“The bridge deck is cracked!” someone shouted in terror, and the nearby people immediately panicked. Others saw the cracks in front of several car hoods.

On the gray-white concrete bridge deck, several gaps, each about two fingers wide, snaked across the surface. One of the gaps had a height difference of nearly ten centimeters on either side, and the front wheels of the first few cars were stuck in this gap.

A ten-centimeter height difference could still be driven over if it were just a normal road. But now, on this bridge over the river, with such a significant gap, who would dare?

Initially, the people in those cars got out to check the situation and discuss whether to call the police. Just then, the bridge began to shake.

After the first tremor, there were several more. Some noticed that the cracks, originally two fingers wide, had widened to four or five fingers. The bridge deck seemed to open like a gaping black mouth, and the cracks, initially only at the front wheels of the cars, had now spread to the front of other vehicles.

“No way! We need to back up!” someone decisively decided to abandon their car.

“What about the car?” a family member asked anxiously.

“With this traffic jam, how can we drive? Forget it, let’s run! Human life is more important!” Those with clear minds quickly pulled their families and retreated.

“Wait—my bag is still in the car!”

Further back, those who hadn’t heard the shouts and were unaware of the situation moved forward, complaining about why the cars in front weren’t moving and asking if it was a car accident. Even if it was, they shouldn’t block the entire bridge deck like this!

“Hey, whose car is in front? If there’s an issue, shouldn’t you move the car to the side first? Everyone is trying to get home for dinner. This is too much! If this continues, I’ll call the police—”

A person raised their voice to shout but was bumped by someone running back, causing him to drop his phone.

He quickly bent down to pick it up, narrowly avoiding having it stepped on by another person running.

He brushed off the person’s foot, cursing, and picked up his phone, carefully checking it. It was a new phone he had bought just last week, and he didn’t want the screen to be broken.

Fortunately, the phone screen was intact, thanks to the protective case. He wiped the phone and was about to put it away when another person ran into him, causing the phone to fall again.

Angry, he grabbed the person who bumped into him, refusing to let them go.

“Why are you grabbing me! Are you crazy! We’re trying to escape!” the person yelled, struggling to break free. Seeing that he wouldn’t let go, they punched him and then continued running towards the other end of the bridge.

The unlucky guy, who had dropped his phone twice and been punched, finally got up and noticed that not only were people in front running back, but people in the cars around him were also retreating.

The two lanes of the bridge are separated, with people on both sides retreating. On the opposite side, people were frantically driving forward.

Not far ahead, a black private car was trying to reverse back to the emergency lane, but the traffic was too tight. The car barely moved back a meter before crashing into the front of the car behind it.

The owner of that car was nearby and immediately started cursing the black car.

The driver of the black car got out and ran along the emergency lane, ignoring the cursing behind him.

“The bridge deck is cracked! Everyone run back! Quick!” Finally, someone running back loudly warned those around.

Originally unsure about the situation, the unlucky guy was now scared by the tense atmosphere, and being pushed by the crowd, he finally reacted and started running back.

He hadn’t run far when the entire bridge deck began to shake violently. He heard a hair-raising, continuous cracking sound behind him.

Instinctively, he looked back and saw that the cars at the front were tilting and sinking.

On such a bridge over the river, what does it mean for the deck to sink!?

His heart pounded as he sprinted toward the bridge’s end, weaving through the crowd and between cars, as if being chased by a ghost.

As he passed a car, he almost collided with a young woman getting out of the car. She reacted quickly, somehow managing to stop and steady herself, avoiding a collision. He didn’t have time to apologize and continued running.

Yu Xi circled around the car hood, opened the passenger door, and quickly unbuckled Zhao Xuefei’s seatbelt, pulling her out of the car. “Hurry, the bridge deck is cracked!”

“What!?” Zhao Xuefei had been angrily messaging that man on WeChat, arguing about the branded bag he demanded back while she told him to eat dirt. Before she could send the message, Yu Xi pulled her out of the car. Zhao Xuefei barely had time to notice Yu Xi’s strength before exclaiming, “My bag!”

