Chapter 327 After the Disaster
The helicopter swayed slightly in the air flow, like a huge cradle, causing the already exhausted Xia Lili to fall into a light sleep again.
However, this sleep did not last long. After a steady descent of the fuselage, the vibration of landing was felt.
"Xia Lili, we're here." Li Qihan's voice sounded in his ears.
She opened her eyes dazedly and was caught off guard by Li Qihan's deep sea eyes.
That look seemed to hold a certain probing tone, instantly sobering her up, and her cheeks suddenly felt hot. "...Hmm!"
Xia Lili responded vaguely, unbuckled the safety buckle almost in a hurry, and jumped out of the helicopter first.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, he walked quickly towards the rest area without looking back. His back looked like he was fleeing in panic.
Li Qihan stood in place, his eyes following Xia Lili. He subconsciously raised his hand, and his fingertips gently brushed the neck where she had just leaned.
There seemed to still be a hint of warmth and a slight itch from the brush of hair.
Li Qihan unconsciously frowned slightly, and an inexplicable feeling of depression welled up in his heart.
It was as if I was accidentally touched by something light, but it disappeared in a flash, leaving only an empty uncertainty.
This feeling is strange and disturbing.
Xia Lili rushed back to her room. Exhausted both physically and mentally, she fell into a deep sleep almost instantly and slept until the evening.
It wasn't until she heard a familiar knock on the door and Li Qihan's recognizable voice calling her for dinner that she struggled to wake up.
Dinner was served in a temporary canteen. In order to reward the heroes of this operation, the logistics department specially transferred fresh ingredients from other places, and the meal was particularly sumptuous.
The atmosphere at the long dining table was lively, but Xia Lili kept her eyes slightly lowered, staring intently at the food on her plate, carefully avoiding any eye contact with Li Qiuhan who was sitting diagonally across from her, as if there were clues to the criminal hidden in the plate.
During the banquet, Commander Zhang's face was beaming as he raised his glass in high spirits, saying, "In this Lincheng earthquake, we have kept the number of casualties to a historic low!"
"Thanks to the efficient national emergency mechanism and perfect resource allocation, all temporary shelters are now operating in an orderly manner."
"Our superiors also gave us high recognition and praise! Everyone can get bonuses and receive credit!"
He paused, turned his gaze towards the table, and said solemnly, "Especially to Comrade Xia Lili, the Dragon Team member who made timely and accurate predictions about this earthquake."
"The country will award her the highest medal of honor in recognition of her outstanding contributions!"
Xia Lili, whose name was called, raised her head and instantly became the focus of everyone's attention.
Before she could even open her mouth, Commander Zhang added with emotion, "To be honest, I really have to thank Commander Gu from the Yangcheng General Administration!"
"If it weren't for his unique vision in discovering a special talent like you and facilitating your cooperation with the police, this operation would never have gone so smoothly."
Xia Lili quickly put down her chopsticks and responded sincerely, "Commander Zhang, you're too kind."
"I only issued an early warning. The real credit belongs to all the comrades fighting on the front lines. It was our joint efforts that brought the situation under control."
As soon as she finished speaking, a young police officer next to her couldn't help but excitedly said, "Mr. Xia, please don't be so modest! If you hadn't warned us in advance, it's hard to say whether we would be standing here intact now!"
"Yes!" another team member agreed with a smile, "If you hadn't been constantly drawing those thirteen portraits of the criminal, our capture mission wouldn't have gone so smoothly!"
It’s not three pictures, it’s thirteen pictures!
It took me an entire afternoon to draw this. I don’t know how much mental and emotional effort it took!
"When we were arresting people today, there was a criminal who looked very honest and tried to pretend to be an innocent villager. He was really convincing!"
A member of Team B excitedly recounted the scene: "But everyone saw it was one of the thirteen portraits! We just watched him act out, and when he thought he'd fooled us and breathed a sigh of relief, we caught him."
"You didn't see the expression on his face when he ate the fly. It was amazing!"
The members of Group B looked at Xia Lili with a smile: "Mr. Xia, you don't have to be modest. I have your credit, so I can just walk sideways!"
There was a burst of genuine laughter and agreement at the table.
Everyone looked at Xia Lili with eyes full of gratitude and admiration.
Just as everyone was toasting to celebrate, Commander Zhang's assistant walked quickly into the restaurant.
The assistant's face was filled with uncontrollable joy as he shouted, "Commander Zhang! Our 'Operation Hunting' has truly lived up to its reputation. We've captured a whole nest of raptors in one fell swoop!"
He excitedly unfolded the preliminary interrogation report in his hand. "We've just verified the identities of the fifteen people arrested. Among them is Lü Wanqi, a Class A wanted criminal who has been on the run for thirteen years and responsible for multiple deaths."
"There's even the main culprit in the Beijiang Serial Murder Case three years ago, and the core leader of a massive cross-border fraud case!"
"These people are all high-ranking criminals with mountains of files on them!"
Xia Lili and everyone present were stunned upon hearing this. Someone couldn't help but exclaim, "This isn't catching a criminal; it's like catching a big fish that's been lying at the bottom for years!"
The assistant smiled and continued to explain, "According to preliminary accounts, after Lv Wanqi learned of the earthquake warning in advance, he felt it was a godsend and planned to take advantage of the chaos to make a big move."
"He urgently contacted all his former subordinates and connections on the underworld he could muster. As a result, these shady 'flies' who had committed murders, hidden criminal records, and were afraid to show their true colors gathered together..."
"I didn't expect that we would wipe them out!"
Everyone suddenly understood, and the already heated atmosphere was instantly pushed to a climax.
This unexpected harvest is really exciting!
It’s like carefully laying a net, originally intending to catch a few fish, but unexpectedly catching a whole school of giant crocodiles lurking in the deep sea. It’s shocking and exciting at the same time!
"Thanks for your hard work!"
“It’s worth it!”
Amid the cheers, everyone raised their drinks high again, and the crisp sound of clinking glasses rang out one after another.
All the running around, tension and fatigue of the past few days turned into regretless joy at this moment.
All the efforts are worth it.
As soon as the news of the Lincheng earthquake came out, it quickly attracted widespread attention from all walks of life.
The early warning issued ten hours in advance undoubtedly played a key role in responding to this sudden earthquake.
The early warning information was widely disseminated through various channels, and the emergency coordination among all parties was swift and effective!
However, during the search and investigation a week after the earthquake.
The result of "zero casualties" was still broken.
Even if the warning is issued promptly and disseminated widely, it is still almost impossible to achieve true "zero casualties".
This is not due to the lack of relevant departments, but the helplessness caused by the complex interweaving of real difficulties and human nature.
Earthquakes are often accompanied by unpredictable secondary disasters.
Especially in mountainous and hilly areas, even if people have been successfully evacuated, they may encounter dangerous situations such as landslides and mudslides during the transfer, causing heartbreaking accidental casualties.
Emergency Command Center.
Commander Zhang's voice was filled with solemnity and urgency. "We just received news that a massive mudslide has occurred in the direction of Qingzhou Valley. A team that was moving to the main shelter is trapped on the mountain road, along with their vehicles. Communications are currently down, and the exact number of casualties is unknown!"
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