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墨書 Inktalez
The entire unit was mobilized, and a grand convoy moved through the city streets, attracting countless onlookers. I sat in the vehicle, observing the situation outside as the rain continued to pour. Inside, Pudding remained in its usual spot; there was no escaping this little creature, so I had no choice but to let it be.
As the convoy left the city and merged onto the highway, darkness fell after several hours of travel. We passed through a city and turned onto a secondary road, beginning a bumpy ride filled with ups and downs.
I lost track of time and dozed off amidst the jolting when the convoy came to a halt. The intercom crackled to life: "All units disembark, unload equipment, and prepare to board the boats!"
Huh? Have we arrived at the site?! I groggily sat up.
Despite my drowsiness, I followed orders and got out of the vehicle. Only then did I realize that in front of us lay a river—or perhaps a river swollen by floodwaters. Due to the higher terrain here, the water surged past us before making a turn and flowing behind us!
"Go downstream against the current! After passing an old damaged embankment, we'll reach Target Town in three kilometers!" The intercom crackled again; it was Commander’s voice.
"All units, all units please note, there is no time for further mobilization. Proceed in unit order; each unit must reach the target point within one hour!"
"One Company Commander!"
I was taken aback; why was I being called?
"Quickly enter the water and clear a path for the entire unit while scouting!"
"Yes!" I shouted as I stood at attention.
"Xuanhua, Sheng Xiong, and you—yes, Nong! Help Fatty; get the command boat into the water first. Other boats will follow one by one—hurry!" I commanded while pointing at several soldiers swaying before me.
Everyone acknowledged with an "Aye!" and quickly went to unload Number One Boat (Fatty's speedboat, which everyone had started calling Number One Boat) into the water.
With the truck's headlights providing illumination, as soon as the speedboat hit the water, I hurriedly took some essential equipment aboard with these few people. "Fatty, turn on the searchlight; let's go!" The searchlight on the speedboat blazed to life, illuminating a large area of water on the river's surface as the engine roared to life—we were heading upstream!
After some time, the water surface widened significantly, and visibility of both banks faded away. I glanced at my watch; it was nearly nine o'clock at night. Standing on Jinghe Fatty's boat, I instructed everyone to spread out and keep an eye on our surroundings.
For a moment, everyone was silent. After a while, Sheng Xiong standing on my left suddenly froze. He shouted towards Nong at the stern of the boat, "Listen! There's a woman calling for help!" Nong looked at him and replied calmly, "No, you heard wrong."
Sheng Xiong paused for a moment but then perked up his ears again. "There really is! Didn't you hear?!" He turned on his flashlight and shone it in the direction of the sound.
Nong suddenly snatched the flashlight away. "The sound of the wind and rain is too loud; you're imagining things!"
Sheng Xiong retorted angrily, "Even if it's an illusion, we can't overlook a potential survivor!"
He shouted at me, "Company Commander! Company Commander!"
At first, I thought they were just messing around. I turned and scolded them, "What the hell are you two doing at a time like this?!"
Sheng Xiong looked aggrieved. "I first heard a woman's desperate cries for help. I thought I misheard, but after listening for a while, I was sure it came from over there!" He pointed to the left of the speedboat.
I squinted into the darkness but couldn't see anything clearly.
Just as I was about to give the order to turn, Nong leaned closer and tugged at my clothes. "Company Commander, it's best not to get involved!" I looked at Nong's face; he seemed very tense and pale. I didn't react immediately. "What do you mean 'not to get involved'? Sheng Xiong is right; if there's a chance to save someone, we can't miss it! Fatty! Turn the boat!"
Nong seemed to want to say something else, but seeing my stern expression, he could only retreat to the back, sitting alone at the tail of the speedboat.
"Yes!" Fatty grabbed the steering wheel, and the speedboat roared as it began to turn. The searchlight mounted high illuminated the water area in front of us. As the speedboat changed direction, I could see clearly that there were only leaves and debris on the surface of the water—no sign of any woman.
"Where?!" I asked Sheng Xiong. He opened his mouth wide in disbelief. "It's right here! Company Commander, listen again!"
I closed my eyes and tried to discern the sounds amidst the wind and rain. Just a moment ago, there had been nothing, but now I could indeed hear a woman's voice calling for help!
"Left! A little more to the left!" I shouted. As the speedboat turned, I spotted something floating not far away! It was dark and hard to tell if it was a person.
"Fatty, do you see it? Head over there!"
"Prepare the rope!" I yelled. Xuanhua quickly grabbed a rope and got ready as the speedboat slowly approached. It was a woman—dressed in black—but she seemed to be unconscious and unresponsive!
The woman was lying on a piece of wood that was wedged between branches of a large tree that was mostly submerged in water. The speedboat couldn't get any closer. At that moment, Xuanhua had already tied himself with a rope and jumped into the water.
