Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Everyone was stunned and silent. They looked in the direction the driver pointed at and were speechless.
“Here, there was still a road a few hours ago.”
Zheng Ren looked forward. Countless broken stones piled up into hills. Dozens of meters away, there seemed to be some bright colors.
“What’s there?” Zheng Ren pointed.
Everyone walked over the broken stones with difficulty. When they took a few steps closer, the color became bright red.
The closer they got, the clearer they saw.
It was half a flag…
An indescribable sense of oppression appeared in everyone’s hearts. It was impossible for there to be a flag there for no reason. Someone must have entered the mountain with the flag and been pressed down by the rolling rocks.
Everyone was silent and began to dig. They did not expect that the rescue work had already begun. However, only a layer of gravel was dug out, stunning everyone.
There were a few huge rocks below and a pale hand held a national flag. There was no flagpole, only a flag. Under the rocks, there were dried bloodstains, dyeing the national flag a dark red.
No one knew their names or what they looked like. In the future, they would not even be considered dead. They would only be considered missing… They were hot-blooded and before they even entered the mountains or reached the disaster area, they were wiped off the face of the Earth by the earthquake.
The only trace was the national flag that was covered in blood.
There was no point in rescuing them. Everyone looked at each other, then stood at attention and saluted. Zhao Yunlong marked the location. Not long ago, a rescue team had all died there. For the rest of it, they could only leave it to the main team at the back.
Zheng Ren silently opened the hand. The hand holding the national flag was so tight that Zheng Ren felt that he was still alive.
He held the national flag in his hand, carefully folded it, and put it close to his chest.
The driver returned to the car and brought a bottle of mineral water that he had with him. Each person was given one.
No words were spoken and there was no eye contact. There was even a trace of coldness in the silence.
Perhaps people who were thousands of miles away would shed tears of sorrow. By being here, the aftershocks still continued. The surgery squad could be killed by a mountain rock at any moment.
Perhaps not even a skeleton would be found.
Perhaps not even a name could be left behind.
It was just a few hours ago when the driver could only watch his comrade in arms being drowned by a collapsed mountain rock in a parking space behind him.
It was just like this unknown squad in front of him. They did not even have any hope of rescue. They only had one hand and a flag.
Any kind of blessings was useless.
There was a possibility that they would follow in the footsteps of their comrades on the way back.
They still had to do things. Grief was the most meaningless emotion at that moment.
The rest was left up to fate.
After distributing the mineral water bottles, the driver walked away in silence. He came to the front of the car and turned around to look back and silently salute them.
Zhao Yunlong returned the salute with a solemn expression.
After saluting, Zhao Yunlong turned around and said, “Let’s go!”
There was no road under their feet. If there were too many people walking, it would become a road. However, they were probably the first group of people there to walk on foot after the landscape had changed.
Looking around, there were rocks all around.
The sound of rocks loosening and rolling could be constantly heard.
How should they go?
There was no way out!
However, they were on a mission! In Nanchuan Town, any survivors there meant they were waiting to be rescued.
Other than a few satellite phones, all contact methods had been terminated.
If they could not enter, those people would only die.
When the aftershocks weakened and the heavy machinery came up, then when this road was dug through, there would be more dead people and very few survivors.
Zhao Yunlong raised his foot and stepped on the mountain rock, taking the lead to walk up.
It was useless to say 10,000 heroic words. He could save time to shout slogans and walk two more steps.
As for those ‘annoying’ reporters and photographers…
Zhao Yunlong judged that they could not keep up with the pace at all because they were spoiled. Perhaps they would stop panting in the next second.
‘What should I do? I should just let them wait for rescue,’ Zhao Yunlong thought to himself.
Zheng Ren followed behind. He had a thought in his mind. He did not know if Luck +12 would be useful then.
If it was useful, he would be the most suitable to scout ahead.
However, looking at Zhao Yunlong’s face that seemed ready to die, it was likely that there would be no result even if he told him at that moment.
The road was still very long. They should wait.
The sky gradually darkened. Dark clouds filled the sky, and the wind whimpered.
A drop of water hit Zheng Ren’s face. He raised his head and looked up. More raindrops fell on his face as if the sky was crying.
It was raining. What the f*ck!
