47: Rescue

The howling wind, carrying fine, dense raindrops, slammed into their faces, making it nearly impossible for everyone to keep their eyes open.

Fortunately, the temporary shelter mentioned in the broadcast was not far away.

Shen Lian shielded the Young Girl in front of him. He didn't know how long they had been walking like this when he heard someone shout, "Grab the rope!!!"

The water flowed violently, rushing down from higher ground. The reasons they hadn't been swept away at the roadside were, first, that the drainage system was active at regular intervals, and second, that this spot was ten centimeters above the water level, though it still remained dangerous.

As for the people washed down from the road, they could find almost nowhere to get a foothold.

Fortunately, a large tree had snapped. The person, like a boat adrift in a ferocious sea, finally grabbed a branch, but the current was pulling his body down frantically. His entire body, except for his head, was already askew.

The rescue team had not yet arrived. Nearby residents had found a rope, but the man in the water couldn't see it at all, and his ashen face showed he couldn't hold on much longer.

Shen Lian quickly scanned his surroundings. Luck was on his side; hanging inside the entrance of a hardware store was a black car tire.

"Hold her." Shen Lian handed the Young Girl to Li Yi and immediately set off.

"Teacher Shen!"

Shen Lian quickly took down the tire and immediately joined the rescue team.

"The rope is long enough. Come on, tie a loop around me." Shen Lian spoke. His voice had a strangely calming power amidst the storm, as he sounded completely unpanicked.

With someone giving orders, everyone immediately followed suit.

Shen Lian tied one end of the rope securely to the tire and handed the other end to three big brothers, acting as the "driftwood" in the middle to bridge the connection. "Guys, hold on tight!"

"Don't worry! We will definitely pull you up!"

Shen Lian turned around and leaped onto the broken tree roots. A few timid passersby couldn't help but scream.

The water beneath his feet was rushing turbulently. In this weather and situation, it was incredibly easy for one's judgment to be destroyed.

At this moment, Shen Lian was no more than four or five meters away from the man in the water.

He estimated the load-bearing capacity of the tree trunk and then inched forward.

Shen Lian wiped the water from his face fiercely. Through the wind and rain, he saw that the man had lost strength and released one hand. He made a split-second decision, leaned forward, and threw the tire.

It was slightly off by an inch. The man wanted to reach out and grab it, but he truly had no strength left.

"Hold on tight!" Shen Lian shouted. He quickly pulled back the rope and, at the same time, took another step forward!

The branch bent downward, and his whole body sank a bit.

"That's enough, young man! You can't go any further!" someone shouted from behind.

Shen Lian exhaled deeply. The man over there had reached his limit.

The moment the man let go, Shen Lian threw the tire with all his might. At the same time, he fell into the water, almost disappearing from sight along with the man.

Many people on the shore were so frightened they were gasping for air.

Even Li Yi, a grown man, had his vision go black.

But within two seconds, Shen Lian surfaced. He shouted at the three big brothers, "Pull!"

The resistance was exceptionally fierce. The tire happened to catch the man's neck, and combined with a strong will to survive, he finally managed to touch the rope this time. Seeing Shen Lian inching closer to him and the people on the shore stretching out their hands, the man knew he was saved.

If they were washed down from here, one misstep would mean falling into the river at the end of the road.

Shen Lian was pulled up by many helping hands. He rolled over, coughed up two mouthfuls of water, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The current was mixed with all sorts of debris, and it hurt quite a bit when it hit his body.

"Young man, you're the best!" The big brother pulling the rope was burly and gave Shen Lian a thumbs up.

Shen Lian's mask had long since flown away. He smiled, stood up with Li Yi's help, and continued toward the shelter.

Meanwhile, Chu Yilan was sitting in his office, his expression extremely gloomy.

Shen Lian's phone wouldn't go through, and the news that the torrential rain in Lin City might trigger flooding had already exploded online.

The Social Media Platform interface on the computer was updating in real-time. Many local residents living in high-rises who were temporarily safe were reporting the progress in various districts, everyone praying that no one was injured and that the rescue workers were all safe.

【My god, is this Shen Lian?】

A sentence and a video exploded in the forum.

The video was divided into two parts: one filmed from a high-rise, and one, shaky and close-up, that captured Shen Lian's face.

When Chu Yilan finished watching the video, his fingertips were cold.

Especially when Shen Lian fell from the branch and submerged into the water, a ringing sound exploded in his ears for a moment.

Yang Bin came in and said in a deep voice, "CEO Chu, the traffic to Lin City is still not open; the rainwater is blocking it..."

"Find a way!" Chu Yilan looked up suddenly, bloodshot veins appearing in his eyes. "Ask what they are lacking over there! Get the road cleared first!"

The shelter was a half-constructed large shopping mall, surrounded by gray, drab concrete and steel bars. Everyone sat in small groups of three or five, their faces full of deep exhaustion and the relief of surviving a disaster.

Honestly, it felt like a damn dream.

His arm was gently bumped, and only then did Shen Lian feel the pain. He hissed softly. The Young Girl who he had brought along the whole way immediately pulled her hand back. She stopped crying and just kept staring at the wound on Shen Lian's arm, worry appearing in her eyes.

"It's nothing." Shen Lian smiled and comforted her, "It doesn't hurt."

The next second, he saw Li Yi and Jiang You both kneel on the ground, gasping for air.

Shen Lian was startled, "What's wrong with you two?"

Li Yi waved his hand, "Teacher Shen, if you keep doing this, we'll die young."

Jiang You nodded repeatedly.

Shen Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "I had it under control."

"Let me use your phone." Shen Lian hadn't been able to find his phone earlier; he reckoned it must have been washed away when he was saving people.

Jiang You and Li Yi's phones were there, but unsurprisingly, they were all water-damaged and blacked out.

"I'll buy you new ones later." Shen Lian said, instructing Li Yi, "See if you can borrow one. I absolutely must make this call."

Li Yi looked around politely and soon borrowed a working phone.

Shen Lian took it and immediately entered that sequence of numbers he knew by heart.

Chu Yilan got out of the car. Yang Bin held an umbrella for him. In front of them, large bags of sand were being pushed into the cliff-like water gap.

Chu Yilan's eyes were heavy. The ringtone rang several times before he took out his phone.

It was an unknown number on the screen. Amidst the cold wind and evil rain, Chu Yilan's heart suddenly began to pound wildly.

He pressed answer, held the phone to his ear, but didn't speak.

When nerves are stretched to the limit, even breathing feels frozen.

"Master Chu? My phone is lost." On the other end was Shen Lian's relaxed, smiling voice, "I am completely safe, don't worry."

Shen Lian felt he had disguised it well, but he didn't hear Chu Yilan's response for a long time, and gradually began to feel a bit uneasy.

"Chu Yilan?"

"Shen Lian." Chu Yilan finally spoke, calling his name, but no emotion could be detected.

"I'm here, I'm here."

"Once the road is cleared, I will set off for Lin City immediately."

"No, no need to be in such a hurry..."

"When I arrive, you better pray not to be caught by me." Chu Yilan said, "I will definitely kill you."

Shen Lian: "..."