Someone outside was calling his name.
Chen Hao stopped and turned around. The lights in the maintenance area were still on, and the machines were running steadily and continuously. He was about to ask what was wrong when Nana suddenly pulled out the arm connector, her voice a beat faster than usual: "Abnormal drop in atmospheric pressure, wind speed of eighteen meters per second, torrential rain within ten minutes."
"So fast?" He frowned and looked towards the door.
The sky, which had been clear, was now swirling with dark clouds, and a muffled rumble could be heard in the distance. The wind had already whipped up debris from the ground, making the sheds rattle and clang.
“It’s not a forecast error.” Nana brought up the projector. “It’s a sudden strong convection; the system just detected an energy accumulation signal.”
"Then there's no time for small talk." Chen Hao grabbed the walkie-talkie hanging on the wall and pressed the call button. "Attention everyone! All outdoor work must cease immediately! Prioritize the relocation of equipment and building materials! I repeat, this is not a drill!"
He told Susan, "Take some men to the living quarters and move the medicine and food to the storage room on higher ground. It's low-lying there; if it floods, everything will be ruined."
Susan nodded, turned and walked away. She picked up the medical kit as she passed by, without stopping.
Carl was inspecting the power station's wiring when he heard the instruction and immediately retracted the cable. "I haven't finished laying it here yet."
"Let's focus on the immediate situation first," Chen Hao said. "We'll reconnect it after the rain stops. Right now, our biggest fear is a short circuit and a fire."
Nana stood in front of the control panel and reconnected the data stream, her fingers rapidly swiping across the virtual panel. "Power load is normal, but backup power can only last six hours. We recommend turning off unnecessary lighting."
"Turn it off," Chen Hao said. "Every little bit helps."
Before the words were even finished, the first raindrop hit the metal panel outside the door, making a sound like a marble falling to the ground. Then came the second, the third, and so on.
The wind picked up.
A loosely secured tarpaulin was ripped off and slammed against the wall. The ceiling of the adjacent warehouse began to shake, and the screws creaked.
“That side is going to collapse.” Carl pointed to the scaffolding on the west side. “The tarpaulin is about to fall off, and there are newly delivered circuit boards piled up underneath.”
"I'll go!" Chen Hao grabbed a safety helmet, put it on his head, and rushed out the door.
The rain had soaked the ground, making his shoes slippery. The wind forced him to walk sideways. As he approached the scaffolding, he discovered that half of the anchoring rope had been worn through, and the entire tarpaulin was teetering on the verge of collapse.
He climbed the ladder, grabbed the horizontal bar with one hand, and pulled the rope with the other. The wind pushed his body back and forth, and his safety helmet almost flew off.
"Give me two more minutes!" he shouted downstairs, "Move the materials away first!"
The men below quickened their pace, carrying the boxes in pairs and retreating. Carl, along with several technicians, used sandbags to block the entrance to the energy station, stacking them layer upon layer to press them down firmly.
Nana's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "The drainage ditch on the east side is blocked, and the water is backflowing."
"Who's free?" Chen Hao shouted, looking down.
“Nobody’s here!” Carl replied. “They’re all busy!”
"I'll do it myself." After he finished speaking, he tied a knot in the rope, made sure the tarpaulin wouldn't come off for the time being, and then climbed down the ladder and headed straight for the drain.
A shallow layer of water had already accumulated there, mixed with mud and sand seeping in. He squatted down and scooped it out with his hands, his fingernails filled with debris. Halfway through clearing it out, he discovered it was a tangled mess of plastic film and wire.
"Who threw this thing here?" he cursed as he pulled at it.
It's finally connected.
The water began to flow downstream. He caught his breath and looked up at the sky. The rain showed no signs of letting up; in fact, it intensified.
"Chen Hao!" The walkie-talkie crackled to life.
"I am here."
“There are cracks in the exterior walls of the residential area, and rainwater is seeping in,” Nana said. “I recommend that they be reinforced immediately.”
"I understand." He stood up, his legs feeling a little numb.
On the way back, I ran into Susan. She was directing two team members to move the last box of medicine into the storage room.
"How are the wounded?" he asked.
“A worker was grazed on the arm by a falling precast concrete slab, but it has already been treated,” she said. “It’s not serious, just a superficial injury.”
"That's good." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Go check if the others have been in the rain for too long, so they don't catch a cold."
Susan glanced at him: "You're soaking wet too."
He looked down at his clothes; they were indeed clinging to his body, and his pants were still dripping wet. But he didn't have time to change.
"Let's talk about it after this is over."
Back in the maintenance area, they found Carl connecting a temporary line.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
“Add an independent power supply to the main control panel.” Karl said without looking up, “in case there’s a problem with the main line, Nana’s data will be interrupted.”
“Okay.” Chen Hao leaned against the door frame. “You do your thing, I’ll keep an eye on things outside.”
Nana then pulled out the connector, her voice urgent: "The wind speed has risen to 23 meters per second, and local gusts may exceed 30. The roof's load-bearing capacity is insufficient."
