After Being Reborn, I became a firefighter again?

Chapter 769: 506

The command post was somewhat shrouded in gloom at this moment.

They had dug out fifteen people, three of whom had survived.

There was also some bad news: the maps they had found were outdated and drastically different from the current situation in the mine, while the new maps were buried underground.

The hope for survival had significantly diminished.

And now, there were no accurate maps to guide the underground rescue.

It was like solving a math problem and also like placing bets in a casino. Now, besides the mine, there were only 12 bets on the outer perimeter.

The 27 bets inside the mine seemed to hold little hope too.

However, no matter the outcome, they would always bet on "survival."

"Mayor, should we perform directed blasting at the general location of the mine entrance? I think collapsing the mountain is too risky. It’s been under fifteen hours since the periphery was covered; we still have a chance for the outer search and rescue," Chief Commander Chang suggested.

The mayor finally slapped his thigh, sat up straight, and said leisurely,

"About the blasting... I think we should wait a bit. Fang Huai made a good point, a second landslide caused by blasting would make the effort futile. However, the search and rescue on the periphery must continue, whether they are dead or alive, we have to find everyone."

Having said that, he looked at Fang Huai.

Fang Huai felt the determination in those eyes, pondered for a while, and nodded.

He had no prior knowledge on this matter, and his judgments might not be accurate, perhaps, the mayor was right.

But after thinking, he still asked,

"Yes, Mayor! How soon will the top leaders arrive?"

He knew that once the top leaders arrived, the casualty data would be made public, and it might already be on TV. 12:3, once announced, would undoubtedly be a heartbreaking number for the whole nation.

But, this question was a bit insensitive.

Chief Commander Chang immediately reminded him, "Don’t ask too much about the leader’s itinerary; knowing that they have already left is enough. We are not clear on the specifics; they might go to the Municipal Committee first or somewhere else."

Fang Huai nodded, "Yes! I will continue to arrange search and rescue efforts!"

Having said that, he left the room again.

Fang Huai’s voice was soon heard outside:

"Blow the whistle, wake up! Shift change for the rescue dogs! Speed up the search! Those from the Second Squadron who went in first, go rest. You’ve been holding on for two days and are dozing off; why are you still hanging around? The second batch who went in at midnight, hang in there!"

"Reporting Command! We won’t rest either!"

"Yes! We won’t rest either! We can hold on!"

The voices of several hundred officers and soldiers involved in the search and rescue echoed one after another outside.

...

It was past 9 in the morning. freēwēbnovel.com

The mayor, along with several leaders, stood on an elevated platform, observing the search and rescue site densely flagged around the perimeter of the mountain.

Fang Huai was also repeatedly searching the system for the existence of "Chongqing Jiwei Mountain Mine Maps."

Unfortunately, the smallest available was a map; none of these peculiar items existed.

The mayor suddenly frowned slightly and said,

"Fang Huai, do these flags represent places that have been searched?"

Fang Huai regained focus, stepped forward, and said,

"No, they only represent between 7 to 9 meters underground, where we have counted the discovered buried buildings. This area has a shallower cover, all between 7-9 meters.

We’ve adopted a method of dispersed slope digging for the search: a team of ten handles one pit, digging down first, then using search dogs and devices for detection.

After confirming nothing is found, we plant a flag on the edge of the pit, mainly to warn passersby not to fall in.

Later, after the national soil and geological experts’ calculations are out, we’ll continue digging based on the locations with deeper burials."

"Oh..." The mayor’s expression relaxed a bit: "Don’t give up hope!"

However, Chief Commander Chang cautioned, "Be careful of falling boulders when excavating; such large stones can be lethal if they roll down and hit someone."

Fang Huai nodded, pointing to a nearby area, "Don’t worry, we stay quite far from any boulders over three meters, and we consider leaving pedestrian walkways. We’ve already created a two hundred meter long, one and a half meter wide flat walkway right there."

The leaders all nodded their heads.

Meanwhile, 150 meters from the front of the mountain, Liu Jianfeng was bent over, peering into a stone cave. He looked inside, then poked his head out and shouted,

"Captain Fang! Come and see! I’m not sure about the situation here!"

Fang Huai was out in an instant.

He darted from the platform, leaping into the air, bouncing off a few stones, and landing on a relatively flat surface as he rushed over.

His agility stunned the surrounding bystanders and the leaders behind him.

What was that? ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Lightfoot??

The government leaders all instinctively wanted to say "be careful," but he was already far away.

Chief Commander Chang, however, commended to General Fu of the Firefighting corps.

"Old Fu, I didn’t see that coming; your Fang Huai is quite the scholar-warrior! Those moves, perfect for a four hundred meters obstacle course, with a bit of training, he’d be skilled."

These words were obviously a probing attempt to poach him.

But General Fu’s lips slightly curled up.

"Not seeing it is your lack of observation. This lad, he’s the champion of our national Grand Martial Arts Competition, don’t set your heart on him. I’ve brought it up more than once with the bureau, if he were poachable, he wouldn’t be available to you."

"Ah... sigh." Chief Commander Chang let out a sigh.

At the cave entrance, Fang Huai, too busy to care about the leaders’ reactions, took off his safety helmet, leaned in, and observed the interior.

The entrance was very small.

Inside, however, there were possibilities.

Between the large stones, a downward void had formed, pitch black; a normal person definitely couldn’t see clearly, but Fang Huai’s eyes spotted a wooden board within a crevice on the cave floor.