Chapter 63: Rescue the Innocent and Save the City

  At this time, Qin Tang was like a pot of boiling dumplings, floating and rolling. Hundreds of thousands of people surged onto the streets, squeezed to the point of being waterlogged, with every vehicle piled high with luggage, and on top of that, people were pressing down on each other, squeezing against each other. The sound of horns, the sound of whistles, the sound of adults scolding, the sound of children crying out, was deafening. Street lamps, searchlights, and flashlights lit up Qin Tang as if it were daytime. Fortunately, thanks to the dazzling lights, even more chaos and disputes were avoided.

  The loudspeakers of the National Defense Army have stopped broadcasting the news that an earthquake is coming, and at this moment even a mouse knows that something is wrong. The entire officers and soldiers of the 166th Division have started to clear the streets under the order of Division Commander Hong Ying, with ear-piercing loudspeakers and bayonets shining on their chests, shouting at those who try to grab the road and occupy the road, making them silent like cicadas in winter.

  "Hong Ge, if we continue like this, the elderly and children will likely severely delay our progress." Temporarily commanding from a military jeep, Xue Xiang said to Hong Ying beside him.

  Hong Ying also looked worried and clenched her fists: "What can we do, we can't let the young and strong leave first, that would be even more chaotic."

  Xue thought for a moment, then raised his eyebrows and said: "Let's do this. First, gather all the trucks and jeeps from your school, and then requisition all large motor vehicles from Qin Tang, let the elderly and children evacuate first."

  "Good idea, let's do it!" Hong Ying turned her head to the two reporters at the command center and gave orders: "Xiao Ma, Xiao Wang, did you hear that? Pass on the instructions of Commander Xue: requisition all large motor vehicles on the streets to transport the elderly and children. Anyone who dares to obstruct will be dealt with by military law."

  "Call Hong Ying out for me, I want to ask him if he wants to rebel?" As soon as Hong Ying's voice fell, someone outside the car shouted his name, with a hoarse and dry tone, apparently thirsty.

  Hong Ying opened the car door, took a closer look, and saw that there were twenty or thirty people surrounding the car, all of whom were familiar faces. At the front was a red-faced man in his fifties, who had just shouted at him. Hong Ying smiled and replied to the red-faced man's questioning, "It turns out it's Director Lu, I apologize, I apologize, this matter was sudden, we also just received orders from our superiors and immediately carried them out. This matter is extremely urgent, disaster prevention is like fire prevention, not a moment can be delayed, so there was no time to notify you."

  The arrival was none other than Lu Weimin, the director of the Revolutionary Committee of Qintang City. He too was awakened by the sound of horns in his sleep and upon learning of the news, his first reaction was that someone was spreading rumors to disrupt the peace and unity of Qintang City. As the top leader of Qintang City, he had not received any notification about the earthquake, so how did others know? He made a phone call to the city bureau and found out that the situation on the ground was chaotic. Lu Weimin was flustered and hastily convened an emergency meeting with the leadership of the Revolutionary Committee to discuss the issue. However, upon gathering everyone, he realized that things were ten times more severe than he had imagined. Among the other eight members of the committee, only two could be contacted, and they were still half asleep from a hangover, disheveled, and not fully dressed. If they hadn't been drunk, they probably wouldn't have shown up at all. Lu Weimin was furious and summoned the director of the city bureau to ask what was going on, only to find out that it was a unilateral action by the military. This made Lu Weimin even angrier - since when did the military get to interfere with local government affairs? After several rounds of inquiry, he finally found the temporary command center and the person he held responsible - Commander Hong.

  After going through a lot of hardships, he finally found the source of the trouble. Who would have thought that he didn't know how to repent and still dared to quibble? Lu Weimin was furious: "What's this about not having time to notify you? How much effort does it take to make one phone call? I think you're just secretly spreading rumors behind my back. First, let's not talk about this. Is the news that Qin Tang is going to have an earthquake true or false? Where did you get this information?" What Lu Weimin was most worried about was that if the earthquake was true, this beautiful industrial city would be destroyed in an instant, and he couldn't bear this blow. Lu Weimin's eyes stared intensely at Hong Ying, and the officials who followed him also held their breath waiting for his answer, afraid that he would say yes.

  At this moment, Hong Ying didn't have the energy to play hide and seek with them. He simply stated that the news was absolutely true, and the earthquake would erupt tonight. Then he pulled out Xue Xiang's military ID card, and everyone lost their sense of security. Lu Weimin looked up at the sky in a daze, showing signs of instability, and everyone rushed to support him. Lu Weimin gently pushed away the crowd and said, "Forget it, forget it. Since we can't escape, one word: 'evacuate'. We must do a good job of evacuation. I'll stay here with Hong Shizhang to command, Director Li..." Lu Weimin was an old cadre who didn't get his start by making small moves. He took the interests of the people very seriously. Seeing that things were already irreversible, he made up his mind and quickly adjusted his attitude to take charge of the evacuation action. As the top leader of Qintang City, Hong Ying also had to listen to Lu Weimin's orders in terms of civil administration. After Lu Weimin took over half of the command power, the order was passed down smoothly, and the evacuation action began to proceed smoothly.

  The sky is getting darker and more ominous, the night is so dark that it's impossible to see the clouds, but a strong gust of wind suddenly rises, the sweltering heat disappears, this is a sign that rain is approaching.

