I Run Away with the Earth to Save the World [Unlimited Flow] - Chapter 144

Reporters couldn’t match the police in stamina, but they had their tools. Even before they got close, camera and video lenses were already aimed at the terrified survivors, with several rapid ‘click, click, click’ sounds of photos being taken.

One reporter, carrying only a microphone and nothing else, sprinted the fastest, nearly shoving the microphone into the survivor’s mouth in his eagerness. Only after receiving a sharp look from a nearby police officer did he awkwardly back off with a grin, saying, “You go ahead, officer!”

Jin Guijuan, who was never afraid of stirring up trouble, especially since she always turned to the police for help when in trouble, eagerly fanned the flames. She urged the survivors with a righteous face, “Come on, hurry up! You have to take this chance, speak out and bring the criminals to justice!”

The reporters didn’t understand what exactly was happening, but with the police involved, their job was simple: take as many photos as possible! Some even whipped out notepads, scribbling furiously while staring intently at the survivors.

If they weren’t afraid of interfering with the police interrogation, one of those reporters might have run up to start questioning them on the spot.

The survivors all looked pale as ghosts. When they saw the police officers, dusty, disheveled, and clearly just emerging from danger, their eyes were almost unfocused and they could only mutter endlessly, “I… I—”

The police, who were no strangers to seeing victims in shock after filing a report, quickly wiped the dirt from their own faces and began to comfort them warmly, “Don’t worry, just take your time. We’re all here. You’re safe now. Don’t be scared, don’t panic!”

Jin Guijuan cheered on the survivors, “Don’t be afraid! The police are here. Just tell them everything you know! They’ll investigate and won’t let those people hurt anyone again.”

Hearing Jin Guijuan’s encouragement, especially when she mentioned the word ‘hurt,’ the police perked up and patiently said to the survivors, “That’s right, no rush. Just speak slowly.”

With Jing Qizhen and his group forcibly holding them in place, dusty but serious-faced policemen in front, and a circle of eager reporters surrounding them, the survivors had no way of escape and were utterly overwhelmed.

Seeing that the reporters were standing there waiting and not moving forward, the police kept their patience, but the reporters couldn’t help prompting them repeatedly, “You, hey—!”

When Jing Qizhen saw that the survivors were still silent, he simply offered, “…How about I start by summarizing what I know for you?”

The police instinctively glanced at him, hesitation on their faces.

The reporters immediately jumped on his offer. “Go ahead, young man, you tell us first!” Someone even shouted for two cups of water.

Manman tilted her head slightly, leaning against Si Jiayang, and whispered, “So professional…”

Si Jiayang gently patted her shoulder.

Without waiting for a response from the survivors, Jing Qizhen continued on. He spoke of hospital doctors conducting human experiments, of lives being taken for profit, of those terrified people being the lucky few who escaped, and of strange underground tunnels beneath the Second Municipal Hospital of Binhai City.

In the bushes, the March Hare angrily shook its long ears.

Tunnels? Those are rabbit holes! Dug with great effort by none other than Sir Rabbit! I didn’t collude with any hospital!

Jing Qizhen wove his story with such conviction that both the police and reporters were left momentarily stunned.

The survivors turned their heads in unison toward Jing Qizhen, their expressions blank and stiff, with only the occasional flicker of their eyes proving they were conscious and listening.

Jing Qizhen’s companions: “…”

If they didn’t already know the truth, they might have believed him too.

The reporters scribbled furiously, taking notes even more detailed than police statements, while others snapped photo after photo, occasionally letting out horrified exclamations, “Oh my god, this is terrifying!”

Based on his understanding and assumptions about the survivors, Jing Qizhen went on to analyze their thoughts in detail before finally declaring, “I suspect this earthquake isn’t real at all. It’s not a natural disaster but a man-made explosion. Someone is using it to destroy evidence!”

Lu Lingxi, who had just carefully placed explosives in the rabbit holes: “…”

You’re dumping this blame on me just like that? So fast I didn’t even see it coming…

Feeling complicated, Lu Lingxi blinked, his deer-like eyes looking even more innocent in the dark.

Wang Feizhou, glancing around nervously: “…” Why is everyone here so good at this kind of thing?!

The survivors remained silent, while Jing Qizhen, who had been talking to himself for most of the time, refused to give up. Holding onto one of them, he urged earnestly, “Isn’t that right? Say something!”

Jin Guijuan chimed in as well, “You’re the earliest group of survivors, so you know the most. Quickly give the police the clues they need! Whether this den of criminals gets taken down depends on you!”

Even Wilcox, the blond, blue-eyed foreigner, joined in. His tall, sturdy frame suddenly looked frail as he pleaded with the survivors, “There are still so many innocent people, so many trapped victims, those poor souls stuck here as patients unable to escape, it’s all up to you. Please, save them!”

Si Jiayang muttered quietly to Manman, “They’re even going for moral coercion now!”

Manman gave him a push and decided to join in, adding fuel to the fire with a voice trembling in urgency, “Say something! Why are you protecting those bad people? They’ll kill you!”

Wang Feizhou: “…”

He finally understood. These people were all born actors.

