Chapter 86
The six people worked together to lift the four rescued people onto the frozen, hard blankets, and then wrapped them tightly in cotton-padded coats and blankets, leaving no gaps to ensure they wouldn't get frostbite. Then they ran wildly toward the main square.
Niu Dali and Jiang He pulled from the front, Han Lei and Asong pushed from behind, and Ye Qingyun and Wu Xiu protected them from the middle.
The six of them moved with incredible speed, almost flying forward. Han Lei and his companion stumbled and fell several times due to the speed of those ahead, but quickly got up and continued to catch up.
Everyone knows that for Grandpa Jiang and Jiang Hai, this is a race against time!
It took them almost an hour to get there, but only twenty minutes to get back.
When they returned to the escape door of the air-raid shelter, they found that the cracks in the door had frozen over again.
Niu Dali pried the door open with a steel bar in just a few strokes.
Fortunately, they returned in time. There was only a thin layer of ice in the escape passage, but the stairs were too steep. If they carried Jiang Hai and the others down like that, without anyone to hold them steady, they would definitely fall and get injured.
Jiang He panicked when he saw this and shouted, "They can't go down like this! The passage is too narrow, and they'll definitely slip if no one is watching them!"
Wu Xiu hurriedly asked, "Second brother, what should we do?"
“We men will each carry one! Sisters-in-law, you go ahead and clear the way!”
Upon hearing this, the others immediately and hurriedly carried the person on their backs.
Ye Qingyun and Wu Xiu immediately moved to the front, stomping hard on each step to prevent slipping.
Five minutes later, the six people successfully returned to the inner gate.
Han Lei pounded on the door, shouting, "Ah Shui! Open the door!!!"
The brothers who had been guarding the door were overjoyed and immediately rushed over.
The inner door's defensive devices are far more complex than the outer door's; it's practically three layers deep.
Ah Shui and the others struggled to push open the inner door, and upon seeing the four people who had suddenly appeared inside, their faces instantly lit up with wild joy, their eyes shining brightly.
"Brothers! The person is back! Auntie and the others rescued the person!!"
Ye Qingyun hurriedly ordered, "Quickly! Send someone to warm the blankets! A-Lei, go back and boil the water in the kettle next to the old man, keep it warm, and then slowly pour it into their mouths! I'll go find Commander Wan now and ask him to bring a doctor!"
The previously flustered group immediately felt reassured upon hearing Ye Qingyun's arrangements and began to follow instructions and divide the work.
Han Lei led the way, hurrying through while urgently shouting, "Make way! Make way, everyone! It's an emergency, please make way quickly!!"
The two brothers, A-Yu and A-Yu, were in better condition, but Grandpa Jiang and Jiang Hai looked like they had just been rescued from outside, their complexions were extremely poor.
Those around them couldn't help but whisper among themselves, their eyes filled with surprise and doubt.
"What?! They actually went out to look for people?!"
"It looks like they've found them. Quick, check ahead, is the person they found dead?"
"He's definitely not dead, right? Bringing him back if he's dead would be incredibly immoral!"
No one could believe that someone could survive such a terrible cold wave.
This is nothing short of a miracle.
In Zone 1, as everyone watched Han Lei and his companions hurriedly approaching carrying someone on their backs, an uproar erupted, with discussions surging like a tidal wave.
"How did they manage to survive? Could they be superhumans?"
"It doesn't look like it... Look at that old man, he's probably in his seventies or eighties. How can there be a superhuman that old?"
...
Before the group even reached their own territory, the people around them spontaneously made way for them.
"Great-Grandma! It's Grandma who brought Grandpa and the others back!" Jiang Si shouted on tiptoe, her voice full of eagerness and joy.
Grandma Jiang suddenly stood up from the stool. As soon as her eyes fell on Grandpa Jiang and her son, her hands trembled so badly that she could barely hold onto her clothes, and her turbid tears splattered onto her clothes.
"Quick, Sui Sui, help me over there, let's go see!"
Jiang Sui and Jiang Si quickly helped the old lady up.
The two children, each supporting one side of the old lady Jiang, trembled as they went to greet her.
Grandma Jiang's gaze was fixed on the figures on Jiang Wen and the others' backs. Her cloudy eyes were filled with anxiety, and her lips trembled as she repeatedly asked, "Are they still alive? Child, are your grandfather and the others still alive?"
