The upper tower bells struck the accelerating storm pattern before the forecast hour. Wei answered from the wall with the confirmed signal that sent every crew to its station. Ning opened the first shelters and dispatched clinic teams to the east road.
Bai shifted the medicine carts to the higher route after a runner reported water rising along the river curb. The lower path remained passable, but the wheel hubs were already close to the water. The higher lane took longer and turned sharply by the school shelter.
Yan received Qinghe’s measured note through the attuned relay. The central gauges remained in range, but the western line was not ready for full pressure. The message carried only a brief pulse. Qinghe stayed at the console and continued direct observation.
Yan did not treat the note as permission to begin early. He asked Qiao to confirm the replacement band and waited for the engineer’s report. Qiao checked the record from the western keeper: the band had remained stable at the lower mark through two readings. The sensor responded, but its higher setting had not been tested.
“Then it stays where it is,” Yan said.
Qiao sent the western keeper a copy of the temperature record. The keeper acknowledged and left the release cord accessible. If the band heated again, the local crew could disconnect without waiting for a second report from the capital.
