Jiang Ye finished spanking the child, who was almost crying himself senseless.
The couple spent over two hours educating the child, combining gentle persuasion with threats and inducements, and applying ointment to his bruised backside.
Finally, Jiang Ye handed Jiang Senlin over to Shao Wan.
"Confine him for a month in a small cell of a few square meters. Give him meat every three days," Jiang Ye said. "Get him some books to read and make him write reading notes. He can draw for half an hour in the evening. In the morning, he'll do the same morning exercises as other inmates, but exempt him from labor."
"Understood," Shao Wan nodded and extended his rough hand, taking Jiang Senlin's small hand.
"If you need anything, tell Uncle Shao," Jiang Ye said, patting Jiang Senlin's head.
"Okay," Jiang Senlin nodded.
They walked out.
Shao Wan slowly led Jiang Senlin out of the Divine Palace.
Jiang Senlin suddenly spoke, "Uncle Shao, slow down, my butt hurts."
Shao Wan looked down at him and slowed his pace.
"Do you know you were wrong?" Shao Wan asked.
Jiang Senlin trembled all over, "I know."
...
Evening.
Jiang Ye and Cen Yemeng ate dinner at the table.
The dinner consisted of only three items: vegetable salad, chicken breast, and tea water. Neither of them had much appetite and just picked at their food.
A piercing alarm suddenly sounded, shaking the entire Divine Palace.
The couple froze for a moment, then saw the television screen pop up with a bang:
[This area will experience a magnitude 8 earthquake in ten minutes. Please evacuate to a safe zone as soon as possible.]
Jiang Ye's face turned pale. According to previous forecast results, the Divine Palace was supposed to experience a magnitude 8 earthquake three to four months later. How could it be happening now?
A military vehicle landed with a roar outside. Military officers from the Divine Palace rushed out, waving frantically at Jiang Ye and Cen Yemeng from outside the glass. Two more military spacecraft followed, with "Jiang Ye Star Rescue Force" and "Bi Rong Star Rescue Force" written on their sides.
"Let's go, let's go," Jiang Ye grabbed his wife's arm.
The couple hastily put on their clothes and went out, taking nothing but their mobile phones.
Outside, military officers from Hal Star, Jiang Ye Star, and Bi Rong Star saluted together, inviting them to board the vehicles and ships for safety.
Jiang Ye returned the salute and nodded to the Hal Star officer, "You guys hurry up and rescue others. I'm going to the Nest to command disaster relief."
The Hal Star officer didn't delay and turned to leave. The hovercar quickly departed.
Jiang Ye boarded a military spacecraft, which quickly ascended towards the huge "Nest" floating in the distance.
Looking down through the small window of the spacecraft, the birds in the nearby forest took flight like a swarm of black sesame seeds, creating a scene of impending doom.
By the time the strong earthquake erupted, Jiang Ye had already arrived at the Nest.
Although the Nest had been in use for a long time and had transported millions of people, this was Jiang Ye's first time entering it.
His office was only forty square meters, as spacecraft were not buildings and could not afford to be extravagant.
As soon as Jiang Ye reached his office, the captain rushed over to request instructions.
"Don't mind me. I'm just here to take shelter. You are the captain; do your job," Jiang Ye waved his hand.
The captain turned and left.
Jiang Ye activated the holographic projection in his office to observe the situation below.
From a high altitude, the power of the magnitude 8 earthquake was unbelievably immense. The ground near the Divine Palace was like a lifted carpet, with forests rising and falling in patches, resembling green waves, and then breaking like fallen soldiers. Jiang Ye experienced an illusion: the solid ground instantly turned into liquid, stones became oceans, and all forests and buildings floated on the water.
The sky was filled with birds. Jiang Ye often heard birds chirping outside his window in the Divine Palace, but the number of birds in the sky now was more than a hundred times his estimate. The flocks of birds raged like tornadoes, blocking out the sun as they passed, like locusts in a disaster movie, a sight so spectacular it was breathtaking.
He couldn't hear the sounds from below, but there must have been thunderous roars coming from underground. The buildings at the edge of the Divine Palace began to collapse, disintegrating rapidly like sandcastles hit by a tidal wave, raising dust clouds. However, the building complexes in the center of the Divine Palace actually held firm. Of course, only the main structures didn't collapse; the furniture inside must have been toppled, and the glass was probably exploding like popcorn.
The Nest was specifically sent to pick up Jiang Ye and his wife. Now that they had received them, they immediately flew towards the nearest city.
As darkness fell and the city lights appeared on the horizon, the Nest began to frantically deploy small spacecraft. Swarms of small spacecraft rushed towards the city in waves, accelerating like glowing beehives. This earthquake had come too suddenly, and the entire city was completely unprepared. The casualties were bound to be astonishing, so rescue was a race against time.
Jiang Ye's phone rang. It was the High Priest. She was not at the Divine Palace but was inspecting a region affected by a previous earthquake.
"Hello? Are you alright?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Are you guys okay?" the High Priest's voice was slightly panicked.
"We're fine. How could such a big earthquake happen so suddenly?" Jiang Ye asked. "Didn't the forecast say it would be months away?"
"The forecast is inaccurate. Hal Star's geological activity seems to be accelerating," the High Priest sighed. "My scientists are working hard on a new round of research and predictions, but I don't trust them anymore. I want to accelerate the immigration."
"We definitely need to accelerate. I'm on my way to the affected city for rescue. I haven't arrived yet, but I can see that more than half of the city lights are gone, and there are fires. The situation is likely very serious," Jiang Ye said. "You should finalize your plan as soon as possible. I'll start transporting people from my end and send you the data on how many we've moved."
"Okay, I feel very reassured with your troops. Our troops have already moved into the affected areas. Let's support each other."
"That's for sure," Jiang Ye replied.
After a few more words, the call ended.
Jiang Ye's brow furrowed as he stared at the city below in the holographic projection.
His expression was grim, firstly because the situation on Hal Star had suddenly shifted from controllable to uncontrollable. Previously, there were clear earthquake and tsunami schedules for each region, but now the schedules were completely invalid, and the lives of the city's ten billion people were hanging by a thread.
Secondly, it was because of the city below.
It was a devastating sight.
As the Nest flew over the city, Jiang Ye saw two skyscrapers on fire.
Flames burned upwards from the middle of the buildings, thick smoke covered the entire rooftops, and the building's glass fell like snow. Some dark objects fell and moved in mid-air. Jiang Ye looked closely and realized they were people. They were likely office workers who, after the earthquake, were engulfed by fire, smoke, and heat, unable to bear it, and chose to jump to their deaths for a quick end.
A hideous crack stretched across the entire long street. There were still many ground vehicles in the city, so the crack was filled with crushed cars. Some people were running wildly in the streets, like ants whose nest was attacked by fire.
The Nest continued to fly forward, approaching the city center. Jiang Ye exclaimed, "Oh no," as the scene before him became increasingly horrific.