Jing Qizhen and the others took turns speaking, practically grilling the survivors over an open flame. Especially since Jing Qizhen had just mentioned that there was no real earthquake, but a deliberately staged explosion.

In a country where firearms are banned, any case involving such destructive force would be considered a major incident. The police officers’ expressions grew even more serious.

The reporters, realizing they had stumbled onto a rare and sensational news story, were excited beyond measure, chiming in one after another to support both the police and Jing Qizhen. They were all eloquent, their arguments no less dramatic than the performances of Jing Qizhen’s group.

With the combined pressure from all sides, the survivors were left bearing the full weight of the situation.

As patients with schizophrenia, the survivors were already mentally sensitive and fragile. When alone, they could still immerse themselves in their own illusions. Whether anxious or panicked, they could barely maintain a precarious balance through self-isolation.

Now, though Jing Qizhen and his team outwardly played along with their delusions, they were actually taking turns breaking down the walls of their self-imposed isolation. Once that fragile mental balance was shattered, the survivors were forced to confront the harsh reality they had always avoided, no matter how unwilling.

Their paranoid delusions were never real. The survivors had simply engaged in day-to-day self-brainwashing as a form of instinctive self-protection, keeping themselves on the edge of danger. But once those illusions collapsed, it meant that everything they believed in was wrong and the mental world they had built for themselves crumbled in an instant.

Jing Qizhen continued pressing them, “Who exactly is trying to harm you? Which doctors and nurses want to use you for human experiments?”

Lu Lingxi played along, even pretending to rush toward the hospital building. “I’ll get a staff directory so you can identify them one by one!”

A police officer stepped forward, his face serious and grave, and said, “If the situation is as serious as you say, I need to report this to my superiors and bring in more people.”

They were all standing at the hospital entrance. Aside from Jing Qizhen’s group, the police and reporters had surrounded the survivors so tightly that not even water could pass through. On the uneven, collapsed roadside, nearby residents who had evacuated their homes due to the ‘earthquake’ were starting to gather as well.

Seeing such a noisy and dramatic scene, many bystanders couldn’t help but come closer.

Everyone appeared very much alive and human, there wasn’t a single white-coated figure turned into ghost the survivors imagined. All of this contradicted the survivors’ delusion of a desolate, post-apocalyptic world where humanity was on the brink of extinction.

It even seemed that the ghosts they always saw had all vanished, as if they had left for vacation after Jing Qizhen’s posted notice.

Jing Qizhen’s group, the police, and the reporters’ relentless questioning left the survivors completely overwhelmed.

Suddenly, one of them let out a piercing scream, “Aaaahhhhh!”

Everyone jumped in shock.

Even Jing Qizhen couldn’t help but widen his eyes slightly.

In his mind, the Earth muttered, “That’s it, you’ve pushed them completely over the edge!”

Jing Qizhen: “…It’s not that bad.”

After all, the patient was already severely ill, ill enough to create an erosion area by himself…

Just then, the Earth suddenly exclaimed, “Huh?”

Jing Qizhen instinctively asked, “What is it, Babyball?”

Before the Earth could answer, the scene before Jing Qizhen and the others suddenly flickered as though the signal had gone bad, the image shaking and turning into static.

The police and reporters, who had been focused a moment ago, instantly froze like wooden puppets, their figures turning blurry and indistinct.

Wang Feizhou was completely stunned. The survivor he had been holding onto had already dissipated like mist. He shuddered all over, utterly shaken, and stammered, “W-what’s happening?”

No longer needing to hold onto the survivors, Manman, with her hands now free, casually linked arms with Si Jiayang and said calmly, “Don’t panic, you’ll be back to your miserable intern life at the hospital soon enough.”

Wang Feizhou: “Eh…?”

After that brief pause, the Earth’s voice rang excitedly in Jing Qizhen’s mind, “The core of this erosion area is collapsing! I’m about to kick out that annoying ball! Take this, you bastard! Ahahahaha!”

Jing Qizhen rubbed his temple: “…”

Laughing wildly and triumphantly, the Earth booted out the other ball and before Jing Qizhen could react, it eagerly shouted in his mind, “I’m going to check on that patient outside! See you in a bit!”

Immediately, the erosion core dissipated and the entire erosion area vanished with it. Jing Qizhen and his group reappeared at the brightly lit front gate of Binhai City’s Second Municipal Hospital.

In a nearby hotel, news of their reappearance came almost instantly.

The staff, who had been on 24-hour watch, erupted in relief, “They’re back! All safe, every single one of them!”

Yan Hong and Gu Leshan, who had been scouring documents and plastering information all over the meeting room walls, received the news too. But when they saw the live footage, they were stunned. “Wait! Why is there one extra person?!”

A staff member, busy reporting to Tang Song overseas, was also startled, “What?”

Meanwhile, the three foreigners, Caroline, David, and Joyce, who were camped out in the meeting room with Yan Hong and Gu Leshan, were visibly shocked and confused.

Joyce shrieked with joy like a squeaky toy, “Where’s my cousin?!”

Caroline’s eyes widened. “They’ve already come out?”

David was equally stunned. “It’s only the second day!” Caroline and her group were trapped for over a week back then!