Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Why are you calling me? Call the Rescue Team!" Luo Yi said sternly.
"I already called," Amin replied in shock, hurriedly responding, "I just called. The Rescue Team is on their way! I'm just reporting to you!"
Luo Yi hung up the phone and made a sharp turn on his motorcycle, heading in the opposite direction.
Racing along the dry river valley, the colorful forest seemed like melting paint, rapidly retreating like an impressionist painting.
After rescuing that group of students, Luo Yi really wanted to give them a good scolding.
However, upon arriving at the scene, he realized things were far from going smoothly.
It was a narrow river valley, shaped like a bowl, with slopes covered in trees on both sides; the valley floor was littered with mudflats. Three students—a boy and two girls—were trapped in the middle of the mudflat.
The mountain's dam had burst, like a reservoir opening its gates, and flash floods were sweeping through the valley, causing the water level to rise continuously. The "island" where the three students stood was visibly shrinking at an alarming rate.
Luo Yi abandoned his motorcycle and ran over. Seeing the scene before him, his heart sank. Among the four people who had managed to escape to the shore, Zhou Yao was not one of them.
Luo Yi often interacted with members of the Rescue Team and knew them well. He approached the captain and asked, "What's the situation?"
The captain shot him a fierce glare. Luo Yi understood immediately and nodded repeatedly, "It's my fault for not keeping an eye on them. It's my responsibility. Thank you for your hard work, Brothers."
The captain wasn't in the mood to settle scores with him and pointed to the water's surface: "Look at this water; it's flowing so fast that swimming across is impossible. Anyone who goes in will be swept away."
Luo Yi glanced at the figure standing in the center of the water and furrowed his brow tightly.
There were no trees in the center of the small island to serve as anchor points, making it impossible to throw a rope between the shore and the island for rescue.
What made matters worse was that the distance between the shore and the island was considerable, and it was difficult to throw heavy objects tied to the rope over. Several team members continued to try throwing the rope onto the island, with a few even entering the water to shorten the distance.
Other team members began digging soil and stones on the shore to fill sandbags.
The autumn wind was bleak, and light rain fell continuously.
From the mudflat came Sulianlin's cries: "Help us! Think of a way!" She pointed at the water that was slowly creeping in, crying, "The water is coming! It's flooding! Please, save us quickly!"
Moyang lowered his head, smoking a cigarette, his brow furrowed, remaining silent;
Zhou Yao squatted on the ground biting his fingers, also silent. After a long time, he caught a whiff of smoke and asked Moyang for a cigarette, trembling as he lit it.
The thrown rope fell short again, and Sulianlin sobbed, "I'm sorry, Yao Yao, if I hadn't come to pull you, you wouldn't be trapped."
The water had already risen above their shoes. Zhou Yao didn't want to say anything; he buried his face in his arms, shaking from the cold wind.
On the shore, Tang Shangri-La Duo was anxious and urged, "Can you hurry up? The water is rising higher and will drown them; can't you see?"
Her tone was harsh, and the team leader felt displeased but held back due to his responsibilities. He explained, "Classmate, we are not delaying; please wait aside for a moment while we figure out what to do—"
"What are you figuring out?" Tang Shangri-La Duo interrupted. "If you can't throw the rope over, can't we call in a helicopter?"
Lin Jinyan also asked, "Is there a helicopter? Let’s get a helicopter—"
"The wind in the valley is too strong today; a helicopter can't come."
Tang Shangri-La Duo was overwhelmed and said without thinking, "I think it's your rescue team that has a problem, with no equipment, no experience, and no methods! You can only watch people die!"
The captain's temple throbbed, and Commander's expression changed as he stepped forward, "Don't think just because you're a girl—"
"What are you stalling for?!" the captain shouted sternly. Commander fell silent, shot a cold glance at a few people, and turned to leave.
The captain looked at Lin Jinyan and the others, his tone still restrained: "We are doing our best; please wait patiently aside and do not interfere—"
"People are about to drown, and you’re still talking about patience?" Ji Yu lost control as well. "The water is up to their calves, and you’re still dawdling on the shore. Why don’t you get in the water to save them?—I’m telling you, if something happens to them, you will be responsible; your entire team will be held accountable!"
"Shut the hell up!" Luo Yi reprimanded in a low voice. Once the students quieted down, he signaled the captain to step aside and took over.
The anger on their faces had not subsided, and they were about to argue with Luo Yi.
Luo Yi spoke up: "When the Flash Flood broke out, weren't you all nearby? Were you saving your companions or running for your lives? Huh?"
Suddenly, everyone fell silent.
"Not saving is instinct; no one blames you. I warned you not to go out today; if you didn’t listen, no one blames you. But now that something has happened, you're showing off in front of the Rescue Team Member, what kind of behavior is that? Huh?—Just because you've read a few more years of books doesn't mean your eyes should grow above your head. If something happens to you, don't come looking for help!" Luo Yi sneered and continued, "The rescue workers here aren't much older than you; some of them are under twenty with arms thinner than yours!—You all can swim, right? So why are you standing on the shore? With such a sharp tongue and time to shift blame, why not get in there to save your companions?" Luo Yi pushed Ji Yu forward. "Get in the water and show me!—Go on!"
