Whoooâ
The piercing wind howled, like knives scraping against glass, or fingernails raking across a blackboard.
Just hearing it made peopleâs teeth ache and their whole bodies uncomfortable.
The wind speed was changing very fast; it went from Level Three to seven or eight in just half an hour.
At first, when it was only a Level Three or Four wind, everyone saw the clear sky and didnât feel much about it, so they didnât pay attention.
But the wind picked up too fast; in just half an hour it suddenly surged to seven or eight, and people on the wall had to brace themselves just to walk.
Very soon.
Li Yu ran up onto the wall.
"Xiao Yu, this wind suddenly got so strong. Looking at the sky, it might start raining any minute. We should let those Cooperative Personnel and Extra Staff outside come in," Second Uncle said immediately when he saw Li Yu enter the duty room.
In the duty room were also Song Min, Li Tie, Third Uncle, and the others.
Clearly, they had already arrived and were all waiting for him.
Li Yu didnât hesitate. He nodded and said, "Okay, give the order. Let the co-op personnel enter the Third Outer City."
"Alright! Huh? Third Outer City?" Second Uncle was just about to pass on the order.
But when he heard what Li Yu said, he froze. In the past, they had always let those Cooperative Personnel and Extra Staff go into the greenhouses in the First outer city to take shelter.
Yet Li Yu had just said to send them to the Third Outer City?
Li Yu nodded firmly and said, "Yeah, the Third Outer City. Let them stay in the Residential Buildings over there for now; it should be able to hold them."
Second Uncle thought it over and felt Li Yuâs idea would work, so he said, "Alright. The greenhouses are planted with crops now; itâs not really suitable to have them stay in there anyway."
With that, he used the walkie-talkie to contact the many Extra Staff and Cooperative Personnel outside, telling them to pack up immediately and enter the Third Outer City.
He also had He Chao take people outside with loudspeakers to broadcast the notice.
The Third Outer City was on the left side of the Big Camphor Tree Base, where a Weng City had been built but never put into use.
There was also a large gate, and after Li Qi and the other Extra Staff received the notice, they immediately packed their luggage, ready to move in.
On the other side, seeing this, Uncle also immediately sent Old Lv, Dapao, and the others to hurry over to the Weng City of the Third Outer City to get ready to carry out security checks.
.....
The gale roared.
Outside the Big Camphor Tree Base, those village houses creaked and rattled, and broken branches and fallen leaves danced in the air.
"We just got notice that thereâs likely to be a torrential rain. For everyoneâs safety, all personnel are to enter the Outer City of the Big Camphor Tree Base to take temporary shelter. Hurry up and pack your things, we move out in twenty minutes," Zhong Chuchu said, running over to everyone as soon as she got the message.
The crowd erupted in delighted exclamations.
"What? We can go in? I was just thinking we came here and havenât even seen what it looks like inside yet, didnât expect weâd get to go in this fast!"
"What are you so damn excited about? Didnât you hear? Itâs to shelter from a torrential rain, just a temporary evacuation, not like weâre staying in there for good."
"Oh come on, why are you such a buzzkill? Being able to go in now is good enough."
Beside them, Jiu Ge, Ling Feng and the others said nothing, and immediately started packing up, getting ready to enter the Big Camphor Tree Base.
Seeing the wind outside getting stronger and stronger, the many Extra Staff and Cooperative Personnel didnât dare drag their feet. They scrambled and rushed toward the gate of the Third Outer City on the side of the Big Camphor Tree Base.
Whoooâ
While standing at the gate in line waiting to go in, one personâs backpack hadnât been zipped properly, and the wind blew some of the things inside right out.
In an instant, his clothes and assorted small items that had been packed inside were flying all over the sky.
"My stuff, my stuff!" He hurriedly tightened his pack and then ran after the things that had been blown away.
The other Cooperative Personnel nearby reached out and caught a portion of his belongings for him, and when they saw Ju Tianrui and the others standing guard at the gate, they took the initiative to pass the unlucky guyâs things back to him.
"Thanks, thanks." The unlucky guy kept saying thanks as he took back the blown-away items from their hands.
Two minutes later, he watched a blanket being blown higher and farther away and finally gave up.
Being able to recover these things was already lucky enough.
After his miserable example, everyone else hugged their belongings tightly.
The wind was blowing people around, knocking them off balance, so they had no choice but to support one another so they wouldnât get scattered by the gusts.
Seeing the wind getting stronger and stronger, Ju Tianrui also sped up the admission process. He just had them first hand over any weapons they were carrying, then let them enter the Weng City for a second round of inspection.
Once inside the Outer City, they were only allowed to bring basic daily necessities and food; everything else was forbidden.
This was for the safety of the Big Camphor Tree Base. With so many people, they werenât easy to manage.
After Dongfeng entered the Weng City, he felt the wind inside suddenly drop off, the air turning markedly calmer.
Although the air above the walls was still howling with that tooth-aching screech, down here the wind wasnât that strong, and the Weng Cityâs small area meant the outside wind had even less chance of reaching inside.
After Dongfeng, the Taoist Qingyang entered the Weng City. Ju Tianrui pointed at the sword in Qingyangâs hand and said, "You canât take that inside. You have to hand it over to us; weâll give it back when you leave."