Chapter 39

Chapter 39

The shelter was in the direction against the wind, making the convoy's progress extremely difficult. Feng Chen's vehicle, leading the convoy, could only inch forward, despite the driver flooring the accelerator.

Though capable of hovering, the vehicles couldn't risk being flipped and blown away under current conditions, so they had to proceed on tracks.

Visibility outside was very low, nothing was clear. The tracked vehicles, usually unimpeded by terrain, could still progress over stones and mounds, but they weren't armored tanks. After blindly crashing into a wall, the vehicle had to back up and find another direction to continue.

Feng Chen, sitting inside, felt the vehicle sway and shake. Several times, it seemed like it would overturn, but miraculously steadied, much like a weathervane.

Everyone inside was extremely tense, on edge, not a single word spoken except for the leading soldier issuing orders through the radio.

"Stay close, keep the distance between vehicles no more than three meters."

"Vehicle number three, vehicle number three, have you fallen behind? Respond immediately if you receive this."

……

The convoy moved slowly, covering less than two miles in an hour. During this time, a few vehicles were eventually overturned by the wind but managed to stabilize after rolling a few times, causing no major issues. They adjusted their direction and continued forward.

They had prepared to travel through the hurricane, but unexpectedly, halfway through their journey, the fierce wind suddenly ceased without warning. It was as if a disaster movie playing had been paused, the tumultuous wind abruptly stopping, and the yellow sand in the sky settling to the ground.

Objects swept up into the sky by the storm began to fall, hitting the roofs of the tracked vehicles with thuds. Fortunately, these military vehicles were extremely sturdy; despite the barrage, they remained undamaged. A regular car would have been wrecked by now.

When the world finally became quiet, the doors of each tracked vehicle were opened, and everyone cautiously disembarked.

Feng Chen also stepped out, his feet sinking into thick dust as soon as they touched the ground. In just that short while, the dust from the sky had piled up over a foot high, covering half of the tracks of the vehicles.

"The wind stopped, finally, damn it! I was scared to death just now."

"I've lived for thirty years, and this is the first time I've seen such a strong wind. Never even heard of anything like this before."

"I was nearly blown away. Luckily, I grabbed onto a steel rod. Someone next to me was blown away right before my eyes, and I couldn't reach out to grab him."

……

But not everyone felt lucky to have survived. A middle-aged man next to Feng Chen looked worried: "Don't you think it's too dark for the afternoon? It feels like it's almost evening."

Feng Chen also noticed the dim light. He looked up to see dark clouds hanging even lower, still churning ominously, like a black tide looming overhead.

A drop of water splattered on his face shield, blossoming like a tiny flower. Feng Chen blinked and was about to touch the droplet when the sound of dripping began to intensify around him.

He looked down to see numerous small dark spots appearing on the thick dust, rapidly spreading into larger patches.

"It's raining, it's raining! I knew it was going to rain."

"Finally, it's raining from the heavens. It's going to cool down, definitely going to cool down."

……

Everyone rejoiced at the long-awaited rain, the panic from nearly being swept away by the wind fading. But within a few moments, the rain intensified, merging into sheets, pouring down heavily.

Once again, the world became noisy, but this time not with the sharp howling of wind, but with the deafening sound of rain.

Feng Chen watched as the rain quickly soaked into the surrounding dust, lifting his arm to check his wristwatch. When he saw the per-second rainfall amount, his heart skipped a beat.

The numbers on the wristwatch were rapidly changing: 24mm/second, 26mm/second, 32mm/second... In just a brief moment, it had reached the peak of a torrential downpour and was still climbing sharply.

The leading soldier, hailing from a military camp and well-trained, immediately sensed danger and started urging everyone to get on the vehicle.

"This rain is unusually heavy, hurry up, everyone back to the vehicle, no dilly-dallying, let's head back to the shelter."

Feng Chen, being closest to the vehicle, turned and walked towards it. The inch-high dust at his feet had turned into sludge, the water on the surface unable to seep down quickly enough, rapidly forming a shallow pool.

"Move it, move it, move it, no more dawdling, those at the back, hurry up," the soldier kept urging.

