Chapter 12

People who had been keeping watch outside the air-raid shelter gradually returned. Everyone made sure to get back inside before dawn, otherwise the sudden rise in temperature would be unbearable even in the basement.

Gradually, the air-raid shelter quieted down. Everyone had gradually gotten used to the nocturnal lifestyle, and now was the usual time to prepare for sleep.

Tong Shu frowned, staring intently at the sky outside.

No, something is very wrong.

Tong Shu raised her hand and looked at her watch; it was already 4 a.m.

At this time of day, visibility would usually be quite good, unlike now, when it's still pitch black and you can't see your hand in front of your face.

"Why isn't it light yet today?" Tong Shu asked Wen Shaocheng hesitantly.

Wen Shaocheng clearly realized something was wrong. After a moment of contemplation, his expression suddenly changed drastically. He rushed straight out of the air-raid shelter and ran to the entrance of the underground parking garage.

"Hey, Major! Danger!" The soldier next to him reached out to stop him, but only managed to grab a gust of wind.

Wen Shaocheng took a signal flare out of his pocket and lit it without hesitation. The flare flashed white light and shot into the sky, suddenly illuminating a patch of sky.

The sky was moonless and starless, gloomy and dark, with a mass of dark clouds gathering.

Is it... going to rain?

Are the natural disasters finally coming to an end?

At this moment, Tong Shu also ran over, panting: "Major...Major, what's wrong...?"

Wen Shaocheng's face lit up with joy. He pointed to the sky, where the signal flare was still flashing faintly, and the outline of the dark clouds was indistinct and vaguely visible.

Unexpectedly, Tong Shu's expression changed drastically after taking a closer look. She uttered a single word to Wen Shaocheng: "Run!" and then ran towards the air-raid shelter without looking back.

As soon as Tong Shu finished speaking, a raindrop the size of a bean landed on the back of Wen Shaocheng's hand. In an instant, all sorts of Tong Shu's reactions flashed through his mind. Looking at the rain that had suddenly descended, he realized that something was wrong.

"Retreat! Lead the residents to retreat to the buildings!" Wen Shaocheng shouted to the soldiers on duty.

Wang Jie and Qin Jiaqiang had each carried two elderly people on their backs. Tong Shu's family rushed to the stairwell as quickly as possible, where water was already flowing down the stairs.

"Brother! Uncle! Watch your step, don't slip. It'll be safe once you get to the second floor. You two go first!"

The elders did not refuse and looked after each other, climbing upwards as quickly as possible.

Tong Shu looked back at the underground parking garage. Although the water had entered the underground, it was still within the capacity of the drainage system. However, there were too many people gathered in the air-raid shelter, and they had just fallen asleep, making the evacuation of the soldiers somewhat difficult.

Seeing that her relatives had already run to the second floor, Tong Shu thought for a moment, gritted her teeth, turned around and ran back to the air-raid shelter.

"Shushu! Where are you going! Come back here!" Qin Xiaoxiao shouted.

"Don't worry about me! You all go home and hide! I'll be fine!" Tong Shu shouted back, then hurriedly ran away.

Qin Xiaoxiao stamped her foot worriedly, but there was nothing she could do. Shushu had the island to rely on; if there was danger, she could escape in time. All they could do was protect themselves and not let her worry. Qin Xiaoxiao comforted herself and turned to urge her family to hurry upstairs and go home.

Tong Shu struggled to walk towards the air-raid shelter. The floodwater had already reached her calves, and it had only been ten minutes.

People began to emerge from the air-raid shelter under the guidance of the soldiers and head towards the apartment building.

But the air-raid shelter was too deep, and some people were still fast asleep inside. When Tong Shu arrived at the air-raid shelter, she saw several soldiers running around, waking up those who were asleep. Wen Shaocheng was carrying an elderly man with mobility issues on his back as he ran out from the depths of the air-raid shelter.

"Why are you back?!" Wen Shaocheng's face flashed with surprise when he saw Tong Shu. "Go back quickly!"

"Don't worry about me, Major. I'll call for backup. You need to evacuate right away!"

After saying that, Tong Shu took out a megaphone from her backpack, turned it on, and shouted into the air-raid shelter, "There's a flood! Wake up! Everyone get up and run for your lives!" Tong Shu's voice echoed in the air-raid shelter. Tong Shu hung the megaphone on her waist and ran straight into the shelter. Wen Shaocheng didn't have time to stop her.

Wen Shaocheng handed the old man he was carrying to a soldier and then turned and ran into the cave.

At this rate, the basement would be flooded in half an hour, Tong Shu thought anxiously. After waking the last person inside, she watched them rush out and gritted her teeth.

Never mind, saving lives is the priority. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a lifeboat. The lifeboat was already inflated and not particularly heavy. The air-raid shelter was also full of water. Tong Shu pushed the lifeboat out.

“You…” Wen Shaocheng appeared in front of Tong Shu, looking at her and the lifeboat that had inexplicably appeared, his face full of surprise.

"Major, if I told you I found this in an air-raid shelter, would you believe me?" Tong Shu stared intently at Wen Shaocheng and said.