Zheng Ren was helpless. The damn weather. Every step was difficult. There was no way to go if it rained. Once it rained, the mountain road would be wet and slippery. If the entire surgery squad could not reach Nanchuan Town, they would all be wiped out.
Zheng Ren, who had always been calm, felt some despair in his heart.
He did not know that because of the rain, all the rescue teams had been delayed. That was why the Warriors of the 15th Army had fallen from the sky in an extremely dangerous situation.
Zheng Ren did not know any of that.
A team of people moved forward in silence. Zhao Yunlong who was at the front was carefully testing if the road was solid. He had already slipped twice but was pulled back by Zheng Ren.
It took him two to three hours to slowly walk out of the area where the mountain rocks were piled up.
The female reporter at the back let out a long breath. She wanted to say something but immediately felt that the atmosphere was not right.
It was dark in front so she could not see anything.
The aftershocks caused the Earth to roar and reverberate in the mountains. It was as if there were countless monsters underground that could break out of the ground at any time.
She pulled the arm of the cameraman in front of her and asked, “Old Shen, what’s wrong?”
The cameraman’s mouth was dry. He helplessly pointed at the mountain in front of him and said, “Little Sun, look at the mountain path. More than half of it has collapsed. There’s only a little left.”
Reporter Sun narrowed her eyes and searched carefully. As expected, the mountain path that was spiraling around the mountainside should have been five to eight meters wide. However, there was only less than a meter left.
The mountain path was less than a meter wide and there were still small pieces of gravel rolling down.
On one side of the mountain path, there were so many mountains and piles of gravel. On the other side, there was a bottomless cliff.
Her face suddenly turned pale… She looked cold and hungry. Her face was already very ugly and now, it was even uglier.
At the same time, her heart beat wildly. Was she going to take such a mountain road?
At that moment, she thought of her warm home in the Imperial Capital and her parent’s kind smiles.
“Chief Zhao, take a rest.” Zheng Ren pulled Zhao Yunlong and said, “I’m tired after walking all the way. Take a rest before we go up again.”
Zhao Yunlong looked at the mountain road and felt a chill in his heart. He nodded solemnly.
During that time, he could use the satellite phone to report that he had nowhere to go and requested to return to the rescue headquarters?
It was an option.
However, he could not do it. It was not that he had nowhere to go. There was still a road ahead but it was extremely dangerous.
“Rest in place,” Zhao Yunlong said in a deep voice.
Zheng Ren glanced at the mountain path and said, “I’ll go and scout the path.”
After he said that, he strode over.
Zhao Yunlong wanted to stop Zheng Ren but was surprised when he saw that Zheng Ren’s steps were vigorous like a monkey’s. It seemed that his physical strength had not been exhausted at all.
Chief Zheng did a good job during surgery. Why was his physical strength so good? He held back the words that he wanted to say to Zheng Ren and tried to breathe. It was as if a raging fire was burning in his chest, making breathing properly a problem.
The damn weather! Zhao Yunlong cursed in his heart.
“Boss, slow down. I can’t keep up.” Su Yun followed behind Zheng Ren and walked on the narrow mountain road that could collapse at any time.
“You should go back,” Zheng Ren said. “I’ll see what happens. Don’t worry.”
“Nonsense. If you want to fall, someone will have to pull you back up.” Su Yun panted and said, “If you really f*cking die here, what am I going to tell Little Yiren when I go back?”
“If you follow me, I’ll have to take care of you. Don’t you think you’re a burden?” Zheng Ren walked forward coldly. His voice was as cold as the rain.
“Who’s a burden? I’m full of energy. My endurance…is unlimited.” Su Yun wanted to say something against Zheng Ren out of habit, but his energy could not keep up.
Although he did not exercise every day, he could not stop Su Yun. He was indeed a genius. He had more energy than Zhao Yunlong when he walked there with him.
However, he still could not keep up with Zheng Ren’s footsteps.
Retreat? He would not.
What Su Yun said was indeed true. The mountain path was slippery. If he accidentally fell down, even his body would not be found.
With so many people, it was possible to pull him up when he was in danger. Although it was more likely that he would also fall down, Su Yun could not care less.
The two climbed up the mountain agilely and went up the winding path that was less than one meter wide.