Although someone who had returned earlier had informed her that her family should prepare ginger water and charcoal, she still couldn't relax until she saw the person in person.
Jiang Wen and Jiang Jun had already gone to boil ginger water, leaving only Yuan Ying and Liu Xu busy in the dormitory.
Seeing Han Lei and the others running over, he quickly said, "Lei! Come over here!"
They had already warmed the blankets in a kettle beforehand, and the temperature was just right.
Then he called out to Jiang Wen, who was not far away, "Wen! Hurry!"
"Here I am!!" A few seconds later, Jiang Wen rushed over with a kettle of warmed ginger and mugwort water.
Some tooth powder was also added to the ginger water.
As long as a few people can swallow it, the rest is no big deal.
The parties cooperated very well.
As soon as Han Lei and the others carefully put the man down, Liu Xu immediately bent down, pinched the old man's chin, and opened his mouth. Yuan Ying didn't dare to delay for a moment. She first poured several mouthfuls of ginger and mugwort water into Jiang Hailian's mouth, and then quickly turned around to feed the old man water.
Jiang Hai was in slightly better condition. After all, he wasn't very old. As his body temperature gradually rose, his throat was irritated, and he swallowed the medicine in a few gulps.
But something went wrong with Grandpa Jiang. For some reason, he couldn't swallow a single drop of the ginger water that had been poured into his mouth; it all just dribbled out.
Yuan Ying tried several more times, but failed each time, and her teeth were blocked every time.
The underground air-raid shelter was much warmer than outside, but the stiffness on Grandpa Jiang's face, which had eased slightly due to the warmth, gradually faded and was replaced by a chilling ashen look, making him appear even more frightening.
Han Lei was extremely anxious as he watched. "What happened? The old man was able to drink a few sips just now, how come now...?"
"What should we do?!" Yuan Ying was so anxious that sweat beaded on her forehead.
"What's the rush!" Old Master Lin suddenly shouted from the side.
Seeing that everyone had calmed down, he strode over and said, "Make way, let me try!"
He turned to look at Grandma Jiang and instructed in a deep voice, "Sister, find something that won't hurt anyone and pry open his teeth."
Grandma Jiang nodded hurriedly in agreement: "Yes, yes, yes!"
At this moment, she actually hoped to do something herself, which was better than just watching helplessly from the sidelines without being able to do anything.
However, in her haste to save time, Grandma Jiang lost control of her strength and accidentally pried off Grandpa's front tooth.
But at that moment, who cared about all that?
Grandma Jiang was also determined, and she quickly pried open the old man's jaw.
Old Man Lin then poured small amounts of ginger water into the inside of his mouth and cheek several times.
At the same time, gently pat Grandpa Jiang's throat.
This worked! Grandpa Jiang's throat muscles contracted instinctively, and he swallowed a very small amount of ginger water.
Yuan Ying was overjoyed, "Uncle Lin, Dad swallowed it!"
Grandpa Lin frowned, wrapped his fingers in cloth, and repeatedly scraped the base of Grandpa Jiang's tongue, then used instinctive movements to make him swallow little by little.
And so, Grandpa Jiang swallowed half a bowl of ginger water.
Perhaps the tooth powder had amazing effects, because before long, Jiang Hai's heartbeat returned to normal.
Ah Yu and the other two seemed to be completely fine.
Seeing this, the strangers who were watching couldn't help but step forward and ask the two brothers, "Did you really come back from outside?"
"What's the situation outside? Is it safe to go out now?"
Have you seen the situation in Area B? How is things going in Area B?
The scene became somewhat chaotic for a moment.
Grandpa Lin frowned, about to shoo these people away, when he heard someone shout, "The doctor is here! Make way! The doctor is here!"
Upon seeing the newcomers, Yuan Ying's face lit up with joy, and she called out, "Mom, Qingyun has brought people back!!"
In a moment of extreme urgency, Ye Qingyun directly asked Wan Changlong to borrow people.
"This is Dr. Hu, let him take a look at Dad!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Grandpa Jiang suddenly coughed violently and slowly opened his eyes.
Grandma Jiang stared blankly.
As her once ashen face gradually regained color, her lips moved, and she murmured, "She's alive... she's really alive... it's God's blessing..." Before she could finish speaking, she could no longer hold on and covered her face, sobbing uncontrollably.
