"Quick, everyone, run! The mountain is about to collapse…!"
In the central district of Lingyun County, at the foot of Lingshan Mountain, the ground began to shake violently. A massive crack appeared on the southeastern slope, and rocks began to tumble down.
"Hurry…"
Below, the rescue soldiers urged the rescue team to evacuate, knowing the mountain was on the verge of collapse.
On the back of Lingshan Mountain, at the entrance of the cave Wan Yunting had entered earlier, Cai Guowu, worried about them, personally led a team to provide support. It was already 10:20 PM. Due to tectonic movement, the internal structure of Lingshan Mountain was under pressure, trembling like an earthquake.
However, this was not the real earthquake. According to seismologists, a magnitude 5 earthquake was predicted around 11:00 PM. With it being 10:20 PM, Nie Xiaoyu and the others had very little time.
"Everyone, keep up, quickly…"
Inside the cave, Nie Xiaoyu, Gu Xiaozhuang, and the other soldiers, along with Huang Jingshan, Wei Renxin, and Qi Miaomiao, were urgently evacuating the workers who had been digging the tunnel.
The ground occasionally vibrated, and stones kept falling. Although everyone wore safety helmets, some were still injured by falling rocks. As long as the injuries were not severe, they endured the pain and hurried to leave…
Meanwhile, in the underground river within, Wan Yunting, carrying Wang Weicai's body on his back and holding Gu Luotang's hand, navigated the pitch-black cave with two flashlight beams swaying. They were heading downstream.
"Ah…"
A rock fell and struck Gu Luotang's left hand, causing her flashlight to drop onto the ground. Wan Yunting stopped immediately, asking nervously, "What's wrong? Let me see?"
"It's nothing, Brother Yunting, just a rock hitting me."
Gu Luotang suppressed the pain in her left arm from the rock strike and quickly picked up the dropped flashlight, telling Wan Yunting with a forced smile, "Let's hurry."
"Okay."
Wan Yunting nodded, checked his watch – it was already 10:40 PM. He then pulled Gu Luotang, carrying Wang Weicai, and quickened their pace downstream along the river.
The ground tremors were becoming more intense and frequent, but Wan Yunting knew this wasn't the real earthquake yet. If a magnitude 5 earthquake struck, the underground river cave of Lingshan Mountain would surely collapse.
Therefore, Wan Yunting wanted to reach the end of the downstream river as quickly as possible to see if there was an escape route!
He knew the hope was slim. If there had been a safe passage through the underground river, the engineers and workers who were trapped before would have already escaped.
However, with Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang trapped here, their only direction of escape was downstream. They had no choice but to head that way.
"Don't rush, one by one…"
Nie Xiaoyu, Gu Xiaozhuang, Huang Jingshan, Wei Renxin, and Qi Miaomiao, along with the tunnel workers, had returned to the eight to nine-meter wide crevice they had encountered earlier.
The ropes were still there. Gu Xiaozhuang and the soldiers immediately took out the pulley equipment and sent the workers across one by one.
At this moment, Nie Xiaoyu took out a satellite phone to answer. Cai Guowu's voice immediately came through, "Xiaoyu, how are you doing? How much longer until you're out?"
"Reporting to Commander, we will be out in another hour." Nie Xiaoyu reported.
Cai Guowu said, "You must hurry. It's almost eleven o'clock, and an earthquake could happen at any moment. Do you understand?"
Nie Xiaoyu glanced at her watch; it was already 10:50 PM. She frowned and said, "Commander, we will safely lead them out."
"Good, speed up. We'll be waiting outside the cave to receive you all safely. That's all for now." Cai Guowu hung up.
"Officer Nie, let's go."
Seeing that Qi Miaomiao and Huang Jingshan had already crossed, Gu Xiaozhuang looked back at Nie Xiaoyu and said. Nie Xiaoyu, with a grave expression, nodded and led the remaining soldiers to cross, then urged everyone to evacuate faster.
The earthquake was originally predicted for midnight, but its sudden advance by an hour meant Nie Xiaoyu and the others had less time to escape.
Meanwhile, Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang…
*Boom…*
The sounds of falling rocks and splashes in the river echoed around them.
The ground began to shake from side to side. Gu Luotang, her face filled with panic, cried out, "Is it an earthquake?"
Wan Yunting looked down at his watch; it was already 11:05 PM. According to previous information, the earthquake had arrived more than an hour early, which was right about now.
"Careful…"
Gu Luotang, holding the flashlight, saw a rock the size of a head falling from above. She quickly pushed Wan Yunting. The rock hit the ground with a thud. Gu Luotang breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that he hadn't been hit.
"Let's go."
Wan Yunting, carrying Wang Weicai, pulled Gu Luotang along quickly. However, she said, "Brother Yunting, why don't you put him down!"
Wan Yunting's expression froze. Gu Luotang pointed at the corpse on his back. Although she felt it was wrong to abandon him, especially since he had saved her life, Wan Yunting's carrying him made movement very difficult and might even slow him down. That's why Gu Luotang suggested Wan Yunting leave Wang Weicai behind.
Wan Yunting understood Gu Luotang's concerns. He sighed and pointed to a spot ahead, "Let's go there."
"Okay."
Gu Luotang nodded, holding the flashlight to light the way. She followed Wan Yunting to the base of a rock wall. They carefully placed Wang Weicai's body against the wall. Wan Yunting sighed, "Little Wang, I'm sorry. I can't take you out now, but don't worry, if we get out, we'll come back for you."
"But if we don't get out either, we'll come back to be with you!"
Gu Luotang, standing beside him, looked heartbroken and couldn't help but shed tears. She bowed deeply to Wang Weicai. If he hadn't sacrificed his life to save her, she would have been the one killed by the falling rocks.
*Boom…*
Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently. The earthquake had arrived.
"Luotang, let's go quickly."
Wan Yunting stood up, grabbed Gu Luotang's right hand, and took the flashlight from his left. The situation was critical; this was no time for sadness. They had to find the end of the downstream river and see if they could find an exit.
Now, Wan Yunting only wanted to lead Gu Luotang out of here. Survival was more important than anything else.
"The earthquake is here, everyone, hurry!"
At this moment, Nie Xiaoyu, Gu Xiaozhuang, and the others also felt the ground shaking from side to side. Rocks kept falling from the cave ceiling, signaling the true earthquake had begun.
The group was also terrified, their faces filled with panic and fear. They ran towards the cave entrance as if their lives depended on it. Even with injuries, they endured the pain. All they could think about was escaping. In moments of crisis, people unleash their potential for survival. Everyone ran towards the cave entrance, disregarding everything else. During their escape, some were injured by falling rocks, and one worker was hit on the head and knocked unconscious. Gu Xiaozhuang immediately rushed to carry him on her back, urging everyone to keep running.
Outside, the entire Lingshan Mountain began to shake violently.
People on the ground could feel the earth beneath their feet swaying from side to side. The violent tremors caused Cai Guowu and the soldiers waiting outside to change their expressions drastically, and they quickly retreated to safe locations.
Cai Guowu checked the time; it was already 11:30 PM. He looked up at the back of the mountain, towards the cave entrance, but Nie Xiaoyu and the others had still not emerged, causing his heart to hang in suspense.