Free Web NovelChapter 687: Chapter 309: Life-or-Death One Hour (Part 2)
Due to the high airtightness of the gas masks, communication is transmitted through electronic intercom devices.
Gu Ji’s eyes swiftly scanned the terrain. "I see that this factory isn’t too severely damaged, so the chance of people being deeply buried is relatively low. It’s more likely they were affected by a gas attack. Mr. Han, I suggest we disperse the teams and expand the search area!"
"Bian Shizhang makes a good point. The search and rescue teams should work in pairs and spread out. Technical group, prepare for drone reconnaissance. Medical and support teams, stay on standby to receive casualties and transport them to open areas for emergency treatment!"
Han Yue also noticed the damage here wasn’t too serious.
Thus, the sixty-member team instantly split into two parts, with 15 groups dispersing to search up front, while the medical personnel at the back handled emergency care.
"Unconscious workers found at the pipeline entrance!"
"Two unconscious workers found in the eastern liquefied petroleum gas storage tank area!"
"Hold on, we found six trapped individuals here. They’re pinned by a slab of concrete, I need support!"
Gu Ji followed Xiao Jian further into the factory area and finally stopped in front of a ruin, finding several heads in a crevice, all with closed eyes, making it temporarily impossible to judge their condition.
When nearby reinforcements arrived,
the group began setting up jacks at the edge of the crack. As the slab was slowly lifted, Wang Yuexi and the rescue team were the first to jump in, beginning to pull people out.
Among the six trapped individuals pulled out, two had their chests completely crushed, no longer breathing at all.
Among the remaining four unconscious, one had the face of the Xia citizens.
Gu Ji hurriedly carried the person on his back, quickly running out of the factory to an open area downwind.
Here, many unconscious injuries were already lying down, being treated with sodium bicarbonate solution by the medical team.
A Pakistani worker wearing a white safety helmet coughed twice and gradually woke up, "Cough cough, this place is..."
"Don’t worry. We’re the International Rescue Team from the Xia Kingdom. We saw you unconscious inside the factory, so we brought you out. You’re now safe."
Ying Wanyu gently reassured the white-helmeted worker.
Seeing someone waking up, Gu Ji immediately seized the opportunity and approached, "I’m sorry, the situation is urgent. Can you tell me what the condition of the workers was when the earthquake occurred? We have four compatriots from Xia Kingdom working in the factory. Do you know their exact locations?"
"Hey! The injured have just woken up; they’re not fully aware yet. You’re asking at this time..."
"Yu Tong, let him ask."
Ying Wanyu stopped her nursing colleague, knowing full well it was a critical time.
They only had an hour for rescue. Saving everyone in this factory, filled with toxic gases and dangerously explosive materials, was no easy task.
"Plaster removal..."
The white-helmeted worker mumbled vaguely, suddenly having a flash of recollection and coming to his senses.
"I remember now. After the earthquake, the factory building started collapsing. Some of us were buried inside. I managed to escape with another group, but when we saw the liquefied tanks and pipes start leaking gas, the supervisor ordered us to quickly shut the valves to prevent gas leakage. But halfway through, I blanked out."
"As for the Xia Kingdom workers, there indeed are a few in our factory. One is in Workshop No. 3 and should be buried under rubble. For the other three, two went with the supervisor to the main valve room, and one seemed to go with the warehouse manager to the hazardous materials storage."
Workshop No. 3 was where the Xia Kingdom face was just rescued from.
For a moment, based on this white-helmeted worker’s description and Gu Ji’s eyewitness account during the rescue, a three-dimensional map of the factory slowly formed in his mind.
The main valve room seemed to be just northeast of Workshop No. 3!
"Thanks, Xi Zi. I know where it is; follow me!"
With those words, Gu Ji led Xiao Jian and Wang Yuexi back into the workshop.
Yet, halfway through, near one of the storage tanks, a rescue personnel, gripping a pipe with one hand and holding his throat with the other, seemed to be in tremendous discomfort.
