Tang Lin felt the vibrations coming from the ground, and as he walked, he veered off the original path. Unknowingly, he walked nearly a kilometer and arrived at a nearby park.
It was summer vacation and almost noon, and the sun felt scorching, so there didn't seem to be many people in the park.
Tang Lin walked onto the road in front of the park gate. He was very sure that the unsettling vibration was right before his eyes. Underneath this asphalt road, there was a spot about five meters in diameter that seemed to have a problem, visibly different from the rest of the road.
But Tang Lin could only tell that this section of the road seemed to have a problem and didn't know exactly what changes were happening underground. Tang Lin couldn't just dig up the ground to see, but having found the abnormal location, the uneasy feeling in his heart diminished significantly.
Tang Lin was also getting a bit overwhelmed by the scorching sun and was about to head back to the supermarket to buy something.
At that moment, a car sped through the intersection. Just as it passed in front of Tang Lin, the seemingly problem-free asphalt road suddenly split open, and the entire car plunged in.
A sinkhole!
The unusual vibrations Tang Lin had felt earlier were because the area beneath this spot had already been hollowed out, leaving only a thin layer of asphalt on top.
The huge pit swallowed more than half of the car, leaving only the taillights hanging on the edge of the pit.
Tang Lin quickly walked to the edge of the pit and looked down. The car's front was completely deformed and had already started to smoke.
The car speed was too fast, and the pit appeared too suddenly, resulting in a disastrous crash.
Tang Lin quickly took out his phone to call for an ambulance and to report to the police, but the smoke from the car's front seemed to grow larger and suddenly erupted into a burst of flames. From the shattered car window emerged a bloodied arm, and a weak cry for help was heard, "Help... Help me... save my daughter..."
Only then did Tang Lin see that there was a child seat in the passenger seat, with a little girl under ten years old, also with her face covered in blood.
"Damn it, doesn't this car have airbags!"
Tang Lin said this, but his body had already instinctively jumped into the pit. The speed at which the flames spread was very fast; there was no way to wait for the rescue team to arrive.
The pit below was filled with slippery sludge; this was a water-eroded sinkhole. Normally, people would find it difficult to even stand, but Tang Lin stood as if his feet were rooted to the ground. He made his way to the car door and tried to pull the people out, only to find that the car door was completely deformed and couldn't be opened at all.
The fire at the front of the car grew more intense, and Tang Lin could smell gasoline. Even the fuel tank was probably ruptured, and in a little while, the whole car might catch fire.
"Save my daughter... Save my daughter first... Please..." The bloodied man used all his strength to speak to Tang Lin.
"Stop talking, I'm saving both!"
Jumping down was already a waste of time, climbing to the other side now would be a waste.
Tang Lin gritted his teeth, grabbed the deformed car door with both hands, and pulled with all his might.
A continuous flow of energy surged from the ground beneath his feet, making him feel as if he was gaining more strength in the pit than on the surface, and he managed to rip the twisted car door right off.
Once the door was opened, things got easier. Tang Lin helped the man unbuckle his seatbelt and dragged him out to the edge of the pit.
The pit was quite large, and outside the vehicle, there was a small open area. Though the ground was muddy, there was no time to worry about that now.
After placing the man down, Tang Lin dived back into the vehicle.
The injured man lying on the ground could only see that after Tang Lin entered the car, the flames spread into the vehicle. The flames spread extremely fast, enveloping almost the entire car, and nothing was visible except the flames.
It was over; that young man and his daughter were done for!
Just as he was thinking this, a scorched figure rushed out of the vehicle, holding his daughter in his arms.
Tang Lin held the girl in his arms, with large areas of charred marks where the flames had licked him. Although he couldn't manage to keep the girl completely unscathed, her injuries weren't too severe. On the other hand, Tang Lin himself had nearly half of his body burned black.
As soon as he got out, Tang Lin immediately crawled up, ignoring the scorching gaze from the man lying next to him.
You said to save the daughter first.
Tang Lin quickly climbed out of the pit, placed the unconscious girl by the roadside, and then jumped back in to carry the man out of the pit as well. As soon as he set the man down, the sinkhole erupted in a violent explosion, causing Tang Lin to lose his footing.
Tang Lin lay on the ground, lining up with the injured father and daughter.
Covered in burns, the painful and itchy sensation made Tang Lin feel like living hell.
"I'm doomed, my handsome face is ruined."
Tang Lin had a bitter expression, with more than half of his hair burned off and large areas of burns on his body, leaving behind inevitable scars. Yet lying on the ground, Tang Lin felt a soothing cool breeze from his burns as the Stone-man's Heart began its healing effect, continuously healing his burns.
But these injuries were much more severe than the minor wounds on his feet and wouldn't be healed quickly. By the time the ambulance and firefighters arrived, Tang Lin was still burned to an unrecognizable state.
"This person is severely burned!"
"Priority, take this burn victim to the hospital and alert other ambulances to come."
Tang Lin opened his eyes to see several people in white coats walking towards him, seemingly to put him on a stretcher. Tang Lin quickly waved his hand, saying, "No, let me lie here; don't move me."
"Sir, don't worry; we will take you to the hospital now. You'll be fine," the medical staff, thinking Tang Lin was overly frightened, quickly reassured him.
The Stone-man's Heart's ability works best the closer you are to the ground, and its effect weakens if you're on a stretcher or on higher hospital floors.
For healing capabilities, the Stone-man's Heart surpasses any miraculous doctor, so lying here is better.
Tang Lin looked at the father and daughter next to him and quickly said, "Attend to them first; I'm fine. They were in an accident and might have internal bleeding!"
Internal bleeding, of course, was something Tang Lin made up; he wasn't a doctor.
Hearing Tang Lin say this, the medical staff were momentarily stunned; if there was indeed internal bleeding, it would be more dangerous than Tang Lin's superficial burns.
Burns pose a fatal risk due to complications from infections leading to organ failure. They needed to get Tang Lin to the hospital to prevent massive wound infections.
In contrast, internal bleeding is a more hidden, quickly lethal danger that requires immediate surgery.
Before the medical staff could decide, the car driver said, "No, I'm not seriously hurt. I just hit my head and felt dizzy, but I'm much better now. Send him to the hospital first. If not for his courageous actions, my daughter and I would be dead."
Upon hearing what the man said, everyone gazed at Tang Lin with admiration. It was already remarkable enough that he risked himself to rescue others; even after being burned to this extent, he still thought of saving others first. Such noble character, such a shining example of humanity.
As for Tang Lin... he was furious!
Why couldn't you just stay unconscious?! Waking up at a critical moment to ruin my plan, are you sure you're not a pig-headed Saboteur, Mr. Pig-teammate?
Tang Lin was exasperated and shouted, "You just crashed your car, and I just have some burns. But your daughter crashed and got burned. Doesn't it make sense whose injuries are worse?"
The man suddenly thought, "That does make sense." However, seeing his savior burned so badly, how could he say to save his daughter first?
Family bonds and moral duty began to intertwine; this was a crossroads in life, a test of human nature!
Tang Lin desperately wanted to jump up and prove he was fine so that the medical staff would save others first.
But he couldn't; the burns were severe, and lying there was really comfortable; he had no desire to get up.
Perhaps even the heavens couldn't tolerate such a melodramatic scenario. Two ambulances arrived, one for each of them, eliminating the need to choose between saving the adult or the child.
As they lifted him onto the ambulance stretcher, Tang Lin wanted to say, "Don't save me; I still want to lie here!"