Yu Xi grabbed her bag, slung it over her neck, then reached into the car to pull out the keys, locked the car, and shut the door. As she led Zhao Xuefei towards the back of the car, she discreetly placed her hand on the car’s body, transferring the cosmetics, perfumes, and watches from the back seat into her space storage.

At this moment, Yu Xi was grateful for her thoroughness in having single-direction window film installed on her dad’s car. This way, no one could see into the car from outside or notice the disappearance of the items in the back seat. With everything secure, she began to pick up the pace, pulling Zhao Xuefei and heading back towards the bridge’s entry point.

No matter the situation ahead, whether it was serious or not, being one-third of the way across the bridge was too precarious. If something happened, they wouldn’t have enough time to escape.

After only a few steps, the bridge deck suddenly sank heavily again.

The impact was much greater than the previous tremors. People around them screamed, some losing their balance and falling, while others grabbed onto nearby cars to steady themselves, dragging their shaky legs and running for their lives.

At this point, no one was idly watching anymore. Even those further back sensed something was wrong. People with quick crisis response abilities immediately abandoned their cars and ran.

Some people, concerned about their belongings, called for their families to get out of the car, while others tried to retrieve their bags and phones from the vehicle. Some parents, faces pale, were grabbing their confused children and running.

Chaos ensued as car doors opened and closed repeatedly. Some people stumbled and fell, only to be trampled by those rushing from behind.

Passengers from several buses and public transit vehicles had also fled, clogging the lanes with a mass of pushing and shoving people. Those further back, frustrated with the slow pace, pushed aggressively forward. Those in the front, unable to keep their balance, fell, and the fortunate ones struggled to get back up, while the less fortunate were trampled underfoot.

“Don’t step on me—don’t step on me…” the cries for help soon faded.

The bridge hadn’t collapsed yet, but the panicked crowd had become a more terrifying danger.

Everyone’s mind was filled with one thought: Run! Run now! Get off the bridge!

Even Yu Xi was jostled several times. Although her physical strength kept her from falling, Zhao Xuefei stumbled multiple times.

Wearing ten-centimeter high heels, Zhao Xuefei struggled to walk even on flat ground, let alone in this situation. After dragging her for two or three hundred meters, she misstepped, twisted her ankle, and cried out in pain as it throbbed intensely.

Yu Xi quickly lifted Zhao Xuefei and placed her on the hood of a nearby car. She then used her own strength to jump up onto the car as well.

“Take off your shoes!” Yu Xi commanded while looking back to assess the situation on the bridge.

The cars at the cracked section of the bridge had sunk so much that their roofs were barely visible. The cars that had just crossed the cracks were now speeding towards the other end of the bridge. However, the more they panicked, the more congested it became. Some cars collided, causing a blockage in both lanes, prompting more people to abandon their vehicles and run.

The left lane was in a similar state, with terrified faces everywhere, all desperately pushing and shoving to escape the bridge.

From her elevated position, Yu Xi saw that the problem was with their right lane; the left lane remained intact for the moment. But the severe sinking had caused the bridge to tilt slightly, and several guardrails had broken off at the collapsed section.

Yu Xi turned back and saw that Zhao Xuefei had already taken off her shoes. Abandoning the idea of making her run barefoot, Yu Xi wordlessly lifted Zhao Xuefei onto her back.

“What are you doing?” Zhao Xuefei exclaimed in surprise.

“Quiet, or I’ll leave you here,” Yu Xi’s stern tone immediately silenced her.

Effortlessly carrying Zhao Xuefei, Yu Xi moved from the car hood to the roof, then jumped down to the bridge deck and began running swiftly.

She navigated through the least crowded areas, occasionally helping those about to fall and kicking open car doors to clear paths for others.

Zhao Xuefei felt the wind whipping past her ears as Yu Xi, steady and composed, maintained her pace despite the pushing crowds and the trembling bridge.

Covering the seven or eight hundred meters quickly, they finally reached the safe end of the bridge.

