Cherry Miller immediately said, "Activate the operations base and relocate anyone who doesn't want to leave for now! Jason, is there enough food and water at the base?"
Sherry Yuan replied, "We can handle food and water for five thousand people for a week."
Cherry Miller nodded, "Good. First, go to Liford Village and move everyone to the operations base. Hurry! The mudslide could hit any moment, we don't have much time to prepare."
The three of them had prepared supplies in advance, just in case, and now it looked like they'd need them.
Cherry Miller looked up at the sky, worry etched on her face.
A moment later, satellite maps and weather forecasts were delivered to Cherry Miller.
After Cherry Miller finished reading, she sighed and handed them to Yina Yin, who had just walked in.
Yina Yin took a look and her expression changed slightly. "Rain for the next week? I just checked all the river levels—they're all rising fast. Cherry, we need to evacuate too, and soon."
"Before we move, let's get the word out first," Cherry Miller said. "I hope they'll trust our judgment."
After that, both of them let out a sigh.
Destroying the environment will inevitably bring retribution from nature.
The residents of Six Saints Town have cleared forests and cultivated land for four hundred years, completely changing the local vegetation.
The fact that disaster is only erupting now is a mercy from above.
Without hesitation, Cherry Miller notified Derek Lee to gather all the village chiefs at the Zhang Family residence.
Although the Zhang Family house now looks like a dump, it's still the best building in Six Saints Town.
Over a dozen village chiefs arrived, all staring at Cherry Miller in surprise.
Cherry Miller had already changed out of her Six Saints Town attire and was now wearing a windbreaker, looking very sharp.
"Let's get to the point. I brought you all here because I have important news," Cherry Miller said, switching to her professional demeanor and handing several papers to the village chiefs. "These are the satellite images and weather forecasts I just received. You might not be familiar with this technology, but it's based on high-altitude satellites that can see everything on the ground. The forecast uses satellite data to predict the weather. You can question my ability, but not the accuracy of these reports. For the next week, Six Saints Town will face heavy rain."
"So what if it rains? It rains every year around this time," said several of the older village chiefs, instinctively dismissing Cherry Miller, thinking a young woman couldn't possibly know better.
Cherry Miller turned to Derek Lee and said, "My team just checked several nearby hills—many slopes are saturated and starting to collapse. The water levels in nearby rivers are rising rapidly. This means two disasters may strike: mudslides and flooding. Either one would be devastating for the residents of Six Saints Town."
Before the other village chiefs could respond, Cherry Miller continued, "I know you think I'm being alarmist. I'm not forcing you to believe everything I say. I'm just telling you that we have a secret operations base here, stocked with food and clean water. If you trust me, come with me and take shelter. If you don't... then your fate is in your own hands!"
Cherry Miller was motivated by humanitarian concern, helping evacuate and rescue the residents of Six Saints Town.
But she wasn't obligated to prove anything to these people.
If they trust her, they'll evacuate together.
If not, they're left to face death.
She's compassionate, but she's not a saint.
Derek Lee had never seen Cherry Miller so serious before.
After these few days of working together, he realized that this seemingly delicate young woman was actually highly capable.
She was someone who could accomplish great things.
So many people followed her instructions—when she pointed east, no one went west.
Derek Lee asked cautiously, "Miss Miller, nothing like this has ever happened before. I doubt the villagers will want to leave. Every household has built up some savings over the years—can they bring their belongings with them?"
"No, there's no time," Cherry Miller replied firmly. "Those things aren't worth your life. Unless you can pack everything today and leave by boat through the Hidden River. Also, I have more bad news—the water level in the Hidden River is rising fast, and by noon tomorrow, it'll reach its limit. After that, no one will be able to leave. If you're going, you have to go today—after today, it's too late."
The village chiefs exchanged glances, many of them still unconvinced.
"I've said all I can. We'll move to the operations base at five this afternoon," Cherry Miller said, checking her waterproof, shockproof military watch with satellite GPS. "You have four hours to evacuate. If you wait too long, you might miss your chance."
