Chapter 625 - 640: Signal

An Ning’s actions left Zhuzi gaping from the boat, his mouth hanging open.

"Sis—you—I—"

"I know. I’m pretty amazing, right?"

Zhuzi nodded frantically, his eyes filled with pure adoration.

Soaking wet, An Ning vaulted onto the boat. Zhuzi, quick on the uptake, immediately handed her a towel.

"Thanks."

An Ning wiped her face, then started the boat and motored away.

On the way back, the two of them continued to call out, shouting the entire time, but they heard no reply.

With her spiritual power clearing the path, An Ning returned smoothly to the shelter in town.

Zhuzi scanned the people on the first floor, searching and searching.

His gaze locked onto a figure. "Mom—" Zhuzi cried out.

On the fourth-floor landing, a woman leaned out excitedly. She couldn’t see clearly, and her heart was a mix of hope and fear that it wasn’t him. Her voice trembled as she called out, "Zhuzi—"

"Mom—"

"Zhuzi! Zhuzi! It’s my Zhuzi!"

The woman scrambled downstairs, and everyone instinctively made way for her. Some people’s eyes immediately welled up with tears.

"A false alarm" had to be the most beautiful phrase in the world.

It was the false alarm that so many people here were desperately hoping for.

As the boat slowly docked, several adults helped Zhuzi off. Barefoot, he ran toward the figure.

"Mom—"

"Zhuzi!"

The mother and son made their way through the crowd and embraced in the middle of it all.

Zhuzi’s mother dropped to her knees, heedless of anything else. She checked him all over, mumbling, "He’s warm, he’s warm. My Zhuzi is warm."

Many people turned away to wipe their tears. Someone started clapping, and soon, thunderous applause erupted.

The mother and son clung to each other, crying tears of joy.

No one disturbed the pair. An Ning quietly came ashore and found the shelter staff and the police, handing over the three tightly-bound men.

A police officer immediately recognized the three as wanted fugitives from a recent robbery in the neighboring province. He hadn’t expected them to cross provincial lines and end up here. They had probably snuck in through the mountains, only to be caught in the flood.

"An Ning, are you okay?"

An Ning didn’t bother explaining. She just pointed at the three men on the ground. "Do I look like I’m not okay?"

"Good, as long as you’re okay. They’re not important."

The three unimportant men, their mouths gagged tightly with hemp rope by An Ning, just kept making muffled noises. MMM MMM MMM.

Once she handed the men over to the police, An Ning washed her hands of the matter.

She walked to an empty space, leaned against a corner, and watched the crowd not far away.

Families huddled together. Many people were holding up their cell phones, constantly raising them high in search of a signal to let the outside world know they were safe.

Some mothers were coaxing their children to sleep, humming soft lullabies.

Most people, however, just stared blankly outside. The memory of the once-bustling streets was still fresh in their minds, but now, all of it was gone.

It’s easy to say that as long as you’re alive, there’s hope. But everything they had worked and struggled for their entire lives was out there. How could they be expected to give it all up so willingly?

After taking a bite of a bread roll, An Ning stood up to set out again.

The director of the shelter caught up with An Ning, trying to stop her from going out again.

"It’s too dangerous. It’s getting dark. If you have to go, wait until tomorrow."

"I’m going out to find a signal!"

"I have a signal device at my old house. I’ll go get it and give everyone a chance to make a call."

The shelter director repeated himself—go at dawn—but An Ning couldn’t sit still.

She forcefully broke free and with one step jumped onto the boat.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon!"

An Ning started the boat and left.

She left the director behind, slapping his thigh and shouting in helpless frustration.

Once she had driven the boat a good distance away, An Ning pulled several interstellar robots out of her storage space and began taking them apart.

She didn’t have a signal amplifier on hand, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t build one.

By the light of a flashlight, An Ning disassembled ten robots, salvaging a small device. Then she took apart a tracking drone to attach its small wings to the signal amplifier. Soon, she had created a small signal drone.

Under the control of a remote in An Ning’s hand, ten small drones began to ascend, flying off in ten different directions.

The ten small drones flew to their designated positions, reaching the maximum limit of their range.

"Activate... signal... here it comes!"

In an instant, the people who had been trying over and over discovered their phones had a signal.

"We have a signal!"

"Finally, we can make calls!"

"Quick, call our son! Tell him we’re okay, we’re okay."

"Quick, call our daughter. The water’s high where she is, too."

No one even had time to cheer. They all anxiously dialed one number after another, afraid the signal would be temporary, terrified of missing this one chance to let their families know they were safe.

The shelter director stared at the signal bars on his phone. He wasn’t so much happy as he was worried and full of regret.

’Oh, An Ning, for crying out loud, please get back here safely!’

’If anything happens to her, I can’t take the responsibility.’

The shelter director knew who An Ning was. The town, the county, even the city knew about her.

To be more specific, the first time the town’s director received a top-secret red-folder document, it contained only a single sheet of paper about one person: ensure the safety of Comrade An Ning.

The shelter director was staring at his phone with a miserable expression when, a second later, it rang.

"Hello—"

"Yes, this is he... Yes... An Ning got the signal working. Where is she?... I don’t know, but she should be okay."

"It’s not ’should be.’ It’s ’must be.’"

"Director, I really tried to talk her out of it—I practically held on to her, but it was no use."

The shelter director whined, but Director Zhao on the other end knew An Ning’s temperament. Still, what needed to be said had to be said, and the necessary warnings had to be given.

The point was, he was genuinely worried.

The phrase "a merciless flood" wasn’t just an empty saying.

The signal didn’t disappear. After finishing their calls, people had only one thought.

"Did the Liberation Army arrive?"

"It must be!"

"It has to be the Liberation Army. They’re the best."

Everyone guessed that the Liberation Army had arrived. Their respect and trust in them were heartfelt and absolute.

After setting up the signal, An Ning didn’t stay put. She continued the search and rescue.

As the sky began to lighten, a convoy of army-green trucks drove into the flooded area.

That long-awaited splash of green had arrived right on schedule, as it always did.

When the soldiers’ boats entered the flooded area, people began to cheer.

Soon, people from the major shelters were gradually evacuated to more specialized and safer locations.

"Careful now, take your time."

"Come, let me hold the child."

"Sir, I’ll carry you."

Such simple, kind words, spoken by the nation’s finest.

Watching everyone being evacuated, An Ning finally felt a bit of relief.

At some point, a boat pulled up alongside An Ning’s.

"Master!"

’Master?’

An Ning turned to see Zhou Xiaoshan’s goofy smile.

"Xiao Shan, why are you here?"

"I applied to come myself, Master."

Zhou Xiaoshan maneuvered his boat closer until it was right next to hers.

"Master, I’m here on a mission. I have to bring you back."

"My home—"

"Everyone in Shili Gou has already been evacuated. Don’t worry."