Chapter 749
It was as if she were made of air – transparent and invisible. Standing here now, she could only observe as a bystander. It felt like she didn’t belong to this world, as if she were just a visitor passing through. But this was no time for sightseeing.
Watching her younger self so helpless, Aurora’s heart clenched tightly. She knew someone would eventually save her, but these moments in between would be the hardest. She and the other four classmates hadn’t fallen together – the collapse had split them into two separate groups. Now, her younger self was completely alone.
The auditorium had originally been built with a white dome and curved walls. On a normal day, it was a stunning sight to the students. It was one of the school’s signature buildings. Many students liked to take photos and check in front of it. Even though this was a high school, most of the students came from elite backgrounds – or they were simply brilliant. So, the principal had never banned phones on campus. But now that the iconic auditorium had collapsed, the principal knew his career was finished. None of the other buildings had been affected – why was it only the auditorium? What exactly had gone wrong?
Aurora hadn’t fallen far. She had landed just inside the foundation of the building, her body crushed against the debris. The pale-colored school uniform lost its original brightness in an instant, stained with dirt and mud. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself up on trembling arms. She was just a teenager – how could her life end here? The world was still so vast, so unexplored. She didn’t even know what the future would look like.
To give up now just wasn’t her style. Biting her lip, she forced herself to stand, even as more debris began to fall from above. All of it happened in the blink of an eye. She had just begun to react, just taken her next step forward. In no time, a pile had formed above her head. Falling beams and wooden planks from the building came crashing down, sealing off the opening above her.
Since Aurora had fallen into the building’s foundation, she was now at least ten meters below ground level. The bit of light she’d seen moments ago was now completely blocked by the debris above. She felt her breathing grow shallow, surrounded on all sides by damp, earthen walls.
Aurora steadied her breath and forced herself to think. She tried to recall where she’d last seen those four classmates. They’d been at roughly her eleven o’clock direction, but even then, they were some distance away. Now, who knew whether they’d fallen into the same pit or had also been scattered across different areas like her? She let out a slow sigh.
Forget it, for now, she had to take care of herself. Given her situation, even surviving was uncertain. Who had the luxury to worry about anyone else right now? Just making it out to see sunlight again would already be a miracle.
In just three minutes, the entire auditorium had collapsed. Strangely, once it had fallen, the torrential rain stopped just as suddenly. In a flash, the skies cleared and the sun returned. As soon as the rain stopped, the school administrators rushed out of their offices and ran toward the auditorium.