“Alright, I’ll take them into the disaster area now.”
Nie Xiaoyu, in the communication vehicle, reported the situation with Wan Yunting to her superiors. After receiving approval, she hung up the phone. She got out of the communication vehicle and shouted to a team of soldiers beside her, “Everyone, go help. Bring more things if you can.”
“Okay.”
A team of soldiers rushed over. Nie Xiaoyu also approached and asked Wan Yunting, “Are you in charge?”
Wan Yunting handed a box of supplies to Huang Jingshan, then turned to Nie Xiaoyu with a smile and said, “Yes, I’m Wan Yunting.”
Nie Xiaoyu nodded and said, “The disaster area is in dire need of your medical rescue personnel. The higher-ups have approved your entry into the disaster area, and I will lead you in.”
“That’s great.”
Wan Yunting was delighted. As long as they could enter the disaster area, that was enough.
“Give us the things, we’ll help carry some of them in,” Nie Xiaoyu said, rolling up her sleeves.
“Thank you.”
Wan Yunting and Ding Zipeng carried the medical supplies, also letting Nie Xiaoyu and her team help carry them.
Soon, Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao, Huang Jingshan and Miao Yanzheng, Song Sinan and Zhang Xiaoyu, Wei Renxin, and others were all carrying large bags and boxes, holding emergency kits and other supplies. At the same time, Nie Xiaoyu and her dozen or so officers and soldiers were also carrying large bags and boxes, standing in three neat rows.
Nie Xiaoyu looked at everyone and said loudly, “It’s still ten kilometers from here to the disaster area, but it’s very dangerous, and the road conditions are extremely difficult. So, you all need to stick closely behind us and don’t wander off. We will safely escort you into the disaster area.”
“Yes…”
Wan Yunting, Huang Jingshan, and the others nodded.
“Then let’s go.”
Nie Xiaoyu didn’t want to say more. With a shout, her officer and soldier team led the way, directly clearing the large rock obstacles blocking the mountain road.
Wan Yunting and his twenty-eight medical rescue personnel walked in the middle, with eight more soldiers following behind. The group then set off towards the Lingyun County disaster area.
“That female officer is so cool…”
“Yeah, she has such great presence…”
Looking at Nie Xiaoyu leading the way, girls like Zhao Lusi and He Yan were all captivated by her upright and heroic military demeanor.
As for the male comrades like Shen Yingrui and Miao Yanzheng, it was even more so. Huang Jingshan even trotted excitedly to strike up a conversation with Nie Xiaoyu, which amused Wan Yunting and Zhang Nong, who were following closely.
However, Nie Xiaoyu showed utter disdain for Huang Jingshan’s childish flirting attempt. She even kept a stern face and ignored him, not saying a word, which made Huang Jingshan retreat sheepishly.
“Hit a wall, huh?”
Miao Yanzheng couldn’t help but tease him, enraging Huang Jingshan. “If you’ve got the guts, you go then.”
“No need, I know my limits,” Miao Yanzheng said with a laugh.
This made everyone behind them find it amusing. However, Wan Yunting said with a smile, “Watch me.”
“Oh, Brother Wan likes her too…”
Miao Yanzheng and Huang Jingshan were surprised when they saw Wan Yunting quickly catching up to Nie Xiaoyu’s pace. Even Gu Luotang found it amusing.
“Sister, you can still laugh.”
Qi Miaomiao, who was beside her, said speechlessly, “Brother Yunting is going to flirt with that female soldier.”
“What are you talking about?”
Gu Luotang glanced back at the girl, then looked at Wan Yunting, who had caught up to Nie Xiaoyu, and said with a smile, “Brother Yunting wouldn’t be as boring as Huang Jingshan.”
“Officer, what’s the situation in the disaster area like now?” Wan Yunting asked, catching up to Nie Xiaoyu’s pace.
Nie Xiaoyu glanced at him as she continued walking and said, “After the earthquake last night, the situation in the Lingyun County disaster area is very grim. Fengshan County is also affected, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced. Many villagers in the mountainous areas were unable to evacuate in time and were buried by landslides caused by the ground rupture.”
