It was Gu Zheng!
He was indeed at the forefront of the disaster relief.
"Commander Gu, I came with the Medical Team!" Song Ning explained briefly after recognizing him.
"Fill it! As quickly as possible!" Gu Zheng glanced at the child in the center of the mud and commanded the soldiers rushing behind him.
They were carrying sandbags on their shoulders, filling the mudflow in sequence.
"The old man is the former village chief. When the mudslide occurred, he was anxious to notify the villagers, but his grandson couldn't escape in time."
Gu Zheng quietly explained the situation to Song Ning: "The child could initially respond to calls, but he's too young to grasp the rope loops thrown to him. His condition is not good now, he might have fallen unconscious. Prepare for first aid."
Sandbags were filled one by one. Those near the bank could be placed steadily, but after filling a few meters, they couldn't be secured and sank no matter how many were thrown.
"Did you find the winnowing baskets?"
"Yes! Yes!"
Someone carried a stack of large, round winnowing baskets over. These were just collected from a villager's home. They had a larger surface area and were lighter than wooden planks.
"Try again! Hurry!"
Another soldier went up. The winnowing baskets were loosely secured with wire, forming a path towards the child.
The first few winnowing baskets held up, supporting the soldier's weight. But further ahead, as he stepped on them, the mud surged up, and the baskets sank entirely. As he tried to move forward, the mud gradually covered his lower legs, preventing him from taking another step.
At this moment, he was still about three to four meters away from the child.
He wanted to try again, but not only the basket under his feet, but also the ones connected before and after it, sank.
"Retreat, quickly!" Gu Zheng ordered.
"Continue building! Try again! Get the sandbags over there faster!"
"Commander Gu, it's raining harder! We need to hurry!" a soldier reminded nervously.
In fact, while the rescue was underway, the mud and sand were also slowly moving. The child's distance from the bank was visibly increasing.
Another round of sandbags was filled, but the effect was not good. The winnowing baskets were re-tied and laid out towards the child.
As another soldier prepared to step onto them, Song Ning stepped forward and said, "Wait!"
She said to Gu Zheng, "Let me go! I weigh the least, so I have the best chance! The child can't afford to wait any longer!"
Silence fell over the scene for a moment.
Gu Zheng stared intently at Song Ning, saying nothing.
The rain was indeed getting heavier. If the mud and sand started to flow, the child would be swept away directly.
Song Ning stepped forward and took the rope from the soldier's hand, saying, "Commander Gu, if we hesitate any longer, there will be no opportunity!"
Gu Zheng indeed no longer hesitated. He took the rope and wound it around Song Ning's waist several times, exhorting her in a deep voice, "When you go up, relax your body, maintain balance, and don't panic! No matter what happens, I will hold you!"
Song Ning nodded in response, took a deep breath, held another rope in her hand, and stepped onto the round winnowing baskets.
"Commander! Not good! The mud and sand have started to move!" someone shouted from beside them.
With the heavy rain, the water flow naturally increased. The mud and sand that had been still began to surge downwards.
Song Ning maintained her breathing, undisturbed.
When she stepped on the third winnowing basket, she clearly felt her footing becoming unstable.
Compared to the soldiers before, her weight was indeed an advantage. The winnowing baskets did not sink, but the flow of mud and sand under her feet had clearly accelerated.
"Song Ning—do your best!" Gu Zheng shouted from the bank.
"Ah—quick! The child is being washed away!" someone exclaimed in alarm.
"Tie Dan—" the old woman let out a tragic cry and completely fainted.
There was no time! The raindrops began to fall with a pitter-patter!
She knew clearly that if she retreated now, the child would have no chance of rescue.
"Gu Zheng—hold the rope tight—"
Song Ning shouted as she ran forward.
When she reached the last two baskets, they had already sunk.
Song Ning did not hesitate. She leaped forward, desperately grabbing the child who was being swept forward by the mud and sand.
The mud and sand quickly enveloped her entire body. She firmly grasped the child's arm and, by feel, wrapped the rope in her right hand around the child.
One loop, two loops, three loops, a secure knot.
Then she shouted, "Pull—pull quickly—"
At the same time, she heard another exclamation, "Rocks! Big rocks are falling! The rope..."
After that, her ears were filled with the roaring sound of water and rain, and she could hear nothing else.
Her body plummeted rapidly in the embrace of the mud and water.
Amidst the increasingly dense raindrops, the mudslide erupted again.
The rope around her waist was still there, but the pulling force was gone. It was likely that the mudslide had caused rocks to fall, breaking the rope on the bank that was pulling her.
She could only hope that the rope holding the child was alright.
As the rain intensified, the mudslide turned into a mountain torrent. Song Ning hugged a log and went with the flow, trying her best to stay conscious and avoid being hit.
She tried to observe her surroundings, looking for an opportunity to reach the shore.
However, the further down she went, the larger the water flow became, and the faster it moved.
She drifted for an unknown distance like this until she heard a deafening roar ahead, and Song Ning realized—
Not good! There's a cliff!
If she continued to drift with the current, she would be smashed to pieces.
Fortunately, the water flow formed a "之" shaped bend ahead...
This is it!
Song Ning thought to herself: This is the last chance!
She controlled the direction of the log as much as possible, making the wood turn sideways, using the force of the water to push her towards the corner.
At the first bend, the log successfully hit the rocks at the corner. However, the log was too thick, and she was on the other side of it. She reached out but couldn't grab anything on the bank. The log paused for a moment before carrying her downstream.
It's okay! There's another bend! Song Ning encouraged herself.
This time, she had experience. She adjusted the direction of the log. She needed to use her body to hit the rocks, because only then would she have a chance to grab a tree or rock on the bank and climb up.
Compared to being swept over the cliff, this was the only way.
The further down she went, the stronger the current became!
The bend was just ahead. Song Ning adjusted her angle, preparing to be forcefully hit against the rocks by the current.
But at this critical moment, her waist tightened, and a force pulled back on her downstream speed. Before she could react, a figure moved even faster, embraced her, and at the same time, took the impact against the rocks at the bend in her place.
Song Ning was tightly protected by him against his chest, not hitting anything at all.
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