Free Web NovelChapter 338: Chapter 271: Unexpected Aftershock... With the Cola Boy
"Open!"
The metal sheet had become tightly wedged, and it took a firm kick from Fang Huai to pry the passage open.
The second he emerged, daylight flooded in.
Just inches beyond the barrier he had erected, a neatly cut section of the tunnel vanished from view.
Even the slope was nearly flattened out.
At the entrance, a path appeared—a spacious work surface with a gentle, winding route.
All this was masterfully controlled right at the mouth of the passage, where the width narrowed, curving outward without affecting any of the surrounding debris.
When Fang Huai stepped out, he looked around in amazement.
On the vacant land beside him, another excavator had appeared, unmanned. One squad leader was operating both machines alternately.
This wasn’t engineering; it was art!
Since his rebirth, it was the first time Fang Huai had felt the urge to learn how to operate an excavator.
"How about it, is this enough for you to carry out the rescue?" Squad Leader Fan had already gotten out of the vehicle and was waiting for him at the newly excavated entrance.
Fang Huai nodded and called out, "It’s enough! The rest of the digging can be done by hand!"
The moment he walked out of that narrow path, he was surrounded by people saluting him.
Applause broke out instantaneously.
There were also the sounds of cameras clicking.
A few reporters were saying something to their cameras as well.
Battalion Commander Liang immediately rushed over, asking, "Are you hurt at all?"
Fang Huai held his waist and twisted a couple of times, then shook his head.
Battalion Commander Liang also shook his head but with admiration:
"Tsk, brother, you’re really tough! When that huge slab fell, I thought you couldn’t hold on! But, to everyone’s surprise, you actually pulled through!"
Fang Huai didn’t take the credit, and immediately pointed downwards, saying, "Alright, leave the rest to you and the Earthquake Rescue Team. I need to catch some sleep."
"Aren’t you going to wait until the people are rescued out..." Battalion Commander Liang began to say, then he suddenly realized something was off, "When I fell asleep, you were at Ruins No. 2, right? And when I woke up, you were at Ruins No.4... Have you gone more than a day without sleeping?!"
Fang Huai waved his hand dismissively, "The task is critical. It’s almost been 48 hours, get going and make arrangements!"
Saying this, he turned back to look one more time at the entrance of the hole.
He reassured himself that the difficulty of the rescue had now significantly decreased before he finally turned and walked straight toward the tent.
Battalion Commander Liang and the surrounding soldiers watched his retreating figure hunched over in exhaustion and felt a twinge of shame about their military uniforms.
For a long while.
Suddenly, Battalion Commander Liang turned around and yelled, "What are you looking at? Get to work! Fast!"
...
Fang Huai’s sleep was interrupted an hour later by a series of shoves and shouts.
When he opened his eyes, there wasn’t a soul around him.
He immediately realized it wasn’t someone shoving him.
It was an aftershock!
"Get out, Ma Qing!"
"It’s going to collapse, hurry!"
Fang Huai looked up just in time to see the building where the Mianyang Team was conducting a rescue swaying slightly, with about a dozen people shouting below it.
Others were surrounding the four-story teaching building, which was on the verge of collapse, yelling:
"Get out quick! Come out first then think of a plan!"
In that moment, a hand emerged from a window at the building, waving briefly, followed by a loud shout.
"If I die, please take care of my mom for me!"
The voice was incredibly steadfast, and then the sound of machinery could be heard starting up above.
The girl’s cries upstairs grew louder:
"Uncle, please leave! Hurry!"
"Stop yelling! Conserve your energy!"
The aftershock gradually ceased.
But the building continued to sway.
Seeing this, Fang Huai immediately ran closer, tapped on the shoulder of someone from the Mianyang Team, and asked loudly:
"What’s going on? Haven’t they been rescued yet?"
"The girl’s legs are both pinned! The stone slab is too big, it just can’t be moved! And that corner can’t fit many people! We came up with several plans but none worked!
