Chapter 130: Chapter 130: Volcanic Chain Reaction

The members of the Summers family put down their plates and ran over to crowd around the television screen.

Watching the broadcast of Mount Furen’s eruption, everyone held their breath, their brows furrowed in concern.

On the screen, a pillar of fire shot into the sky. Crimson lava rolled down the mountain, slowly devouring everything in its path.

Debris scattered in all directions. Burning rocks and fragments erupted outward like an avalanche, and grayish-black volcanic ash drifted into the air, blanketing the entire sky.

The tumultuous roar seemed like a sorrowful cry from the depths of the earth, or perhaps a death knell for the natural world, including humanity itself.

As Melody Summers watched the screen, she couldn’t help but think, ’Nature’s power is just too immense. In comparison, humanity is so insignificant.’

It was no wonder a single volcanic eruption had so easily destroyed the Ancient City of Solum, the second-largest city of the Old Valerian Empire.

After a long silence, Grace Sutton spoke, her voice trembling. "This... this is terrifying. No wonder our country has been evacuating residents from near several major volcanoes recently."

Winnie Summers nodded, her expression grave. "Exactly. Based on what we’re seeing on TV, if they hadn’t organized evacuations in advance, there would be no escape once an eruption started!"

Her grandmother asked, a sense of panic in her voice, "Are the volcanoes in our country really going to erupt like that? It’s too scary. Are there any volcanoes near where we live?"

Miss Lowell heard her and offered a comforting word. "Don’t you worry. There are no active volcanoes showing signs of eruption in our province, and certainly none in Anworth. There’s no need to panic."

Melody Summers nodded silently. In her past life, a total of six volcanoes had erupted in their country. Fortunately, Anworth wasn’t among them; otherwise, she wouldn’t have chosen it as her sanctuary.

But the volcanic ash from the global eruptions would gradually spread across the world, and Anworth wouldn’t be spared. Many people would develop respiratory problems due to the air pollution.

Melody advised, "Mom, Uncle, I suspect more volcanoes will erupt soon. The ash will slowly drift over and affect the air quality. Remember to wear your masks and goggles when you go out these next few days."

Colin Summers and Winnie Summers nodded in agreement. The family continued to watch the rescue updates on TV for a long time, not returning to their rooms to sleep until late into the night.

*

When Melody Summers woke up in a daze the next morning, she noticed the sky outside was already a hazy gray.

She had just picked up her phone when news alerts from every platform came flooding in.

Following the eruption of Kaito’s Mount Furen, at 2:00 AM on the 2nd, the Taupo and Yasur volcanoes in the Vastus Ocean region also experienced massive eruptions!

At the same time, the Colima Volcano on the west coast of Mexica also erupted violently!

The shockwaves from the eruptions swept across the sky and the ocean. Satellites measured the eruption columns reaching heights of over tens of kilometers. Satellite images showed a vast sea of fire.

Subsequently, the sky over the entire Vastus Ocean was covered by a blanket of volcanic ash, the cloud system shrouding the heavens.

Vast stretches of underwater fiber-optic cables were destroyed, causing internet and communication networks in many regions to collapse instantly.

Of course, before people could even recover from the successive eruptions of these three volcanoes in the Vastus Ocean, at 3:00 AM, two volcanoes within Icelia—Mount Katlan in the south and Mount Grimsfall on the Gryphon Glacier—erupted simultaneously. The scale of these eruptions was just as bad as Mount Furen’s, if not worse.

At 4:00 AM, Mount Grimal, located in Icelia’s capital, also had a massive eruption.

Lava exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius shot out with hot gas and ash, raining down on the surrounding land. The resulting pyroclastic flow consumed nearly half the capital.

The massive eruptions of these three volcanoes dealt a devastating blow to Icelia’s entire ecosystem. A thick layer of volcanic ash covered the sky above the island, cutting off all communications. The number of casualties was projected to be immeasurable.

Two airplanes happened to be flying over Icelia when the volcanoes erupted. The volcanic ash that surged into the atmosphere severely interfered with their navigation systems, causing them to deviate from their flight paths.

