The entire town was enveloped in a strange silence, with the sound of the Nanjiang River's rushing waters mingling with the rain, exceptionally clear in this quietness.
The town's residents had all been properly settled, some in the relocation area, some standing in places far from the riverbank, quietly waiting for the flood discharge.
The soldiers stationed at the levee remained steadfast.
Tu Hengsha stood alongside them, holding her camera, with raindrops continuously falling on the lens. She heard the sound of a cannon, then immediately pressed the record button, and from a distance, the muddy water surged forth like a blanket covering the sky.
It was at this moment that a woman's piercing scream rang out, "Help! Help! There's someone! Someone's still down there!"
Tu Hengsha's filming instantly stopped. Up to this point, she had not encountered Xu Gui. Who could be the person below...?
Countless figures in military uniforms flashed past her, and she stowed her camera away, running down like a madwoman.
She didn't know how far down the woman was referring to, but as she ran, she only saw the floodwaters, like a massive beast, devouring everything on both banks. Houses, livestock, trees—all were instantly submerged by the flood. She saw pigs, furniture, planks, various objects floating in the water, and only the tips of houses and trees showing.
"Sis, get back! Don't go down!"
The person who ran past her was vaguely Ah Gua, who sped by like the wind, leaving behind a phrase.
She didn't listen, continuing to run after them, soon hearing shouts mixed with women's screams and loud cries.
The soldiers who went down had gathered in one place, and one after another, they entered the water.
She finally got close and saw the situation in the water clearly.
In the river was a tree, half-submerged, with three people hanging onto it. Two of them were holding another person whose entire body was floating in the water, being battered by the current as if he were a leaf—if not for the two on the tree holding him, there was no doubt he would have been swept away. With such a turbulent flow, it was doubtful they could hold on much longer, let alone pull him up.
What shocked her more was, upon closer inspection, one of the two people on the tree was Xu Gui!
"Xu..." She was like a chick with its neck wrung, barely getting out one syllable before forcing herself to shut up. She dared not distract him, fearing even a moment's distraction could cause him to fall into the water. She clenched her fists and bit her lip, frustrated that she could do nothing.
The soldiers entering the water were tethered with safety ropes, but the force of the current made it impossible to control their swimming direction. They were washed past the tree several times without being able to reach them.
A strange hoarse shout came from the tree, "Hurry! I can't hold on any longer!"
Tu Hengsha stared intently at those four hands clasped together, breaking out in a cold sweat, shaking all over.
It wasn't until three soldiers managed to group together, leveraging each other to approach the person in the water, and all three grabbed hold of him, that the people on the tree let go, their strength spent, and Tu Hengsha finally let out a sigh of relief.
However, just then, everyone on the bank let out a scream, as someone from the tree fell into the water.
Tu Hengsha was one of the many screamers, even covering her eyes, not daring to look any longer.
"Ah Wei! Ah Wei!" a girl's cries came from beside her.
Tu Hengsha parted her fingers; the crying girl was the female university student who had brought food earlier, and the one who had just fallen was the male university student? Fortunately, he was caught around the waist by a soldier after falling.
Tu Hengsha pressed her pounding chest, praying: Let it be over! Let everyone get to shore! Let everyone safely get to shore!
More soldiers gathered near the tree; of the first three who arrived, two untied their own safety ropes and fastened them to the university student called Ah Wei and the person who fell earlier. They themselves leaned on their comrades for support, clinging to the big tree.