Chapter 158: Chapter 158
The first to be rescued were the young couple holding each other, the girl still wearing an exquisite wedding dress.
Both were in a coma, but since Dragonfly didn’t indicate any danger, they were quickly carried outside.
Next was the pregnant woman at the very bottom.
Once the person was visible, the metallic Dragonfly quickly ascended again, splitting its screen into five to scan the buried people closest to the rescue team...
But this time, three of the scanned images were overlaid with large grey words—
When the pregnant woman was finally carried out with much effort, the captain fell completely silent.
His throat seemed clogged with lead, gazing at the screen and the hovering Dragonfly, his eyes were red, not knowing what to say.
After a long while, he restrained his emotions and took out the walkie-talkie:
"Team Two, Team Three, find any usable electronic devices, Rescue Dragonfly will project the condition of victims in real-time, follow Dragonfly’s instructions."
During his announcement, the images of those marked as deceased were quickly replaced by other victims, and the voice of Rescue Dragonfly remained cold yet gentle:
[In the current scene, prioritize rescuing survivors, deceased states will not be scanned]
Time passed by the second.
The sky transitioned from gloomy to nightfall.
By 8:00 PM, all the survivors across the six floors of the building recorded by Rescue Dragonfly had been evacuated.
The area beneath the locust trees was long insufficient for placement, so they sought an open-air stadium nearby to resettle people.
When the last little girl was carried up from the deep underground by rescuers on the big screen, the captain, exhausted, was leaning against a stone pillar of the building, his blood-soaked gloves could no longer be taken off, so he just left them there.
Dust and tears overlapped on his face, the dust mixing with tears left a dark, grey, red pattern, with only his bright eyes visible.
Looking at the silent and dark scene before him, he couldn’t help but clench his teeth and cry.
Afraid of spreading his emotions to everyone, though his heart ached terribly, he didn’t dare to make any sound. Chapters first released on ɴovelfire.net
The captain, a stout man, sat there silently trembling, only a slight, uncontrollable sob reflected his inner pain.
——A man seldom cries, unless he’s heartbroken.
The sky was completely darkened, the remaining fuel in the generator was no longer enough to support lighting, so the rescuers had to light fires around to maintain illumination.
And since the supplies had not yet arrived, they could only gather any edible food on site, mixing it with some compressed biscuits they carried, boiling water to distribute among everyone.
At this moment, no one fussed about the simple environment, nor did they complain about the sticky and unappetizing food; the medical personnel had already collapsed on the ground, and their hands holding crude paper bowls were trembling.
As for the rescuers...
They leaned against each other, their gloves smeared with indistinguishable blood and flesh, every cell in their body screamed exhaustion, making it impossible to stand up.
After all, high-efficiency rescue means high-intensity work; for a full 9 hours of rescue, plus a 2-hour rescue route, they hadn’t had a chance to sit down and take a breath for 11 hours straight.
Now, with swollen legs and cramped feet, they were too exhausted to lift them.
The captain, with no choice left, could only order a half-hour rest on the spot.
After a half-hour break, they would still need to muster the strength to continue searching for survivors in the surrounding areas.
One of the key contributors to today’s rescue, Little Yellow, was also completely spent for the entire day, but he didn’t chatter today; he only cried twice at the start.
Later on, even with trembling hands and staggering legs, he still gritted his teeth to do what he could.
In this short day, his mind was blank, yet his entire soul had a new brightness.
At this moment, he too couldn’t eat anything, lying on the ground in a stupor.
Besides, with so many elderly, women, children, and injured on site, and the supplies so limited, even drinking water was barely sufficient from collecting mineral water on site...
A young man like him could skip a meal or two without consequence.
Looking into the starless night sky, his cracked lips moved, making a faint sound.