Yuan Ying rushed forward and hugged her tightly, her own eyes reddening as she patted her back, laughing and crying at the same time: "Mom, Dad really came back to life! Look, he's awake!"
This time, the old man really survived!
"It's alive? It's really alive?" Many people stood on tiptoe to look ahead.
I thought the old man was definitely going to die, but I didn't expect him to survive?
Those around them were in an uproar upon seeing this, exclaiming in disbelief, "Someone who came back from outside can still be alive? Is there some mistake?!"
Many people pushed through the crowd, shouting, "Make way, let me see! Is he really awake?"
Dr. Hu was also astonished, thinking he wouldn't make it in time. He never expected that the family would actually save the person themselves!
He examined the group carefully, and when he put down his stethoscope, his face was full of disbelief: "You are all fine now, but the old man is still weak and needs to be carefully cared for. Otherwise, even if he recovers now, he might develop pneumonia later."
Upon hearing this, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief, and their tense nerves finally relaxed.
Especially Ye Qingyun, this time, they almost used up all the tooth powder they had.
If she really couldn't save the old man, she didn't know what to do.
Dr. Hu was still marveling at it, and couldn't help but ask, "It's truly unbelievable. Last night, the temperature dropped to below minus 100 degrees Celsius. Where did the four of you take refuge?"
Grandpa Jiang was still very weak and unable to speak.
The two brothers, Ah Yu and Ah Yu, were already fine, and now they're lively and energetic again. Upon hearing this, they recounted the whole story in a flurry of words.
When they heard that the two had escaped the attack by hiding in a refrigerated display case, everyone present was in an uproar.
"Then the refrigerator is used for this purpose?"
"The quality is amazing! No wonder it's from the base! Once this is over, I'll definitely buy one!"
"Didn't you hear me clearly? If your family hadn't found you in time, you would have been frozen to death inside by the ice outside. Wouldn't you have suffocated to death?"
"Hey, that's better than having no way to survive at all..."
No one expected that the end of this life-or-death rescue would unexpectedly make the refrigerated display case "famous".
For a long time afterward, the refrigerated display cases at the base became hot commodities, with demand exceeding supply.
Of course, that's a story for another time.
Wan Changlong also learned that the group had brought their families back, so he came over to take a look and saw that the four people they were looking for were all sitting safely on the large communal bed.
He immediately hissed, staring wide-eyed at the man—"You actually brought people back? They're all...alive?"
Ye Qingyun smiled and said, "Commander Wan, thank you for your help. Otherwise, we really wouldn't have been able to rescue the person in time."
Wan Changlong felt a mix of emotions.
In fact, he had no hope whatsoever for the people the Jiang family wanted to save.
I'm only willing to lend a hand because of their persistence.
Unexpectedly, this family actually accomplished what they thought was a hopeless task.
A spark of hope suddenly ignited in his heart.
—If ordinary people can do this, why can't they?
He felt a surge of excitement and immediately summoned his subordinates, saying, "You write a report now, requesting that we send people out to search for our comrades and civilians who did not return in time."
The subordinates took immediate action after receiving the order.
Wan Changlong slowly saluted the Jiang family, then said nothing more and strode away.
At this moment, the Jiang family did not know that during this cold wave, many people broke through their genetic limitations and became superhumans in their extreme escape.
It was their rescue operation that allowed many people who initially had a sliver of hope to survive.
...
Seeing everyone immersed in the joy of their loved ones being rescued, Ye Qingyun couldn't help but smile.
Taking advantage of the fact that there were many people around and she didn't need to help, Ye Qingyun quietly walked to a corner and took out the communication bead that she hadn't had time to listen to.
She steadied herself and pinched down hard with her fingertips.
A few seconds later, Jiang Shu's voice came through the communication bead, accompanied by a slightly static sound from the unstable signal: "Mom, Azhi, Dad, and I are all fine outside. How are you all doing at home? How's Grandpa's health? Uncle..."
Normally, Ye Qingyun would complain that her silly son was too talkative, but at this moment, she wished that Jiang Shu's voice could be clearer and that he could talk more, so as to fill the emptiness in her heart.
As always, her daughter was very considerate. Hearing that her children were doing well, Ye Qingyun finally felt relieved.
Upon hearing Jiang Shan's words, "Qingyun, thank you for your hard work at home. The children and I will be back soon to celebrate your birthday," Ye Qingyun could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down her face.
