Chapter 183
Zhang Ming's tin roof had just drifted to the breach when it was violently shaken by a swift current—
The southern section of the flood control dike in the west of the city collapsed; about ten meters of the dike was shattered by the flood, and the muddy water carried rubble and broken wood.
Like a wild horse, it rushed towards the low-lying area. The more than twenty survivors who had gathered on the embankment were instantly swept away by the current. Some struggled while clinging to broken logs, while others sank and floated in the water, shouting "Help!" but were quickly swallowed up by the sound of the water.
"Dad! There are rafts over there!" Ya Ya suddenly pointed to the east side of the breached dike, her little finger pointing to three rafts tied together with thick hemp rope—
Each raft was about three meters long and covered with waterproof tarpaulin. It was made by the people from the small outpost in the south of the city, originally intended to be used to transfer supplies, but it was scattered by the rushing current after the dike breached.
It was drifting towards Zhang Ming with the current. Two members of the stronghold were still standing on the raft, holding steel pipes and watching the people around them warily.
"Paddle faster! Towards the raft!" Zhang Ming used all his strength, slapping the water with his legs, and the tin roof moved slowly in the rapids.
The surrounding survivors also spotted the raft, their eyes lighting up instantly. Regardless of what they were holding onto, they all rushed towards the raft.
A man wearing a ripped raincoat was holding an unconscious child in his arms, paddling through the water with his hands and feet.
An old woman was clutching a piece of broken wood, muttering, "Save me."
Several young and strong men threw away their belongings and swam frantically toward the raft, clearly trying to grab a spot.
"Don't come any closer! This raft belongs to our base! We need it to transport supplies!"
A tall, thin man on the raft shouted, gesturing with a steel pipe at the man at the front, "Come any closer, and I won't be polite!"
But the man didn't stop at all; instead, he sped up: "Can supplies be more valuable than life? My child is dying, let us get on!" As he spoke, he reached out to grab the edge of the raft.
The tall, thin man reacted quickly, smashing the steel pipe down on the man's hand with a "crack." The man's hand instantly turned red, and he screamed in pain, but he didn't let go. Instead, he grabbed the raft with his other hand, trying to climb up.
Seeing this, another member of the nearby stronghold immediately raised his axe and chopped at the man's arm: "I told you not to go! Don't you understand?"
"Don't chop! People will die!" Zhang Ming shouted from the tin roof, but it was too late—
Although the axe missed the man's arm, it struck his hand gripping the raft, causing blood to gush out and drip into the murky water, staining it red.
The man loosened his grip in pain, his body instantly swept away by the rushing water, and the child in his arms fell out. Before Zhang Ming could react, the child was swept away by a wave and disappeared without a trace.
The people around were terrified by this scene, and for a moment no one dared to approach the raft.
But just a few seconds later, a burly man with a face full of scars suddenly emerged from the water, holding a rusty kitchen knife in his hand, and shouted at the tall, thin man on the raft: "Why are you monopolizing this? The water is almost up to your neck, anyone has the right to get on!"
As he spoke, he used a kitchen knife to cut the hemp rope binding the raft, causing the raft to sway instantly, and the waterproof canvas on it was almost lifted off.
"Wang Hu! How dare you cut our raft!" The tall, thin man got angry and smashed a steel pipe down on Wang Hu's head.
Wang Hu dodged to the side, and the cleaver slashed at the tall, thin man's leg. With a "swoosh," the tall, thin man's trouser leg was cut open, and blood flowed down his leg into the water. He collapsed on the raft in pain, and the steel pipe fell into the water with a "clatter."
Taking advantage of the situation, Wang Hu climbed onto the raft and held a cleaver to the neck of another member of the stronghold: "Throw away your axe! Or I'll kill you!"
The members of the stronghold were so frightened that they quickly threw away their axes. Wang Hu pushed him into the water and shouted to the people around him, "Those who want to get on the raft, come with me! But you have to listen to me. Anyone who dares to disobey will end up like him!"
As he spoke, he pointed to the stronghold members struggling in the water. Several young men immediately responded and climbed onto the raft. Soon, the raft was crowded with people, and it was getting deeper and deeper into the water, with the canvas almost touching the surface.
Seeing this, Zhang Ming felt both angry and anxious—Ya Ya's lips had turned even more purple, and she was lying on the tin roof, too weak to even cry.
