"What else?"
Song Lili glanced at him.
"..."
"Don’t be resentful. Didn’t you say you also have friends in M country? But how co I haven’t seen any of your friends co to help us?"
At Song Lili’s words, Zhongli Wuzhi felt his face was lost.
"Those people... have all fled to other countries for refuge..."
He muttered a sentence.
Most of those he knew were also M country’s elite, mostly businessn.
As the war started, those with even a slight vision would have escaped to avoid the storm. The most pitiable were the ordinary civilians who had nowhere to flee to and could only hope for a bit of rcy from both sides of the conflict.
Song Lili waved her hand. She had spotted a soldier holding a sign at the exit, dressed in a military uniform.
After greeting him, the soldier led them out and they hopped into a military vehicle heading toward the city center.
"We’re now on our way to et Major General Qiao Ke. When are we going to the church?"
Zhongli Wuzhi was only concerned about this.
Of course, Song Lili wouldn’t squander this ti by going out of her way to Qiao Ke,
"Qiao Ke is nearby."
Only then did Zhongli Wuzhi breathe a sigh of relief. He took out his cellphone. As soon as they exited the plane, he had sent a ssage to Xiaoer, not knowing whether Xiaoer had received it.
Her signal was poor on that end and she needed to conserve battery life—she probably wouldn’t keep her phone’s internet on continuously.
"Has Xiaoer replied to the ssage?"
Song Lili asked.
"Not yet," Zhongli Wuzhi said, his voice revealing his despondency.
"It’s okay. I believe Xiaoer can hold on."
Zhongli Wuzhi chuckled lightly,
"I believe in her too. She’ll definitely hold on. You don’t know how, during the Dongheng earthquake, she was in the disaster area helping with rescue efforts. She managed to save so many people with her clever words..."
Song Lili was worried about Lu Xiaoer and also hadn’t forgotten Wen Nian. As soon as they landed, she sent a voice ssage to Wen Nian: Ah Nian, we’ve arrived in Caesar.
And Wen Nian virtually replied in a second: Is it safe at the airport? Has soone received you?
Song Lili: Yes, an old classmate of mine from Germany has his n escorting us to Angus Church.
Wen Nian’s heart was in his throat, and his words leaked just a hint of tension he couldn’t quite conceal: Keep your phone available for contact. I’m negotiating with the governnt of M country through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As soon as the negotiations succeed, I will imdiately send soone to M country to join the rescue and protect you.
Song Lili curled her lips: Don’t worry, even if you don’t send anyone, soone will protect .
Wen Nian: As soon as you’ve rescued Xiaoer, co back imdiately. I’ve arranged flights for you. The earliest one is tonight at ten.
Song Lili hadn’t expected Wen Nian to have arranged everything so ticulously.
She responded: Alright, I understand. We’re about to arrive. I’ll catch up with the details and then talk to you.
Wen Nian pursed his lips: Be very careful, don’t be reckless. Rember, if you give your life to save Xiaoer, she won’t be able to live well.
Song Lili: ...I understand.
She wasn’t about to give her life to save her; she was going to do everything within her power.
As long as Xiaoer was still breathing, she would not give up an iota of hope. That was the reason she had co here.
...
The vehicle stopped in the center of Caesar City, a few hundred ters away from Angus Church.
From the direction they exited the vehicle, the sight of the ruins was horrifying, more striking than any photo published in the news.
Zhongli Wuzhi stood, his long legs sohow stiffening beyond his control...
Little Ear was underneath that imnse, ravaged ruin... such a colossal pile of rubble...
So small and slender she was... where exactly was she buried?
At this mont, Song Lili’s feelings were no lighter than those of Zhongli...
Looking at the ruins of Angus Church, she seed to see despair.
She swallowed gulp after gulp...
Just then, Major General Qiao Ke ran over, "Tang!"
"Qiao Ke..."
Song Lili snapped back to reality, shaking hands and hugging Qiao Ke. There was no ti for pleasantries—she got straight to the point:
"How’s the rescue work going? Any progress?"
Qiao Ke sighed, "So far, a total of twenty-six bodies have been excavated. No survivors."
"..."
That number was truly dreadful.
Especially the words "no survivors" made Zhongli Wuzhi’s heart quiver endlessly.
His entire body turned cold.
"That area has already been cordoned off, and our fire departnt and rescue teams have been working for over sixteen hours..."
"Can you take us there?"
"Co on, Tang."
Qiao Ke drove them in a car, and in two minutes, he led them across the blockade, standing by the ruins of Angus Church.
Song Lili was completely stunned, and Zhongli Wuzhi, looking at the seemingly endless rubble, started to tear up...
Angus Church, the largest Catholic church in M country—thousands would co here every Friday night to pray.
The terrorist attack happened on a Friday night...
Such devilish acts... utterly appalling.
"Has Xiaoer not sent a ssage back yet?"
Song Lili asked Zhongli Wuzhi, her voice trembling with each word.
Zhongli Wuzhi kept staring at his phone, but Lu Xiaoer’s ssage was not coming...
"Song Lili, you think... she hasn’t passed out, has she?"
"Not at all."
Song Lili took a deep breath, grabbed Zhongli Wuzhi’s phone, and directly sent a video request to Lu Xiaoer...
When they ended communication in the morning, Xiaoer said her phone was at forty percent battery life.
If she rembered what she said, the battery shouldn’t deplete so quickly, so the phone should be in a communicable state.
"Xiaoer, please answer..."
Song Lili stomped her feet in urgency. She had to find out Lu Xiaoer’s exact location before the explosion to conjecture her current position.
The rescue team’s current task was to dig people out, but with such a vast area, how long would it take to clear the entirety of Angus Church’s ruins?
A task as daunting as The Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountains!
Reviews
All reviews (0)