"Be careful!" was all I managed to say. But then Pudding unexpectedly took off into the rain! Where on earth was she going?! There was no time to worry about Pudding; my focus was on Xuanhua, hoping desperately that nothing would go wrong.
Xuanhua quickly made his way to the tree, wedging the woman under his arm. He tugged on the rope a few times, and Sheng Xiong helped pull from the other side. With their combined efforts, they soon hoisted her onto the boat.
The woman was relatively young, her long black hair obscuring her face. She was soaked to the skin, and there were traces of blood on her body, likely from being scraped by rocks. We laid her down on the boat and began to slap her face vigorously. After a while, she groaned and slowly regained consciousness.
Upon waking, she opened her eyes wide and sat up, exclaiming, "My child! My child is still on the roof!"
I crouched beside her, supporting her gently. "Calm down, ma'am. We are the People's Liberation Army. We are here to rescue you. Tell me where your child is, and we will go save them."
She looked at me in confusion and pointed ahead. "Just up ahead, upstream. The village has been submerged!" Her voice trembled with despair.
We couldn't delay any longer! "Full speed ahead!" I shouted.
I instructed Xuanhua and Sheng Xiong to help her lie down in the back space of the Speedboat. In that moment, I noticed Nong quietly avoiding them and standing next to Jinghe. It struck me as odd.
The Speedboat surged forward at full speed for a short while when suddenly, I spotted vague figures ahead! There were also sounds of rushing water, suggesting a significant current. I shone my flashlight on the map wrapped in plastic; we should be nearing the marked dam. This dam had been built many years ago for flood control, and I never expected it would be useful again after all these years. I pondered this as I studied the map.
"Turn on all the lights!" I commanded. The searchlight on the Speedboat flickered to life along with all the flashlights, illuminating our surroundings. Just a few meters away was a dam that appeared to have been constructed long ago. In the middle was a gap about three meters wide, with water surging violently through it, creating a loud roar as it rushed past. The difference in height between both sides had disappeared; the dam was nearly level with the water's surface. It was three or four meters wide, and numerous soldiers were busy with bamboo poles and hooks in the water for some unknown task.
"Company Commander, it's very narrow ahead! We don't know what the situation is!" one soldier called out.
"Stop by the side first and assess," I ordered. It was no joke; with such a gap and fast current, we couldn't remain under the water flowing through it.
"Understood!" Jinghe began adjusting our course.
At that moment, a soldier spotted us. "Stop! You can't pass! Who are you?!"
Xuanhua shouted from beside me, "Get your commander out here! We have an urgent mission! We can't delay!"
Not far away, a young man carrying a cylindrical object rushed over. His youthful face radiated confidence; he had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes that made him quite handsome. "What’s going on?!" he barked.
I could see him from afar but couldn't tell what he was carrying; it piqued my curiosity. However, judging by his demeanor, I felt certain he must be an officer or someone in charge.
"Hey, which unit are you from?!" I raised my hand in salute as I looked at the young man who was busy moving around.
"I'm from the Provincial Military District. My name is Ding Sheng, Lieutenant and Squad Leader!" The young man returned the salute.
I lowered my hand. "Flood Control Rescue Team, Company Commander Wang Wei. What are you all doing here?"
"Oh, you’re the Company Commander?! I’m here under orders from higher-ups. This area has been breached and is narrow, making it easy to get blocked. We need to clear this narrow gap to open a passage for the troops to evacuate the civilians!" The Lieutenant, who seemed to be about my age, stood at attention again. Despite wearing a raincoat, I could see that his legs were almost completely soaked. He wiped the rain off his face and continued, "Additionally, we are keeping a close watch here, afraid of missing any survivors. You never know when someone might float down with a wooden basin or something; we need to rescue anyone we can. This is the best spot for that."
"We're here to evacuate the civilians!" I intentionally shifted my body slightly to show him the insignia on my arm.
"Oh, it's you guys! You’re really fast; we just arrived not long ago." Ding Sheng's face lit up with joy when he saw the insignia. He looked at the speedboat I brought and the assault boat behind it, along with some equipment, his eyes showing a hint of envy.
"You guys are impressive! If only we had this kind of equipment," Ding Sheng said as he rubbed his hands together.
"Brothers, please hurry and clear this gap. We rescued a woman from the river; she's still on the boat. She came from that direction, and she has a child waiting to be rescued on a rooftop!" I said sincerely to Ding Sheng. It’s strange how you can instantly feel a connection with some people while wanting to distance yourself from others. For some reason, I felt a kinship with Ding Sheng; he seemed straightforward and like someone I could trust.
"Leader! That’s impossible! We’ve been guarding this area tightly; we haven’t missed a single blade of grass. How could we overlook a living person?" Before Ding Sheng could respond, a soldier nearby shouted.
(To be continued; more exciting content tomorrow!)
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