Ji Yu lowered his head, his face flushed.
"Scared?" Luo Yi said. "Then shut your mouth and obediently stand aside like a good boy!"
Lin Jinyan and the others were left speechless by the reprimand. Summer Melody pulled them aside, leaving the shore to the Rescue Team Member, then came over to apologize: "Sorry, Boss Luo. They were just anxious and overwhelmed; they don’t usually act like this. Please don’t take it to heart."
Luo Yi was filled with anger and had a very poor expression but didn’t say much more. He simply replied, "Trust the rescue team; don’t make things worse.—And you don’t need to apologize to me."
"I know," Summer Melody nodded. "After we finish up in a bit, we will sincerely apologize to them."
Luo Yi waved her off and looked back at the Flood. The water had risen to thigh level, and Sulianlin had stopped crying, likely in shock. Luo Yi couldn't see Zhou Yao's face; she, Sulianlin, and Moyang were tightly huddled together for support.
The earlier argument hadn't affected the rescue efforts; the sandbags for stabilizing the boat were ready. The three tallest team members held onto a rope while carrying heavy sandbags into the water, swaying unsteadily in the rushing current, but they moved step by step, determinedly approaching the people trapped in the center of the flood.
Luo Yi stood on the shore, fixated on the Rescue Team Members slowly advancing through the Flood and on the trapped individuals in the center.
The biting cold wind whipped around them, and occasionally broken wood or branches would rush down with the water, hitting or scraping against them.
The water continued to rise, soon reaching the waists of the three students. They clung to each other, swaying side to side in the current as if they might be swept away at any moment. Fortunately, after each sway, they managed to stabilize themselves.
Luo Yi's fists were clenched tightly; he would rather jump into the water himself to help. But at that moment, he could only trust the rescue team and not create more chaos.
Time passed second by second as the icy Flood quickly submerged people's chests. No matter who it was, every extra second spent in the water drained their strength further.
The Rescue Team Members gradually approached the three students, getting closer and closer until finally, their outstretched hands clasped together. The team member grabbed hold of a student, handed them a life jacket, and led them to hold onto the rope as they waded into the water.
On their way back, the water level rose higher and flowed faster.
Each team member protected one of the three students as they moved inch by inch toward the shore, with the rope swaying in the Flood. The girl was shorter, and soon the water was over her neck.
The Rescue Team Member saving Zhou Yao was a Tibetan young man; he held onto the rope while clutching a sandbag with one hand and lifted Zhou Yao with the other, saying, "Hold onto my shoulder."
Zhou Yao complied, tears welling in her eyes.
The rescuer was exhausted from exertion; he was cold and tired but gritted his teeth and pushed on step by step with all his strength toward the shore.
Several rescuers jumped into the water to assist.
Moyang was the first to be caught, followed closely by Sulianlin. Zhou Yao was last, squeezed together with Moyang and Sulianlin. Several hands reached out to pull her, and she grasped one of them tightly.
Suddenly, a wooden stake floated by in the water. Amidst the chaos, Zhou Yao felt a loosening at her waist. Her heart sank as she turned in shock; the rescue team member behind her had vanished!
Zhou Yao screamed, "He was swept away by the water!"
Five meters away, a green garment floated briefly before sinking. He had given her his life jacket.
Zhou Yao shouted, "Save him! Help!"
Everyone was either too preoccupied or still pulling students, unable to react in time. Luo Yi jumped into the raging current and was instantly submerged.
A rescuer on the shore also dove in afterward, and others wanted to follow to help but were loudly stopped by the team leader: "No more jumping in!"
Going into the water now was a gamble with their lives. Two people were enough. The fear was that they wouldn't be able to save anyone and would lose more lives in the process.
Zhou Yao was dragged to the shore, staring at the surging flood, no one’s figure visible anymore.
Suddenly, fifty meters downstream, Luo Yi emerged from the water, looking around. He couldn't find the young man who had been swept away but was quickly pulled under by the flood.
He disappeared beneath the surface once again.
The group panicked and ran downstream along the riverbank:
"Yang Cuo! Yang Cuo!"
"Luo Boss! Luo Boss!"
Zhou Yao was so terrified that she forgot to cry and could only run desperately.
After running nearly three hundred meters, Luo Yi finally emerged from the water, holding onto someone with one hand while waving to the shore with the other. He was struggling in the turbulent current and couldn't swim over.
The companions who had followed him rushed downstream to his side and helped him support the drowning person.
"Rope!" the captain shouted urgently. The team members quickly threw a rope into the water. Luo Yi and his companion grabbed the rope, and everyone on shore pulled them up with all their might.
Luo Yi was soaked and coughing from the water, kneeling on the shore gasping for air.
Zhou Yao scrambled over, turned the drowning rescuer over, and felt a chill run through her heart.
