It was a relatively large village, situated on a gentle slope in the mountains, with a registered population of over 1,300 people.
Because the road was cut off, there had been a landslide in the early morning hours that completely blocked the road, preventing rescue personnel from reaching here.
Ling Chengyan picked up the binoculars to observe. The vast majority of the village’s houses were almost entirely subrged in muddy floodwaters. Judging by the number of houses, it did not match the introduction from the liaison personnel. It was speculated that old houses might have collapsed under the flood or were directly swept away by the torrents.
Scanning through with the binoculars, Ling Chengyan saw clearly that there were still many survivors in the village, so climbing onto rooftops, so hanging on tree branches...
Her binoculars paused slightly, clearly seeing a small boy around five or six years old tightly hugging a tree branch, and in front of him was a fluffy yellow shape—a dog.
Ling Chengyan turned back to look at her team mbers and began to give orders: all team mbers, divide into squads of ten, explore the routes, and enter the village for rescue.
She emphasized: "Pay attention to safety."
The squads took their orders and sprang into action. The chosen proficient swimrs led with rescue ropes, proceeding first, securing the ropes along relatively stable poles and trees to mark the path and ensure the safety for their comrades behind.
With the secured ropes, the team mbers advanced along them, which effectively ensured their movent safety.
Soon, one safety rope after another was anchored and fixed, marking out a path of life in the floodwaters, with the ropes faintly visible in the yellow torrent.
The team mbers hurried along the ropes to the village for rescue, and Ling Chengyan was no exception, following her team mbers into the village.
The water was deep; in shallower places, it reached the thighs, while deeper areas required swimming to cross. According to team mbers with good swimming skills, the depth in so areas might exceed three ters.
These places were likely original ponds or rivers in the village.
Olive green extended slowly in the murky floodwaters, forming a road of hope.
Seeing their arrival, the villagers began shouting. Although the dialect was unintelligible, Ling Chengyan and her team clearly heard cries of "Help!" and "Our troops have co!"
In their shouts and even their tears, they felt the surge of responsibility and pride from the depths of their hearts.
The liaison, Mr. Li, despite his poor physical condition, did not retreat. Instead, he persisted in following them. At this ti, he took out a gaphone from the backpack tied around his neck and turned it on, which initially played so off-key electronic music: ding ding dang, ding ding dang...
He awkwardly turned off the music and switched to the speaker function, then started addressing the crowd: "Folks, our troops have co to rescue. Please stay where you are and do not enter the water. The water is deep and currents are strong. Entering the water is dangerous... "
Even though the team mbers from Eastern Province found the local dialect difficult to understand, it was exceptionally familiar to the almost hopeless villagers.
Ling Chengyan briefly assigned the search and rescue directions and scope. Each squad took their orders and moved out. She headed straight for the large tree she had seen with the binoculars—the one with the small boy and the yellow dog.
This tree stood quite so distance from the still-standing houses, about a hundred ters to the southeast.
Only a few small trees were in between, barely visible above the floodwater, obviously unsuitable for use as rope anchors. Ling Chengyan had to proceed with caution on the rescue mission.
The water flowed rapidly and chaotically. Even in shallow waters only reaching the thighs, there were countless undercurrents and objects washed down by the stream, including tree branches, debris, and even animal carcasses. The ones floating on the surface were relatively easy to avoid, while those lurking below the muddy water were invisible threats.
Ling Chengyan was very worried about the child, but she did not act rashly. She held a long bamboo pole for balance and support. Once she saved the child, it would be difficult to swim back with the child on her back, but she could let the child hold onto the pole and slowly guide him back.
Other squads used ropes or things like bamboo and wood in a similar fashion to her. Without any rescue equipnt or boats, they had to rely on improvised tools to save as many people as possible while ensuring their own safety.
Ling Chengyan moved towards the small boy, using the bamboo pole for support, taking careful steps. Her direction was largely against the current and slightly diagonal too, requiring her to fight the water’s force, while also guarding against potential traps, obstacles, branches, or debris beneath her feet. Each step was slow; she only lifted her back foot once her front foot had found a stable position on the riverbed...
Step by step, she moved forward.
Suddenly, she stepped into emptiness, and the water shot up to her chin. Her hand slipped, causing the bamboo pole to drift a few feet away on the water.
Ling Chengyan’s heart sank for a mont, but she remained calm, treading water vigorously to stay above the surface. She then paddled and reached out to re-grasp the drifting pole.
With the pole for leverage, swimming beca easier. After another ten or so minutes, she finally reached the base of the big tree.
The ground where the tree grew was relatively high. Standing there, the water only reached about ten centiters above Ling Chengyan’s knees.
Looking up, the child was clinging to a branch more than a ter above her head.
With such height and the raging flood below, it was clearly impossible for a five or six-year-old child to jump down by himself. If Ling Chengyan wanted to save the child, would she have to climb the tree?
No, Ling Chengyan ca up with another solution.
The bamboo pole in her hand ca in handy.
She took out a knife from her waist. Using the tree trunk as support, she cut and snapped a finer segnt of the bamboo pole, about thirty centiters long, then split it open into two bamboo slats.
She made a cross with them, tied and fixed with the rescue rope she carried. A makeshift small rescue ladder was thus fashioned.
She secured the remaining rescue rope to prevent the bamboo ladder from being swept away by the water. Then, Ling Chengyan clutched the ladder and firmly planted it into the mud beneath before using it to reach the tree branch near the boy.
The child was holding tightly to the branch. It was unclear if he had fainted or was asleep; he had not made a sound since Ling Chengyan arrived.
Ling Chengyan gripped the bamboo ladder, stepped onto the bamboo slats, and climbed up, calling out: "Little boy, wake up, wake up!"
The big yellow dog, however, was awake. It had been just watching silently with shiny black eyes while Ling Chengyan set up the ladder and climbed up, without barking or biting.
At this point, as Ling Chengyan approached the little boy and the big yellow dog, the dog let out a low sound.
Ling Chengyan had raised dogs all her life, especially the big yellow dog still at ho. Being very familiar with dogs, she knew from its sound that it was not a threat but a plea for help, or perhaps a word of supplication.
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