Chapter 627: The Retreat

An Ning and her two companions didn’t leave immediately.

An Ning held a can of red spray paint. A circle meant there were survivors, and a cross… well, that went without saying.

Many of the villagers watched An Ning’s hand, hoping she would draw another circle.

The rescue team captain didn’t quite understand what An Ning was doing, so she calmly presented her credentials.

“The… Mysticism Association?”

“You could put it that way. I’m a state-sanctioned charlatan. I’ve got the license and the ability to back it up. Go save them according to my marks.”

After she finished marking the locations, An Ning joined the rescue team.

People were rescued from every single spot marked with a circle.

The villagers looked at the bright red crosses, one after another, their hearts filled with a sorrow that words couldn’t express.

Once everyone from the circled areas was saved, An Ning prepared to leave. Her spiritual power could be put to better use.

Search and rescue was her true purpose.

An Ning left ahead of the others with Zhou Xiaoshan and another young soldier. They boarded their motorboat and continued on their planned route.

“Master….”

“Mm.”

“Once the floodwaters recede, what will happen to them?”

“The country will step in.”

“Right!”

Zhou Xiaoshan nodded emphatically.

Meanwhile, the supply trucks reached a point where they could no longer proceed. An Guoming organized teams to carry the supplies forward on foot.

They climbed mountains and forded streams, all to deliver supplies to the disaster zone—which was also his home.

At the same time, supplies from every corner of society poured in without end, and anyone with the ability to help with the rescue efforts was rushing to the scene.

This was Huaxia.

An unwavering devotion flowed through their veins, a love for the country of one’s birth, faithful until death.

It was something etched into the very bones of its people.

An Ning’s search continued. Using her spiritual power like a cheat code, she located two more villages that had lost contact for the rescue teams.

Their three figures represented more than just three people. They were a symbol of hope and expectation.

From dusk until dawn, the three of them pushed on, until they finally couldn’t go any further.

An Ning tried to herd Zhou Xiaoshan and the young soldier off the boat, but the two of them just clung to it, refusing to let go.

“Master, if you don’t get off, I’m not getting off! I’m out of energy anyway. If I fall into the flood, you don’t have to save me. I just want you to live a long and healthy life!”

“Comrade An Ning, if you don’t get off, I’m not getting off.”

The two of them were stubborn as mules and refused to get off the boat.

An Ning felt a bit fatigued, but she wasn’t exhausted. For a normal person, however, she should have reached her limit by now.

“I’ll get off.”

Under their watchful eyes, An Ning was the first to step off the boat.

Only after she was on solid ground did the other two get off, promptly handing the inflatable boat over to others capable of continuing the rescue.

“Master, the boat ought to be put to good use, right?”

Zhou Xiaoshan, who was clearly afraid An Ning would sneak off on her own, said this without the slightest bit of shame.

An Ning was at a loss for words. Finally, she gave Zhou Xiaoshan a light push. “Go get something to eat.”

“Okay!”

The three of them were starving.

At the temporary shelter, some villagers had volunteered to stay behind and cook hot meals for the rescue teams. The food wasn’t fancy, but it was hot and plentiful.

At a time like this, a hot meal and some hot soup were more than anyone could ask for.

The three of them wolfed down their food. The villagers who were cooking kept telling them to get refills, but a quick glance revealed that the cooks themselves were eating dry crackers and bread.

“Sirs, you should eat some too!”

“Don’t worry about us, we’re not going out there. We don’t normally get to eat stuff like this. We can’t bear to eat such nice crackers.”

To prove his point, the man took a huge bite of a cracker. “So sweet!”

The three of them didn’t press the issue and went back to their meal.

After eating, they took the opportunity to close their eyes and rest for a bit.

An Ning thought she would wake up quickly, but she ended up sleeping for a solid three hours.

When she woke up, the sun was up.

“Master, here are some steamed buns!”

Zhou Xiaoshan brought An Ning steamed buns and seaweed soup.

“What time is it?”

“A little after six.”

An Ning was surprised she had slept so long. She took a steamed bun and began to eat.

“Master, the water has started to recede in some places.”

“Really?”

The news invigorated An Ning. The floodwaters receding was the best possible news.

“It’s true. Plus, a lot of supplies have been delivered to the larger shelters, and the smaller ones should get theirs today. The units for disinfection and silt cleanup are on their way too.”

Zhou Xiaoshan brought An Ning several pieces of good news.

After finishing breakfast, they got back to work.

Zhou Xiaoshan didn’t try to stop her. In a situation like this, your only regret was not being able to save one more person.

The rescue continued. The search continued.

That afternoon, disinfection teams, supplies, and more began to arrive in succession.

In many areas, the water level dropped quickly, flowing downriver and out to sea.

In other places, the water receded more slowly, but it was, at last, beginning to subside.

Once the main search and rescue operations were complete, An Ning and Zhou Xiaoshan joined the teams clearing away the silt.

They focused on clearing the roads to pave the way for subsequent efforts.

Many villagers returned to their homes. Looking at the devastation and their belongings caked in yellow mud, they felt a bitter sorrow. Yet, they smiled at the soldiers and said, “It’s alright, it’s alright. We’ll just wash everything. There’s plenty of water now!”

There’s plenty of water now, so we can just wash it clean.

Finding candy amongst shards of glass—that was the villagers’ reality now.

They didn’t want to cause the soldiers any more trouble. The bond between the military and the people, as close as fish and water, had never been just an empty saying.

The relief efforts continued, and before she knew it, An Ning had been working for three days.

Three days later, she found herself lying by the side of a road, her face sunburned and peeling, staring up at the sky.

After the flood, the sky was a brilliant blue.

Not a cloud in sight.

An Ning reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone, and dialed a number she knew by heart.

RING… RING…

It rang until the line went dead. No one answered.

“Jiang Xia, where in the world did you go?”

For the first two days of the rescue, An Ning was too busy to contact Jiang Xia.

An Ning was so preoccupied that for two days, she didn’t even notice she hadn’t heard from Jiang Xia—who surely knew about the flood but hadn’t reached out.

On the third day, when the waters began to recede, An Ning tried to contact Jiang Xia, but she couldn’t get through.

For the next two days, An Ning channeled all her frustration at being unable to reach him into her work.

But now, even work couldn’t soothe her growing anxiety.

An Ning made a call to Director Zhao.

“An Ning—”

“I need something.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No. I can’t find Jiang Xia.”

An Ning told Director Zhao that she hadn’t been able to contact Jiang Xia for days, not even his assistant.

“Okay, I’ll have someone look into it right away. Don’t worry.”

An Ning hung up. ‘How could I not be worried?’

After a moment’s thought, An Ning got to her feet and found Zhou Xiaoshan.

“Master—”

“I have to go. I’m going to find Jiang Xia. I can’t reach him.”

In the end, An Ning couldn’t rest easy. She decided she had to go look for him herself.