During this time, the bridge deck sank several more times. Each strong tremor and drop terrified everyone, fearing that if they slowed down, the bridge would collapse, sending them all into the abyss.

Falling from such a height, even without being crushed by the collapsing bridge, hitting the water would feel like hitting concrete.

Fortunately, this cross-river bridge wasn’t shoddily built. Despite the panic, the bridge deck didn’t collapse completely before most people had run off.

Once on solid ground, many trembling people turned back to see the bridge. They saw that the middle part of the right lane had caved in, the guardrails were broken, and the cars in that section were tilted and sunken.

Some cars had slid towards the broken guardrails, their fronts hanging perilously over the edge—a terrifying sight.

Scenes like this were common in movies but rare in real life. Experiencing it firsthand made people realize how small and helpless they were in the face of disaster.

Ambulances and fire trucks arrived, treating those with minor injuries caused by the chaos. But the severely injured, trampled by the panicked crowd, remained unconscious on the bridge.

As rescue workers rushed to the bridge, the crowd began to reflect on their actions. Feelings of guilt and shame mingled with relief, realizing that if they hadn’t panicked and pushed, everyone could have safely exited the bridge.

Zhao Xuefei, with a severely sprained ankle, was in shock. She didn’t react even when doctors examined her.

Yu Xi accompanied her to the hospital, calling Fan Qi on the way. Fan Qi, unaware of the incident, first ensured Yu Xi was unharmed. Learning that Yu Xi had immediately abandoned the car and run, Fan Qi praised her. She then assured Yu Xi she would inform Yu Li and asked her to stay with Xuefei at the hospital.

In the emergency room, as the doctor treated her ankle, Zhao Xuefei finally reacted—crying out in pain and sobbing pitifully.

By the time the treatment was over, Zhao Xuefei was drenched in sweat from the pain. She looked at herself—her shoes were gone, her stockings were torn, her hair was messy, and her makeup was ruined. In contrast, Yu Xi looked exactly the same as before: fair-skinned with a neat ponytail, wearing a white t-shirt, black sports pants, and sneakers. Despite having gone through the same chaotic situation, Yu Xi’s expression remained calm as she leaned against the wall with her hands in her pockets, watching the news about the bridge crisis on a hanging TV.

Zhao Xuefei couldn’t help comparing herself to Yu Xi. Ever since they were children, people always compared them whenever they were together.

“Look at Yu’s eldest daughter, oh, she’s inherited all her parents’ good looks, she’s so beautiful!”

“Oh dear, this must be from the third family. I remember the third one was quite pretty. Why does her daughter look…”

“She looks like her father, didn’t inherit any of her mother’s good traits. What a pity…”

“Shush, keep it down, the child can hear. Haha, Xuefei, have you eaten? Don’t listen to them, you’re very cute too…”

When she was little, all the Yu family members lived with Old Master Yu in the big old house before it was demolished. Zhao Xuefei couldn’t understand the words back then, but she could sense the looks people gave her. The difference between admiring, loving gazes and pitying, sympathetic ones was too stark.

As a child, she also wanted to be looked at with loving eyes. She ran home to ask Yu Li about it but saw Yu Li sitting at the dressing table, applying lipstick on Yu Xi. After the lipstick, she applied eyeshadow on her. Zhao Xuefei had longed for those makeup products for a while. Once, when Yu Li wasn’t around, she secretly applied them on her face, but when Yu Li saw her, she screamed, hurriedly washed her face, and angrily told her never to touch those things again.

That incident scared her, and she believed those makeup products were off-limits. But why could Yu Xi use them? Why was Yu Li smiling and happily applying makeup for her? That night, she cried a lot in front of Yu Li, asking if she loved Yu Xi more than her and if everyone would love her if she looked as pretty as Yu Xi.

Yu Li was stunned for a long time. After that day, she never saw her mother hold Yu Xi again.

As she grew older, many childhood memories faded, but everything related to Yu Xi remained intact. Zhao Xuefei went from imitating Yu Xi to rebelling, determined to surpass her. Even though Yu Xi never cared about these things, she persisted in this one-sided competition.

