Thump!

Half of her body plunged into the icy water, but her arm clung tightly to the rope holding the edge of the hovercraft! Her other hand frantically scrambled upwards! The frigid river water relentlessly pounded against her!

"Ugh—!" she hissed, and with the help of the water, she used her last burst of strength to finally flip her heavy body into the central depression of the hovercraft!

The cold hull pressed against her, but the buoyancy instantly lifted her up!

The next second, an even stronger torrent surged in, carrying the hovercraft and Jiang Chan, who was coughing, soaking wet, and still in shock, away from the collapsed embankment and stone foundation like an arrow. They were tossed about by the surging torrent and rushed into the vast, boundless depths of the downstream ocean!

All she could see was churning, muddy yellow water, and all she could hear was the roar of the flood. She clung to the tossed hovercraft, gripping the ropes tightly.

The turbid floodwaters, like a raging beast, swept everything away. Jiang Chan clung desperately to the rocking hovercraft, tossed about like a leaf. The icy, bone-chilling river water lashed against her, choking her and filling her mouth and nose with a fishy, ​​astringent taste.

She could only grip the rope at the side of the boat tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force. Every violent jolt made her stomach churn.

All that could be seen was the churning, yellowish-brown turbid current, with various things floating on the surface: broken branches, tattered straw mats, drowned cattle and sheep, and... the ruins of houses that had been washed away.

The incessant roar of the floodwaters filled my ears, mixed with the cracking sound of breaking wood and indistinct cries from afar.

A wave crashed in, and the boat tilted violently!

Jiang Chan was half-submerged in the icy water, only to be bounced back by the buoyancy of the boat. She coughed violently, spitting out mud and sand from her mouth.

Don't faint! You must stay alert! She shook her head violently, trying to orient herself. The current was too strong; she had no way to control her direction and could only drift with the current.

Suddenly, a hoarse cry for help came from the right front: "Help...help me!"

Jiang Chan turned her head sharply. There, she saw three people clinging desperately to an old locust tree, its branches bent askew by the floodwaters, only its crown visible above the water.

Two adults and a young child! The water was almost up to the child's chest; his face was deathly pale, and he clung desperately to a tree branch, on the verge of being swept away at any moment.

Jiang Chan's heart tightened. She subconsciously scanned the surrounding water. The tree formed a small whirlpool in the torrent, where the current was relatively turbulent but slower.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. The hovercraft had no paddles; it could only rely on the water currents and her body movements for adjustment.

She seized an opportunity when the current slowed slightly, leaned sharply to the right, and used her weight to propel the hovercraft slightly towards the tree. The current propelled the boat forward at a rapid pace. Closer! Closer still!

"Grab it!" Jiang Chan shouted hoarsely at the people in the tree just as the boat brushed past the treetops. At the same time, she freed one hand and threw an orange lifebuoy toward the boy who was closest to her and in the most dangerous situation!

The lifebuoy landed precisely on the water next to the child. The child froze for a moment, then burst forth with a strong will to survive, abruptly letting go of one hand and thrashing about to grab the lifebuoy! Almost simultaneously, Jiang Chan's hovercraft was grazed by a tree branch and rocked violently.

"Hold the rope!" Jiang Chan shouted at the two adults in the tree, while simultaneously pulling the boat even closer to the tree trunk.

The man in the tree reacted quickly, holding tightly to the trunk with one hand and stretching out the other, narrowly hooking the rope on the edge of the hovercraft! The boat was pulled and swayed violently beside the tree.

"Quick! Get on the boat!" Jiang Chan shouted.

The man first pushed the child, who was clinging to the lifebuoy, forcefully toward the side of the boat. Jiang Chan leaned out, grabbed the child's soaking wet arm, and pulled him toward the boat with all her might!

The child was limp and was dragged onto the hovercraft.