In the brief gap while he was scratching, Gu Ji noticed the skin around his neck had turned completely red, covered in blister-like eruptions resembling a rash. This was evident damage from prolonged exposure to high concentrations of toxic gas.
After the neck skin gets eroded, neck muscles reflexively contract from pain, causing difficulty breathing.
"Mr. Han! South of No. 3 White Tank, team member injured! Team member injured!"
"Brother, are you okay!"
Seeing the rescue personnel about to pass out, Wang Yuexi quickly dashed over to support him, calling back, "Medical team! Quick, someone come!"
"Xi Zi, tighten his collar! Don’t let him touch his skin anymore!"
Gu Ji reminded, glancing at his wristwatch which showed they had 20 minutes left. "Time’s running out. You take him to the medical team, I’ll continue searching!"
"Can you manage alone?"
"Don’t forget, I still have Xiao Jian!"
Gu Ji nudged his rescue dog with his boot.
Subsequently, the duo split up. When Gu Ji reached the main valve control room, he immediately saw the electronic console buried under rubble, along with a large section of twisted piping and wheel valves.
Three human figures lay beneath the twisted pipes.
"Main valve control room, found three unconscious casualties, two with Xia Kingdom faces. I need support!"
Shortly after Gu Ji’s call, two nearby rescue personnel rushed over to help carry the unconscious out of the factory.
Yet, during transport,
he noticed that the breathing of the search team member beside him had become visibly heavy, and his steps weren’t steady either. Looking closer, the skin on his wrist had turned just as red as the previous person.
There was no help for it. Their rescue combat uniforms weren’t specialized chemical suits, invariably leaving some areas unprotected—unfortunately, these were some of the most delicate parts of human skin.
Even Gu Ji felt a burning sensation on the back of his neck.
After rushing out of the factory, he quickly pulled a towel from his backpack, soaked it in water, and wrapped it around his neck.
Feeling the cooling effect, the skin burned by chlorine was noticeably soothed.
"Only 25 minutes left, hurry! Speed up!"
"Mr. Han, several team members have severe skin injuries. I suggest rotating shifts and calling for reinforcements from the earthquake command center..."
Gu Ji mentioned a suggestion sympathetically when he saw Han Yue still urging everyone on.
Han Yue naturally noticed the reddened skin of those team members. He had just begun to speak when the team member initially assisted by Wang Chuanxi stood firm and said, "Mr. Han, we can overcome this; it’s just a minor skin injury!"
"Yes! Only 25 minutes remain. If we start rotating now, the rescue speed will drop significantly. We still haven’t found one of our compatriots, and the trapped—doing so would mean they’ve completely lost hope of survival..."
"Mr. Han, let us continue!"
At this moment, the rescue team members crowded forward.
Looking at their reddened eyes, Gu Ji couldn’t help but feel moved.
Now he truly understood why police officers and soldiers are the country’s last line of defense, and why Wang Chaoyang was willing to leave his homeland to infiltrate Northern Myanmar the Bai Family for so many years.
There truly are such selfless and fearless people.
Han Yue clenched his teeth, seemingly making up his mind. "Alright, everyone, last 20 minutes of action. Medical team, stay ready at the perimeter to respond!"
"Yes!"
Having said that, Han Yue led everyone to rush in together.
The hazardous materials explosion room was located deep inside the factory. Gu Ji led Xiao Jian, running through countless toxic vapors. "Cough cough cough..."
Unexpectedly, even Xiao Jian started coughing.
"Hang in there, Xiao Jian, just one last step!"
Gu Ji encouraged his rescue dog. At this point, he also noticed a distinct burning sensation on his wrist and neck.
Perhaps inspired by the encouragement, Xiao Jian pushed through the discomfort and continued racing ahead.
Amid the yellow-green mist, Gu Ji finally spotted a rectangular workshop and saw a white figure lying at the warehouse entrance.
Supporting the worker up, it was indeed a face from the Xia Kingdom.
[Objective: Determine the condition of compatriots from Xia Kingdom in the seismic zone and strive to rescue trapped civilians, keeping the death toll below three for success!]
