Chapter 37: Catastrophic disaster? Imminent!
Theater Command, 22:28.
A flash of lightning split the night sky, illuminating the headquarters palely. Tang Jingmo stood in front of the sand table, making the final strategic report.
"This mission is codenamed 'Thunder.'" The chief's voice was deeper than the thunder outside the window.
"The undercurrents of peace are more dangerous than the open fighting on the battlefield. Staff Officer Tang is in charge of this mission. Remember - you have no backup and cut off all contact with the outside world. You can only succeed and not fail!"
"We guarantee to complete the mission!" Tang Jingmo led the team members in taking the oath. When they saluted, the buttons of his cuffs brushed against his chest pocket - there was a small piece of white vine in there, which seemed to be slightly hot at the moment.
——
In Longshan Village, at 22:57, heavy rain fell like a waterfall.
The gong in the hands of production team leader Lin Wang had been deformed by the beating, and the gong surface was vibrating like ripples in the heavy rain.
He shouted at the top of his voice, "All members... the river water level has risen sharply, please evacuate to the county town as soon as possible, pay attention - as soon as possible!"
His voice was already hoarse and dry, but he still ran back and forth and shouted over and over again.
The loudspeaker on the electric pole emitted a harsh sound of electricity. Lin Shan's voice was intermittent, repeating over and over again: "All members... the water level in the river... run quickly..."
A flash of lightning accompanied by thunder made the whole village seem to tremble.
"Brother, sister, don't pack the food. We can't take it away."
Xiaobai threw off his rubber shoes that were full of water and had holes in them, and stepped barefoot on the blue bricks of the main hall.
"Brother, please bring all the food coupons, money, and medicine from home."
"Big sister, pick a few clothes to take with you, and pack up some dry food, sugar, salt, and dried meat and put them on your back. Don't take anything else."
As Xiaobai said this, he put on another pair of shoes and was about to rush out, but was hugged by Xiaoan.
"Where are you going? Come with us!"
"I'm going to call Gu Zhongzhang. So many people are flocking to the county town. We must inform him in advance. There are also educated youth sites..."
"I'll go, I'll go to the educated youth center to inform Song Wan, Gu Mingyue and the others!"
Xiao An grabbed his hat and rushed out. The 17-year-old boy looked so majestic at this moment...
"What? There's going to be a flood in Longshan Village?!" Gu Zhongzhang jumped up in shock and almost broke the telephone line.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The geographical structure of Longshan Village makes it impossible for an underground river to exist, let alone cause a flood!"
Gu Zhongzhang raised his voice, his tone more serious than ever before, "Lin Xiaobai, you will go to jail for spreading rumors, this is not a joke!"
There was a strange "sizzling" sound coming from the other end of the phone, and Xiao Bai's voice seemed to come through a metal pipe: "Fuck you, who is kidding you? Believe it or not, I don't have time to argue with you!"
Xiaobai thinks she has fulfilled her responsibilities. As for whether Gu Zhongzhang believes it or not, she only takes care of the Lin brothers and sisters, and as for the others...she can only wish for good luck.
There are constant natural disasters in the end times. If everyone was waiting for others to save them, mankind would have been extinct long ago.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from the side and intercepted Xiaobai's phone call that was about to be hung up.
"Hello, County Magistrate Gu. I am Lin Wu, the head of Longshan Village. 17 years ago, a scientific research team from Beijing entered Longshan Village. Professor Suning once mentioned that there is a hidden river under Longshen Mountain. Xiaobai has her work notes..."
"Suning?" The person on the other end of the line seemed to be stunned for a moment, and his breathing became heavy. "Give the phone to Lin Xiaobai."
"Xiaobai, how long do we have?"
"Twelve hours at most!"
Gu Zhongzhang swallowed his saliva and said, "Xiaobai, the county seat is lower than Longshan Village. If it is true as you said, the flood will definitely flow downstream, and the villages along the way will not be spared."
His voice was as hoarse as sandpaper.
"The worst thing is that the river surrounding the county town is connected to the Lujiang River. Once such a large amount of water enters the Lujiang River, the Lujiang Reservoir will definitely not be able to withstand it..."
A scene of widespread grief and misery seemed to appear before Gu Zhongzhang's eyes.
"This is a place involving three populous provinces. You...I..."
"I've already told you the truth. If you keep on dawdling, you won't even have a chance to collect your body!"
"Wait," the other side paused, "If it's true, can you find a way to delay it for a while? I will immediately organize people to arrange rescue operations. We must control the danger in Longshan Village, or at least in Qinglong County, otherwise..."
"Stop it!"
Xiaobai hung up the phone and rushed into the rain again, looking for a water outlet along the river, hoping to hold on as long as he could.
——
"Sorry, Comrade Gu," the operator's voice was filled with electric noise, "Chief of Staff Tang is currently on a secret mission, and all communications are silent."
“Click!”
Gu Zhongzhang pressed the receiver hard, and the metal base echoed on the solid wooden table.
Gu Zhongzhang punched the phone, causing the ink bottle to fall over. The blue-black liquid spread across the desktop map, just engulfing the three words "Longshan Village".
He stared out the window at the night sky distorted by the heavy rain, and his knuckles unconsciously tapped out a rapid rhythm on the table - this was a habit he acquired in military school. Whenever his thoughts were running fast, his index finger would always act before his brain.
"Try again." He grabbed the phone and cranked it until sparks flew. "Switchboard, political department!"
"Dad——" Gu Zhongzhang almost shouted. The confidentiality of the military line phone meant he didn't have to worry about it.
There was a crisp sound of a pen breaking on the other end of the line. After five seconds of silence, Gu Haoming's voice suddenly became serious: "Are you sure? If you lie about the disaster, even I can't protect you!"
"If it's fake, it's a good thing. I'm willing to go to military court for this," Gu Zhongzhang said without hesitation. "Dad, have you ever thought about it? If it's true, we've saved hundreds of thousands of lives!"
County Armed Forces Department
"Minister Chen!" Gu Zhongzhang kicked open the office door, and the rain splashed from his hair onto the sand table. "Immediately dispatch two companies to Longshan Village!"
The middle-aged man in the Type 65 military uniform frowned: "Without the military order..."
"An order?" Gu Zhongzhang pulled out his gun and slammed it on the table. "This is my order! There are millions of people in the three provinces downstream of the county - can you afford it?!"
In the cold light reflected from the gun barrel, Minister Chen saw that this usually gentle acting county magistrate actually had the same murderous aura as Tang Jingmo.
"Border Jungle"
Tang Jingmo, who was lurking in the jungle, felt the vines on his chest getting hotter and hotter.
He reached out and pulled out the vine, only to see the black vine turn into a wisp of green smoke and disappear into his sea of consciousness.
A flood is raging, and Xiaobai is waving vines to save people...
The scene flashed by, but it was enough for him to understand - the vines were warning him that Xiaobai was in danger!
"Deputy Captain, change to Plan B." Tang Jingmo's voice was colder than ice. "I will take the shortcut through the minefield alone and reunite at 0 o'clock!"
The deputy captain opened his mouth, but was nailed to the spot by Tang Jingmo's eyes - it was the most terrifying expression they had ever seen, like a deep-sea storm brewing beneath the calm sea surface.
"Captain Tang... Plan B is a backup plan. Although it can shorten the mission completion time, it is too dangerous, especially in the minefield you are responsible for... I don't agree!"
"Deputy Captain Zhang." Tang Jingmo slowly loaded his submachine gun. "This is an order, not a negotiation!"
The crisp sound of the magazine clicking into the gun body marked the end of the dispute.
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