This morning, our cutting machine broke down, so we had to order another one!
Just as the cutting machine arrived, he went back up to cut the slab, and that’s when the aftershock hit!"
As another member of the Mianyang Team was explaining, the entire building suddenly began to tilt severely. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
degrees.
"The building’s collapsing! Ma Qing, jump down!!"
The sound of machinery above stopped.
degrees.
degrees.
The figure of that firefighter never reappeared in the window.
"Boom!"
"Crash..."
The building finally hit the ground with a thunderous impact, instantly turning into ruins.
"Ma Qing!!"
Fang Huai dashed forward, shouting:
"Help, we need to save him!"
As the building toppled diagonally, Fang Huai kept a close eye on the area around the second-floor corner where he had last seen Ma Qing, which was at the outer part of the debris.
It’s alright, he must be alright!
The two-way radio immediately echoed throughout the school:
"A firefighter from Hanwang Dongqi Middle School is trapped! Command, Command, we need backup!"
Fang Huai was the first to start moving debris, with others quickly joining in.
"Dig here! Hurry!"
He reminded loudly.
Soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army also rushed over from Ruins No.4. Over two hundred people worked together.
...
In just a few minutes, a flash of orange clothing and a pair of white gloves became visible.
Exactly as Fang Huai had anticipated, the victim was located near the edge, and it wasn’t long before they were able to pull the person from the wreckage.
The survivor was covered in dust, with an evident head injury from a falling brick or stone that was still bleeding.
Fortunately, he was lying on his side when they found him, which probably protected him to the greatest extent. After quickly removing his clothes to check for serious injuries, it seemed there were none, apart from the bleeding head wound.
"Where’s his helmet?" shouted someone from the Mianyang Team.
"Helmet’s here! Get a doctor, quick!"
The soldier from the People’s Liberation Army managed to pull a girl who was close to him out of the rubble. A soldier held her in a half-embrace, propped up on his knees.
The girl wore Ma Qing’s helmet on her head.
But she was not so lucky, as she kept vomiting blood.
Fang Huai’s inner gloom had reached its extreme, feeling a bit dizzy and disoriented.
The earthquake unceasingly devoured lives in all sorts of ways. Not to mention the common people, even he could hardly bear it.
He got up and yelled, "Don’t wait any longer, get people out first! Quick!"
"Yes, the medical staff have already arrived! Let’s go to the school gate and see if we can meet them! Don’t waste time!"
In a frantic scramble, four or five people carried Ma Qing, the firefighter, while the soldier from the People’s Liberation Army ran out holding the girl who kept vomiting blood.
...
The girl’s life ended before they could reach the school gate.
The firefighter was transported to the Temporary Medical Station where the doctor said there shouldn’t be a big problem.
The girl, however, after futile attempts at resuscitation on the spot by the medical personnel, was brought back and placed next to the playground, becoming one with the dozen or so yellow body bags lined up together.
The medical station couldn’t accommodate too many bodies; over time, it could lead to an epidemic or even infect the injuries of the wounded.
Even these yellow bags had to be taken to the large pit prepared halfway up the hill and buried by the afternoon.
A layer of lime, a layer of bags.
A layer of lime, a layer of bags.
The lime was for sanitation.
A major disaster is merciless and also deprives people of their burial rites.
The people around once again shed tears, saying that the girl had been trapped all morning, with no family coming for her, likely an orphan. Her last bit of luck was taken away by an aftershock.
That firefighter, he tried so hard, risking his life to save that girl, trying to preserve her legs intact, but ended up with one dead and one injured.
Fang Huai sat numbly next to the girl, listening to the sighs of the crowd around him.
"She said she could dance a national dance, and was going to dance it for Ma Qing when she got out."
Someone from the Mianyang Team sat down next to Fang Huai, softly speaking while taking out a pack of Honghe cigarettes.
