Chapter 398 Rescue

The resettlement site in the northern suburbs was surrounded by open space, and although there were no tall buildings that collapsed.

However, the earth shook violently, causing the canvas on the tent roof to rattle loudly, and the ground to undulate visibly.

This plunged everyone into chaos.

The crowd scattered, searching for a safe place.

Upon seeing this, Lu Huailin's expression changed, and he immediately shouted loudly.

"Everyone crouch down! Protect your heads! Don't run around!"

His roar pierced through the chaotic sounds, carrying an undeniable authority.

Upon seeing the chaos at the resettlement site, the soldiers immediately and orderly dispersed to various corners of the site.

Some shielded the elderly and children with their bodies.

Some loudly reassured the crowd, "Don't panic! Just crouch down and you'll be safe!"

Seeing Zhao Xu busy calming the crowd, Zhang Mei also suppressed her inner fear.

Wipe the dust off your face and walk over to the crying child.

Gently, I held them in my arms, patted their backs, and whispered comfortingly, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid!"

On the other side, Gu Yihan tried her best to control her trembling body.

He supported the trembling middle-aged woman, holding her hands tightly.

My gaze fell on the people running around on the playground.

He shouted, "Listen up, everyone! With the People's Liberation Army here and with our organization here, we will all be safe and sound!"

Her voice was very loud, and she kept repeating the call, trying to suppress the tremor in her throat.

Gradually, the chaos around me subsided.

in chaos

No one questioned the significance of the "earthquake drill" anymore. Everyone knew that it was this early evacuation that had pulled them back from the clutches of death.

They witnessed the city being razed to the ground in an instant.

The fear of death brushing past them

Fortunately, they escaped disaster in the dead of night.

Thankfully, they are still alive. As long as people are alive, there is a home.

But not everyone is so lucky.

The old commune members who had previously led the refusal to evacuate from the communes and production brigades under Pingqu District.

He was always worried about the ancestral house and the newly renovated threshing ground in the village.

Despite repeated persuasion from commune cadres and soldiers at the resettlement site, he insisted on going back to take a look.

Before leaving, he smugly declared, "If the King of Hell wants you to die at midnight, even a little devil can't keep you alive until dawn."

"I'm tough; even the King of Hell wouldn't dare take me!"

After saying that, he put his hands behind his back and strode away.

Wang Erma, the younger brother of the old commune member, had no choice but to follow along, so that if anything happened, the two could look out for each other.

When the earthquake struck, the elderly commune member was sleeping in a makeshift shed in the threshing ground when the violent shaking instantly overturned the shed.

The heavy wooden beam crashed down on his leg, and the excruciating pain made him scream in agony.

The earthen walls surrounding the threshing ground collapsed with a roar, trapping him and Wang Erma in the middle.

The only sound in the darkness was the clatter of falling pebbles.

"Help! Help! Er Ma, are you alright?"

The old commune member didn't hear Er Ma's response and ignored the excruciating pain.

He crawled on the ground, trying to move towards Wang Erma. But the weight of the wooden beam pressed down on his legs, making him unable to move.

Tears mingled with cold sweat as they streamed down my face, and endless regret welled up inside me.

His voice was filled with regret and despair.

"It's all my fault! It's all my fault! I shouldn't have disobeyed the organization!"

His cries echoed through the night sky, but were mostly drowned out by the roar of the aftershocks.

Another danger occurred in a residential area near the Tang City textile factory.

Mr. Lin, who is over 50 years old, is worried that the soldiers who were moving the family's old belongings might take them away.

He hid a house full of old objects in the cellar of the living room, but worried that others would take advantage of the disaster to make a fortune.

When the soldiers on night patrol woke everyone up, they took advantage of the chaos to sneak back.

He had just entered the house and hadn't even had time to open the cellar when the earthquake struck suddenly, and the old brick house was no match for it.

The wall cracked and collapsed instantly, burying Grandpa Lin in the rubble, with only one hand sticking out as he weakly called for help.

Upon learning the news, Lu Huailin made a decisive decision, ordering the continued maintenance of order at the resettlement site.

On one hand, young soldiers were selected and, carrying rudimentary rescue tools such as shovels, wooden bars, and ropes, were divided into two teams and rushed to the location of the trapped personnel.

The soldiers who went to the place where the old commune members were trapped were stumped by the scene before them as soon as they arrived at the threshing ground.

The collapsed earthen walls and wooden beams intertwined, forming a narrow triangular space.

Wang Erma was trapped inside, with only half of his body showing, surrounded by loose rubble.

"Be careful, clear away the loose rocks around the area to create a rescue path!"

Company Commander Wu directed the rescue soldiers to dig with their hands and pry with wooden levers, their fingertips bleeding from cuts in the rubble, but they were completely unaware.

The old commune member was rescued first and carried to a safe area. He looked in the direction where his younger brother, Wang Erma, was trapped.

She pounded her fists on the ground repeatedly, crying and shouting, "It's all my fault! It's all my fault for not listening to advice!"

Just as the rescue soldiers finally managed to pry open a broken beam that was pressing on Wang Erma's leg and were about to pull him out...

The ground suddenly shook violently again.

Aftershocks

"Oh no! It's an aftershock!"

Company Commander Wu shouted hoarsely.

The already unstable ruins collapsed almost entirely in an instant, with rubble raining down.

The newly opened rescue channel was instantly half blocked, and a soldier did not have time to dodge.

He was hit on the shoulder by a piece of gravel the size of a fist, and groaned in pain.

Even if the pain is excruciating

He held tightly to the rescue rope in front of him, refusing to retreat even a step.

"Xiao Yuan, how are you?"

The soldier next to him hurriedly asked.

"It's alright! Save them first!"

Xiao Yuan pursed his lips, gritted his teeth, and continued to use the wooden bar to push away the rubble with his uninjured arm.

Company Commander Wu leaned down to take a look, still feeling uneasy, and his heart skipped a beat.

A thick wooden beam above the triangular space has begun to loosen and could fall down at any moment.

Without thinking twice, he shouted, "I'll stabilize the wooden beam, you guys hurry and save him!"

He then lunged forward, bracing his shoulder against the swaying wooden beam, his face turning bright red.

The veins on his arms bulged, and beads of sweat dripped from his forehead like broken beads.

"Quickly, now!"

Xiao Yuan squeezed into the narrow passage using both his hands and feet.

The rescue rope tied to Wang Erma was quickly untied, and the two rescue soldiers behind Xiao Yuan worked together to pull him out.

The moment Wang Erma was dragged out of the passage, Company Commander Wu could no longer hold on, let go, and rolled to the side.

The thick wooden beam crashed down with a loud thud, hitting the spot where he had just been bracing himself, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Company Commander Wu quickly got up, his arm was scraped with a deep gash, and blood instantly soaked through his uniform.

He seemed oblivious.

His eyes were fixed on Xiao Yuan feeling Wang Erma's pulse until he replied, "He's fine, he just fainted from the pain."

Company Commander Wu then grinned and said, "It's good that everyone's alright!"

Upon hearing this, the old commune member looked at the injured soldier and then at the passage destroyed by the wooden beam, and tears welled up instantly.

He burst into loud sobs: "Thank you... thank you, comrades of the People's Liberation Army... I've dragged you into this, I've caused Er Ma's death!"