Chapter 533: Demolition (1)

Baifeng patted Chi on the shoulder: "Go and say goodbye to your family quickly; we are setting off immediately."

Chi nodded, then strode toward his home. The days of heavy rain had kept all the students at home, and classes had been suspended for a long time. Chi's eldest son, Juxiang, also had the goal of joining the army in the future because, like his father, he was not very bright. Fortunately, he had a good father; although his grades were always at the bottom, he still persisted in attending school to learn more.

Chi had thirteen children in total, sons and daughters. The ones he liked best were Juxiang and his sixth son, Congfeng, because the sixth son's current performance was better than that of his other siblings. Although his studies were not at the top, they were above average. For a family of dull-witted people, having one who was suddenly clever naturally made him more favored.

Of course, there was no question of Congfeng not being his biological son, because looking at his appearance, he resembled Chi quite a bit. Naturally, this also resulted in him not being very good-looking.

Chi felt there was not much to say to his family. Returning home and seeing everyone there, he just said briefly: "I am going on a mission. Juxiang, take good care of the family and be sure to listen to the King's arrangements."

Although Juxiang felt it was a bit abrupt, he still nodded in agreement and said earnestly: "I will take good care of the family."

Chi scanned his family with satisfaction, then scratched his head. Having nothing left to say, he immediately turned back and hurried toward the military camp.

Xiong gathered everyone and told them loudly: "This mission is extremely dangerous. It is very likely that you will die there, but this is to save all the people of Huaxia. This is your mission; it is what you ought to do. Now, I need sixty people to form a team to head upstream, find the Quake Lake, and blow it open. Who wants to go? Take a step forward!"

The Soldiers were just stunned for a moment, and then many of them stepped forward one after another. Most were young men who had just enlisted. The education they received at school and in the army was that the country comes first in everything. Sacrificing for the country was glorious, so although they were afraid, they still stood out firmly.

Seeing this, the others also gathered their courage and took a step forward; not a single person in the entire army retreated. "Good, you are all warriors. I am very happy, and I believe the people of Huaxia will also be happy. But this time, besides having courage, you must know how to adapt to circumstances and have the ability to do so."

Xiong's gaze swept over the crowd: "Those with more than five years of military service, step out!"

Those young men were forced to stay behind. Xiong stated the conditions again: "Those who have not yet had children, or have children who have not yet started school, take a step back!"

A portion of the men hesitated but still stepped back. However, there were still over a thousand people who had stepped out—all veterans of Huaxia.

Xiong's gaze was firm, and finally, he shouted: "Those who have had the experience of leading a team of over two hundred people on a mission, take a step forward!"

At this, there were only a few dozen people left, scattered about. These were the elites of Huaxia. Xiong knew these men were not easily trained, so he picked ten who looked slightly older and let the rest go back. Afterward, he selected other elites he knew who were excellent in all aspects to fill the ranks.

At this time, Chi also trotted back to join the team. Xiong told them again: "This time, Chi is leading the team. You will act under his command. When you reach the site, listen to the Workers during the operation; they have more experience than you."

The demolition team, or one could call them a suicide squad, replied firmly that they had received the order. Because time was tight and the Ministry of Works had already selected the people and prepared the Bombs, they could not afford to delay any longer.

The Soldiers gave a military salute to the demolition team, and Xiong organized the formation and ran with long strides to rendezvous with the Ministry of Works.

Baifeng wanted to give more instructions, but he could not delay any longer. Zhu also had a very serious expression, lacking his usual cheerful smile. He guaranteed to Baifeng repeatedly that these four Workers were the first to come into contact with Explosives and had used Explosives to blast through mountains; they were absolutely the most experienced in all of Huaxia.

At this moment, Baifeng did not want to say any empty or boastful words. He promised everyone directly that if they succeeded in their mission, regardless of whether they returned alive or not, he would bestow a surname upon them. From then on, they would be Nobles with surnames.

This promise was much more useful than rewarding them with food. Everyone seemed to have more energy, so they were immediately told to mount the oxen and advance rapidly. Although the mountain forest paths were difficult to traverse, the oxen could pass through, and their speed could be a bit faster.

Chi led the way at the front. The huge Explosive Packs they carried on their backs were all wrapped in Tung Oil cloth and covered with animal hides on the outside, for fear of them getting wet or damp.

The water level of the Dahe was still dropping. Chi and his men did not even dare to eat or rest on the road; they just kept moving forward along the riverbank while carefully listening for any movement upstream.

They did not feel they had reached the place until they arrived at a mountain pass. They traveled a bit further and discovered that because of a landslide, there was no way forward; the oxen could not get through.

So they tied the oxen in a higher location and prepared to go on foot.

Half of the mountain had shifted; earth, stone, and trees were clogging the river channel. Moreover, this was a backwater bay where the water was quite deep and the current had slowed down significantly.

At a gap that had not been completely blocked, water was still trickling out. The clods of earth on the ground were taller than a person. They could only jump forward on these large clods of earth to see what the situation was at the edge of the dam.

On the slopes on both sides, earth would fall down with a "swish-la-la" sound from time to time; sometimes it was huge chunks of earth, and it happened quite frequently.

The trees were already lying horizontally on the ground, undoubtedly providing the best reinforcement material for the dam body that formed the Quake Lake.

The sound of the water sounded very calm, but one could hear the "creak-creak" sound of wood snapping. Everyone's heart was very panicked, but they still forcibly calmed their own emotions.

Chi still charged forward without fear of anything. They climbed to the higher side of the steep dam body. One could see the water level still rising continuously. The original grassland had turned into a lake. This Quake Lake looked even more terrifying than the lake where they fished; the water quality was turbid, with broken wood floating inside, and occasionally the carcass of a wild beast would surface.

Because it was a backwater bay, there was a whirlpool in the center of the lake that kept spinning. Chi only saw the vastness of the dam body, and the lake water was still rising continuously, already exceeding half of the dam body. Chi did not know how to blow it up, so he asked the Workers to quickly come up with an idea.

One Worker walked forward a little further, cautiously, and kept poking the ground with a stick. It was not until he tripped and almost fell into the lake that he lay flat on the dam, waiting for his soul—which had almost flown away—to return, and only then did he slowly get up and walk back.

Afterward, the few of them discussed continuously, pointing at the lake, drawing something on the ground, and arguing endlessly.