Chapter 649 - 664: Storm

"Watch out!"

Jack roared, throwing half his body over Jiang Xia and shielding his head beneath him.

The moment they both ducked their heads, a massive palm frond was ripped free by the storm. Its sharp edge sliced through both of their raincoats.

The hurricane winds snatched up leaves the size of a grown man, spinning them upward into a vortex.

Everywhere the vortex passed, tables, chairs, and benches were all swept up into its spiral, as if someone had tossed them into a washing machine on a frantic spin cycle.

"Jiang Xia—!"

An Ning couldn’t stop herself and was about to rush out of the house, but the old woman held her back.

"You can’t help them right now. Trust them! Trust them!"

On the roof, Jiang Xia and Jack clung to each other. The loose boards they hadn’t nailed down yet had been torn away. They couldn’t continue with the repairs; they had to get down.

Jack pointed down. Jiang Xia nodded vigorously. They couldn’t open their mouths to speak in the howling wind.

But the ladder had been blown away long ago. They were trapped on the roof.

When An Ning realized the situation, she turned to the old woman behind her. "Are there any other ladders?"

"There are no more."

"Shit!"

After letting out a curse fitting for the situation, An Ning threw the door open and charged out.

"An—!"

An Ning completely ignored the old woman’s shouts. She dashed out, bracing herself against the torrential wind and rain. Planting her feet below the roof, she opened her arms and yelled up at Jack.

"Jump!"

Jack stared, dumbfounded. He shook his head violently, yelling, "Are you crazy!"

An Ning had no time to waste arguing. She yelled to Jiang Xia, "Jiang Xia, jump!"

Jiang Xia let go of Jack’s arm, pointed down at An Ning, and said two words: "Trust her."

With that, Jiang Xia jumped without a moment’s hesitation. An Ning dropped into an Iron Horse Stance. The instant her arm caught Jiang Xia’s, she twisted her body, using the strength of her back to absorb the impact. With another turn, Jiang Xia was safely on the ground.

An Ning straightened up again and looked at Jack on the roof.

"Jump!"

Jack hesitated, but the brutal weather didn’t give him much time. From his vantage point, he saw another hurricane vortex forming and rushing toward them at an indescribable speed.

"Holy mother!!"

"AHHH—!"

Jack jumped with his eyes squeezed shut. With superhuman strength, An Ning caught him in a princess carry.

"Oh—my god—you—"

"Run! No time for chatter!"

An Ning quickly dropped Jack to the ground. He snapped out of it and scrambled desperately for the house. The door was already open, and Jiang Xia reached out, pulling in both Jack and An Ning right behind him.

BOOM—

CRASH—

The vortex was upon them.

Windows shattered. The roof was torn off. Rain mixed with all sorts of debris fell from where the roof used to be, and countless things inside the house were swept away.

In less than ten seconds, the vortex passed. Half the house was gone.

"Oh my god! My home!"

The old woman stared in disbelief at the utter chaos before her, her heart aching to the point of suffocation. The home she had lived in her whole life... was gone, just like that.

"Let’s go! The danger isn’t over."

An Ning pulled the old woman along while Jiang Xia grabbed the terrified Jack. The four of them ran for the basement.

On their way through the kitchen, An Ning grabbed a bag and hastily stuffed some food into it before quickly following the others down into the basement.

Just as the four of them were heading down the stairs, another vortex tore past. The sound of BANGING and CRASHING intensified their fear.

The four of them picked up the pace, huddling together in a circle in the basement, and waited.

No matter how powerful a human might be, they are always insignificant in the face of nature.

An Ning took out the bag, pulled out a can of ice-cold coke, and handed it to Jack.

"Have some."

"Oh? Oh—thank you."

Jack took the coke. The coldness helped calm him down a little, and the sweet taste seemed to give him a bit of strength.

"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so rude to you before. I shouldn’t have said those things without getting to know you."

Jack was apologizing to An Ning.

An Ning’s calmness, her strength—she surpassed him in every way. And she had saved him.

"You don’t have to apologize. You instinctively protected my fiancé. We’re even."

"Okay. We’re even."

An Ning’s generosity impressed Jack even more.

Jack only took a few sips of the coke before passing it to Jiang Xia.

"Have some. We don’t have much, and who knows how long we’ll have to hide here."

"Thanks."

Jiang Xia took it without any hesitation and drank a little.

The four of them listened to the roaring gales and pounding rain outside. Their tension slowly gave way to resignation. After all, there was nothing they could do.

The gale raged on for over five hours before the sounds of the wind and rain gradually subsided.

An Ning suggested they go take a look, and the other three agreed.

Unconsciously, the four of them were holding hands as they went up the stairs.

An Ning led the way, with the old woman second, Jack third, and Jiang Xia at the rear.

Jack couldn’t help but look back at Jiang Xia and ask, "You don’t mind?"

"Of course not. I’m happy my fiancée is stronger than me."

Jiang Xia said it without a hint of reluctance. Jack could see he meant it. He didn’t completely understand, but this time, he chose to respect it.

An Ning was the first one to the door. When she tried to push it, she found it was blocked by something. It wouldn’t budge.

After pushing hard a couple of times, An Ning said to the three behind her, "Back up a little. I’m going to kick this door open, but I’m worried something might fall and hit you."

They obediently backed away. Once An Ning saw they were in a safe spot, she also took a small step back and threw a powerful kick upward.

CRACK—BOOM—

The door panel shattered. Fortunately, nothing fell down, but they still couldn’t get out.

Because the outside of the door was completely blocked by a refrigerator.

"Oh god, my refrigerator!"

"Let’s push it together—"

Jack had barely finished speaking when he saw An Ning turn to the old woman. "I’m sorry about this. I’ll compensate you for the fridge."

An Ning lifted her right foot. She spread her arms, bracing them against the walls on either side of the stairwell. Then, pushing off with her other foot, she began to slowly kick the heavy refrigerator upward in front of Jack’s eyes, lifting it higher and higher.

Pushing a refrigerator might not be hard, but steadily lifting one up and moving it aside was definitely not something an ordinary person could do.

"Oh my god, does she know Huaxia kung fu?!"

"Yes, she does."

Jiang Xia’s confirmation made Jack’s jaw drop. He gave a thumbs-up, his eyes filled with admiration.

"So cool!"

With the refrigerator moved, An Ning was the first to step out. She turned and offered a hand to the old woman, pulling her up.

The old woman had braced herself for the worst, but when she saw the scene of utter devastation, she couldn’t help but cry out.

Her wrinkled, spotted hands flew to her mouth, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"My... my home is gone."