She smiled and wiped away her tears, but the more she wiped, the more tears she shed. Finally, she couldn't help but squat down and vent the emotions that had been bottled up inside her for days.
Okay, I'll wait for you to come back at home.
*
On the other side.
The main force that had already reached Hunan Province was unaware of what had happened at the base.
Since entering Zhuzhou city, the road conditions have been eerily smooth—
They hadn't encountered a mutated beast for a full twelve hours.
What should have been a day and a night's journey was completed in half the time during this unusual calm.
Only after entering Shashi territory did everyone's tense nerves finally relax. In any case, having arrived here, the mission was at least half complete.
Wu Bing even started humming a song, "When I get back this time, I'm going to go to a bar and drink my fill!"
Chen Shaoting snorted.
Wu Bing immediately changed his tune: "I meant, just a little to satisfy my craving."
Jiang Shu's eyes widened. "You have bars over there?"
Hu Yang smiled and said, "Yes, but not many, just two places. Those wines are made with the mutated plants we have now, and the taste is always a little off."
Wu Bing chuckled: "You can't say that. Something is better than nothing."
Jiang Zhi thought of the wine she had collected in Wuxu Town before...
Hmm, I'll find a reason to give Brother Wu some when I get back.
Once the convoy entered Shashi, the road surface was actually more rugged than outside the highway.
The city is in a state of disrepair more than I had imagined.
The once dense camphor forest has grown wildly and deformed. Dark green vines, like veins, have wrapped around the glass curtain walls of the shopping mall, and thorny leaves have peeked out from the broken window frames of the office building, making a rustling sound in the wind.
As they approached the city center, an unexpected scene unfolded before their eyes—
The aftereffects of violent crustal movements seem to be vividly reflected in Shashi.
A huge, bottomless maw opened up near what used to be Wancheng Square.
In the past, office buildings symbolizing the elite class stood on the edge of the giant pit.
One or two buildings are teetering on the brink of collapse, and it's anyone's guess when they'll fall.
Not far away, half-collapsed building fragments still hung on the pit wall, and several mutated vines with indistinct shapes were climbing down the cracks, it was unknown whether they had reached the bottom of the pit.
The convoy moved forward along the edge of the giant crater.
Even though the car was traveling at a decent speed, after half an hour, we still couldn't see the end of the giant pit.
Luo Yonghui opened the window and looked into the pit for a moment; the wind blowing into the pit made a whistling echo from time to time.
He frowned: "It seems that the situation on our side is much better than in the central region."
At the very least, it has never experienced such a devastating tectonic movement.
Hu Yang felt a pang of fear upon seeing this.
"Brother Jiang Shu, can you see what's happening down below?"
Jiang Shu peeked out and was immediately shocked by what he saw below.
"Holy crap, what's going on down there? It's all foggy!"
Chen Shaoting raised an eyebrow: "Why is there fog?"
Jiang Shu looked at it carefully for a while, then shook his head, "I don't know, I can't see the bottom."
Jiang Zhi had an idea. "Brother, let's throw something down and take a look."
"What did you lose?"
As soon as Jiang Shu finished speaking, Yan Liang handed him a stone, saying, "Try it."
Jiang Shu took the stone, weighed it in his hand, and then glanced down. The dark cave entrance looked like a huge mouth. Jiang Shu located the deepest point in his field of vision and then activated his innate ability.
The stone made a fleeting, sharp sound as it cut through the air after being thrown, followed by a long silence.
The group held their breath for a few seconds, and then suddenly heard a very faint tearing sound.
Jiang Shu's eyes widened in shock—
Holy crap!
Hu Yang immediately asked anxiously, "What's wrong, Brother Jiang Shu?"
"The stone has disappeared!" He frowned deeply. "The stone vanished before it even reached the target point, without leaving a trace."
Upon hearing this, everyone dropped their nonchalant expressions and became serious.
Even with Jiang Shu's eyesight, he couldn't see how things disappeared.
This means that either some kind of dangerous mutated creature is lurking beneath the giant pit, whose methods are so bizarre and whose speed is so fast that even Jiang Shu cannot see it at all.
Either there's something strange about this giant pit.
But no matter which one it is, it is something that cannot be taken lightly.
Jiang Zhi frowned deeply. She knew better than anyone whether there were any mutated beasts inside.
The dashboard didn't show any red warning signs, so the strange thing must be the deep pit itself.
