Chapter 44 Chapter 44 Merger is the way out
The crowd was silent for a moment, then a brave man, huddled among the crowd, shouted, "Don't think we're afraid of you just because you have a gun! If you have the guts, just kill us all! You don't even care about the lives of those hundreds of people, let alone us."
After hearing what this person said, the people who were originally frightened also plucked up their courage and continued to curse and accuse Lu Chen with their necks stiff.
Zeng Li rushed over upon hearing about the riot. She had been standing by for a while, unable to get any closer due to the crowds. Now, she rushed forward with all her might, loudly scolding them: "You say the leader is selfish and heartless, but are you all that good? Can't you see the situation we're in now? The leader personally led the digging in the middle of the night yesterday. Everyone, regardless of their own safety, searched for a whole day and night. Aside from those who were found at night, are there any who are still alive among those we rescued today?"
"It's dozens of degrees below zero outside. We all know whether the trapped people can still survive! But we never give up! We are all flesh and blood in such harsh weather. Are we going to sacrifice those who are still alive for those who have almost no chance of survival? Don't you see that there are already thousands of rescue workers who have been frozen unconscious! Yet, people still come to help!"
"Some of you think you're great by standing on the moral high ground. Who are you trying to disgust here? Those who really care about their families join in the digging and carrying, but what about some people? When they're tired, they find a place to rest. When they're cold, they huddle around the fire to keep warm. Only when they have nothing to do do they come over and stand aside crying and making accusations." Zeng Li's face was full of disgust and contempt when she said this.
"If we have any way, we will do our best! But the conditions at the base are limited right now, and we must protect the living first."
"This is...the reality that we must and have to face!" Zeng Li's voice became hoarse at the end.
"I, Lu Chen, can't ask the people in the base to unconditionally sacrifice their lives to search, and I can't order them to do so again! But I will continue the rescue here myself! At the same time, those of you family members who don't give up the search, stay together and search with me." Lu Chen looked at the people in front of him with an indifferent expression.
Some people looked at Lu Chen's sinister eyes that seemed to be staring at them, and shrank back.
The riot ended with some people quietly leaving. Without those who were stirring up trouble and stirring up emotions, the remaining people gradually became rational.
They actually knew in their hearts that in this situation, without any machines, it would be impossible to dig out the pile of houses in front of them that had been frozen solid with a lot of snow, relying only on tools and manpower.
The base has indeed tried its best. If this continues, the rescuers will not only be frostbitten or frozen unconscious, but their lives will be in danger.
They couldn't accept the death of their family members in their hearts, and always thought that if they hadn't seen the bodies, there was a one in ten chance of survival.
"Chief, it's not that we don't understand, but...if they are still alive and are desperately waiting for rescue from outside, and we outside have given up...how desperate they must be!" A man raised his hand to wipe the frost hanging on his eyelashes, and said with a sob.
"Yeah, what if, what if he's still alive."
The people who stayed behind started crying. They persisted because they were holding on to the possibility of a disaster.
"We all understand! So for those who are willing to stay, we'll keep looking!"
Lu Chen said that he would no longer order the people in the base to come to the rescue, so only those of them who stayed here had to make an effort.
But gradually more and more people joined in, and everyone came to provide reinforcements spontaneously.
Although they tried hard not to give up, the results were still minimal. Those that were pinned down by large walls were still okay, as they were able to move them out of the way due to their numbers. However, the broken stones, bricks, tiles and fragments mixed with snow were frozen hard and could not be dug out at all.
Seeing that this was not a solution, Lu Chen discussed with Gu Yan and others whether there were other solutions.
Several people gathered together to discuss for a long time, but there was no useful method. While Gu Yan was listening, he saw some people carrying kettles and disposable paper cups to bring hot water to the rescuers.
Hot water...hot water!
Gu Yan walked over quickly, greeted him and took back a kettle.
Everyone looked at him in confusion. Gu Yan said, "Li Yi, take a hoe. I'll pour the water down and you dig right away. Okay?"