The thermal suit, serving as a raincoat at this moment, crackled as the rain hit it. Feng Chen felt as if his feet were stuck in the mud, each step a struggle to lift, but fortunately, he was close to the vehicle and quickly clambered aboard.

Wiping the rain off his thermal suit's visor, he turned to look at the others and saw those further away struggling more with each step, sinking deeper and deeper, as the surface water rapidly accumulated, some even waist-deep in water.

"Faster, move faster," the soldier's tone became more urgent.

Panic-stricken voices cried out, "I can't move, my feet are stuck in the mud, I can't pull them out."

"I can't move my feet either, what do we do? The water's up to my waist."

Seeing more and more people getting stuck in the mud, the leading soldier decisively shouted, "Stop walking! Crawl on the ground, pull your feet out like we did when the wind started, crawl like that."

At this moment, Feng Chen looked at his wristwatch: 45mm per second.

He inwardly cursed, realizing the rainfall rate had broken the record highs of recent years in Haiyun City. They had stopped in a depression to avoid the wind; the thick mud and rising rainwater meant those outside needed to get on quickly, or the situation would become very dangerous.

Even the driver had left the vehicle earlier, leaving him alone inside. He searched around, lifting the co-pilot's seat, and found a long rope in the storage compartment underneath.

Holding the rope, Feng Chen leaned out of the vehicle and yelled, "Catch!"

He threw the rope forward with force, slicing through the heavy rain, stretching out in mid-air, with one end reaching the distance.

Seeing someone pick up the rope, he tied the other end to the leg of the seat.

With the rope, things became easier. The people at the front got on the vehicle first, pulling on the rope, and then with Feng Chen's help, they pulled out those stuck in the mud. Seeing this, others in the vehicles followed suit, throwing ropes outside, quickly pulling everyone on board.

The vehicle door closed, the leading soldier ordered to move out. The track vehicle pressed through the mud, continuing forward.

The temperature started to drop. The vehicle's auto air conditioning had stopped unknowingly, showing 36°C. But no one felt relieved from the heat, as they were now facing another dilemma.

The convoy left the depression, advancing towards the shelter through the torrential rain. The sky was pitch black, the rain pounding on the roof thunderously, as if they were traveling under a massive waterfall.

The vehicle's headlights could only illuminate a couple of meters ahead, and water streamed down the windows. Feng Chen strained to see through them, noticing that the floodwater had already risen to the vehicle's midsection, the water's surface undulating just below the window.

"The road is completely submerged, I can't see the path anymore, what do we do?" the driver had to shout over the noise of the rain.

Feng Chen's vehicle, being the lead, now faced a dilemma: the road was invisible, there were no buildings on either side to use as references, and the area was riddled with potholes and wide cracks left by the earthquake. Continuing blindly forward could be perilous.

Before the lead soldier could devise a plan, a frantic voice came through the radio: "This is Car Seven, Car Six was driving ahead, keeping to the left, then suddenly vanished. This is Car Seven, Car Six was keeping left and then just disappeared, suspect there's a crack on the left, Car Six might have fallen in."

The lead soldier called into the radio: "Car Six, if you can hear me, please respond. Car Six, please respond."

The radio remained ominously silent.

"Dammit, don't deviate from the path, follow the car ahead closely, stick right to its tail!" the lead soldier yelled furiously.

Suddenly, another voice roared through the radio: "This is Car Twelve, we're stuck in a hole and can't get out, the water's flooded the windows, what do we do?"

"I'll contact the shelter, ask them to send help ASAP."

The lead soldier tried to reach the shelter using the internal communication system, but only static came through the headset.

"Damn it! The antenna on the roof must have been damaged by the wind."

Cut off from the shelter, the lead soldier was at a loss, gripping the radio. The temperature inside had normalized, but through his thermal suit's visor, Feng Chen could see sweat streaming down his face.

"We can't stay in the car any longer, we need to get out, leave the vehicle."

As everyone anxiously awaited the lead soldier's decision, a calm, yet youthful voice sounded in the vehicle.

The lead soldier turned towards the speaker, recognizing him as Qin Shen, the reticent teenager.