"If it can't hold up, we have to dismantle it," Chen Hao said. "We can't let it completely collapse and injure people."
“The support on the west side is loose.” Nana pointed to the surveillance screen. “If it’s not secured, it could collapse within ten minutes.”
"Over there again?" he gritted his teeth. "I just finished fixing the tarpaulin."
“This time is different,” she said. “The structural stress exceeds the threshold, so manual intervention is necessary.”
Chen Hao grabbed his toolbox and headed out again.
“Wait,” Carl called out to him. “Take this with you.” He handed him a reinforced hook. “Don’t let the wind blow it down again.”
"Thanks." He took it and tucked it into his belt.
The rain outside intensified. Visibility was blurred, and the ground was riddled with puddles. The wind was so strong it was hard to stand. He jogged over and found that the support structure was indeed swaying, and only one bolt remained stuck at the connection point.
He opened his toolbox and took out a wrench and new bolts. Rainwater streamed down his forehead and into his eyes, stinging them. He wiped them, then, supporting himself on the beam with one hand, tightened the bolts with the other.
A sudden gust of wind pushed me, and I slammed into the shelf. My shoulder ached.
“One more time.” He gritted his teeth and realigned the hole.
Finally, it's tightened.
He was panting as he prepared to install the second bolt. Just as he picked up the bolt, he heard a strange noise above him.
Looking up, I saw a steel plate with its edge curled up, bobbing up and down in the wind, as if trying to break free from the weld point.
"Don't drop it now," he whispered.
The steel plate wobbled a few times, then suddenly detached and smashed down on his head.
He instinctively turned to the side, the steel plate grazed his arm as it fell, splashing up a large amount of mud and water.
He gasped in pain.
"I can still move." He shook his arm to make sure it wasn't broken. "I'm still alive."
Keep working.
After tightening the remaining three bolts, he stepped back a few paces to inspect the overall structure. The situation was stable for now.
“It should be fine,” he said into the walkie-talkie.
"The north wall has collapsed," Nana's voice suddenly rang out, "blocking the transport route."
"What?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Which part?"
"The section between B7 and B9," she said, "is affecting the allocation of supplies."
"Karl!" he called out, "Are you done on your end?"
"Coming soon!"
"After you're done, take some men to clear the road to the north!"
"receive!"
He turned and walked back, and on the way he saw several team members covering the boxes of parts piled up in the open with waterproof tarpaulins. The movements weren't fast, but they were all making progress.
"Well done," he said as he passed by.
No one responded; everyone was busy.
Back in the control panel, Nana was still working. Various parameters were scrolling across the screen.
"What's the situation?" he asked.
"Power is stable and communications are normal," she said, "but the wind and rain are intensifying."
"Then let's keep guarding it."
He took off his wet coat, wrung it out, and draped it over the chair. His clothes underneath were also wet and uncomfortable against his skin. But he didn't have time to worry about that.
Susan came in, her hair dripping wet, holding a notebook in her hand.
"All the medicines have been transferred," she said. "There were no casualties in the medical team."
"Okay." He nodded. "Go change your clothes."
“Aren’t you the same?” she asked, looking at him.
"Wait a minute," he said. "Let's see what kind of manpower we need outside."
Nana suddenly looked up: "The ventilation duct in Zone C has ruptured, and rainwater is flowing back into the underground level."
“Underground?” He frowned. “That’s the tool depot down there.”
“There are also some spare cables,” she said.
"I'll go." He grabbed the flashlight.
"Wait a minute," Susan stopped him. "You just got back, change your shoes before you go. Soaking them for too long can cause your feet to rot."
He looked down at his shoes and saw that they were indeed constantly soaked.
"Okay," he conceded, "but five minutes at most."
When he took off his shoes, he noticed that his socks were faded and his toes were a little wrinkled. He changed into a clean pair, put on his spare boots, and tied them tight.
The wind picked up when I stepped out of the room.
The raindrops stung my face.
He used his flashlight to light the way and walked step by step toward area C.
Around the corner, I saw Karl leading his men back from the north, their faces covered in mud.
"Is the road clear?" he asked.
"It's cleared," Carl said, panting. "It was just exhausting."
"It's tough," he said. "There might be more work to come."
“I know,” Carl nodded. “As long as it doesn’t hail, we can hold out.”
They parted ways.
Chen Hao walked alone to the entrance of Zone C and found that the steps were flooded, and the water reflected the light from his flashlight.
He took a deep breath and stepped down.
The water reached up to my calves.
The tool rack is okay, but the innermost cable box has started to get wet.
He bent down to drag the suitcase, only to find it too heavy for one person to pull.
"I need to call someone." He pulled out a walkie-talkie.
Just as I pressed the call button, a tearing sound came from above.
Looking up, I saw that the fixing clamps of the ventilation duct had snapped, and the entire duct was tilting, about to crash down at any moment.
He didn't move, he just looked up.
The pipe swayed slightly and then stopped.
He pressed the intercom again.
Hello.
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