"Oh..." Li Yi picked up the hoe beside him without knowing why, and followed Gu Yan to the ruins.
"Hurry up! After I pour this pot on, you dig the soil immediately!"
"good……"
Gu Yan held the kettle by the handle, with the spout facing the frozen soil, and glanced at Li Yi. Li Yi nodded, and then Gu Yan tilted his hand and poured the water out.
When the hot water met the cold, it emitted a lot of mist, and the scattered water splashed onto the soil, creating mud. Li Yi quickly picked up the hoe. He used all his strength and could barely dig with the hoe. He raised his hand and dug out a large piece of soil, but the exposed part was immediately frozen.
"Hey! This method barely works."
"Now, some people come out and follow Zeng Li to get kettles or basins, and light some fires next to the ruins to boil water with the snow. One person will use hot water to water the frozen soil, and another person will use tools to dig. The speed must be fast. If you are slow, this method will make the frozen soil harder." Gu Yan said to the onlookers.
"Really! Why didn't we think of this idea earlier?"
"This method has its pros and cons. If you dig too slowly, the soil will freeze harder. It's also very inefficient and time-consuming."
"There's a way, but it's better than just watching."
......
They took turns resting and dug all night long. The temperature at night was colder than during the day, and even though they had built many bonfires around them, it was of no use.
During this period, they used hot water to dig out the covering brick soil bit by bit.
Frozen corpses... were found one by one... Some had escaped being crushed by hiding in corners, the freezing temperature causing most to curl up in a ball, while others were directly crushed by bricks, soil, and snow...
......
The sky gradually brightened, and began to turn yellow and red again. People bent over and watered and dug numbly.
Snowflakes slowly drifted down to the ground. People looked at the falling snowflakes on the ruins with empty eyes. Then someone slowly raised his head and looked up at the sky as if mechanically.
Snowflakes fell into my eyes, on my face, nose, and mouth...
It's snowing again...
Gradually...the sky seemed to leak and heavy snow fell down.
The biting cold wind blew heavy snow onto people's bodies, and the cold air seeped out through the bones.
The temperature seems to be dropping again...
The rescuers began to look desperate...
In a short while, heavy snow covered everything in sight, making it all white.
The poured hot water froze into ice as soon as it hit the ground, leaving no chance for people to react.
"Forget it... just give up..."
"It is fate... there is no way for us to survive."
"Mom! I'm sorry!" Someone knelt down and kowtowed to the ruins.
"Dad...I'm an unfilial son!"
"Wife, I'm sorry."
"Old man! Let me go with you!"
......
Lu Chen dragged his stiff body into the command tent.
There were several braziers burning in the tent, but it was still cold.
Gu Yan and others came in one after another, and everyone looked for a place to sit down in silence.
They finally gave up... There were still hundreds of people buried in the rubble and had not been dug out. However, reality forced them to give up. The strong wind and blizzard outside made it impossible to dig any further.
Lu Chen took out a cigarette box from his pocket, took out a cigarette, lit it, and his fingertips passed over it, and smoke filled his eyes.
The tent rustled in the wind, and the only sound inside was the occasional crackling sound from the brazier.
After an unknown amount of time, Li Yi's hoarse voice rang out: "Let's go seek refuge with Sister Su Qing..."
Zeng Li and Gu Yan raised their heads and looked at Li Yi at the same time.
Lu Chen held the burnt-out cigarette between his fingers, standing in front of the ventilation window, looking outside with ambiguous eyes.
"She possesses so many magical abilities. Her base can ensure people's safety and a worry-free life. It's like the normal world she once was. She is so... different from us."
"Are we just going to give up the base that we have worked so hard to build?" Zeng Li frowned.
"Staying alive is the most important thing. I never want to go through something like today again! Maybe we should have done this earlier! If we had taken the people from the base and defected there earlier, then... so many people wouldn't have died." Li Yi's eyes were red and his expression became painful.
