Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Huang Jiang Rescue
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"All ships in distress at Anchang Port, all ships in distress at Anchang Port! Fengyi has dispatched two diesel-powered boats to conduct search and rescue operations. Please inform us of your coordinates immediately, wear life jackets, and shout for help when a power boat passes by. If necessary, abandon the boat and escape!"
After broadcasting twice in a row on the high frequency, Meng Gaoyang put down the high frequency walkie-talkie and picked up another portable walkie-talkie: "Feng Yi is calling, No. 1, No. 2, what is the situation on the river surface? Please report it in time!"
"Zizizi... Fengyi, Fengyi, this is the No. 2 motor boat. No. 1 and No. 2 have successfully entered the water. The river surface... The waves on the river surface! Are! A! Bit! Big!"
A strong wind blew up, and the surging waves were like thousands of horses galloping, with a tremendous force.
Another wave hit the hull, causing the boat to shake violently. Gu Mengran became unstable and the walkie-talkie almost slipped out of his hand and fell into the river.
No, they can't stay here any longer, they have to move as soon as possible, otherwise it will be a matter of time before these two diesel boats are overturned by the waves.
"Liang Zhao! Is it done?" Stuffing the walkie-talkie into the pocket of his life jacket, Gu Mengran pulled the rope tied to the side of the boat and shouted loudly to the No. 1 power boat in the thick fog.
The two ships were less than five meters apart, but the fog was so thick that the figures could not be seen clearly.
On the side of power boat No. 1, Liang Zhao tied the rope thrown by Gu Mengran to the side of the boat and tied a beautiful eyelet knot. At this point, power boats No. 1 and No. 2 floating on the river were completely connected together.
"Gu Mengran, number 1 is done! We can set off anytime!"
"Ok ok, set off immediately, countdown three seconds, 3, 2, 1! Boom——"
The two power boats set out at the same time, moving side by side, heading towards Heng Rongsheng.
Eight minutes ago, the three of them worked out a simple rescue plan in the cab.
Two powerboats were launched for the rescue, Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao each drove one. As the fog on the river was too thick, it was not advisable to act separately, so they decided to connect the two powerboats with a cable to prevent them from getting separated.
The old man sat in the cockpit and used radar, satellite navigation, and high-frequency distress calls to promptly assess the river conditions. He then used the intercom to inform the two power boats of the distressed vessel's information and specific location so that they could carry out rescue operations.
So far, the program has been very successful.
The primary rescue target was Heng Rongsheng, not because Gu Mengran had an acquaintance with the crew member, but simply because Heng Rongsheng was closest to the Fengyi.
“Boom boom boom—”
On the foggy river surface, the diesel boat sailed at a steady speed, braving the wind and waves all the way.
The engine noise is comparable to that of a tractor, but Gu Mengran doesn't find it noisy at all. In fact, he feels extra at ease because of the noise.
Heng Rongsheng is not easy to find. Gu Mengran knows the approximate location, but the visibility is too low. It is like running with eyes closed. It feels like running in a straight line, but you will deviate without realizing it.
The old man sitting in the cab was very helpful. The boat made several deviations and was adjusted in time under his guidance. Fortunately, the distance was not too far. It took five minutes for the diesel boat to finally find Heng Rongsheng in the southeast of the anchorage.
The situation was very bad. Heng Rong Sheng capsized severely, as if lifted up by a huge force, and lay on its side in the river, with most of the ship engulfed by the turbulent river water.
The bow was in a slightly better condition, with the cockpit just barely above the water. However, the fully loaded cargo hold accelerated the ship's sinking speed, enveloping Heng Rong Sheng as it gradually melted into the cold river water.
The boat was about to sink, so Gu Mengran naturally thought that no one was on board. He and Liang Zhao quickly searched the surrounding waters and circled Heng Rongsheng several times, but they didn't see a single person.
Oh no! Could it be that this person... hasn't come out yet?
Gu Mengran looked at the dark cockpit and an ominous premonition came over him.
Hengrong Shengda waded through a large area of water, and the power system was obviously faulty. The diesel boat successfully approached the cab from the side, but the cab was pitch black, and even if it was only one or two meters away, the naked eye could still see nothing.
