"I've got you, pull yourself in hard!"
Having been yanked inside by Li Mingbo, Bai Zhizhan sat on the floor and finally took a long breath of relief, endlessly grateful for the life-saving assistance.
Li Mingbo, on the other hand, didn't think much of it, patting Bai Zhizhan's shoulder before getting back up.
At the beginning, had it not been for Li Mingbo's quick reaction, Bai Zhizhan would have been thrown out of the lookout tower by the blast wave.
Falling from the lookout tower, dozens of meters high, would have meant certain death upon hitting the deck or even the sea surface.
Moreover, the battle wasn't over, and the battleship wouldn't stop to pick up men overboard.
It all happened in a matter of seconds, feeling no longer than the blink of an eye.
After taking a few deep breaths and steadying his emotions a bit, Bai Zhizhan finally got up.
Once he got a clear view of the outside, he was rooted to the spot in shock.
Dozens of shrapnel pieces of various sizes were embedded densely in the outer wall of the lookout tower, making it resemble a steel durian.
Though the armor encasing the lookout tower was fifty millimeters thick, able to withstand small caliber machine gun fire, several large shrapnel pieces had pierced through the armor. Luckily, because of the irregular shape of the shrapnel, they got lodged in the armor without penetrating the lookout tower.
In fact, while being flung from the lookout tower, Bai Zhizhan had felt something whizz past him, not expecting it to be fragments from artillery shells.
He was indeed quite fortunate; had the shrapnel been off by even a few millimeters, he would have been hit.
However, the personnel inside the navigation bridge below weren't as lucky.
The shell hit the navigation bridge precisely, impacting the right side, likely from above, penetrating the armor and exploding inside the bridge.
From the lookout tower, the destruction looked as if a colossal, unparalleled monster had taken a bite out of it!
The explosion had demolished a significant part of the navigation bridge. Fortunately, it didn't trigger a massive fire, and although a few spots were ablaze, the flames weren't extensive, and the first damage control team had already arrived.
"Stay here and report to the command bridge."
"Young Brother Bai!"
Before Li Mingbo could speak, Bai Zhizhan had already slid down the straight stairway.
Even though Bai Zhizhan was attached to the sub-fleet headquarter, not part of the "North River" crew, rescuing people was now the priority, regardless of his assignment.
After descending, Bai Zhizhan realized that the destruction wasn't limited to the navigation bridge but also extended to the telecommunication center, which was half a level higher behind it.
Several damage control personnel were using hydraulic shears to dismantle the distorted hatch, essentially cutting through the hinges.
Bai Zhizhan didn't ask questions; he immediately ran over to help.
Soon, the team managed to cut the last hinge, and the leader, who was giving commands, moved everyone aside to remove the props holding the door.
With its supports gone, the hatch banged loudly as it fell onto the deck.
"Take this, put on the mask!" The leader grabbed Bai Zhizhan, handing him a gas mask and a flashlight. "First, rescue the wounded. If possible, take them directly to the medical bay. If you can't do it alone, shout loudly or use the flashlight to signal, understood?"
"Understood!" Bai Zhizhan nodded vigorously.
Damage control and rescue were skills every naval officer and soldier had to master, and before becoming a Nautical Advisor's assistant, Bai Zhizhan had been responsible for damage control on the command bridge.
After putting on the gas mask and checking the flashlight, Bai Zhizhan followed the damage control team into the telecommunication center.
It was a rather small compartment, situated below the command bridge, precisely between the navigation bridge and the command bridge.
Inside this compact room, more than a dozen radios were packed tightly together.
At any given time, there were more than a dozen telecommunication personnel here. During battle, with increased telegraphic traffic, the personnel would at least double.
Electrical power was cut off, and the dust in the room hadn't settled.
Ahead, someone was banging on a metal object with a wrench or something similar, producing a sound akin to a ghostly knock.
A beam of light shone through, swinging back and forth several times.
North River Bai Zhizhan immediately quickened his pace and walked towards the direction of the flashlight beam.
It was a damage control personnel using a flashlight, who found an injured person pinned by a fallen cabinet, and he needed help lifting the cabinet.
Fortunately, the cabinet was not heavy.
After North River Bai Zhizhan lifted the cabinet, the damage control personnel dragged the injured person out.
Then, the two men took the injured person and left the telecommunication center.
"There are multiple fractures, and several ribs are broken. Hurry up and send him to the medical bay, have the medical officer treat the wounds, and use bandages to stabilize the chest cavity, otherwise, the lung membranes will be punctured."
Having said that, the damage control personnel went back into the telecommunication center.
Five minutes later, North River Bai Zhizhan arrived at the medical center with the injured person, or rather, at the dining room next to the medical center.
Now, this place served as a temporary hospital.
Damage control personnel had already brought in more than a dozen injured, all of whom were severely wounded, almost all from the navigation bridge crew, and North River Bai Zhizhan recognized a few of them.
Several medical officers were busy at work.
Many of the wounded were yet to be treated, the air in the chamber was thick with the smell of blood and disinfectant, filled with the groans of injured personnel, and occasionally, loud screams of agony could be heard.
When North River Bai Zhizhan placed the injured person on an empty dining table, a nurse-like medical staff member ran over.
Don't get it wrong, there were no females on the battleship; even the nurses were male.
"Where is he hurt?"
"Comminuted fracture of the left leg, the left ribs have been hit; definitely, some ribs are broken..."
"There are bandages over there, first stabilize the chest. The wound on the leg doesn't need to be treated for now; find a splint, and we'll attend to it later."
North River Bai Zhizhan wanted to say something, but the nurse had already turned and walked away.
Clearly, in the nurse's mind, fractures were not considered serious injuries and thus did not require immediate treatment.
Compared to those missing arms or legs, or even those in critical condition, mere fractures indeed did not seem serious; at least they were not life-threatening.
North River Bai Zhizhan did not delay and quickly found bandages and a splint.
Dressing wounds and handling injuries are emergency aid skills, and damage control requires such essential capabilities, actually, any Navy officer and enlisted would know some basic first-aid.
As North River Bai Zhizhan was splinting the injured person's left leg, the telecommunication soldier woke up.
In truth, he was awoken by pain.
Without anesthesia, the pain was bound to be excruciating.
While North River Bai Zhizhan applied the bandages, the telecommunication soldier clenched his teeth tightly, his groans continuously humming in his throat, never escaping his mouth.
North River Bai Zhizhan was in a panic; he only wanted to fasten the bandages quickly, to alleviate the soldier's pain, but he made several mistakes, further delaying the process.
By the time North River Bai Zhizhan had secured the bandages, he had passed out again.
A real man!
Empire soldiers, they bleed but do not cry!
Brother, hang in there, it's going to be alright!
Just as North River Bai Zhizhan was about to leave, several damage control personnel rushed into the dining hall.
"Move aside, everyone move aside. Medical officer, where is the medical officer?"
Behind them, two damage control personnel carried in an injured person covered in blood.
As they passed by, North River Bai Zhizhan clearly saw that the injured person was wearing the rank insignia of a colonel.
A colonel!?
On this battleship, there were only two colonels, one was the sub-fleet's combat staff advisor, while the other was the captain.