The storm was fierce and fast, mixed with hailstones as big as eggs, which hit the ground with a loud noise.
The hailstones hit the iron pot lid with a clanging sound, and the lid seemed to be flattened.
Some soldiers were wearing only thin raincoats, but they gritted their teeth and stood firm, trying their best to stick to their posts.
Li Caixia and Jiang Yuan worked together to hold up a military blanket, covering Jiang Jun tightly and preventing her from being attacked in any way.
The hailstones fell to the ground, rolled a few times, and quickly melted in the pouring rain.
Their raincoats were no longer enough to protect them from the rain.
The held military blanket was soon soaked by the rain and became cold and heavy.
They were standing on the top of a mountain. The mountain road was extremely narrow and there was no extra space. Most people dug a place on the spot just for standing, which was inevitably soaked in rainwater.
Jiang Jun's hands and feet were icy cold, and his teeth were chattering. He wiped the rain from his face, reached out and grabbed Li Caixia's arm, and while standing firm, he also gave Li Caixia confidence: "Hold on a little longer, the rain will stop."
The doctors and nurses at the retirement home walked around in the icy rain with difficulty, ready to deliver medicine and help at any time.
Everyone treated this sudden natural disaster as a battle and responded with full vigilance.
Jiang Yun was one of the weakest links among all the people taking shelter. The doctor was afraid that she would not be able to stand for too long and wanted to find a place for her to sit down.
Jiang Jun declined, fearing a slippery slope and being unable to stand up. "Someone take care of me, you go take care of the chief!"
Just as he finished speaking, a bolt of lightning shot out from the ground in the distance, lighting up half the sky.
Jiang Jun couldn't help but yell, "It's an earthquake! Hold on tight!"
The roar of thunder and lightning and the sound of wind and rain drowned out her cries. Before she could shout a second time, everyone felt the earth shaking.
The whole world suddenly fell into darkness.
The stars and faint lights in the distance all disappeared.
After a moment of silence, the soil beneath their feet began to slide.
Jiang Yuan held Jiang Jun's arm tightly with one hand and Li Caixia's arm with the other. His feet were nailed firmly to the ground like stakes, and his eyes were fixed on the place where the lightning disappeared.
Chen Yuanwu rushed to Jiang Yun's side: "How are you?"
Jiang Jun's face was almost frozen, but he still managed to force a smile: "I'm fine, I can take care of myself!"
Chen Yuanwu patted Jiang Yuan's shoulder vigorously: "I leave it to you!"
After saying that, he rushed into the rain again to check whether there was any soil, rocks or trees shaking or collapsing around other people, and tried to find a solid place to transfer people to avoid danger.
Han Guang's face was serious as he kept observing the changes in the distance.
Even as the mountaintop shook, he remained calm and composed: "Back in the war, when the Japanese artillery shells hit us, the shaking was much more severe than this!"
Fortunately, the earthquake was not as severe as we had imagined.
The heavy rain never stops, making people anxious.
If the erosion continues like this, landslides will definitely occur due to aftershocks.
It was still dark and the situation was unclear, so we could only make judgments based on our keen sense of combat.
If the rain doesn't stop, we can't go down the mountain rashly.
Li Caixia hugged Jiang Jun and asked tremblingly, "The road is blocked. Will anyone come to save us?"
In case of emergency, soldiers must return to their units first. When Chen Yuanwu first learned that it might be an earthquake, he immediately asked the driver to take two guards to seek help from the outside world. As long as there were no accidents on the road, they should have returned to the capital long ago.
Jiang Jun was so cold that she couldn't tell whether she was crying or laughing. "We're already in the safest place here. I'm afraid others are still waiting for us to rescue them!"
It is the dead of night when people are sleeping the deepest. Even if they wake up, they will not react very quickly.
Li Caixia was very scared: "What should I do? Will this place collapse?"
Jiang Yuan tightly grasped Li Caixia's arm: "No! The footing is very solid!"
Li Caixia's nose felt sore. She imitated the actions of the guards protecting the leaders and stopped in front of Jiang Jun. "Jiang Yuan, you hold Teacher Jiang from behind, and I'll cushion you from the front!"
Even if Jiang Yun accidentally falls, he won't get hurt.
Jiang Jun lay on Li Caixia's back, her eyes swollen. She reached out to hug Li Caixia. She wanted to laugh, but started crying as soon as she opened her mouth.
Li Caixia was anxious and asked repeatedly, "Teacher Xiao Jiang, where do you feel uncomfortable?"
Jiang Yun didn't bother to wipe away the rain and tears, and choked out, "I'm not sad, I'm extremely happy!"
Li Caixia was anxious: "Jiang Yuan, quickly call Staff Officer Chen."
Jiang Yun pulled Jiang Yuan back and said, "No need to go. I'm fine. Feel my pulse!"
At this time, there was no personal feeling involved, and she couldn't hold Chen Yuanwu back.
Jiang Yuan hesitated for a moment, then pinched Jiang Yun's wrist carefully: "It's really good!"
Except for a slightly low body temperature, the pulse is stable.
The raindrops gradually became smaller.
The sky was gray and bright.
The top of the mountain was surrounded by increasingly heavy clouds and fog. You could see your fingers when you stretched out your hand, but you couldn't see people three steps away. You could only rely on their words to identify each person's location.
Han Guang breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, there are no aftershocks. Once the fog passes, we can try to go down the mountain."
Jiang Jun said, "There will be aftershocks!"
The fog was heavy and everyone was wet. If you relax at this time, you will be particularly prone to getting sick.
Only high tension can protect against the cold.
Sure enough, Han Guang immediately asked, "Xiao Jiang, how did you determine that?"
Jiang Jun said, "I've seen hunters lying on the ground listening for the footsteps of animals. They call earthquakes 'earth dragons stirring,' meaning that earthquakes also make sounds."
The guard beside Han Guang immediately knelt down and listened carefully, saying excitedly: "Really, there is a rumbling sound!"
Jiang Yuan suddenly said, "The sound is far away, it's not coming towards where we are standing!"
On the grassland, listening to the wind, smelling the scent and identifying the weather and animals are the basic survival skills of nomadic peoples. Experienced pastoralist hunters can lie on the ground to listen to the sounds of horses or look for groundwater.
Han Guang called on Jiang Yuan and said, "Go on!"
Jiang Yuan didn't know much about earthquakes, not even longitudinal or transverse waves, but he could sense the vibrations on the surface. "This earthquake caused a cave to collapse. It was a black cave, very long and deep."
He didn't know the structure of the underground mine, he had only seen the cellar collapse, so he used the word "hole" to describe what he perceived.
Han Guang staggered a bit, but luckily no one saw him. "Are there many casualties?"
Jiang Yuan was silent for a while: "Big!"
If the roof collapses due to heavy snow, it can crush people to death, let alone underground collapse.
Han Guang also fell silent. The place illuminated by the two lightning strikes was exactly where the mine culvert was located.
If it collapses, the casualties will be incalculable.
Chen Yuanwu's voice rang out through the thick fog. "Boss Han, I just took a look around the retirement home. The conference room is intact. We're digging a path as we go. If you want to go down, you can file in now."
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