He looked for other floating objects, but then he saw another raft caught in a scramble: a woman in blue was trying to get on the raft with her child, but a man pushed her into the water, leaving the child on the raft. The woman was shouting "My child!" in the water.
But the man didn't care at all. Instead, he took the child to the side and sat on the raft himself.
"Let go of my child!" The woman frantically climbed onto the raft. Seeing this, the man raised the iron bar in his hand and smashed it down on the woman's head.
The woman groaned and collapsed into the water, a layer of bloody foam quickly rising to the surface. Those around were stunned. Some tried to intervene, but were pulled back by others: "Don't worry about it! If you help others, you'll die too!"
Zhang Ming almost burst into tears. He hugged Ya Ya tightly, unable to bear looking at her anymore.
Just then, a third raft drifted up beside him. There was only an old woman on the raft, holding a cane, who called out to him, "Young man, quickly bring the child up! This raft can seat two more people!"
Zhang Ming was overjoyed and quickly picked up Ya Ya, trying to climb onto the raft.
Before he could climb up, Wang Hu suddenly steered the first raft over, brandishing a kitchen knife and yelling at the old woman, "Old woman! Give up your raft! You're so old, you won't live much longer, don't take up space!"
The old woman trembled with rage, swinging her cane at Wang Hu: "You heartless bastard! I've lived for sixty years and have never seen such a cruel person!"
Wang Hu ignored her completely, shoving the old woman aside. She lost her balance and fell into the water. Seeing this, Zhang Ming's eyes reddened. He grabbed a wire from the tin roof and slashed it at Wang Hu's arm: "You dare push her! I'll fight you to the death!"
Wang Hu cried out in pain and turned to slash at Zhang Ming. The cleaver grazed Zhang Ming's shoulder, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound from which blood gushed out and dripped onto the raft.
"Dad!" Ya Ya cried out in fright, clinging tightly to Zhang Ming's neck.
Zhang Ming endured the pain, shielding Ya Ya behind him, and swung the wire in his hand at Wang Hu, but was kicked in the chest by Wang Hu and fell onto the raft.
Wang Hu raised the kitchen knife, intending to chop it down on Zhang Ming, when suddenly a "humming" sound came from afar, like the sound of some kind of engine.
Wang Hu paused for a moment, then looked up in the direction from which the sound came—in the distance, a faint silver-gray shadow was moving at a fast speed, like the "flying car" that someone had mentioned before.
The people around stopped what they were doing and looked up. The scrambling stopped instantly, and the people in the water forgot to struggle, their eyes filled with doubt and anticipation.
Zhang Ming, clutching his bleeding shoulder, looked up as well—the shadow was getting closer and closer; it was indeed a flying car, flying towards the breached dam.
He suddenly remembered someone saying in the communicator, "I am the God of Wealth," and that he owns a flying car specifically for rescuing people at the cooperative base. Could it be that the "God of Wealth" has arrived?
Wang Hu's expression changed. He shouted to the people on the raft, "Forget about the vehicle! Row this raft away quickly! Otherwise, you won't have another chance!"
As he spoke, he tried to continue attacking Zhang Ming. But before he could make a move, the flying car suddenly accelerated, getting closer and closer to the breached dam, the roar of the engine growing louder and louder, even causing the water surface to tremble.
The surrounding crowd began to stir, with someone shouting, "It's the 'God of Wealth's' car! The 'God of Wealth' has come to our rescue!"
Some people even forgot to grab a raft and waved in the direction of the flying car. Wang Hu's face grew increasingly grim. He glared at Zhang Ming and shouted to the people on the raft, "Paddle quickly! It'll be too late if you don't leave now!" The people on the raft hesitated for a moment, then picked up the oars and began paddling, trying to get away from the breached dam.
Zhang Ming watched the raft disappear into the distance, then looked at the flying car getting closer and closer, and a glimmer of hope welled up in his heart—maybe he and Ya Ya really could survive.
His shoulder was still bleeding, Ya Ya was still crying, the old lady in the water was still struggling, and although the fighting around them had temporarily stopped, no one knew what would happen next.
He quickly picked up Ya Ya and placed her on the raft. He then reached out and pulled the old lady out of the water. With his remaining strength, he rowed the raft to a relatively calm area and waited for the flying car to arrive.
As the flying car drew closer, Zhang Ming could clearly see the metallic sheen on its body. He knew that what lay ahead might depend on this car.
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