Chapter 332 - 266: Reinforcements Have Arrived!

Half an hour, walking atop a mass of ruins more than 200 meters long, dozens of meters wide, yet occasionally reaching a height of four or five meters.

Little White, despite wearing shoes, was having difficulty moving on three legs, and after climbing up and down for so long, it started to limp.

But Fang Huai didn’t let it rest.

He hadn’t even taken part in the rescue of survivors already found by the Earthquake Rescue Team, for his sole purpose was to find more traces of life.

It was just short of 27 hours, and the chances were still significant.

Truly significant.

Today alone, the Rescue Team had saved three children.

Every time there were a couple of cries, Fang Huai would stick a wooden stick he had found into the ground.

"There’s someone below here!" Fang Huai pointed at the ground beneath his feet and shouted again.

The distant Rescue Team looked up, then waved their hands to show that they had understood.

Suddenly.

"Woof!"

Little White sniffed around the spot once more and barked a single bark.

Fang Huai suddenly turned back and lowered his voice, asking,

"Are you sure?"

"Woof!"

Fang Huai quickly backed away from the piece of board he was standing on and leaned down toward a crevice, shouting,

"Is anyone there? Is anyone below?"

His breath stirred up a cloud of dust.

"Is anyone there?"

Fang Huai called out again, then lay down on the ground, pressing his ear against a concrete slab.

*Thump.*

Inside, there came a faint sound as thin as a thread.

Fang Huai’s heart throbbed violently.

"There’s someone here!! Alive!!"

Most people couldn’t understand the excitement of finding that tiny spark of life amidst a sea of silence.

Within a 200-meter radius, aside from the hum of Rescue Teams carefully saving a found student, all those who were too exhausted to dig and had been lying on the ground gasping for air, sprang into action, rushing toward this spot.

"They’re here!"

"Quick! Bring your life detection devices over here!" Fang Huai yelled.

...

Two minutes later.

The signal light on the life detection device in Fang Huai’s hand showed a series of beats.

"There’s someone! There really is!" The parents and Rescue Team were all elated.

"Dig!" A man in tattered clothes, his head clumsily wrapped with a bandage, shouted loud.

"No, slow down! We don’t know the situation below yet! Don’t use the pickaxe! Move the debris carefully!" Fang Huai quickly reminded loudly.

"Right! Let’s start with this slab on the top!"

As the Rescue Team members spoke, they grabbed one edge of the concrete slab, Fang Huai hurriedly got up and supported the other side.

The final few meters to save a life were bridged by hands.

In front of a pile of somewhat large rubble, none of the Firefighting equipment was of any use.

Not even a shovel could be used.

Fang Huai sat on the ground, mechanically tossing stones towards an empty space.

One stone, three stones, eight stones...

Whenever there was a large stone, he had to stand up, use his waist strength, lift the rock, and throw it to the side.

...

The detection devices used by the Earthquake Rescue Team were the same as those used by the Firefighting team.

Every 10 minutes, Fang Huai would insert the life detection probe into a crevice of the ruins, asking everyone to stop their movements and tap a brick.

This was everyone’s only break.

If they received a response, they would continue working feverishly.

At five-thirty, a nearby Rescue Team let out cries of excitement.

"We see someone! We see someone!"

"The fourth one! Alive!"

"Hang in there, kid! We’ll get you out soon!"

The Rescue Team surrounding the spot erupted in shouts, their faces beaming with satisfaction, like a father waiting at the delivery room door, receiving a newborn child.

A group of parents hurried over to identify their child.

Fang Huai also stood up and stretched his neck to look over there.

Seeing a member of the Rescue Team already squeezing into that gap, he realized no help was needed, so he continued to bow his head and move the stones.

Both sides were crucial; the slope was getting lower and lower, and the signals of sound from inside were getting stronger and stronger. It was easy to imagine the panic of teenagers who had been trapped in a confined space for over twenty hours.

We need to quickly open the space, at least so they can speak.

...

Twenty minutes later.

The sky had turned somewhat overcast.

"No, no, we need support here! And we have to cut the steel pipe, comrade!" a member of the Rescue Team yelled out.

Li Ziyang, who knew his name, also shouted, "Fang Huai!"

Fang Huai slowly straightened his aching legs.

"You go help them! We’ll carry on here!" people around him said.

Now the entire school had three sites being excavated, all detected with signs of life, gathering groups of people who were clearing the rubble in urgency.

Whenever there was an issue on one side, everyone would rush over to see if they could lend a hand.

Fang Huai leapt down the slope in two steps, wiped the mud and ash off his face with his sleeve, and jogged towards that side.

"What’s the situation?"

"The child is trapped at the very back, can’t move, it’s very narrow, and there’s a steel pipe blocking the way!" The person who had gone in to rescue came back out, shouting.

Upon hearing this, Fang Huai frowned and said, "You come out first, I’ll go in and have a look!"

