Mongolian Steppe, at a certain coal mine.
The accident site had been cordoned off. Staff, rescue teams, and logistics personnel were all in position. The overall person in charge had arrived in the early hours of the morning and, with bloodshot eyes, now looked at the various experts. "What’s the current situation?"
"The earthquake caused a cave-in, severing the power cables and communication lines. We’ve lost all contact with the people below!"
"Our probes show at least three major collapses within the three-hundred-ter tunnel from the surface to the underground section. The rescue is going to be extrely difficult."
"The support structures are fragile right now. Large-scale chanical excavation could easily trigger a secondary collapse. The rescue operation itself is also incredibly dangerous, which ans it will take even more ti."
"How long?"
"Even to reach the nearest area, it might take more than five days."
"Five days? The golden rescue window is seventy-two hours!"
Everyone on site fell silent. Soone said helplessly, "The last slope collapse at the open-pit mine wasn’t this difficult, and that rescue still took over five days. This is much harder than rescuing people from a collapsed building."
"You think I don’t know it’s difficult?" the person in charge slamd his hand on the table. "But there are one hundred and thirty-two people trapped in there!"
The head of the fire and rescue team, dressed in red, stood and saluted. "Sir! We’ve already set up a shift rotation for a twenty-four-hour, non-stop rescue effort. When we hit a dangerous section, the team leaders will go in first. We will complete the rescue mission in the shortest ti possible!"
The person in charge took a deep breath. "I just got a call from Yandu. They want us to cordon off an area for a camp and pitch twenty tents. And the tents are not to have any carpets."
The rescue head frowned. "We’ve already set up a rest area for our staff. Any rescued survivors will be sent away for dical treatnt imdiately. What’s the point of pitching more tents? And no carpets? What kind of request is that?"
"I don’t know, but the official from Yandu will be here in two hours. He demanded we have it done before he arrives." The person in charge shook his head, but relayed the order nonetheless.
"Yes, sir!" The rescue head had no choice but to accept the order unconditionally.
Two hours later, when Zheng Hongsheng arrived at the accident site, he found the camp had already been built and the tents pitched. The on-site person in charge brought a group of departnt heads to report the current situation to him.
"Director Li, Director Zheng."
Although he didn’t know why Yandu had sent two officials, the on-site person in charge dutifully reported the situation clearly. "The rescue operation has begun," he said, "but the outlook is not optimistic. Any major disturbance could trigger a secondary collapse, which would endanger not only the trapped miners but the rescue workers as well."
The official in charge, Li Huchao, knew Zheng Hongsheng’s true role. He couldn’t help but look at Zheng Hongsheng, signaling him with his eyes.
Zheng Hongsheng took out his phone to check it while saying, "They might not have yet—"
"Who are you? How did you get in here?" a staff mber’s questioning voice suddenly ca from outside the tent. "Hey, wait! You can’t go in there!"
Zheng Hongsheng’s eyes darted. He bounded to the tent entrance in a few quick steps, moving like a young man, and saw Taoist Ming Yu and Taoist Yan Qi standing quietly nearby, blocked by the staff mber.
"Taoists, please, co in!" Zheng Hongsheng hurriedly slapped the staff mber’s hand away and invited the two Daoists into the tent. After they entered, he personally pulled the tent flap closed.
Everyone else stared, utterly bewildered.
Once inside the tent, Zheng Hongsheng introduced Taoist Ming Yu to Li Huchao, the official from Yandu in charge of the incident, and to the on-site director from the Mongolian Steppe. He then explained the current situation. "We’ve lost contact with the trapped personnel underground. The subterranean structure is fragile, making the rescue extrely difficult. Any major disturbance could easily trigger a secondary collapse."
Taoist Ming Yu nodded. Taoist Yan Qi, however, chuckled. "Don’t worry, I won’t trigger a secondary collapse. But the underground area is vast and structurally complex; my Divine Sense can’t stretch too far. Do you have the approximate locations of the trapped people, or perhaps so kind of detection device?"
"Yes, yes, we do!" Zheng Hongsheng imdiately pointed to a blueprint of the underground works taped to a mobile whiteboard. "Most of them are in areas A, B, and C along this line, as well as in work zones D and E."
"There might be scattered individuals in other areas, but we have no confirmation. We also have a life-signs detector here. Depending on the density of the ground, it can detect things at a range of three to eight ters."
Taoist Yan Qi stared blankly at the instrunt by Zheng Hongsheng’s hand and said in disbelief, "Only three to eight ters?"
Besides Li Huchao, the on-site director and the heads of logistics and rescue were also in the tent. They weren’t fools; seeing Zheng Hongsheng’s deferential treatnt of the two Daoists, they had kept their confusion to themselves and remained silent.
But now, seeing Taoist Yan Qi’s lack of common knowledge, the head of rescue couldn’t help but speak up and explain, "In an open area, its effective detection range can reach eighty ters. But underground, there are too many obstructions. Whether it’s radar, sonar, or infrared, it’s difficult to detect anything from too far away."
Taoist Yan Qi nodded in thanks. "I see. Thank you for the explanation. But since the detection range is so short, this old Daoist won’t be needing this device."
’Three to eight ters,’ he thought. ’Even underground, my Divine Sense can reach much farther than that.’
"We saw you’d already pitched the tents on our way here," Taoist Yan Qi said to Zheng Hongsheng. "Since that’s all settled, I’ll head down and rescue the people."
"Yes, yes, of course!" Zheng Hongsheng nodded imdiately. "Shall I take you to the accident site? I can clear the area to main—"
"No need." Taoist Yan Qi shook his head, then gave a slight nod to the others present. The next mont, his entire body seed to shrink down and sink into the ground, disappearing from sight.
Everyone else was completely flabbergasted.
Everyone present was stunned. Even Li Huchao, who knew about the Taoist Research Institute, stared with his eyes wide as copper bells.
Zheng Hongsheng couldn’t help but press his lips together, casting a reproachful glance at Taoist Ming Yu. Only then did he turn to the other three n in the tent. "What you saw today, you are not to speak of it to anyone!"
The on-site director and the two departnt heads snapped back to their senses and nodded vigorously, like chickens pecking at rice.
’Are you kidding ?!’
’What did we just see?’
’A living person just WHOOSHED and burrowed into the ground?’
The on-site director subconsciously stomped on the ground. This was a temporary command post; beneath his feet was just packed yellow earth with scattered patches of grass.
’This was definitely not a magic trick!’
Then, they all subconsciously looked toward Taoist Ming Yu.
Taoist Ming Yu simply smiled at Zheng Hongsheng. "I’m going to head to those tents. I need to see if any of the trapped people Junior Brother Yan Qi brings up are injured."
That snapped Zheng Hongsheng back to his senses. "I’ll have ambulances on standby next to the camp!"
"No need." Taoist Ming Yu shook his head. "My presence will be sufficient."
Zheng Hongsheng stood dumbfounded for another mont before taking the lead. "I’ll show you the way!"
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