Read Novel Full Chapter 222: The Rescue Team
Chapter 222: The Rescue Team
When they got closer, there was another boy around ten years old. He was continuously moving the collapsed wall, while a woman lay beneath the wall. Her blood had long dried up and her body was stiff and cold.
The ten-year-old boy already understood what death meant, yet he stubbornly moved the broken wall.
But he was a small child, skinny and lacking much strength. Even though his hands were scraped raw, the wall remained unmoved.
Huo Yishen stepped forward. He lends a hand to move the heavy wall.
As the wall moved, the boy continued to push his already stiffened mother, and a girl rushed over, her voice was extremely hoarse.
Unfortunately, no matter how much the two children called out, the woman could no longer open her eyes.
Seeing them cry, Doudou’s eyes reddened, tightly holding her brother’s hand.
Jiang Ning lifted the crying little girl, “Do you have any family left?”
The little girl shook her head, “Grandpa, grandma, dad is gone.”
She took out a bottle of water from her backpack and handed it over. The thirsty little girl gulped it down, “Thank you, sister.”
She drank half of it and then handed it to her brother.
Her brother held it tightly but didn’t drink.
Huo Yishen patted his head, “You’re older than your sister and already understand what’s happening. You need to learn to accept reality. Take your sister to the city area, find the official search and rescue team. They will take care of you.”
“Don’t linger outside, leave immediately.”
This place was too remote, and with two unarmed children, it was too dangerous.
The boy didn’t speak. He continuously wiped his eyes with his hands.
Jiang Ning pulled out another bottle of water and stuffed five or six packs of compressed biscuits into his hands, “Hide them well, don’t let anyone find them, take your sister to the urban area.”
“Thank you,” the boy choked.
Time was running short, Jiang Ning stood up and they continued on their way.
As Doudou walked, she couldn’t help but look back, “Sister, they’re coming.”
Jiang Ning turned around, seeing in the distance, the boy holding his sister’s hand.
The little girl followed hesitantly, but turned back every few steps, watching their collapsed home gradually disappear from view.
The sun rose quickly, and Jiang Ning didn’t slow down.
As they approached the city area, more and more survivors appeared, some severely injured, some lightly injured, most of them homeless, some stubbornly searching for their belongings in the ruins.
Several of them stopped Jiang Ning and the others, asking for food and water, “We’re injured, do you have any water? Please help us out.”
They were truly injured and pitiful, but their eyes were calculating something.
Jiang Ning ignored them and continued walking.
Some who were persistent wanted to follow, she didn’t hesitate to take out a crossbow from her bag, her eyes cold, “Stay back.”
They feared the crossbow in her hand and didn’t dare to approach.
This delay, however, was caught up by the little boy and girl.
Covered in dirt, he held his sister’s hand, dodging the survivors who wanted to stop them, wary and afraid. They hide behind Huo Yishen.
Jiang Ning frowned but didn’t say anything.
Along the way, as the sun continued to rise, buildings began to emerge, but only one in ten stood intact. The scene was too tragic, even those still standing on the broken ground were still dangerous, whether they could withstand the next test was uncertain.
But at least their existence gave some survivors a glimmer of hope.
However, most survivors were in despair, their numb faces looked like zombies, their eyes were empty and desperate.
Without food or water, they had lost everything, even their homes.
The municipal government had been issuing earthquake warnings for several months, repeatedly broadcasting them tirelessly. However, despite this, there were still many victims.
They had the chance to run, but they couldn’t bear to leave their possessions behind, so they carried the water and food with them, even wanting to take blankets.
They couldn’t even let go of a blanket, let alone their other belongings.
Don’t ask Jiang Ning how she knew; the rescue team had just carried out a body from the ruins, an elderly person in their fifties or sixties, whose movements were already slower than those of younger people. Yet they were still holding onto a blanket even in death, unwilling to let go even as their life slipped away, their grip remaining tight.
This was definitely not an isolated case; there were probably many more like it.
Apart from sighing, Jiang Ning didn’t know what else to say.
She stopped in her tracks, turned back to the boy, and said, “Go find the rescue team uncle, see how they arrange things for you.”
The boy hesitated for a moment but eventually walked over.
Who knows what was said, the man from the rescue team pointed to the survivors in the distance.
The boy was confused and hesitant, then walked back and took his sister’s hand, “Thank you, big brother, big sister.”
Jiang Ning sighed deeply, handed him a folding knife, “Protect your sister, don’t tell strangers that your parents are gone.”
After saying that, she walked straight ahead without looking back.
She had seen the unease and helplessness in his eyes, but so what?
Whether in this life or the last, such eyes were everywhere!
It was after nine o’clock when they saw Fengcheng River from a distance.
Jiang Ning took out her binoculars; Aoyuan hadn’t collapsed, it was still standing.
But the surrounding buildings, none were spared, all collapsed in the earthquake.
Fengcheng River was severed by ravines, with astonishing cracks appearing.
Either the roads were destroyed or blocked by collapsed buildings. It took them quite a detour to return to Aoyuan.
The outer wall had collapsed, and He Tianming was organizing manpower to rebuild it. “Hurry up, everyone needs to put in more effort. Only when we rebuild the wall can we be safe.”
Yang Weimin saw the two of them and hurried over, “Are you guys okay?”
“We’re fine, just some minor injuries.” Jiang Ning asked, “How is everyone else?”
Yang Weimin had some injuries, but they didn’t seem too serious. “I didn’t expect the earthquake to be so severe. The riverbank we took shelter in cracked, and many people were injured.”
Falls, scrapes, bruises, panic-induced collapses, seventy to eighty percent of the residents in the community were injured, fortunately, most of them were minor. However, around ten people were in more serious condition, three of whom fell into a crack and were buried. By the time they were rescued after the aftershocks, they… had already passed away.
The only consolation was that Aoyuan was spared. The surrounding buildings all collapsed. Thankfully the developer of Aoyuan was diligent.
Seeing the three return safely, He Tianming hurried over and then invited them to sit in the security room.
He was injured too, with scratches on his forehead and elbows.
“Comrade Huo, if you hadn’t reminded us yesterday, we might not have discovered the earthquake in time. Most of the people in the community are safe, but there are still many casualties elsewhere. The official rescue teams are too few, so the municipal government is calling for civilian rescue organizations.
With a country, there’s a home. The municipal government distributed benefits to the public some time ago. Old Yang and I discussed it and thought about whether our community could organize a rescue team to help search for survivors around?”
Jiang Ning had heard about He Tianming organizing a rescue team from Huo Yishen a long time ago, so when this scene unfolded, she wasn’t surprised in the least.
She didn’t rush to speak but fell into deep thought…
You can grab the full book now on my Ko-fi page, available in both PDF and EPUB formats! 🖤
📎 Here’s the link to the full novel