Qin Shen had made a strong impression, often silent and aloof. Despite his youth, he exhibited a maturity beyond his peers, easily making one forget his age and not treat him as a child.

"Leave the vehicle and then what?" the lead soldier pounded the side of the vehicle, "The water's already so deep outside, what can we do if we go out?"

Feng Chen stared intently at the lead soldier, his voice as calm as ever, "We must leave the vehicle, swim back as fast as we can."

"Swim back?" someone exclaimed in surprise, "Do you know how far it is to the shelter from here? Nearly two kilometers, against the current, and with the strong wind, heavy rain, and darkness, you expect us to swim back?"

Feng Chen didn't look at him, still focusing on the lead soldier: "The water isn't too deep yet, many buildings are still above water. We can use them as rest points and swim back to the shelter in stages. We can't move forward in the vehicles anymore, and staying here will only get more dangerous."

"Swim back..." the lead soldier muttered, then followed up, "What if we get separated?"

Feng Chen pointed to the long rope at the bottom of the carriage: "Don't we have this long rope? Everyone ties themselves to it, so we won't get separated by the current."

The lead soldier thought this was a viable solution. Despite some hesitation, seeing the water level outside the window rise relentlessly, he finally made up his mind, slapping the side of the vehicle firmly: "Then let's swim back."

Moments later, the tops of each tracked vehicle were opened, and people began to emerge. Standing on the roofs, soon to be submerged by the flood, they were all tied to the same long rope, resembling a string of gourds hanging from a vine.

In the pouring rain, those on the roofs struggled to keep their footing. The lead soldier shouted into the radio amidst the storm: "Everyone turn on the lights on your heads, and the leaders of each vehicle maintain contact via radio."

Feng Chen turned on his headlamp, seeing faint glimmers of light in the rainy night nearby – lights from people on other vehicles.

The lead soldier continued, "Our first target is that building 500 meters to the right front. Can everyone see it?"

"The rain's too heavy, can't see it," came the responses over the radio.

The lead soldier replied, "No problem if you can't see it, I have an infrared device that can detect it. Just swim in that direction."

"Understood."

The lead soldier instructed, "We'll regroup at that building. Each vehicle, report your readiness now."

"Vehicle Three, all personnel in position, one person can't swim and is wearing a life jacket."

"Vehicle Eight, all personnel in position, one person can't swim, no life jacket available, but others will assist him."

"All personnel on Vehicle Ten are ready."

"Vehicle Eleven, ready."

……

In just that short time, the water had already flooded over the roofs. The vehicles underfoot began to wobble, as if they might float away at any moment. Without further hesitation, the lead soldier yelled decisively, "Move out!"

Feng Chen, along with those beside him, plunged into the water. As the torrential rain poured down, he kicked his legs at the moment he hit the water, propelling his body to the surface.

The light from his forehead lamp couldn't penetrate the dense curtain of rain, illuminating only a small cluster around him. He was surrounded by thrashing 'gourds,' making it impossible to distinguish one person from another.

The sound of rain drowned out all other noises. Feeling the rope around his waist being tugged, Feng Chen vigorously moved his limbs, struggling to maintain direction with the other 'gourds,' swimming towards the right front.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning streaked across the gloomy sky, brightly illuminating the earth and revealing the bobbing heads in the water.

Everyone was vigorously paddling, moving in the same direction. As they got closer, the building soon came into view, its general outline emerging.

It was a building that hadn't collapsed, now submerged up to the second floor. Feng Chen and his group clung to the exposed second-floor balcony and climbed in.

Swimming five hundred meters in this environment was completely different from a pool; after each person clambered onto the balcony, they collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.

People from the other vehicles also swam over, climbing up to the second-floor balcony. Soon, the balcony was crowded with people, half-sitting, half-lying down.

The team leader soldier picked up the walkie-talkie: "Report the situation from each vehicle."

"All members of Vehicle Eleven have arrived."

"All members of Vehicle Seven have arrived."

"All members of Vehicle Thirteen have arrived."

……

Everyone from all the vehicles had successfully reached the first resting point. The team leader soldier used a detector to scan ahead and found a second resting point above the water surface, four hundred meters away.