Derek Lee stiffened, realizing the gravity of the situation.
Still, he couldn't help but ask, "How likely are mudslides and floods?"
"Eighty to ninety percent," Cherry Miller replied grimly. "Do you remember Wang Village? It was a mudslide that destroyed half the village. When a mudslide hits, no one escapes easily."
Cherry Miller's grave expression finally made the careless village chiefs take her seriously.
"I don't have time to say more. My team will do our best to help you evacuate, but convincing the villagers is your responsibility," Cherry Miller said coldly. "Right now, fewer than a thousand people have left Six Saints Town. The remaining population is less than five thousand. But our operations base only has enough supplies for five thousand people for one week. If we don't get help after a week, things will be bad for all of us. That's all I have to say. Please go."
With that, Cherry Miller turned and strode away without missing a beat.
She had a ton to do right now—no time to waste on pointless talk.
If they trusted her, she’d save them.
If not, well, good luck to them.
"Assistant Miller," a secretary from Mr. Fang’s team hurried over. "Mr. Fang wants to know—the rain’s getting heavier. When are you and Miss Yina leaving?"
Cherry Miller paused. "We’re not leaving."
The secretary panicked. "The water level in the Hidden River is rising fast. If you don’t go now, it’ll be too late."
"That’s exactly why we can’t leave," Cherry Miller said seriously. "We’ve worked so hard and we’re one step away from success. How could we give up now? If we left, all three of us would’ve failed Six Saints Town."
"But..."
"No buts," Cherry Miller said firmly. "Yina might be the Yin Family heiress, but that doesn’t mean she gets special treatment! In fact, she has to shoulder even more responsibility. Relax, we’ve planned for this and we’re ready. If Mr. Fang doesn’t have other business here, he should leave Six Saints Town today and return after the flood passes."
"Mr. Fang said if you don’t leave, he won’t leave either," the secretary said, face pale with worry. "Otherwise, he can’t explain it to President Yin!"
"Suit yourselves!" Cherry Miller replied. "By the way, our operations base is on the sunny slope of Mountain Three. If Mr. Fang has anything important to move, he can store it at our base."
With that, Cherry Miller strode away.
The secretary gritted his teeth and hurried back to report.
Everyone was scrambling to evacuate and relocate.
The rain overhead kept getting heavier. Even the waterproof cover couldn’t stop it, and everyone was soaked through.
After delivering the last batch of supplies to the operations base on the hillside, Cherry Miller immediately had people reinforce the area to make sure mudslides wouldn’t hit the base.
"Miss Miller!" Derek Lee called from afar.
Cherry Miller turned to see Derek Lee with a group of people, all loaded down with big bags.
"We’re here to join you, Miss Miller," Derek Lee said, looking past Cherry Miller to see a group dressed like her, building defenses and redirecting rainwater from the mountainside.
Some of them were using tools the locals had never seen before—definitely outsiders.
"These are the ones who agreed to evacuate with me," Derek Lee told Cherry Miller. "But there are still plenty in the village who refuse to leave their homes."
"Then let fate decide," Cherry Miller said. "I can only protect those who believe in me. The rest will have to wait for outside rescue."
With that, Cherry Miller turned to a young man next to her. "Liu Feng, take this group to Area C."
"Yes, Assistant Miller." Liu Feng immediately led Derek Lee and the group into the operations base.
At first, Derek Lee and the others didn’t know what "operations base" meant.
But once inside, they were stunned, mouths agape, with only one thought echoing in their heads: "So this is the operations base!"
A cave tall enough for two people appeared before them, arch-shaped and impressive.
Inside, the ground was flat and the walls smooth—clearly not carved out by hand.
Farther in, they reached a wide-open space.
Right then, two big machines called excavators were hauling boxes in every direction.
Box after box, bag after bag, barrel after barrel—all kinds of supplies were being delivered inside.
Everyone inside had a job, busy with their own tasks.
All the residents of Six Saints Town were left wondering: When did this cave appear? How come no one knew about it?