Liu Shaojun was hesitating when Chen Ningxi directly grabbed the rescue rope and threw it over him, "At crucial monts, real n don’t fall short, hurry up."
"Leaving you here alone, what kind of situation is that?"
Before Liu Shaojun could finish speaking, Chen Ningxi heard the low rumble behind her again, like the ground was slightly trembling, branches snapping, stones colliding, and the subtle sound of buildings collapsing. She had a bad feeling about it.
"Quick, hurry!" she urged.
Liu Shaojun realized that the upstream had opened the sluice gates again to release the floodwaters. He was just about to undo the buckle on his waist when Chen Ningxi pushed him over and shouted into the walkie-talkie,
"Quick, pull him over!"
Soone on the other end started directing the team to pull the rope. It took fifteen people to pull one person over, and with Liu Shaojun’s tall and burly figure, even more people were needed to join the auxiliary rope team.
The firefighters coordinated everyone’s efforts to pull, but Liu Shaojun’s build made it tough for the continuously rescuing team. People onshore joined in one after another. Chen Ningxi focused intently on the people over the river, completely unaware that a few strands of the rope secured to the power tower had been cut due to friction. Moreover, as the effort to pull Liu Shaojun increased, the damage to the rope beca more severe.
Lin Hanrui listened closely, his eyes glancing towards the darkness, nudging Cheng Qiaobei, his voice trembling, "It’s bad, the upstream is definitely releasing the floodwaters, the wave is coming."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Qiaobei also joined the team to rescue Liu Shaojun, "Quick, pull, the upstream is releasing the floodwaters."
The incident happened suddenly, no one anticipated the unexpected situation, and more and more people joined the team.
Liu Shaojun was pulled to shore. He didn’t bother getting up and imdiately started taking off the rescue rope, saying anxiously as he unwound it, "The wave is coming, save her quickly."
Crash... the wave roared like a demon, indicating the massive force and destruction it was about to unleash.
As the floodwaters approached, the waves pounding against the power tower beca tumultuous, sounding like thunder, with the montum of thousands of galloping horses.
Facing the unknown flood peak, Chen Ningxi shivered uncontrollably. She looked into the pitch-black night, the raindrops getting denser. Her clothing was soaked either by rain or sweat. The wind found its way through her sleeves and collar, leaving the wet clothes clinging coldly to her skin.
Swoosh... the dark wave surged forth, devouring everything in its path like a roaring beast. Chen Ningxi’s heart tightened, yet she remained calm in the face of danger.
The rescue rope was pulled back again. Chen Ningxi grabbed it quickly, putting it over herself while the walkie-talkie kept urging,
"Manager Chen, quick, the wave is here."
Just as she clasped the safety buckle, a massive wave crashed into her, subrging her instantly in the murky water.
The firefighter shouted, "Pull her up, pull her up—"
Even Liu Shaojun, who had just been saved, joined the rescue effort, gritting his teeth, pulling desperately at the rope.
Cheng Qiaobei stood by the riverbank, nervously staring at the rushing river until Chen Ningxi was pulled out of the water, and he could finally breathe a little easier.
The upstream flood release caused the water level to rise sharply. The rescue rope, which was initially above, was now almost level with the water surface.
After being plunged into the water, Chen Ningxi seed to have fainted, hanging motionlessly by the rescue rope. Cheng Qiaobei’s heart raced, pounding as if it would jump out.
On a highway, a supercar could cover fifty ters in just over a second, but the fifty-ter span before Cheng Qiaobei seed like a vast distance.
People were gradually pulled closer to the riverbank. Lin Hanrui ran over, noticing sothing was wrong with the person in the water, "Why isn’t she moving?"
Cheng Qiaobei only watched the person on the rescue rope, silent.
Thirty ters, twenty ters, ten ters, five ters...
It looked like they were going to succeed.
Suddenly, the rope on the power tower snapped. The person was instantly swept into the raging floodwater. Before Lin Hanrui could react, soone jumped in.