Hearing this, Wan Yunting felt a heavy heart. He turned to see that Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao had also caught up at some point.
“The disaster area is most in need of your medical rescue personnel right now.”
Nie Xiaoyu continued, “Although we have transported a lot of supplies by plane, there are too many injured people, and we also need the help of your medical rescue personnel.”
Wan Yunting nodded and said, “In the face of disaster, we are not the last medical rescue team. I believe many medical rescue teams from all over the country are also rushing here.”
Nie Xiaoyu glanced at him and nodded, saying, “Our country is also sending medical rescue teams, and they will be directly airlifted into the disaster area.”
“Our country is amazing…”
Qi Miaomiao couldn’t help but say, “Every time there’s a major disaster, it’s you soldiers who stand in front of us.”
“Yes…”
Shen Yingrui and the others behind them couldn’t help but agree. Every time they thought about natural disasters, it was the country’s soldiers who stood before the common people, making them all genuinely proud.
Nie Xiaoyu and her team of officers and soldiers also smiled and said, “Protecting the lives and safety of the people is the duty of us soldiers.”
“Yes…”
The other soldiers nodded and smiled.
“So we have to thank you,” Wan Yunting and Jiang Yichun said with a smile.
Nie Xiaoyu shook her head slightly and gestured to the road ahead. “We have to pass through a mountainous area ahead. Everyone, please be careful of your footing and ensure your safety before proceeding.”
“Yes…”
Everyone responded, following Nie Xiaoyu and her team of officers and soldiers with high spirits, walking on a slippery mountain path with a forest hundreds of meters below. If they fell, they would lose their lives, so Nie Xiaoyu and her team continuously warned Wan Yunting and the other medical rescue teams to walk carefully…
Suddenly, Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang felt a slight tremor under their feet. Nie Xiaoyu’s expression changed drastically, and she shouted along with the other soldiers, “Earthquake! Everyone, quickly hug the mountain wall to avoid being hit by falling rocks from the mountain!”
“Ah…”
As soon as she finished speaking, screams came from behind. Wan Yunting immediately turned his head and saw Tao Xiaoyang covering his head, struck by a small rock that fell from above…
“Quickly pull him to the rock wall! That way, falling rocks won’t hit anyone!”
Wan Yunting shouted to He Xinghai and the others. He also pulled Jiang Yichun and Gu Luotang, leading them to hug the mountain wall to avoid being hit by falling rocks from the mountain…
However, the next second, the tremor stopped. “Don’t worry everyone, it’s just an aftershock…”
“Phew, that scared me to death…”
Qi Miaomiao, Zhao Lusi, and the others were so frightened their hearts were in their throats. Fortunately, it was just an aftershock after the earthquake.
But even an aftershock was very dangerous. If a fist-sized rock fell and hit someone’s head, it could be fatal.
“Xiaoyang, are you alright?”
Wan Yunting immediately went to check on Tao Xiaoyang. He covered his head and shook it, “I’m fine, just hit by a small rock. It doesn’t hurt much.”
“That’s good…”
Seeing that he was indeed fine, just hit by a small rock which only caused a small bump and no bleeding, everyone was relieved.
“Let’s not stop, let’s hurry along,” Nie Xiaoyu said. Seeing that everyone was alright, she immediately urged everyone to speed up and get through this section of the mountain road quickly, to avoid encountering further danger if there were more aftershocks.
“Okay, everyone, let’s go!”
Wan Yunting urged everyone to hurry. Li Chengde and Ding Zipeng helped Jiang Yichun to catch up with Nie Xiaoyu’s team. The group passed through this section of the cliff mountain road and then entered the foothills.
Soon, Wan Yunting and the others saw a mountain in the distance. Due to the earthquake last night, the mountain had ruptured, causing a landslide that directly buried the gully.
“There’s a small village in the gully, with over a dozen households. Because they couldn’t evacuate in time, all the villagers were buried inside!” Nie Xiaoyu said with a sad expression and a sigh as they passed by.
Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang listened, their hearts feeling heavy…