He flicked out one and offered it to Fang Huai.
Fang Huai looked into the distance and shook his head.
"Ah..." The man took back the cigarette, lit one for himself, and stared off into the distance, saying leisurely:
"That little girl, so sensible she was. Every time the building shook, she’d tell us to be careful. Legs were trapped under that big slab of rock, painful just to look at, but she didn’t make a peep.
Only four people could fit in that corner. We four tried to lift that slab the first time, didn’t even budge it.
Likewise, we did not dare to push hard later, afraid of hurting her.
Every time Ma Qing went up and saw that girl, he’d almost cry. He said he had to save her legs, that’s why he took the risk."
"This fucking disaster... it’s like stabbing a knife into people’s hearts, one after another, just too painful to bear.
Our Mianyang Team, the local people heard we were going to the epicenter for relief work and lined up for hundreds of meters to see us off. Just arrived and we’ve already lost a life, how can we face going back!"
Fang Huai listened, covered his eyes, and took a trembling breath, clenching his teeth tightly.
Some soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army who were resting around, upon hearing the firefighter’s words, stared at the newly added yellow bag and let their tears flow involuntarily.
Here, the brilliance of humanity, sensibility, and compassion, brought about endless sorrow.
Because the passing of life took all these beautiful feelings with it.
If one were to be here, they would know that rescuing a person not only leads to a family’s tearful gratitude but also gives countless people around a sense of hope and warmth.
The disaster area, countless hearts on the brink of collapse, needed good news.
Needed more good news.
Fang Huai wiped away his tears and stood up.
"Let’s go, rescue people. We have no right to cry."
...
"Clang... Thud!"
"Lift it up, lift it up!"
"He’s out!"
After over two hours of relentless effort, Xue Xiao was carried out by everyone.
Just then, it was 2:28 in the afternoon.
The boy inside named Xue Xiao was likewise sensible and in good spirits. Shortly after regaining consciousness, he began to speak, saying he was a man and urged everyone to save Ma Xiaofeng inside first.
Everyone laughed and cried at the same time.
This boy had been trapped in the dark rubble for too long, unable to move, unable to see his surroundings with his eyes. Everyone had to save him first, get him out, so they could safely open a passage to rescue Ma Xiaofeng inside.
Ma Xiaofeng was also talking inside, saying Xue Xiao was very timid and not at all like a man.
So, during the rescue, everyone kept teasing Xue Xiao light-heartedly while laughing.
Many people, hearing the laughter inside, wanted to squeeze into the still-dangerous narrow space.
They were so desperate for laughter.
Since arriving at the rescue site, they had not heard any laughter.
Those inside laughed because they were happy for the two lives that were about to see daylight again.
But just as he was about to come out, Xue Xiao said he wanted a cola.
This remark made Fang Huai and the Earthquake Rescue Team pause.
Cola.
At that moment, undoubtedly a luxury.
But his words made everyone laugh.
It was as if they were reentering the world filled with joy.
Yes, there’s still cola in the world, not just sorrow.
So everyone looked at each other and agreed to his request.
Three minutes later, Xue Xiao, the lively character, was carried out to the open ground by everyone.
The surrounding crowd reached for his legs, watching eagerly from outside the cordon.
"Another one rescued! It’s a boy!" freēwēbnovel.com
Many people revealed smiles.
And this lively boy did not disappoint, coming out with his eyes closed, he loudly said:
"Uncle, don’t forget my cola!"
The people outside burst into laughter upon hearing this.
The reporters were even more excited, snapping photos repeatedly.
Next to him, a member of the Earthquake Rescue Team said with a beaming smile:
"Cola? Sure! We’ll get it for you right away!"
"I want it frozen!"
Everyone laughed even more brightly, looking around and shouting:
"Alright, alright! Frozen cola!"
"Okay!"
"Frozen cola!"
They were attempting to spread this rare joy all around.