They had patrolled this air-raid shelter countless times, but Wen Shaocheng simply took a few deep breaths and replied, "I believe you."

After saying that, he waded over, put Tong Shu into the lifeboat with one hand, and then sat on it himself. He picked up the oar inside the boat and gently rowed it, sending the lifeboat flying several meters away.

"Major?! Where did this come from?" Outside the air-raid shelter, the floodwater had reached the chests of adults. Several soldiers looked on incredulously when they saw Wen Shaocheng rowing out in a lifeboat.

"Yes, I'm hiding inside." Wen Shaocheng didn't say much. He quickly took off his coat and threw it on the boat. He then flipped out and stood in the water. He took a child from a soldier and put him into the lifeboat. He was standing in the water wearing only a vest. His muscle lines were clearly visible. It was obvious that he had trained for many years.

Soon, the lifeboat was filled with children, including Tong Shu. Wen Shaocheng and another soldier pushed them into the stairwell and led them up the stairs to higher ground.

"Major, and you..."

Wen Shaocheng had already pulled the lifeboat away into the distance, waving his hand with his back to Tong Shu.

Tong Shu led the children to the second floor, just as Qin Xiaoxiao ran down from upstairs.

"Shushu! Thank goodness you're alright." Qin Xiaoxiao glanced at the children surrounding Tong Shu. "Did you rescue her?"

"Major Wen rescued them, sister. You take them upstairs, I'll go see if I can help in any way."

Seeing the determination in Tong Shu's eyes, Qin Xiaoxiao knew she couldn't persuade her otherwise, so she could only say, "Sigh! Okay. You must be careful!"

Tong Shu nodded and ran away down the stairs.

At first, those who ran out of the air-raid shelter all chose to flee to their own apartment buildings. Later, as the water level rose, Tong Shu's apartment building was the closest to the air-raid shelter, and everyone started running in that direction. Among a group of people running upwards, Tong Shu struggled to push through the crowd and made her way downstairs with difficulty.

The entrance to the underground parking garage apartment building was almost empty, but fortunately the water level on both sides was still about a meter from the ceiling. A soldier was floating on one side of the building, constantly reaching out to take a trapped person from the entrance and then carrying them to the stairwell.

It seems the major was rescuing people on the other side.

"Comrade, how many people are left?" Tong Shu asked loudly as the soldier swam over with a girl.

"This should be the last boat; there are still a dozen or so people left!" the soldier replied hurriedly, then turned to go and meet them again.

Tong Shu couldn't swim and was extremely anxious. After thinking it over, she took out a long rope from her bag. When the soldier swam over again, Tong Shu had already tied one end of the rope to the handrail. She handed the other end to the soldier: "Give this rope to the major and the others. When the water level rises, let them swim in along the rope."

The soldier nodded gratefully, took one end of the rope, and swam away.

Time ticked by, and the water level was now only twenty centimeters from the ceiling. Nearly five minutes had passed without anyone being brought up the stairs. Tong Shu had retreated to the platform between the basement and the first floor, her eyes fixed intently on the water, silently praying.

Finally, three minutes later, a head emerged from the water—it was the soldier who had been waiting on the inside. Then, three or four more people floated to the surface, and Tong Shu looked closely; Wen Shaocheng was indeed among them.

Tong Shu felt relieved and smiled at Wen Shaocheng when she saw him looking over.

Wen Shaocheng was stunned for a moment, then lowered his eyes and swam laboriously toward the platform where Tong Shu was. Only when Wen Shaocheng walked up the steps did Tong Shu see that he was holding someone in his arms.

He was a young soldier, Tong Shu remembered, who had a pair of cute little tiger teeth. But now his eyes were closed, his lips were purplish-black, and his face was a lifeless, ashen white.

Other soldiers followed, two of them carrying their comrades in their arms.

There were ten soldiers stationed in Tongshu Community, but only five have survived. Three bodies lie on the ground, and the fate of the other two is unknown.

Tong Shu had a little trouble breathing.

This feeling was different from when she returned from Jiangxia Square. Back then, Tong Shu only felt fear, sympathy, and a physical nausea at the sight of the grotesque corpses. But now, Tong Shu didn't feel afraid. She felt genuine heartache and sorrow. As someone who had also been protected by these soldiers day and night, seeing them turn from vibrant people into cold corpses, Tong Shu's tears just fell straight down.

Wen Shaocheng slowly straightened his back and commanded in a soft but firm voice, "Everyone, take your comrades and move out!"

Several soldiers gritted their teeth and replied in a short, unified voice, "Yes, sir!" They then quickly carried their comrade, who was now sleeping forever, up the stairs.

Wen Shaocheng stared at Tong Shu, who was crying uncontrollably, for a while. He raised his arm and wiped away the tears on Tong Shu's face with his wrist. Then he grabbed Tong Shu's wrist and shoved her onto his back. Before Tong Shu could react, Wen Shaocheng had already carried her up dozens of steps.

"I... I can walk by myself." Tong Shu struggled frantically for a moment.

"Don't move," Wen Shaocheng whispered.

Tong Shu calmed down and slowly lay down on the man's broad back.