Wei and engineer Qiao Wen reached the northern watchtower after the wind fell. Its upper platform had collapsed into the road. The signal bell was crushed beneath stone, and a section of the stair lay across the lower path.
The wall still stood. Qiao Wen inspected its base and found a crack above the old signal tunnel. He did not reopen the road. Wei moved the local crew to safer ground and sent a runner to set temporary flags at the lower gate.
“Keep the stretchers off this side,” Qiao said. “The stone can shift when the outer slab moves.”
Wei relayed the instruction to the shelter team. The replacement barrier could not raise the tower or clear the road. The north node stayed dark until Qiao cleared the tunnel.
At the furnace, Qinghe received their report and marked the sector unstable. Yan continued to anchor the central line. His strength had grown through the active Offering, but falling debris and a cracked wall remained outside its benefit.
A search team heard a call beneath a roof edge. Two residents were trapped, both alive. One had broken legs; the other could move an arm but could not pull free. Wei assigned a lifting crew and asked Qiao Wen to check that removing the first stone would not shift the wall.
