Chapter 677: 667 Piercing the Azure Sky

A large aftershock, the walls made creaking sounds.

Zheng Renhe and Su Yun's faces turned pale; although this space had lead walls for support, it absolutely could not withstand another aftershock of magnitude 6 or higher.

Just after sending a patient out, the new patient had not yet been brought in; in the cramped space, only Zheng Renhe and Su Yun were present, which could be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

At the very least, we don't need to worry about the patients' safety; we just need to protect ourselves.

This way, the chance of survival increased… but not by much.

Zheng Renhe and Su Yun's movements were almost identical; they both dove into the corner of the wall that looked the sturdiest.

Afterwards, they looked at each other, and no one spoke.

Fear and anxiety dominated the place; although Zheng Renhe and Su Yun were performing surgery despite great danger, it did not mean they were not afraid.

Zheng Ren could only hide in the corner, constantly reassuring himself that with the Luck +12 attribute, he would surely be fine.

Su Yun, meanwhile, looked at the shaking walls with fear mixed with curiosity, listening to the roar from the mantle like a tsunami, and couldn't help but feel dazed.

Gradually, the two calmed down.

At most it's just death; having come to terms with it, it's not that hard to accept.

Although Zheng Ren's mind was full of Xie Yiren, Su Yun regretted not having won a Nobel Prize yet, but what could be done?

The strong aftershock soon ended, leaving only weaker aftershocks that kept occurring one after another.

The already flimsy building had another chunk collapse, landing right in front of the small ventilation window. Although one could previously see a glimmer of outside light, now nothing was visible.

Dust filled the room, making breathing very difficult.

"Boss, we seem to have survived again." Su Yun said softly, looking at the dark space. Her voice was ethereal, like a ghost's.

Zheng Ren wanted to smile; although no one could see it, this smile was for himself, and for the distant Xie Yiren.

Being able to survive and see tomorrow's sun—shouldn't we celebrate?

"Seems so." Zheng Ren said.

"Zheng Ren, Su Yun!" As the strong aftershock passed, shouting came from outside. It was Zhao Yunlong, who called out at the first moment.

The voice was muffled, low and distant, like the heart sound during cardiac tamponade.

"What are you howling for, Yun Ge'er won't die!" Su Yun stood up and shook off the dust on her.

"The ventilation opening is blocked; we'll clear it now—you two hurry out." Hearing Su Yun's voice, Zhao Yunlong even retorted himself, which meant both were surely fine.

"Don't rush, bring the next patient in." Zheng Ren said.

"There aren't any for now!" Zhao Yunlong said.

Hmm, this fast? Zheng Ren had done surgeries until he was dazed; who still bothered to count how many patients had been operated on and how many still needed surgery?

They're done—what great news.

Zheng Ren also didn't want to perform surgery in this grave-like place; if he were instantly crushed to death, that would be easier to say. But if trapped, without heavy machinery, he'd be slowly starved to death…

Forget it, don't dwell on these; better to think of something happy.

Outside, people quickly cleared the stones blocking the ventilation opening, making a path for Zheng Ren and Su Yun to crawl out.

Fortunately, although the aftershock was strong, the building didn't collapse; it was just clearing some debris, not a big problem.

Half an hour later, Zheng Ren and Su Yun crawled out.

After performing surgery for seven or eight hours in this grave-like place, now crawling out and breathing fresh air, even the raindrops seemed delightful.

"How are the wounded?" Zheng Ren took a few breaths, quickly regained his strength, and asked.

"The helicopter came twice more, taking away all the critically wounded." Zhao Yunlong obviously felt much less pressure, laughing as he said: "The colonel kept asking where you were; I told him you were doing surgery underground in the ruins. If it weren't for the tight schedule and heavy workload, he'd have wanted to come see you."

Zheng Ren recalled the driver with a full beard; it turned out he was the colonel, a high rank.

No wonder Su Yun looked at me with that gaze, as if not recognizing the colonel's insignia was strange.

"The main force is just a mountain away; after that, heavy equipment will be brought up, and they're clearing the road." Zhao Yunlong's voice sounded cheerful, full of hope.

Everything was developing toward the better; Zheng Ren let out a breath.

It seemed the possibility of leaving alive was growing greater.

To live, to continue living—this is the best thing, bar none.

The sound of the rotor blades came again from afar, and Zheng Ren's spirit was shaken.

Even if the main force advances, only manpower can bring in urgently needed supplies, and the work of searching for survivors will be a bit faster.

As long as the road remains blocked, the task of transferring critically wounded who need urgent ICU care will definitely still have to be done by helicopter.

Being able to hear the rotor blades' sound is truly good.

The rain gradually stopped. A helicopter's light appeared in the night sky, like the morning star, bringing endless hope.

Zheng Ren hurriedly wrote each patient's condition summary and later treatment suggestions, put them in plastic bags, and attached them to the patients.

By the time he finished, Zhao Yunlong and the others had already moved the supplies brought by the helicopter and began lifting the patients onto it.

Zheng Ren walked up to the helicopter with a cheerful step, wanting to chat again with the bearded driver and ask whether the transferred patients had all been sent to Huaxi.

Also, have the nephrology doctors arrived yet? And the dialysis machine…

Countless questions, countless expectations.

But when he arrived at the helicopter, he didn't see the bearded driver; this time it was a thirtysomething middle-aged man.

Zheng Ren approached; the helicopter's rotor blades roared, and one had to shout to be heard.

After briefing the new pilot, Zheng Ren felt unaccustomed. As a late-stage face-blind patient, seeing a familiar face would certainly be a happy thing.

Amid the roaring of the rotor blades, that side had already loaded the critically wounded onto the helicopter.

Zheng Ren gave a military salute and shouted loudly: "Give my regards to the colonel!"

His voice carried through the roar; the driver returning the salute blinked, his face instantly darkening a bit.

Zheng Ren saw his change, and a gloom settled over his heart.

"The regiment commander died an hour ago." The driver said with a grim face: "From now on, I'll handle this town's mission. If someone else takes over, that means I'll have died too."

After speaking, he turned and left, his eyes a sheet of blood‑red.

The helicopter flew off, amidst light rain, amidst patches of thick fog that wouldn't clear, it flew away.

Zheng Ren dazedly watched the lights on the helicopter's tail, stunned for a long time.

"Boss, what's wrong?" Su Yun saw Zheng Ren's condition was off, stepped closer and asked.

"Nothing." Zheng Ren shook his head, watching the helicopter depart.

Watching the helicopter struggle to fly in the rain, Zheng Ren remained silent. He slowly raised his right arm, gave a military salute. Then he extended his right fist, thrusting straight toward the heavens.