The rescuer was icy cold. Zhou Yao's hands trembled as she hurriedly checked his nose and chest.
There was no breath.
No heartbeat.
Zhou Yao's mind exploded with shock, leaving her blank.
Mechanically, she quickly laid him flat and began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation: once, twice, three times, four times, five times. She knelt up and interlocked her fingers to perform chest compressions: "1, 2, 3, 4—"
She counted each compression as she pressed down: "5, 6, 7—"
But the rescuer's face was ashen, showing no signs of response.
"11, 12, 13—" She pressed down hard, tears streaming down her face.
Her hand had already been cut by branches in the water, bleeding.
"Zhou Yao—" Lin Jinyan stepped forward to pull her away.
"Get away!" She ignored them, pressing down on the Rescuer's chest, "17, 18, 19—"
Her tears fell like beads from a broken string, coldness, panic, fear; her hands and feet suddenly began to cramp, and she painfully curled up on the ground.
"Zhou Yao—" Ji Yu and Tang Shangri-La Duo came over to support her.
"Leave!" Zhou Yao pushed their hands away. "All of you get out!"
Luo Yi remained silent and continued to perform CPR on the Rescuer. However, whether it was a new round of artificial respiration or chest compressions, the Rescuer showed no response at all.
Luo Yi feared that something terrible had happened. He refused to give up, pressing down on the Rescuer's chest again and again. Exhausted but determined to use all his strength, he was worn out, while team members took turns trying to save him.
Zhou Yao looked at the now unresponsive Rescuer and cried uncontrollably, like a drenched dog. Just moments ago, he had been holding her through the water; how could he be lifeless now?
He had been so alive just a moment ago?!
Zhou Yao looked up at the group of companions she once knew well. Her face was covered in tears, filled with resentment, regret, and hatred:
"I told you not to come—" she cried out word by word, heart-wrenchingly. "I said not to come!! You didn't listen! None of you listened!! Now look what happened; someone is dead!"
Zhou Yao broke down in tears: "It was my rescue that killed him. I am the murderer. —Why wasn't it Sulianlin? Why not Moyang? Why you?! Why is it me?! —I said not to come; I said not to come! You all share the blame; you are all murderers!"
Flash Flood At the moment of the outbreak, wanting to save a companion is instinct;
At this moment, being abandoned by fate alone, hating companions is also instinct;
In the face of crisis, on the edge of life and death, everyone is no longer themselves.
Sulianlin cried as she hugged her: “Yao Yao, I’m sorry. If you hadn’t tried to pull me, it wouldn’t have happened—”
“And you,” Zhou Yao pushed her away and stood up. Her fingers trembled as she pointed at Sulianlin's face, crying like a child who had been betrayed, “You clearly heard that the water would rise in the mountains. You heard it, and you didn’t help me speak!”
“I did say it!”
“You didn’t! None of you listened!”
Zhou Yao stood in the wind and rain, swaying unsteadily. No one noticed her standing at the breach on the shore; cracks were gradually appearing in the mud beneath her feet.
“I hate you all! I don’t want to walk with you anymore.”
Summer Melody wanted to comfort her, but Zhou Yao was out of control, refusing to get close to any of them, not listening to anyone's words. She panicked and stepped back when she suddenly heard someone call her: “Zhou Yao!”
With tears blurring her vision, she looked over to see Luo Yi standing across from her, drenched.
Luo Yi was about to speak,
“Don’t!” More tears streamed down her face, her mouth pouting in grievance and sadness, bending down continuously. “Don’t blame me. I was wrong; please don’t blame me.”
Luo Yi took a gentle breath and reached out to her calmly, saying: “Zhou Yao, come here. Let me see you.”
Zhou Yao shook her head in fear, like a child who had done something wrong and dared not approach their parents. She sobbed, her shoulders trembling, her words unclear: "I didn't, I didn't listen to you. I said I wouldn't come. They didn't listen. I really said so."
Luo Yi quickly glanced at the widening crack beneath her feet, not daring to alarm her for fear of causing panic. He swallowed quietly, sweat mixing with rain on his forehead.
He reached out his hand, slowly moving a step closer to her, speaking softly:
"I don't blame you, Zhou Yao. Come here, come to me. Let me see if you're hurt. — Now, stretch out your hand."
Zhou Yao was crying uncontrollably, trembling all over, but obediently extended her hand to him.
Luo Yi caught her hand and held it tightly. Just at that moment, the sound of a rescuer coughing broke the tension, startling Zhou Yao and causing the ground beneath her to shift.
Luo Yi reacted quickly, pulling Zhou Yao into his arms just as the spot where she had been standing collapsed into the rushing floodwaters.
He held her tightly and swiftly retreated to a safe area.
Zhou Yao buried her face in his chest and cried out loudly, her words incoherent as she sobbed about things no one could understand.
Yet Luo Yi understood.
He grasped the back of her head and pressed her firmly against him: "I know."
Comment 0 Comment Count