Flashlight! Gu Mengran held his breath and searched in the space. Three seconds later, a high-intensity flashlight appeared out of thin air in his hand.
He fumbled for the switch and was about to press it when suddenly - "Bang! Bang, bang, bang", several chaotic muffled sounds came from the driver's cab.
"Help, help! We are trapped in the cab!"
"The cockpit is flooded, help us!"
The cries for help were blocked by the PMMA windshield, and only one or two "Help" were heard by Gu Mengran. However, he could vaguely hear that the voices were those of a man and a woman.
Without having time to think about why the person was still in the driver's seat, Gu Mengran quickly pointed the flashlight at the driver's seat and quickly pressed the switch.
The strong flashlight was not bright enough in the thick fog, and it made no difference whether the flashlight was on or off. Gu Mengran was eager to save people, so he moved the diesel boat forward half a meter before he could see the situation inside the boat clearly.
Just like a car that fell into the water, the Heng Rong Sheng's cockpit was basically a semi-enclosed space. The door to the living area was tightly closed, but water was still seeping from the edge gaps. The left door of the cockpit was suspended in the air with the hull, while the right door sank to the bottom of the water.
Gu Mengran did not hear wrongly. There was indeed a man and a woman in the driver's seat, and one of them was the boy who had met Gu Mengran yesterday.
He and a long-haired girl were completely trapped in the cockpit. The water level was getting higher and higher, and there was no way out. They tried their best to hit the windshield, with only one head barely above the water.
Seeing the light, the two became more excited and banged on the glass even harder.
"Don't worry! Save your energy. We'll think of a way to rescue you right away!" Worried that the two were exhausted, Gu Mengran shouted towards the driver's seat at the top of his voice.
PMMA glass has a very good sound insulation effect. The other party obviously didn't hear it, but became even more excited. Gu Mengran was anxious and turned to look at the No. 1 power boat parked beside him and asked Liang Zhao for his opinion: "What should we do? Climb up and try to open the door?"
Liang Zhao almost didn't think about it, "No, it's too dangerous."
The hull tilted 90 degrees, and the bow deck was suspended in the air, at least three or four meters above the water. Climbing up with bare hands was already very dangerous. Even if they successfully opened the cabin door, they had no way to pull up two adults without a foothold at the vertical height of one floor.
Gu Mengran's brain was working rapidly, "Then, then just use the oil saw to break the windshield?"
Without waiting for Liang Zhao's answer, he quickly rejected it: "No, no, once the windshield is broken, all the water outside will pour in. If we are a little slower, they will all be drowned in there."
Gu Mengran analyzed the situation by himself, but Liang Zhao remained silent. He found it strange and looked up, and saw Liang Zhao looking at the Hengrongsheng cargo hold thoughtfully, wondering what he was thinking about.
Cargo hold, does he want to empty the cargo hold?
It is indeed possible to bring Heng Rong Sheng to the surface again by towing it with a diesel boat, exposing the cargo hold to the surface as much as possible, and then emptying the cargo in the hold to reduce the weight.
But here comes the problem.
The diesel boat was not a tugboat, and its power was not enough to pull Heng Rong Sheng out of the water in one go. At most, it could slightly bend the severely tilted hull back, but the river water was still pulling it down, and if the cargo was not unloaded in time, the boat would not last long.
Unless... they can unload most of the cargo in a very short time.
Gu Mengran concentrated his attention and searched around the space. Unfortunately, there were no mechanical devices in the space.
Wait, space?
Gu Mengran suddenly had an epiphany and clapped his hands, "Liang Zhao, Liang Zhao, I have an idea!"
"Boom, boom—"
The cable connected Heng Rongsheng, the diesel boat increased its power, and a huge roar resounded through the sky.
If one boat was not enough, they added another one. Two small diesel boats continued to tow the ship. Heng Rong Sheng, which could not be moved by human power, was actually adjusted back little by little.
It was still far from enough, so 90 degrees was barely pulled to 60 degrees. No matter how hard the throttle of the diesel boat was turned to the bottom, the Hengrong Sheng pattern did not move.