Jiang Shu experimented several more times, and without exception, everything disappeared from his sight.
Luo Yonghui pondered: "Young Jiang's current vision is about 3 kilometers. The thing he threw disappeared in less than a kilometer... and there is white fog in the deeper part... We need to warn the others to be on alert."
As he spoke, Luo Yonghui picked up the walkie-talkie and explained what Jiang Shu had seen.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Yuan said, "There's a Wancheng Square up ahead. Let's rest there for half an hour."
Because the second half of the journey was much easier than expected, they arrived a day earlier than planned.
If Jiang Shu hadn't discovered the giant pit, the team might have been able to reach the agreed-upon location in one go.
When they reached the edge of Wancheng Square, everyone got off the car.
There weren't many mutated plants here, and the soldiers quickly cleared out a small safe zone.
Before the Great Catastrophe, Jiang Shu and his sister had visited Shashi several times, and Wancheng Square was a must-visit place in Shashi.
In the past, the commercial street here was always crowded with tourists from other places.
Now, however, natural disasters have destroyed it so much that its original appearance is unrecognizable.
The square, which was originally paved with shiny tiles, has been torn open by this enormous, chasm-like pit.
The square, now half gone, looks like it's been devoured by a giant.
The iconic water fountain sculpture at the entrance of the mall is now half-lofted, stuck at the edge of the pit, looking like it might fall at any moment. The white marble fairy statue is long gone.
The milk tea shops and hot pot restaurants that used to be so crowded on weekends are now filled with shattered and cracked glass doors, and the roller shutters are deformed from the shock, hanging crookedly on the door frame, with a few scattered vines dotting them.
There were very few mutated plants here, and they all looked malnourished. Jiang Zhi couldn't even tell whether the vines climbing in front of the shop had mutated.
Everything gave Jiang Zhi a similar feeling to that beneath the giant tree in the Cloud Nest—
It was as if the energy of these lives was being supplied to the giant pit.
Several squads of mutants were very curious about the deep pit and ran to the edge to investigate.
Only Er Shun seemed a little restless, and kept pacing around as soon as he got out of the car.
It even bit Jiang Shu's clothes, as if trying to pull him somewhere.
Jiang Shu was dragged several steps by it, so he had no choice but to say, "Wait, Ershun, it's not free time yet, we can't wander around!"
"Woof woof woof!"
"It really won't work!"
Seeing that Jiang Shu refused completely, Er Shun ran over and grabbed Jiang Zhi's trouser leg.
Jiang Zhi felt that Er Shun was trying to remind them of something. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Luo Yonghui call out to them.
"Young Jiang."
It's unclear what he said to the team leaders and professors, but Professor Yang beckoned to Jiang Shu, "Jiang boy, come here for a second."
Then he turned to Jiang Zhi and said, "Comrade Xiao Jiang, come here too."
Jiang Zhi could only pat Er Shun's head and say, "Er Shun, be good. Let's take care of business first."
The brother and sister walked over.
Er Shun had bitten Jiang Shu's trouser leg to stop him from going over, but when he saw Professor Shen's gaze, he immediately shrank back, turned around, and ran away.
And they were running away from the convoy.
Jiang Shu chased after it for a few steps, but seeing that it hadn't gone far, he couldn't help but laugh and curse, "This dog is a genius."
The brother and sister walked over.
Before they even got close, they heard Zou Minghua say to Luo Yonghui, "After hearing what you just said, I had my men tie up a mutated cockroach and throw it down, but when they brought it up, there was nothing there, not even the rope."
Professor Shen was very interested in what was at the bottom of this giant pit.
"In other words, whether it's inanimate or living things, they basically all disappeared after going down... Could it be that there are so few mutated creatures in Shashi because of this sinkhole?"
Jiang Zhi listened to the discussion but remained silent.
Her intuition told her that the scarcity of mutated creatures in Shashi was indeed related to this giant pit, but not entirely.
Jiang Zhi couldn't help but recall the treasure that Luo Yonghui had mentioned before.
Surely the treasure couldn't be hidden beneath this giant pit?
Lost in thought, she heard Professor Yang say, "Comrade Jiang Shu, I've heard that you can see very far. Could you tell me what you just saw?"
There was no point in hiding it, so Jiang Shu described it to the group again. Finally, Professor Ning said, "Let's try one more time. This time, let's record it using the image damselfly."
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