Chapter 636 - Your Friend's Mom Is Really Awesome
This wasn’t a joke.
When the police caught anyone, they could indeed let them go over a small matter with a warning; it was like the criticism a person got from spitting on the streets. But if they were annoyed and decided to be strict, there was nothing wrong with sending the culprits to the custody center.
Leaving the Hispanic neighborhood, Luke and Selina sighed almost at the same time as they looked at the mess around them.
Luke asked first, “What are you sighing about?”
Selina: “I’m thinking it’s a good thing my parents chose Shackelford and found decent jobs on the ranch. It’s very hard to move forward here, right? What about you?” Luke: “Coming out of this environment and making something of yourself really is a struggle. What I wanted to say, though, is that if a riot happens, this is probably where it’ll start.”
Selina shook her head. “There’s nothing we can do about that. It’s all up to God.”
Luke nodded in agreement.
If no more earthquakes happened, these minor disturbances would gradually settle, like the silt stirred up at the bottom of a pond.
Therefore, everything was up to God.
When he got home that night, Luke looked at the experience and credit points he had earned and smiled bitterly. This had to be a joke.
How did he earn almost a thousand experience and credit points for catching petty robbers and thieves?
Were there so many hidden criminals in Los Angeles? He felt helpless.
Back at home, Luke was in no mood to cook too much. He simply stuffed the marinated ingredients into the oven before he stretched out on the couch.
He was still full of energy physically, but the weirdos had mentally exhausted him.
Fortunately, Claire had already come home, and she pulled him into a conversation. Luke simply told her about the ridiculous things he had run into during the day.
Claire burst out laughing as she listened, which lifted Luke’s mood.
Sometimes, running into weird situations was nothing if it could bring joy to family and friends.
Luke also told her about the news he saw today, but Claire found that odd. “No, why didn’t I see anything like that?”
Luke was stumped. “You didn’t?”
Claire quickly shook her head. She thought for a moment and said, “Right, I made a friend during the national high school cheerleading competition. She said she would be going to San Francisco. I’ll ask her.”
Luke: “If she’s from a regular family, I don’t think she’ll know anything.” Claire took out her phone and searched for the number while she said, “Her mother’s boyfriend is the rich CEO of a major San Fran corporation.” Luke: …Your friend’s mother is really amazing! After speaking to her friend, Claire hung up. “She said she hasn’t heard anything of the sort. Her mother’s boyfriend is going to San Francisco tomorrow. She’ll fly with them and spend the holidays there. Too bad I have to stay in L.A. and get used to the environment here.”
Luke could only crush her fantasy. “If there weren’t any earthquakes, it would be fine if you wanted to visit for a few days, but don’t go now.”
Claire turned solemn.
She knew Luke very well. She knew that he never joked about serious matters.
Even during April Fool’s, all the tricks he pulled were nothing serious.
“Should I tell her and her future stepfather not to go to San Francisco?” Claire hesitated.
It wasn’t right to stick your nose into someone else’s personal itinerary.
However, if an earthquake was going to happen in San Francisco, how could she watch her friend enter a danger zone and not do anything?
Luke raised his hand to pick up the tablet. “I’ll look into the man who was on TV at noon first.”
Saying that, he quickly typed “Lawrence Hayes from Caltech” on the tablet.
Reading for a moment, he turned grim. “The man who was on TV is a professor from Caltech who specializes in earthquake research. Apparently they’ve made some progress on predicting earthquakes. They can predict when earthquakes will happen to some extent.”
Claire thought for a moment. “Then, is his prediction accurate?”
Luke: “It definitely wouldn’t be that accurate, or he would be an internationally renowned specialist and I wouldn’t have needed to look him up, but there should be some truth in it.”
Claire hesitated. “Then should I call Blake or not?”
Luke frowned and raised his hand again. “Let me talk to the professor first.”
This time, he got up and went to the backyard, where he spoke for a long while before he returned.
Claire: “How did it go?”
Luke: “You should stop your friend from going to San Francisco, and also tell her not to stay in tall buildings in Los Angeles. The same goes for you. If possible, avoid the city center and high-rises for the next few days.”
Claire: “Is what the professor said true?”
Luke shook his head. “I just asked him how confident he was in his speculation. He said that there was a 90% chance of a bigger earthquake happening.”
Claire found that strange. “And you just bought what he said?”
Luke glanced at her. “I said that as long as his prediction was accurate, I would donate to his research program, whether the earthquake happens or not.”
Claire: …Fine, money really does solve a lot of problems.
There weren’t many people Luke had to inform.
He just called Jenny and told her about the possible earthquake, telling her to stay in low buildings for now.
Surprised, Jenny asked him a few questions, and learned that Luke’s source wasn’t certain, so the news couldn’t be spread so recklessly.
If this news went out, it was hard to say if it was a malicious rumor to create chaos or a kindly warning
On many occasions, the consequences of a disaster weren’t as bad as knowing beforehand that it would happen.
If the rumor spread, the severity of the situation might be exaggerated a hundred or even ten thousand times, and a minor event might cause utter chaos.
In his last life, some of Luke’s relatives had once bought ten years’ worth of iodized salt because of the rumor that the salt could fend off nuclear radiation. His own family wasn’t that bad — they only needed to go out and buy salt again after two years.
Information that couldn’t be verified hence truly couldn’t be shared recklessly.
Claire eventually called her friend Blake, but judging from her expression, the outcome wasn’t very good. Luke hugged and comforted her. “It’s unverified information. You’ve tried your best.”
Depressed, Claire nodded and didn’t say anything
Luke, however, continued, “If an earthquake does happen, make sure you’re safe, and try to come home and stay here.”
His house was a bungalow with no tall trees or electrical poles nearby. It was indeed the safest place during an earthquake.
Claire said helplessly, “Didn’t you say that it’s just speculation?”
Luke patted her head. “I don’t care about other people, but I care about you. After all, you’re my sister.”
Claire couldn’t argue with that.
That night, Luke roamed around outside again and returned before three in the morning.
He didn’t have much to show for this trip.
The bugs that he planted in the rooms of a few well-informed gang members didn’t catch anything important. Everybody was discussing the chaos caused by the earthquake.
There was very little information on what Luke was most concerned about: the desperadoes from outside town.
