Chapter 197 - 196: Sudden Mudslide From Last Night’s Heavy Rain

Chapter 197: Chapter 196: Sudden Mudslide From Last Night’s Heavy Rain

"Of course not, Master."

The bed in the old house was very hard, but since she had slept on it every night during her childhood, she didn’t feel unaccustomed to it. Being back home, she was completely relaxed, making it much easier to fall asleep.

The next morning.

The chill in the wind was palpable. National Day was approaching, and the weather had started to turn cold. The local weather was strange, fluctuating between hot and cold unpredictably.

After bidding her master farewell, she found the path down the mountain was still muddy. The rain boots at the tile-roofed house were a bit too small for her to wear. So, when she appeared at the foot of the mountain with her feet caked in mud, making her shoes feel noticeably heavier, Rian Sinclair fell silent.

Using the nearby weeds, she wiped the mud off her feet. Though her shoes weren’t as clean as they had been yesterday, they were no longer completely covered in mud.

As she drove away, Sinclair Village almost faded from sight. The neighboring households were pitifully few, and most people weren’t even home—they had basically all gone up the mountain to work.

She hadn’t been driving for long before her car was flagged down.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. A moment later, a handsome, tough-looking man appeared outside her window.

He was wearing a black tank top that revealed his well-defined muscles. However, it wasn’t the kind of overly bulky muscle that people found off-putting. Anyone who saw him would only praise his great physique.

Rian poked her cheek with the tip of her tongue. Right then, she wanted to turn into a little creep and whistle at the man. She thought, "What kind of absolute perfection is this?"

The ruggedly handsome man had a buzz cut. His black tank top was drenched, clinging tightly to his skin, and his hair was slick with sweat. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and disappeared into his shirt. He must have just been exerting himself, as his chest heaved slightly, and the bobbing of his Adam’s apple made him look even more attractive.

DING! Target for spending detected! Appearance score: 93 points. The target meets the spending requirements. Host, please reward them as soon as possible to receive cash back!

Shortly after the system’s voice chimed in, the man spoke up. His voice was slightly hoarse, likely because he had been up all night.

"Miss, there was a heavy rainstorm last night, and some houses have collapsed ahead. Could you wait here for a while?"

Looking at the rescue vehicles parked ahead, Rian gave a slight nod. She remembered there was another village up ahead. Given the intensity of last night’s rain, she could easily guess that some areas must have been devastated.

After parking her car in the designated area, Rian got out and gathered some information about the situation.

All the surrounding villages had run into trouble; ironically, the smaller settlements with only a few households were mostly fine. For the most part, mudslides had destroyed the villages. Looking at the injured crowds around her, she realized that people from below couldn’t come up, and those trapped above couldn’t get down. Because of this, food supplies were currently running low, and there was a risk of further mudslides ahead.

Rian studied the surrounding terrain and contacted her people in Andale to send over some supplies. Seeing the growing number of casualties around her, mostly consisting of the elderly and children, she pulled some medical supplies from her backpack and prepared to help out.

The hospital staff were already completely overwhelmed. There were too many uncertain variables in the mountains right now—outsiders couldn’t get in, and the local economy couldn’t support an airdrop for supplies. Many medical workers were running around in circles as the injured were continuously brought in. They managed fine at first, but as the crowd swelled, they slowly found themselves short-handed.

Rian stepped up to help, mostly tending to those with minor injuries by applying simple bandages. The severe injuries were left to the medical professionals. Still, their manpower steadily dwindled.

The number of severely injured people kept rising. Medical personnel couldn’t arrange helicopter transport without preparation, as there was no landing spot. The soldiers who had come in mostly had to parachute down from a certain altitude. Under these circumstances, every soldier needed an ample amount of courage and guts; otherwise, they could easily get lost in Seth. The terrain here was far too remote. If they landed in some unknown area, finding a way out would be incredibly difficult.

The supplies Rian had ordered arrived shortly after. Thanks to her throwing massive amounts of money at the problem, the delivery was remarkably fast. Once the rescue team received the cargo, they handed the medical equipment over to the medical staff first, while the food was stored for the military to distribute evenly.

It wasn’t long before the man who had initially knocked on her car window walked up to Rian. "Thank you."

Rian didn’t say much. She wasn’t surprised that the man could pinpoint her exact location. After all, she was probably the only person around whose clothes looked clean and decent enough to suggest she could afford all this. She simply shook her head and said, "Distribute the supplies. Let me know if you need more. How long until the rest of the rescue personnel arrive?"

Looking at the current situation, she feared this wouldn’t be resolved anytime soon. She probably wouldn’t be able to drive down the mountain until tomorrow.

"The casualties at the foot of the mountain are too heavy. We’re prioritizing saving lives right now, then we’ll slowly clear the roads. Rescue teams from other provinces are also on their way. If nothing unexpected happens, we should probably be done by tonight."

Listening to his deep voice, Rian nodded in silence. The man didn’t stay by her side for long before leaving to organize the situation below.

Taking in her surroundings, she spotted some reporters broadcasting the news. They had likely come up with the rescue team last night.

A little girl wandered over to her feet. She looked about five years old, her face and body covered in dirt, though her tiny hands had been washed spotlessly clean. The little girl looked up and offered the cookie in her hand. "Big sister, have this."

Looking into the girl’s exceptionally bright eyes, Rian squatted down and plucked a stray leaf from the child’s hair. "Little one, I’m not hungry. You eat it."

But the little girl shook her head, stuffed the cookie into Rian’s hands, and ran off. Rian stood up and looked at the cookie. Her lips curled into a faint smile as she tore open the wrapper and finished it in two or three bites.

Feeling the goodwill radiating from the people around her, Rian knew they were silently thanking her for the supplies she had provided.

Rian paced among the injured. She had brought plenty of medical supplies, but they were still short on hands. Rian knew a bit of medicine, so she could immediately patch up any injury that didn’t require surgery. More and more grateful gazes fell upon her, but Rian didn’t say much. She kept working until the sky gradually darkened and her stomach let out a loud GRUMBLE.

The workload had likely lightened, as someone had finally cooked some food. Rian took the opportunity to grab a bite. It was her first hot meal of the day, leaving her so satisfied that she couldn’t resist going back for a second bowl. Most of the injured had been treated, allowing the medical staff some downtime to rest, but the rescue team was still working tirelessly.

Suddenly, a sharp pang of pain flashed through Rian’s brain.

She looked up at the sky. The moon wasn’t very bright tonight, probably obscured by the nearby clouds. Framed by the night, the surrounding mountains felt somewhat gloomy and oppressive, like wild beasts lurking in the dark.

Rian pursed her lips. Tonight would probably be a sleepless night.

Before long, the rescue team halted their work and began organizing the civilians to evacuate further up the mountain. No one understood why, but the military uniforms they wore inspired absolute trust, so everyone obediently started the upward trek.

However, the small path leading up the mountain was nothing but mud, made even harder to traverse by the previous night’s heavy rain. Since the village consisted mostly of the elderly and children, the evacuation procession moved incredibly slowly. Some rescue workers carried the elderly on their backs and held children in their arms as they hiked, but the journey forward was still a long and grueling one.

The injured went first, followed by the elderly and children in the middle. The younger people trailed behind, while the rescue team brought up the very rear.