"Old Cheng—"
Just as Lin Hanrui turned to grab a lifebuoy, Liang Lei darted over with a lifebuoy along the riverbank, shouting, "Lin Hanrui, chase—"
Cheng Qiaobei leaped into the water, a hidden whirlpool beneath, a complex environnt. Chen Ningxi almost got sucked into a whirlpool. Cheng Qiaobei grabbed her several tis before managing to hold onto her.
His arm slipped under her armpit, supporting her from behind as they swam towards the shore. But the current was too fierce, and they drifted further from the bank with every stroke, depleting Cheng Qiaobei’s energy dangerously. If they couldn’t reach the shore, the consequences could be catastrophic.
Suddenly, soone on the shore shouted, "Cheng Qiaobei, catch—"
Cheng Qiaobei saw Liang Lei throwing the lifebuoy his way with all her might. He reached out and grabbed it, putting the lifebuoy around Chen Ningxi.
The people on the shore pulled the rope, Liang Lei shouted, "They’ve got it, pull—"
Lin Hanrui and the other firefighters pulled the rope together, and seeing them getting close to the shore, Liang Lei ran over, shakily grabbing Chen Ningxi’s raincoat, dragging her onto the bank.
Cheng Qiaobei followed closely, getting ashore without a second thought, turning her over, hastily undoing her raincoat, and starting CPR.
His heartbeat was faster than ever, pinching her nose, performing artificial respiration twice, but Chen Ningxi still showed no response, and he continued pressing on her chest.
Liang Lei, with reddened eyes besides him, said tearfully, "Ning Xi, Ning Xi, wake up..."
Lin Hanrui also stood tensely, clenching his fists, his brow furrowed.
More and more people gathered around, so holding umbrellas, so shining lights, all worriedly watching the person on the ground.
Cheng Qiaobei continued CPR, calling her na, "Ning Xi, Ning Xi... Chen Ningxi, Chen Ningxi..."
After his third round of artificial respiration, Chen Ningxi finally reacted, coughing up a mouthful of water.
"Ugh..."
Cheng Qiaobei quickly turned her to the side; she lay on the ground, water draining from her mouth.
Everyone finally felt relieved, especially Liu Shaojun. If sothing truly happened to Chen Ningxi, he couldn’t forgive himself for a lifeti.
Chen Ningxi had just awakened, utterly exhausted, breathing heavily.
At that mont, Liang Lei couldn’t help but cry, hugging Chen Ningxi, sobbing,
"Ning Xi, you scared to death, sob sob..."
Cheng Qiaobei knelt on the ground, closing his eyes, his hand trembling at his side, only he knew how fearful he felt while saving Chen Ningxi.
Lin Hanrui held an umbrella over them, telling Liang Lei, "Leizi, the rain is too heavy, get in the car first."
"Oh, right."
Liang Lei sniffled, wiping her tears with the back of her hand, but her face was soaked, making it hard to distinguish between rain and tears. She hurriedly helped her up, but Chen Ningxi didn’t stand.
Cheng Qiaobei slipped his hands under her and lifted her horizontally, seeing him cald her. She rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes peacefully.
"Lin Hanrui," before Cheng Qiaobei could speak, Lin Hanrui said, "You go first, I’ll handle things here."
With so many people on site, so helped Lin Hanrui secure the inflatable boat. Cheng Qiaobei nodded, carrying her towards the car.
Cheng Qiaobei reclined the seat back, covering Chen Ningxi with another piece of clothing.
Both soaked, he turned on the heater. The car was sealed and quiet, with the roar of the heater humming.
On the way to the hospital, Chen Ningxi kept her eyes closed like she was asleep, but his heart couldn’t calm down for a long ti.
That night, they faced death together, making him realize, when you love soone, you truly wish her a long life.
"Honey."
"Hm?" Chen Ningxi responded softly.
Cheng Qiaobei said from the bottom of his heart, "You have to live a long life."
She was too tired, curving her lips, "You too."
Reviews
All reviews (0)