The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Large sections of Jiangzhou City had collapsed due to the disaster.

The Li Family, located in the southern part of the city, was fortunately spared.

As Jiangzhou's leading enterprise, the Li Group had an undeniable responsibility to respond to the disaster. They worked through the night, with all available personnel at the manager level and above gathering in Conference Room 2.

Xiaoyu, wearing a wig, was organizing the materials needed for the meeting on her laptop. Below the stage, everyone's expression was solemn. This earthquake was an immense catastrophe for Jiangzhou.

The clicking of high heels echoed from beyond the door, and an imposing, graceful figure strode onto the stage. It was none other than Li Huiran, her expression grave.

The people below were stunned when they saw her.

It was because Li Huiran's once-beautiful long hair was now cut to ear-length.

However, General Manager Li's hair was a trivial matter in the face of the catastrophe, so the crowd was merely surprised and did not discuss it.

Standing at the head of the conference table, Li Huiran spoke in a cold voice, "This disaster struck too suddenly. I'm relieved to see all of you here, but we must face what's in front of us. What's the situation with the disaster? Please, report."

As the head of Project Group One, Xiaoye was the first to stand and report. "The Sunny Day Project is relatively far from the epicenter. Three recently erected main structures collapsed. Fortunately, it happened after working hours, so only eleven workers sustained minor injuries. We haven't had time to survey the other buildings yet." He had a fresh gash on his forehead, clearly from the earthquake.

Li Huiran frowned and was about to speak when her secretary, Xiaoyu, urgently cried out, "President Li, there's a news report out!"

"Project it!"

On the white screen, a white-haired expert was gravely explaining the earthquake. "This is the world's first-ever recorded instance of a reverse earthquake. Past quakes have been formed by the compression and movement of continental plates, whereas this one appears as if a plate was stretched and expanded. Although the magnitude reached an unprecedented level twelve, the destructive power was not as great as one might expect. Furthermore, the epicenter was fortunately located far from any towns, inside the Jiangzhou Forest Reserve. This is a blessing amid the misfortune..."

Li Huiran switched off the projector. 'These expert analyses are useless.' The most important task now was disaster relief. She issued a cold command: "Time is short, so I'll cut to the chase. Halt all projects and mobilize all Li Group employees for the rescue effort. The five billion in liquid capital the company has on hand will be entirely dedicated to disaster relief..."

"President Li, the internet is saying it's the end of the world! The sky has turned blood-red! All of Jiangzhou is in chaos, and you can hear fighting and killing everywhere outside!" Secretary Xiaoyu screamed in terror, cutting Li Huiran off.

Li Huiran strode over and yanked open the curtains. A scarlet night sky instantly filled her vision. There were no stars, no moon—only that crimson, bloody color.

At a sight like this, if someone claimed it was the end of the world, people would be eighty percent convinced in an instant.

Everyone in the conference room gasped. They couldn't sit still any longer. If it was really the end of the world, who would have the mind to keep working?

The Li Group itself had suffered minimal damage in the disaster. The people gathered here were doing so out of a sense of duty and solidarity, discussing how to aid in the relief efforts. But now, faced with what looked like the end of the world, they could only think of themselves.

Xiaoye asked uneasily, "President Li, this disaster..."

Li Huiran looked at the agitated crowd and announced in a cold voice, "Meeting adjourned! I hope you all manage to survive!"

Amid a chorus of "Take care, President Li," only a few people remained in the conference room: Secretary Xiaoyu, Project Group One Manager Xiaoye, and Project Group Two Manager Xuan Kexin.

A trace of sorrow surfaced in Li Huiran's eyes. "Why aren't you all leaving?"

Xiaoyu slumped dejectedly onto the table. "It's the end of the world. I'm all alone, where could I possibly go? If I'd known this was going to happen, I would've said yes when Xiaochen from the sales department asked me out!"

Xuan Kexin rested her head in her hand. "I have family, but they aren't in Jiangzhou. With the city in such chaos, where can I even go?" Her voice was filled with bewilderment.

Li Huiran looked toward Xiaoye, who smiled and said, "It's just the three of you ladies left. I can't leave you here alone, I'd be worried." As he spoke, his gaze on Li Huiran grew heated.

Li Huiran shook her head slightly. "Let's go. We'll all head back to the Manor. If this really is the end of the world, at least there's plenty of food there."

The group left the building on foot. They had originally intended to drive, but the roads were clogged with broken-down and abandoned vehicles, making it impossible.

The streets were crowded with frantic people trying to get out and buy food, thronging the roads in a disorderly mess.

Because everything had happened so suddenly, Li Huiran didn't have her bodyguards with her. Seeing the situation, she quickly pulled out her phone to call home.

The phone had just started ringing when the crimson in the sky seemed to descend, blanketing the entirety of Jiangzhou in red. At the same moment, the cell signal abruptly died. Under the influence of the activated Blood Storage Array, no network was reachable.

"The call won't go through. We can't let anyone know to come get us. Let's go, we'll walk back." There was no other choice in this situation.

The group of three women and one man set off toward Li Manor. They hadn't gotten far before they felt countless prying eyes on them from the surrounding streets.