"Rest for ten minutes before continuing. The target is four hundred meters ahead."

The rain intensified, the balcony offering no protection. Through his thin thermal suit, Feng Chen felt chills. Lying flat, he suddenly thought of Yan Bubu, wondering what he was doing now.

At the underground settlement, next to the surface elevator, Yan Bubu stood holding Bi Nunu.

Each time an elevator descended, his eyes would light up, scanning the faces of those disembarking. When he didn't find the person he was waiting for, the light in his eyes would dim.

Everyone getting off the elevator was soaking wet, their expressions serious and exhausted. Yan Bubu, not seeing Feng Chen, followed one of them and asked anxiously, "Uncle, is it raining outside? Why haven’t those who went to the warehouse returned?"

Often hearing about the plantation in the cafeteria, Yan Bubu had become concerned about the potatoes. This morning, when Feng Chen went to work on the surface, Yan Bubu, still in bed, half-awake, asked him to check on the potatoes. Feng Chen had said he was going to the warehouse, not the plantation, so Yan Bubu remembered it.

The man glanced at Yan Bubu and said, "It's pouring outside, and there's a flood. The people at the warehouse will probably be late in returning."

"A flood..." Yan Bubu stood still, his face gradually turning pale.

He knew about floods from TV news, vividly remembering scenes of flooding in Ziya City. People who couldn't evacuate in time were left clinging to tree branches or standing on rooftops, waiting to be airlifted.

But were there helicopters outside now? Was his brother trapped in the flood? And if he was hanging from a tree branch, would a helicopter come to rescue him?

A group of soldiers disembarked from the elevator, hurrying towards the military headquarters. Yan Bubu watched the elevator, then their retreating figures, and followed at a safe distance.

He wanted to find out if the Western Union Army would send helicopters to rescue his brother.

The military headquarters was in chaos. People were running through the corridors, shouting orders, not noticing Yan Bubu trailing behind the squad of soldiers, allowing him to enter the building and ascend to the second floor.

A room on the second floor was open, with loud conversations coming from inside. He entered, finding it was a suite, with the conversation happening in the adjacent room.

"Colonel Yu, the plantation is submerged, and we couldn't salvage the crops in time. Fortunately, all personnel have returned."

"What about the people from the south city?"

"They have also returned."

"And the Hongyun Warehouse?"

There was a pause before the reply: "We've lost contact with the people at Hongyun Warehouse."

Hongyun Warehouse, was that where his brother went? It must be.

Yan Bubu stood in panic, breathing rapidly, his fingers clutching Bi Nunu tightly.

After a moment of silence, Colonel Yu asked, "Have you reported the current situation to General Lin?"

"Yes."

"What did General Lin say?"

The responder said, "General Lin instructed that you handle it. He said we should closely monitor the gates of the settlement. Regardless of whether people outside have returned or not, once the water level exceeds the warning line, we must close the gates immediately."

Inside the building, there was a moment of silence. Colonel Yu said, "I'll go check the front door. You stay here and assign tasks to the others."

"Understood."

Hearing footsteps approaching, Yan Bubu realized she shouldn't be there and quickly crouched behind the sofa, peering out with one eye.

A young military officer strode out of the inner room. Around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, he was tall and slender with handsome features. Just as he reached the doorway, he paused, his gaze drifting towards the sofa on the left side of the room.

Fearing discovery, Yan Bubu quickly pulled her head back, daring not to look outside again.

Colonel Yu paused for only half a second before his footsteps continued, stopping at the suite's door.

"Gather your squad and follow me to the shelter's main gate," Yan Bubu heard him command others.

"Yes."

Once the footsteps faded away, Yan Bubu hurriedly crawled out from behind the sofa and left the room.

Colonel Yu was walking about ten meters ahead. Yan Bubu jogged to catch up, treading lightly as she followed behind him.

Colonel Yu walked forward without looking back. Other people who encountered Yan Bubu assumed he was being escorted by Colonel Yu. Though slightly surprised, they said nothing, allowing Yan Bubu unimpeded exit from the military building.