In addition, their engines stalled after inhaling large amounts of ash, ultimately leading to a tragedy where the planes were destroyed and all on board were killed.

Melody Summers frowned as she scrolled through the news alerts. All sorts of videos were going viral on social media, filled with desperate cries of despair. Even though she had seen the same scenes in her past life, seeing them again sent a chill down her spine.

Just then, several more breaking news alerts popped up:

Three of Sundara’s volcanoes have simultaneously experienced an unprecedented, millennium-level eruption!

At 7:48 AM, Mount Krakatell on Rakatan Isle erupted!

At 7:51 AM, Mount Taranis on Sombra Island erupted!

At 7:56 AM, Mount Moros in central Krakon erupted!

In addition to these three, multiple underwater volcanoes in the seas near Sundara also erupted.

The tectonic plate movement triggered by the submarine eruptions caused a massive displacement of the seabed. An unprecedented, large-scale tsunami swept across the islands of Sundara, nearly subverting the entire nation.

This chain of volcanic eruptions instantly ignited public debate online. Trending topics on the country’s social media platforms exploded, and news

"What on earth is going on? Is Terra dying?"

"Not exactly. Volcanic eruptions are actually a sign that Terra is still alive. Eruptions are a form of tectonic activity, and only living planets have that."

"Oh, I get it. Terra’s alive, it’s us humans who are about to die."

"Nooo, I barely survived a year of extreme heat, and now you’re telling me I’m going to die? Then why did you make me suffer through this past year?"

"Feeling conflicted. My family just moved from near Skyfire Volcano a couple of days ago. We didn’t want to move, we all thought the volcano would never erupt. Seeing this situation now, all I can say is thank god we did."

"I moved from near Gryphon Volcano. With eruptions like these, my house is definitely going to be swallowed by lava. Do I still have to pay my 20-year mortgage?"

"What mortgage? I stopped paying almost a year ago. Who knows what kind of life we’ve been living this past year."

"On another note, has anyone noticed it’s overcast today? Usually, the sun would be scorching by now. I haven’t seen an overcast day like this in forever."

"With so many volcanoes erupting at once, the ash has covered the cloud layer. The sunlight can’t get through, so of course it’s going to be overcast."

"What’s the use of an overcast day if it doesn’t rain? Ugh, I wish it would just rain already!"

"..."

Melody’s finger slid down the screen as she slowly scrolled through the comments, a whirlwind of emotions in her heart. She knew that countless volcanoes would erupt across the globe within a week. This was only the beginning.

Melody sighed, rubbed her face, and went downstairs for breakfast.

Winnie and Colin had gone to Crystal Mart. Miss Lowell, Grandma, and Grace Sutton had already prepared breakfast. Seeing Melody come downstairs, they quickly served her a bowl of sweet eight-treasure porridge.

At the dining table, Grace Sutton complained while sipping her porridge, "I didn’t sleep well at all last night. I felt like the ground was shaking the whole time. I don’t know if it was just my imagination, but I keep thinking the two mountains behind our villa are about to erupt."

Hearing this, Melody smiled and reassured her, "Don’t worry, Aunt Grace. There are no active volcanoes in our city showing signs of eruption, and the two mountains behind our villa aren’t volcanoes."

The main crises the volcanic eruptions would bring to Anworth were air and geological pollution. As for water pollution... where were there even any surface water sources left?

After breakfast, Melody walked to the window and looked at the gloomy sky outside. It was time to take down the solar panels.

Today’s overcast sky was just the start. With continuous volcanic eruptions in the coming days, Terra would enter a "cold night" mode in a few days. The solar panels would be useless, and the villa would have to switch to diesel and gasoline generators.

She got right to it. Melody changed her clothes, grabbed her tools, and climbed onto the roof to dismantle the solar panels one by one. Grace Sutton was

At the same time, at the villa of the Summers’ neighbor to the left, Zara Walsh sat by the French window, watching Melody bustling about on the roof with great interest.

She took a delicate sip of her afternoon tea, twirled the Pink Diamond Ring on her finger, and asked Yuri Walsh, who was beside her, with a light laugh, "Look at that. The little girl next door actually climbed up on the roof. Do you think she’s doing it on purpose to get your attention?"