After Li Yi finished speaking, no one in the tent spoke, as if they were thinking about something.
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes and took out another cigarette in silence. After a while, he said, "Maybe you're right."
Several people looked at Lu Chen who spoke.
"Does she really want to merge our base into hers?" Gu Yan's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"In the future, merger is the only way out." Lu Chen threw away his cigarette holder, turned around and nodded slowly.
"But...if she doesn't allow us to enter the decision-making level..."
"Since you are going to surrender, everything will be decided by Su Qing." Lu Chen quickly interrupted Gu Yan.
"Such a large base...are you willing to give it up?"
"Well, why would we be reluctant to give this thing up? We were given this task in a time of crisis. Ah Chen has never been interested in power, otherwise we would be fighting in the capital right now." Li Yi stood up and said anxiously, "Besides, my sister Su will definitely not make things difficult for us."
"Just because she doesn't give us a hard time doesn't mean the other people in her base don't object. Our base is considered to be above average, with tens of thousands of personnel and quite a few managers. I'm afraid merging the two bases will cause a lot of trouble."
"Ayan, I think you think too much." Zeng Li looked at Gu Yan with disapproval.
"You are too naive and think too little!"
"I haven't considered it much, but has Achen also considered it little? He has always been the smartest. He even said that it can be incorporated into the Su Qing base."
"We will have to leave sooner or later, so entrusting it to Su Qing won't be a waste of the people in the base. I'll think about it."
"You guys should start preparing and clean up what shouldn't be left. You've turned a blind eye to it before. If there really comes a day of merger, all these dirty things must be cleaned up." Lu Chen looked at several people, and a murderous look flashed in his eyes when he mentioned the dirty things.
When Gu Yan heard Lu Chen say he was leaving, he instantly understood.
Yes, he almost forgot that they would leave here sooner or later. The original plan was to train capable people to take over, but now this is the best option.
After finishing the snow removal work at the base, Lu Chen returned home. Gu Yan and the others were still busy and had not returned yet. The house was dark and cold.
He lit a candle and looked at the time. It was nine o'clock in the evening. Su Qing should not be asleep yet.
Lu Chen first lit a few braziers in the house, then went to the bathroom to tidy up and wash up. Seeing that he looked okay in the mirror, he walked to the sofa and sat down. He raised his wrist and saw that Su Qing had played two videos for him yesterday, so he replied.
…
It was another day of heavy snow outside. Su Qing was busy in the base until evening before going home. He had just finished a video meeting with the supervisors in the base when his bracelet rang again.
She raised her hand and saw that it was Lu Chen, so she clicked to accept.
Lu Chen looked much better than before. She looked at him and asked, "What's the matter?"
"It's snowing heavily again. Are you okay there?"
"It's pretty good."
"What's the matter with you sending me the video?"
Su Qing, wrapped in a thick woolen shawl, sat on a bamboo chair. She leaned over to add some charcoal to the charcoal basin beside her. The smoke from the fire made her face flush red. She picked up the red date ginger tea on the table next to her and took a sip. The heat flowed through her throat and slowly warmed her whole body. "Oh... I saw that you didn't look well before, and I heard that you were making a lot of noise over there. I wanted to ask if there was anything I could help you with."
"I really need a favor from you." He hadn't slept for two days and two nights, but he didn't feel unwell at all. Looking at Su Qing who seemed to be living a peaceful life, he suddenly felt tired and exhausted. He raised his hand to support himself on the armrest of the sofa and pinched his eyebrows.
"Just tell me what's going on." Su Qing held the water cup in one hand and looked at Lu Chen seriously. The candlelight flickered there, and half of Lu Chen's body was in the dim light. Su Qing noticed that his hands were covered with cracks. "Are you okay? Can your base still hold up in this harsh weather?"
"If the base can't hold on, will you take me in?" Lu Chen put down his hand with a serious look on his face, and looked at Su Qing with a slight smile on his face.
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