It's reached its limit, the engine is emitting thick black smoke, the cables are stretched to the limit, and they don't have much time left.
Gu Mengran decisively handed the two small boats to Liang Zhao to control, and quickly took out another small boat from the space, like a sharp machete, and rushed to the other side of the cargo hold.
The tarpaulin on the cargo hold was well wrapped, and the hull was tilted 90 degrees, so not much cargo leaked out. Gu Mengran drove a small boat closer, and with a machete he chopped it down and found that the cargo hold was actually loaded with wheat.
The tarpaulin was torn, and the river water embraced the wheat and flowed towards the Huangjiang River with a "whirring" sound as if it was free.
Gu Mengran didn't care about the pain and drove the boat across, cutting the entire tarpaulin in half.
Suddenly, a wheat rain began to fall on the river. Wheat grains full of wheat floated on the surface of the river, absorbed the river water, and quickly sank to the bottom.
The speed was still too slow. In just a few tens of seconds, the ship sank a lot deeper into the water. Gu Mengran no longer hesitated and decisively reached into the wheat and put the wheat in the cargo hold into the space.
With these two measures, the wheat in the cargo hold was decreasing at a visible speed. In less than a minute, the bulging tarpaulin slumped down. Seeing that the time was almost up, Gu Mengran turned the bow in time and opened up a distance of more than ten meters from Heng Rongsheng in a matter of minutes.
Without even having time to catch his breath, Gu Mengran quickly took out his walkie-talkie: "Liang Zhao, Liang Zhao, the mission is completed, you can start!"
The other side quickly responded: "Got it, please stay away for now."
"Don't worry, I'm already more than ten meters away." Gu Mengran instructed: "You should also be careful and pay attention to safety."
"Ok, start the countdown, 3, 2, 1!"
"Boom——"
The distance was too far, and Gu Mengran could see nothing in front of him. He could hear the continuous roar of the diesel boat, like the sad sound of the engine before it was scrapped, and then - "Bang!"
A loud bang drowned out all the noise, and the river water splashed everywhere. Even though Gu Mengran was more than ten meters away, he was splashed with water.
It sounded like a success. Gu Mengran shook off the water droplets on his head and drove the diesel boat into the thick fog again.
Following the source of the sound, he met Liang Zhao. As expected, the engine of the No. 1 power boat had completely failed. Without time to feel distressed, Gu Mengran quickly put the No. 1 boat into the space and let Liang Zhao drive the No. 2 boat to the bow of Heng Rongsheng to rescue people.
The sacrifice of the engine was worth it. Heng Rongsheng maintained its balance and resurfaced. The cockpit filled with water was draining water with a "whistling" sound.
After a lot of effort, Gu Mengran was panting after reaching the deck. Without even taking a breath, he followed Liang Zhaolian up three floors and finally successfully reached the door of the cockpit.
The visibility continued to decrease, and even with the glass pressed against him, he couldn't see clearly what was going on in the driver's cabin. Liang Zhao tried to open the door but failed. Gu Mengran took out a portable oil saw and handed it to him, "Why don't we just -"
Before he could finish his words, the closed door of the driver's seat was suddenly opened from the inside.
As if a floodgate had been opened, the water inside the room rushed out of the door. With no way to retreat, Liang Zhao grabbed Gu Mengran's arm and blocked him, but he was chilled to the bone by the sudden onslaught of river water.
"Help, help, save my brother..."
A faint female voice came from inside the room. Liang Zhao wiped the water off his face and groped his way into the driver's room. The hand holding his arm still did not let go. Gu Mengran followed Liang Zhao's steps and took out a strong flashlight to illuminate the dim driver's room.
As soon as the door was opened, most of the river water in the room was drained out, leaving only a small amount of water on the ground.
The long-haired girl who had called for help was sitting paralyzed by the door, with one hand hanging in the air, trying to keep the door open, breathing in deep gulps of fresh air.
Having been in the water for too long, her exposed skin was full of wrinkles and her face was as pale as paper, without a trace of blood.
Beside her, the young man who had been chatting with Gu Mengran last night was lying flat on the ground, already unconscious. The water covered half of his body, and his hair was tightly grasped in the girl's hand, so his head was above the water.