88 87. 20,000 meters under the ground
Celebrating the completion of the Coming of Age ceremony for the two children afterward.
The parents of both families, as if by unspoken agreement, gathered around a table in the living room and played mahjong with laughter and chatter.
Xiao Chen and Shen Qinghan felt it was a bit noisy, so they went out for a walk.
The two came to a forest path not far from home, walking slowly in the evening breeze, enjoying the quiet of the night.
Shen Qinghan, in her light pink dress, showed off her slender, fair legs as she walked with a swaying motion on the path, catching the eye.
Xiao Chen several times couldn't help but glance at her with his peripheral vision, but each time he immediately withdrew his gaze.
"Xiao Chen, how long did you spend making that specimen frame?"
While walking, Shen Qinghan suddenly asked.
"It took almost half a year."
Xiao Chen lied without blinking an eye.
He, bestowed with the Divine Human Wisdom Root, had finished making that specimen frame in less than a week.
Furthermore, during that week, he spent only an hour each day working on it.
However, it's better to keep such things to oneself.
There's no need to speak of them.
Saying it took only a week would seem careless.
Shen Qinghan might feel let down if he did.
The evening breeze was gentle.
It felt comfortable on the face.
After walking for a while, they saw two low parallel bars ahead and went over to sit and chat.
Shen Qinghan, while leisurely swinging her legs, said with a sweet voice:
"When I go back, I'm going to hang that specimen frame in my room, so I can see the flowers you gave me every day."
"When I go back, I'll also hang the watercolor painting you gave me in my room."
As he spoke these words, Xiao Chen's gaze unconsciously fell on Shen Qinghan beside him, carefully taking in her appearance.
Now at a height of 1.68 meters, her slender legs had grown much longer; her once unremarkable front and back parts had become round and full, making her look graceful and especially tempting.
Her features were still delicate and exquisite but had become more three-dimensional and distinct than before.
Especially those moist, peach-blossom eyes, which used to look naive and cute, now carried a hint of maturity within their innocence, with a captivating charm.
Eighteen-year-old Shen Qinghan was becoming more and more enchanting.
She was even more beautiful than those TV actresses with heavy makeup and beauty filters on their faces.
"Xiao Chen, you've been staring at my face more and more often lately."
Noticing Xiao Chen's lingering gaze, Shen Qinghan turned her head to look at him, her charming peach-blossom eyes smiling.
Now, when facing Xiao Chen's stares, she no longer felt as embarrassed and shy as she had before.
Sometimes, she would act more playfully and mischievously, full of a young girl's whimsical charm.
"No, it's just that time passes so quickly."
"Just in the blink of an eye, we turned eighteen and grew up, our appearances matured a lot, losing the childishness of our earlier years."
"Sometimes, when I think of these things, I want to look at your face now and compare it with the you from my memories when we were kids."
Xiao Chen said with a touch of nostalgia.
Suddenly curious about something, Shen Qinghan asked, "So do you prefer me as a child, or me now?"
"I like both."
Xiao Chen answered directly without hesitation.
He wasn't lying; he truly liked both.
He liked Shen Qinghan who used to be so giggly and peevish, the self-conscious and timid Shen Qinghan from a few years back, always so agreeable and meek, he liked Shen Qinghan who had now become much more lively and outgoing.
Every stage of Shen Qinghan left deep and beautiful memories in his heart.
Perhaps this was the affection of childhood friends who grew up together.
Hearing Xiao Chen's reply, Shen Qinghan's sweet smile broadened, her legs beneath the dress swayed more cheerfully, and she even started humming a song, feeling elated.
"What about you? Do you prefer me as a child, or do I now?"
Xiao Chen asked the same question.
Without a second thought, Shen Qinghan replied, "I like you at all times."
After saying that, she added, "If I really have to say which period of you I prefer more, it should be the you of right now."
"How so?"
Lin Zichen was very curious.
Shen Qinghan looked into his eyes, her beautiful eyes slightly curving upward, and with a charming smile, she said, "Because I like you more with each passing day."
Lin Zichen paused for a second.
After briefly regaining his composure, he said with a smile, "Then I need to revise my previous answer, I'm just like you, I like you more with each day that passes, I hope our friendship lasts forever."
"Yes, may our friendship last forever."
After speaking, Shen Qinghan stretched out her slender and fair little finger, her voice filled with nostalgia, "When we were young, we used to make a pinky promise to never change for a hundred years. Do you want to revisit that now?"
"Sure, let's revisit that."
Lin Zichen stretched out his little finger too and hooked it with Shen Qinghan's.
Just as they were about to say the words "pinky promise,"
suddenly, the ground began to shake!
The two, sitting on the parallel bars, both felt a noticeable tremor.
"Is it an earthquake?"
Shen Qinghan's face was filled with shock and uncertainty.
Lin Zichen replied, "It seems like an earthquake."
No sooner had he spoken than he noticed several lines of text information appearing in the void.
[You have experienced an earthquake and successfully survived it.]
[Achievement: Accumulate 100 successful survivals in different "extreme adverse environments" or "disasters".]
[Reward: Obtain Biometric Attributes—Survival of the Adaptable.]
[Total Survivals: 1/100]
An achievement task triggered?
Lin Zichen's eyes widened slightly, a bit surprised.
He truly hadn't expected that encountering an earthquake could trigger an achievement task; it was quite unexpected.
"Xiao Chen, it really was an earthquake. Lots of people are talking about it on WeChat Moments, and our classmates in the group chat are discussing it too," said Shen Qinghan as she looked at her phone.
Just as Lin Zichen was about to reply, his phone happened to ring.
It was a video call from Zhang Wanxin.
Upon connecting, Zhang Wanxin's voice came through, filled with worry.
She said there had been an earthquake and asked if they were both okay.
Lin Zichen oriented the video toward himself and Shen Qinghan and told Zhang Wanxin that they were fine.
Upon confirming that they were both safe, Zhang Wanxin heaved a sigh of relief and urged them to go home early and not to roam outside so late.
After ending the video call,
not wanting to worry their parents, Lin Zichen didn't stay out long and quickly brought Shen Qinghan back home.
By the time they got home, the TV was broadcasting news related to the earthquake.
The speed of the reporting was astonishingly fast.
Lin Zichen sat down on the sofa and watched the news with his parents.
The relevant departments explained that this was just a minor and normal earthquake, nothing serious. They said that Shanhai City's surface location was not at the boundary of tectonic plates, making it unlikely for a significant earthquake to occur, and told the public not to panic.
...
Deep beneath Shanhai City.
Twenty thousand meters down.
The temperature here had already broken through triple digits and, in some geologically unique locations, had even exceeded four digits, hot enough to cook any ordinary creature from the surface.
Nevertheless, in such an extreme and harsh environment, there were now hundreds of special Giant Mutant Rats, resistant to high temperature and pressure, burrowing intensively.
The originally solid earth had, unbeknownst to anyone, been turned into an anthill by their digging.
One glance revealed a maze of crisscrossing tunnels.
...
PS: Be generous, asking for Monthly Passes and recommendation tickets!