The first year of the new calendar, which is 2477 AD, is the first year of the Great Cataclysm and also the year the Averyk Rescue Team was founded.
As the least affected college town, Averick had not yet reached its future scale and population; at this time, it was just an ordinary college town.
But Avery's rescue team was the largest at the time, although people were too busy to gossip about such things.
Yun Zhe, a senior at Avery University, is one of them.
As one of the most tragic graduating classes in human history, they experienced a catastrophe caused by war right at the time of their graduation. Unlike most graduates who succumbed to despair and resentment due to unemployment or an uncertain future amidst the turbulent times, Yun Zhe actively joined a rescue team. "The world has changed, and I don't know what I can do now. I'm lost, but being lost is useless. Instead of spending my days in confusion, I should find something to do; maybe then I'll find my direction in life." These were the words Yun Zhe said to the team leader when he joined the rescue team, and also words he wrote to himself in his diary.
Thus, Yun Zhe, an outstanding graduate of the architecture department at Avery University, became a member of the seventh squad of the Avery University Rescue Team.
After a week of basic training and more than ten perilous rescues, Yun Zhe had become a veteran of the rescue team. Today, his squad was heading to Calana City to carry out the final search and rescue operations.
The city of Calana has been hit by localized flooding due to days of torrential rain, but fortunately most people have been rescued by the rescue team. Today, Yun Zhe's team is just checking for any remaining trapped people so that they can be rescued in time.
Yun Zhe and the team leader sat in a helicopter, circling back and forth over the disaster area.
"Yun Zhe, you seem a bit distracted today. What's wrong?" Cade, the team leader, noticed his teammate's unusual behavior and asked casually. Cade was in his forties, burly, and had red hair. He was a fitness instructor and also the captain of a civilian rescue team. He was very experienced and naturally became the captain of the Seventh Rescue Team after the Great Cataclysm.
"Ah, no, no, I guess I didn't get enough rest," Yun Zhe shook his head vigorously, as if trying to shake something away, and then forced out a big smile.
Cade didn't say anything more. At this time, everyone had their own worries. As long as it didn't affect their work, there was no problem.
However, there was a real reason. Yun Zhe was from Kaiyang City in the Eastern Xia Kingdom. He had come to Yafrik alone to attend school, while his parents still lived in Kaiyang City. Since the Great Cataclysm, Yun Zhe had lost contact with his family and could only follow the situation in Xia Kingdom through television news. The daily lists of missing persons and official casualty figures were his biggest concerns. But today, news from Xia Kingdom could no longer reach Yafrik because several key signal base stations had been destroyed, and it was unknown when communications would be restored. This meant that for a long time to come, Yun Zhe would be completely unaware of what was happening back home.
It is often said that no news is the best news, but no news due to information blockage is obviously not true.
But work still needs to be done.
They soon spotted six people waiting to be rescued waving and calling out to them from a high point in the middle of the river.
The helicopter could only carry four more people away, but Yun Zhe, who was going down to rescue others, chose to stay on the dangerous high ground so that one more victim could escape. Yun Zhe explained to Cade that staying behind would also help calm the emotions of those who remained.
Cade didn't want things to go this way, but seeing that Yun Zhe didn't come up and instead chose to rescue another person, he didn't say anything. Anyway, the nearest safe point was very close; a helicopter round trip wouldn't take more than half an hour. Besides, the torrential rain had stopped, and although the water level hadn't receded, it hadn't risen further.
After settling the last person in, Cade gestured to the pilot. The helicopter roared away.
Yun Zhe heard Cade's voice through his earpiece: "Hold on for half an hour, we'll be right back."
Yun Zhe waved to the helicopter.
"Hold on for half an hour, the helicopter will be back soon," Yun Zhe smiled slightly at the last person and comforted him.
The person who remained was a middle-aged man, the oldest among the victims.
"It's nothing, it's good that they can leave. I'm not in a hurry, anyway, the rain has stopped. Young man, I can tell you're from the East, are you from Xia? What's your name?"
"My name is Yun Zhe, Zhe as in philosophy. Where's my older brother?"
“My name is Darcy, Darcy Moore, and I’m a local. I never expected to encounter something like this, and I’m so grateful that you were able to come in time.”
"It's alright, it's nothing." Yun Zhe waved his hand. "The helicopter will be back soon, and we'll be at a safe point. I've calculated the time, and it'll be just around dinner time. The stewed beef at the safe point is excellent, so we can try it together."
"Oh? Stewed beef? That's a rare delicacy. It must have been hard for your rescue team."
"Hehehe, actually there are quite a lot of potatoes, but the taste is absolutely authentic," Yun Zhe scratched his head, speaking the truth. After all, beef is becoming increasingly scarce these days.
"Then I'll definitely try it, hahaha!" Darcy's mood improved a lot. Although he knew it was just a way to distract himself, it really worked.
Just as the two were in high spirits and their conversation was getting deeper and deeper, the earth suddenly trembled.
The two lay prone on the high ground, Darcy looking nervously at Yun Zhe.
Yun Zhe looked around and saw that nothing had changed much. The sky was overcast, the trees swayed in the breeze, and the water was still rhythmically lapping against the shore of the highlands.
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