center of the control room.
The screen was filled with red alerts, warning signs, and rapidly changing data .
"What's happening?" one engineer demanded, his voice barely audible over the alarms.
Fortunately, one of the personnel was smart enough to input some code to the control panel, and stop the alarms, allowing everyone to compose themselves.
"Okay, everyone, let's regroup and assess what we have,"
A group of researchers, led by Dr. Anya Lard, entered the control room and huddled around the panels, fingers moving quickly across touchscreens and keyboards.
They were receiving real-time data from the seismic sensors underground, which could detect sudden vibrations from thousands of miles away.
With the help of advanced AI technology, they could pinpoint the origin of the disturbance and estimate its magnitude by analyzing the incoming data and reproducing it .
If there was one thing that the sensors were notoriously bad at, it was that the vibrations needed to be strong enough to be detected in the first place.
Subtle shifts or low-level disturbances often went unnoticed.
"It's a 5.0 magnitude," one of the younger scientist reported.
Dr. Lard adjusted her glasses and focused on the seismic data.
"Run the system again," she commanded, his eyes fixed on the flickering monitors. "Check if it was a natural phenomenon or not. "
The young scientist nodded and quickly input the commands, watching the screen as he recalibrate the analysis.
A moment later, graphs and data points surged across the monitor, illuminating potential causes of the seismic activity.
"Look at this, Doctor Anya," he said, pointing at the holographic display. "It shows that the vibrations came from the east of Green Valley City, about 100 miles from here."
"Are you sure ? 100 miles from here is Ashwood?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at the screen.
"Yes, I'm sure, Doctor Anya. The seismic readings confirm it."
"Is it an earthquake?" she asked
"No, it's an explosion from the surface," the young scientist replied.
"An explosion? That changes everything. We need to reassess the situation immediately. What kind of explosion could cause such a seismic event?"
The young scientist turned back to the screen, analyzing the data further.
"The energy output is far beyond what we'd expect from conventional explosives. The patterns suggest something much more powerful—possibly even experimental or advanced weapon of mass destruction."
Dr. Anya contemplated for a moment, recalling a similar incident from the past.
"Check the data about the explosion that happened in Brentwood. We need to know if there are any similarities between them" she ordered.
While what happened in Brentwood hadn't directly affected them due to the sheer distance, they were still able to gather some data on the slight tremors that reach Green Valley.
The young scientist quickly accessed the archived data, his fingers moving rapidly across the keyboard as he began cross-referencing it with the current one.
"Dr. Anya, comparing the two, we've found a 70% similarity. But this one is much stronger."
Her heart raced at the implication.
"Contact the local government . Ask them if they sanctioned any weapon test . We need to know if this is part of an operation or something else. "
The urgency in her voice prompted immediate action.
Heads nodded in agreement, and they scrambled to carry out her orders.