In the heavy rain, several figures slowly approached, and they seemed to be walking with difficulty.
Lu Zhan narrowed his eyes slightly and strode forward, followed by the company commanders of the other two companies.
Walking in front on the opposite side were two soldiers from the second company who had gone with Bi Guoguang. The shorter one put the taller one's arm on his shoulder, as if he was helping him walk, but the two hands of the supporting man were tightly wrapped around the taller one's waist, as if he was controlling him.
At least ten meters behind the two of them, they saw another man limping behind them, driving a pig.
When the two young soldiers saw Lu Zhan coming out to greet them, they immediately straightened their military posture and saluted him, but their expressions were very strange, their eyes were red, they bit their lips and did not speak.
When Director Zheng, who was following behind them, saw the two men stop, he also stopped immediately, looking timid and not daring to get closer.
Looking at this strange scene, the company commander frowned and asked:
"What's wrong with you two? You're just walking ahead on your own. Why don't you turn around and help your fellow villagers?"
The captain of the third company also walked over:
"Fellow villager, why are you standing so far away? It's raining so hard, come into the yard and take shelter."
Director Zheng looked embarrassed. He glanced cautiously at the two soldiers and whispered:
"I didn't dare go over there... I was afraid of getting beaten..."
The rain was so loud that the third company commander couldn't hear what he said, but the two soldiers not far from him heard it clearly.
The tall soldier's expression suddenly changed. His hands hanging on both sides clenched into fists, and his cheeks were clenched tightly, as if he was going to eat someone in the next second.
The short soldier quickly hugged him:
"Shi Tou, don't be impulsive!"
Lu Zhan frowned, looking behind them, but he didn't see Bi Guoguang. Seeing the two soldiers' unusual reactions, his heart sank.
"What's going on? Where's the second captain?"
When Lu Zhan asked about Bi Guoguang, the stone face that had just looked like it was about to eat someone turned pale and could no longer control its emotions. It burst into tears:
"Report, report to the battalion commander... the company commander, he's been swept away by the flood!"
Lu Zhan's face changed drastically, and the other two company commanders were also horrified:
"how so?!"
When Bi Guoguang was mentioned, Shitou cried so hard that he couldn't breathe.
Another young soldier, holding back tears, recounted the entire incident in detail:
It turned out that after Bi Guoguang was unfortunately knocked into the water by a driftwood, the young soldier and Shitou ran downstream along the bank to chase him. They searched the water surface with flashlights all the way and shouted until their voices were hoarse, but they still couldn't find Bi Guoguang.
Unable to accept the fact that their company commander had died, the two men could only walk back crying and report the bad news to the troops.
But when they returned to their original place, they found that Director Zheng and the pigs were gone.
This behavior of harming someone and then turning around and leaving completely infuriated Shi Tou. He was extremely angry and ran forward to chase him.
As a result, he caught up with Director Zheng who was struggling to drive pigs in the rain halfway. Shi Tou grabbed him and was about to hit him, but fortunately the young soldier held him tightly and stopped him.
After a struggle in the rain, the young soldier finally pulled the stone in front, out of sight and out of mind. Director Zheng followed them from a distance, driving the pigs alone.
After learning the whole story, the two company commanders of the first battalion's eyes turned red, they clenched their fists, and looked angrily at Director Zheng who was not far away.
For a pig, their beloved comrade lost his precious life and a mother lost her son. How can people be so selfish?!
Director Zheng shuddered at the looks of the two men, shrank his neck, and didn't dare to look up, muttering to himself:
"I didn't want to, I didn't expect anything to happen to him..."
At the end of his speech, the little soldier couldn't stop crying:
"Report to the battalion commander, we have chased for several hundred meters along the water's edge, but we haven't seen Captain Bi. The current is too fast, I'm afraid he has already..."
Upon hearing this bad news, veins popped up on Lu Zhan's forehead, as if ice had pierced his heart.
Bi Guoguang is an old comrade-in-arms who had experienced the last flood relief operation with him. He grew up by the Fen River and is familiar with water. He has rescued soldiers and civilians who accidentally fell into the flood several times.
Therefore, in this disaster relief operation, he was entrusted with an important task by Lu Zhan. He and Lu Zhan were responsible for evacuating people from several dangerous and complex areas.
Bi Guoguang always completed his mission well and brought people out of danger safely. He was the most trusted person in the First Battalion, but why did it happen this time...
"Commander, let me go!"
Bi Guoguang's voice seemed to still linger in Lu Zhan's ears, and his honest smile seemed to still be grinning at him.
Lu Zhan only felt a pain in his chest. He raised his head and closed his eyes, letting the torrential rain mercilessly hit his cheeks that were filled with grief, making it impossible to see his expression.
At this moment, a dazzling red light suddenly lit up in the dark night sky in the distance. The company commander beside him said in surprise:
"Is that a flare?"
Lu Zhan suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the bright red in the night sky in disbelief.
Then, a second and a third star rose up...
Everything was exactly as it happened in Shao Jingque's dream. No, maybe it wasn't a dream at all!
Thinking of the subsequent disasters described by Shao Jingque, Lu Zhan could only force himself to escape from the pain of losing his comrades, because the lives of more people were in danger!
"Banqiao Reservoir... burst its dam..."
He stared at the red, his thin lips moved, and there was a chill in his voice.
The two company commanders beside him were stunned when they heard this.
Did the battalion commander say that the upstream reservoir broke?
Doesn’t that mean a bigger flood is about to hit?
"Ma Jun! Liu Jincai!"
"arrive!"
The two company commanders had never seen such a nervous look on Lu Zhan's face. In their impression, their battalion commander always kept his emotions to himself and faced any dangerous or difficult task calmly and composedly. Now they also became nervous.
"Immediately lead everyone from the First and Third Companies to assist all residents of Anfeng Town in evacuating to the top of the mountain!"
Thinking of Bi Guoguang, Lu Zhan felt a pang in his heart again. He suppressed the heat in his eyes and said to Shitou, whose eyes were swollen from crying:
"May I have your name?"
"Report to the battalion commander, my name is Shi Tou!"
Lu Zhan nodded, his eyes firm:
"Shi Tou, your company commander is not here right now. You must take up this shift in his place. Pass the order down. Everyone in the Second Company must carry as many supplies as possible and move with the First and Third Companies!"
"Yes, Captain!"
No one asked why. Obeying orders and following instructions is their duty as soldiers. Moreover, they believe in land warfare, so there must be a reason for doing so.
Lu Zhan turned around and walked quickly to the communications room. No matter whether it was a mistake or not, and no matter how severe the punishment and criticism he would receive afterwards, he had to convey this signal.
"Make an emergency call to the command center and tell them there's an important disaster report!"
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