Yu Li arrived quickly, rushing in and examining Zhao Xuefei from head to toe. Seeing her swollen ankle and disheveled state, she immediately got furious and turned to Yu Xi, “What happened? Why were you with our Xuefei? How did she end up like this?”

Her loud questioning drew the attention of other injured people nearby. One of them looked at Yu Li and said, “The bridge collapsed. Many people got hurt, and some are in critical condition in the emergency room. Your daughter is quite lucky.”

“I wasn’t talking to you!” Yu Li snapped back, glaring at the person before turning to Yu Xi again, “You, explain!”

Yu Xi shrugged, “You heard them just now. She’s been quite lucky to survive in ten-centimeter heels on that bridge.”

“What are you saying? Is that any way to speak?” Yu Li’s expression changed.

“Mom—” Zhao Xuefei looked around awkwardly, “Don’t be like this, it has nothing to do with Cousin. She saved me… Keep your voice down, we’re in a hospital. You haven’t even figured out what happened and you’re already making a scene…”

“What’s the matter? I’m worried about you, and you’re upset with me…” Yu Li rolled her eyes at her daughter and pulled out a makeup remover wipe from her bag to clean Zhao Xuefei’s face.

Zhao Xuefei tried to dodge, “Mom, what are you doing?”

“Clean it up, your makeup is all over the place…”

Seeing that she was no longer needed, Yu Xi bid the two farewell and left the emergency room.

Yu Feng’s car was still on the bridge, which had now been sealed off. The sunken vehicles were being hoisted away, and cars near the bridge’s entrance were being towed down. All other vehicles were temporarily immobile and would remain so until the emergency repairs were completed.

For Yu Xi, retrieving the car was a bonus. There was nothing of value inside, so waiting a few days was no issue.

She called a ride on her phone. Shortly after she got in, Zhao Xuefei sent her a series of WeChat messages.

Daxuefenfei: Thank you for today.

Daxuefenfei: My mom is just like that, don’t take it to heart.

As Yu Xi was reading these, another message came in.

Daxuefenfei: Actually, it’s not as bad as it looked. I’m too smart to be devoted to someone like that! I didn’t like him that much anyway, I have other boyfriends too, so it’s fair!

But this message was quickly retracted.

YuxiaoXi: …I already saw it.

Daxuefenfei: …

Yu Xi chuckled and put her phone down, noticing that the taxi was now on the ferry crossing the river.

She looked at the collapsed section of the bridge, which was clearly visible even at night.

The taxi driver was also looking towards the bridge, sighing, “What’s happening to the world? There was a tornado at the beginning of the month, and now this bridge collapse. Luckily, I decided to have dinner early today, or I might have been stuck on the bridge too… I heard many people got trampled while escaping. Two are in intensive care. It’s pitiful…”

Yu Xi remained silent.

The driver continued, seemingly not needing her response, “The first group of investigators said it wasn’t a construction quality issue. They suggested it might have been caused by some plant or something else? That’s absurd. How could plants break concrete and steel? It’s nonsense… I bet it’s a quality issue, they must have cut corners…”

Listening to the driver’s complaints, Yu Xi furrowed her brows.

That night, she returned to her parents’ apartment. Despite knowing she was safe, the thought of their precious daughter being on that bridge terrified them.

Yu Xi had a lot on her mind. She ate the food Fan Qi had left for her, washed up, and went to her room to rest early. Before bed, she skimmed the news, but the information online was too chaotic to make sense of.

The next morning, she woke up early, pulling back the curtains to see the overcast sky over S City. She opened the window slightly. It was still hot outside, with the added humidity of the day.

As she was eating breakfast downstairs, it started to rain. It was a light drizzle, and Yu Xi took out her phone to check the weather forecast when she heard the system’s voice in her head.

【The apocalypse is spreading across Blue Star. Please enhance your strength, continue upgrading the Star House, and strive to survive!】

【…Good luck.】

Yu Xi: …