With that, the two quickly swapped places.

Fang Huai turned on his headlamp and slowly entered through a side tunnel that everyone had dug out of the hillside.

The obstructions of bricks and stones meant he could only inch forward in a very awkward position.

Inside, it stank.

It was the smell of excrement, which signified luck.

If a person can defecate and urinate, it means they are still alive.

But how pitiable for a child to endure such a long time inside with that scent.

Even he found the rescue in the confined space somewhat uncomfortable.

By the time Fang Huai had managed to get most of his body inside, his headlamp shone on the child’s face.

The boy, around fifteen or sixteen years old, had some dried blood on his face. A rock was pressing against his cheek, trapping his face tightly. Any struggle would cause the rock to cut him.

Luckily, two steel pipes were wedged against a large stone, creating a small space for him to survive.

But unluckily, those two steel pipes were also blocking his way back to the world of light.

The child was lying on his side with his eyes closed.

However, feeling the light from Fang Huai’s headlamp, he seemed to regain some consciousness, his eyes slightly opened, with a hint of curiosity, wanting to turn more to see Fang Huai’s full appearance.

"Uncle..." the child, who was only a few years younger than Fang Huai, began weakly.

"Don’t move, don’t move!" Fang Huai quickly warned.

The child’s throat moved slightly, then he fell silent again.

Fang Huai could tell he desperately wanted to talk.

Being buried in the rubble meant oscillating between unconsciousness and alertness.

Unconsciousness brought bliss, perhaps even a pleasant dream, while consciousness was hell.

As he checked the steel pipes, he softly asked:

"What’s your name?"

"C... Jianqiang..."

"Chen Jianqiang?"

"... Cao... Uncle, I’m in pain..."

"Cao Jianqiang... Are your legs injured?"

"No... not injured, there’s someone below... I heard someone talking just now... it was a woman..."

The boy’s consciousness was already a bit blurry, but he said something that shocked Fang Huai.

Fang Huai hurriedly looked around, quickly retreated out, and shouted, "The child inside said, there’s someone else!"

Li Ziyang clapped his hands and immediately said, "I knew it! This height, it’s clearly the second floor! There could still be people on the first floor!"

However, Fang Huai touched his head and said, "It’s not enough to just brace the slabs and cut the steel pipes, you’re thinking about it wrong. I tapped it, and the slab is too brittle. The weight above is supported by the steel pipes, and even if we hold up the slab, it can’t withstand it.

We have to... figure something out from above.

I’m going to send a hydraulic jack in now to minimize the risk of collapse. If there are people below, we have to completely move this pile of rubble."

After saying this, he looked to the other side.

Over there, the same problem might exist.

The Earthquake Rescue Team members expressed their difficulties:

"We don’t have enough people... We can move the stuff above, but who’s willing to open this hole? Confined space rescue is very difficult!

But with just the few of us, to rescue the children, it’s impossible without a whole day!"

Fang Huai looked around.

On the streets outside, there were still voices shouting.

At that moment in the town, probably not a single teammate was idle.

"Get more of the public to come help, I’ll also ask my teammates," Fang Huai said, picking up the two-way radio which was reserved for urgent matters only, cranking up the volume, and said.

"Instructor Cao, Instructor Cao, this is Fang Huai, at Hanwang Middle School, can anyone come over to support?"

No one responded.

Fang Huai frowned and repeated, "Instructor Cao, Instructor Cao."

"Z... The high-ranking officer is here, wait a moment, he’ll be quick."

Fang Huai couldn’t help but pick up the radio and yell.

"No high-ranking officer should delay the rescue! It’s an emergency! At least three students here are waiting to be saved!"

There was silence again from the other end.

Fang Huai contained his anger and quickly had the Earthquake Rescue Team arrange for people to go find help. Then, he picked up the hydraulic jack, ready to re-enter the hole and prop up the space.

About a minute later, Cao Yi’s voice came through.

"Fang Huai, Fang Huai, where are you?"

Fang Huai had just reached the entrance of the hole, but again, somewhat irritated, he backed out and sat down on the ground, picking up the radio to reply:

"Hanwang Middle School! We need three glucose injections!"

"Received, received, reinforcements are on their way!"

Fang Huai’s expression finally softened a bit, and he re-entered the hole, carefully placed the only jack he had, and propped up the longest slab inside.

Watching the child start to doze off again, he couldn’t help but extend his hand between the steel pipes and reached out to check the boy’s breathing.

Unexpectedly, those eyes opened slightly again.

"Uncle... I’m holding on..."

Fang Huai’s nose tingled with emotion, and he forgot all the consoling techniques he had studied in psychology books. In a gentle and assuring voice, he kept saying, "Good, good, hold on, Uncle will come to rescue you soon!"

Just then, he heard shouts from outside, getting closer and closer.

"121! 121!"

"Speed up the pace!"