  "Xue brother, lend a hand and get your motorcycle tricycle down. I need to take people away." Ma Tie's loud shout startled Xue, who was busy dispersing the crowd and had completely forgotten about the most important task of transporting Qin Tang. Xue hurriedly ran to the side of Ma Tie's long-distance bus, jumped up in two strides, and immediately started the motorcycle in the trunk. With a "hum", it flew out of the trunk and disappeared into the distance with a trail of smoke.

  Xue Xiang had already found out which hospital Liu Ying'er was in, and now, with the streets crowded and cars rushing by, he took a shortcut through the narrow alleys and grasslands, arriving quickly at the Beiqu People's Hospital that Yang Mei had told him about.

  "Excuse me, where is Liu Ying'er who came from Beijing to study?"

  "I don't know, let go quickly..."

  "Where is Liu Ying'er from Beijing?"

  "There's no one here, get out of the way, don't block the road, hurry up and escape!"

  "Do you know Liu Ying'er?"

  ……….

  Xue Xiang asked people as he went, the hospital was also in chaos at this moment. Doctors, nurses, patients and their families were running around in a mess, some were rushing to escape, others with a conscience were helping to transfer critically ill patients, occasionally there were a few guys smashing doors, it was unclear whether they were smashing the finance office door or not. The entire hospital was like a pot of porridge, Xue Xiang didn't have the heart to uphold justice either, his mind was in disarray, where had the person he cared about gone? From what he knew of Liu Ying'er, this definitely wasn't a girl who would prioritize her own life, she should be helping transfer patients in the hospital, so why couldn't he find her anywhere on the floors above and below?

  "Yuan' er, Yuan' er......" Xue Xiang yelled towards the sky, fiercely pounding the wall with his fists, causing flakes of plaster to fall off, and his fingers were also stained with blood.

  "Who's calling me? I'm right here."

  A crisp and pleasant voice, slightly tired, sounded like celestial music to Xue's ears. He followed the source of the sound and saw Liu Ying'er leaning against the wall, gasping slightly, her clear eyes filled with incredulity. The mortal fairy wore a snow-white nurse uniform with a slight stain, wrapping her slender body, radiant and unparalleled.

  "Where have you run off to? You're driving me crazy!" Xue rushed up and grabbed Liu Ying'er's jade-like hand, holding it tightly.

  "How did you get here?" Liu Ying'er brushed her wet hair back from the side of her face, her voice trembling slightly.

  Having met this person, why don't you like him?

  Xue Xiang's joy in his chest seemed to be about to burst: "Quickly follow me, an earthquake is going to happen." After saying that, he pulled Liu Ying'er and was about to rush out.

  Liu Ying'er was pulled by Xue Xiang, and she said in a warm voice: "I still need to help evacuate the patients, you go first, I can leave with the medical team's car, don't worry." At this moment, her joy and happiness had reached its peak, and her previous fatigue, exhaustion, and worries instantly disappeared. His eyes were just a warm haven. Since they parted under the paulownia tree that day, although they hadn't seen each other again, the ripples in her heart had gathered into a stormy sea, and his shadow was always present in her mind. The mischievous smile, the high nose bridge, the agile figure teaching bad guys a lesson, the awkward jokes, the paulownia rain falling from the sky as she rode her bike back home...

  Midnight reverie, how can this thought be dispelled? Am I, am I in love?

  At this moment, Xue was in a hurry and didn't have the mind to guess what was on his daughter's mind. He said urgently, "There is no time, follow me quickly." He pointed to the fresh blood dripping from his bony fingers onto Liu Ying'er's crystal-like fingertips.

  "Oh no, you're hurt......"

  "Cut the nonsense, are there any other patients to evacuate? I'm busy." Xue Xiang brutally interrupted her gentle tone, who else but him knew better that they were racing against death right now.

  Liu Ying'er saw that he looked unwell and knew it wasn't the time to show concern, "Follow me, outside the hospital in the ambulance, many patients with mobility issues need to be transferred onto the vehicle, the hospital nurses have walked a lot and are somewhat short-staffed."

  No wonder Xue Xiang was in the hospital, and even after searching everywhere, he couldn't find it. Seven or eight ambulances were lined up with forty or fifty patients lying on them, but there were too few people to transfer them, and they were all small and weak like bean sprouts. A few of them had never done much heavy physical labor before, so the speed at which they moved was shockingly slow.

  Xue Xiang saw the situation, took a step forward, and with one swift motion, he picked up a patient and put him into the ambulance. He urged everyone to get on board and adjust the space, leaving only himself to transfer the patients below. With his help, the speed of the operation increased by more than tenfold. The doctors and nurses were responsible for receiving the patients on board, while Xue Xiang acted swiftly on the ground. The driver started the engine, and within two or three minutes, all the patients had been transferred onto the ambulance. Xue Xiang slammed shut the door of the last ambulance, urging the driver to leave immediately. Before everyone could react, he pointed to a nearby tricycle, then pointed to himself and Liu Ying'er. Everyone understood, and they responded with warm smiles and a round of applause.

  Xue Xiang grabbed Liu Ying'er's hand and quickly got on the car, kicked the engine to life, and sped away into the distance. By this time, Qin Tang had long since gone, leaving him free to roam as he pleased.

  The moon is dark and the wild geese fly high, Xue flees in the night.

  Xue Xiang raised his arm, and the plum blossom watch on his arm showed that it was now 2:37, with only one hour and five minutes left before the massive earthquake. He was horrified, time was so urgent, the second hand ticking away, each tick sounding like the footsteps of the god of death.