Journey to Happy Ending

Chapter 1535 The Earthquake Relief (Part Two)

After receiving the order, Kevin had no time to prepare before leaving for the rescue mission with the

soldiers. Disembarking from the military aircraft, he saw that the disaster was more tragic than he could

have imagined. There were collapsed houses and other evidence of the tsunami's devastation

everywhere. Many victims were shocked and cried silently. This natural disaster irked him.

Without taking the time to calm down, he threw himself into the intense rescue efforts. In the aftermath

of the tsunami, the cement of collapsed houses had solidified with the debris, which complicated

rescue work. Moreover, they had to guard against the constant aftershocks.

Bad weather often presented a major obstacle to rescue efforts. Though he was a major general, Kevin

wasn't a commander who hid behind the soldiers and did nothing. Instead, he worked with his men,

removing big stones with shovels, and even at times with his bare hands.

"Major General, you will get injured if you continue in this way. Let me do it!" Lee pleaded with Kevin,

worried. They were all wearing raincoats, but these didn't really work. In addition, the temperature in

early spring was still very low, so their numb fingers weren't dexterous or quick in action.

"Never mind that. Our first priority is to rescue the people. Don't worry about me." Kevin took off his

raincoat to facilitate more flexibility in his work. The soldiers quickly followed his example.

Aftershocks threatened every earthquake-stricken area from time to time, and it held true here. What

was worse, compared with other earthquake-stricken areas, there was an additional risk here -

tsunami.

The rescue operations couldn't be carried out on the streets where flooding had not receded, because

they simply couldn't reach those areas to find out whether there were people still buried in the ruins.

It had been a day since their arrival. The aftershocks occurred occasionally, and they hadn't made

much obvious progress. They had just escaped another aftershock, and adrenalin was running high.

"Protect yourselves during the rescue work. You must be very careful." Kevin was soaked to the skin.

The wind picked up, and he could feel the chill in the air on his damp body. All the soldiers looked like

drowned mice.

"Yes, Major General!" The soldiers answered loudly, despite their exhaustion.

Kevin took a deep breath. His handsome face was streaked with mud and rain, and his grimy eyes

showed deep sadness. Many of the people they rescued had weak vital signs and perished before they

could be taken to safety. This was devastating for the soldiers, because they believed that they came

too late.

"Let's check again. If nothing is found here, we'll move on to the next sector." In addition to Kevin's unit,

there were officers, soldiers and volunteers from all over the country. Even so, they seemed like a mere

drop in the relief bucket.

"Major General, there seem to be signs of life here." The detector showed that there was a survivor still

trapped underground.

"Hurry up! Everybody comes to help! We have to be as careful as possible when digging. Avoid

causing a second collapse. It'll endanger the person trapped inside the rubble." Kevin's fighting will was

aroused. In his eyes, every life was priceless and he would take their rescue seriously.

The soldiers carefully and quickly dug downwards. Whenever a little gap was cleared out, they would

shout loudly to get a response from the survivor inside, so as to determine a more accurate position for

a safer and faster rescue.

"It seems to be an old granny. What do we do? It may be difficult for her to move." The soldiers looked

at Kevin for orders.

"Well, let's dig the gap bigger, and see if we can get to her," Kevin said with a frown. The buried person

would suffer more, if they delayed for much longer. Moreover, if an aftershock occurred, it could fill the

gap they had just excavated again. Then the old granny's position underground would be even more

perilous.

After nearly half an hour of careful digging, the entrance was finally widened, but there was an

additional problem: the old granny couldn't move, so she couldn't climb out of the tunnel they had dug

by herself. Someone would have to go in to rescue her.

"I'll go down." Kevin decided without hesitation.

"No, Major General! Let me go down." The soldiers didn't want their commanding officer to go down, so

they volunteered themselves. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

"Stop. Follow my order. Prepare the rope, so that I can tie the old granny to my back after I get to her,"

Kevin admonished them. Every life was precious. He wouldn't command his soldiers to do such a

dangerous thing.

"But Major General, it's very dangerous." Despite Kevin's instruction, the soldiers refused to accept his

decision.

"No more talking! You have my order. Now obey it. I'll go down first to assess the situation," Kevin said

as he carefully lowered himself through the narrow entrance. The soil was wet, and he found it difficult

to move downward through the tunnel. The soldiers watched him nervously, and held their breath,

afraid to even blink.

"Where is the major general?" Lee asked, not seeing Kevin upon his return from fetching some drinks

for everyone.

"He's inside the hole." The soldiers looked at each other, unsure who should tell Lee where their

commanding officer was.

"What? How could you let him go down there alone? Don't you see how dangerous it is?" Lee became

nervous upon hearing that Kevin had climbed into the ruins.

"We wanted to go in, but he refused. He decided to go in alone." Ashamed, the soldiers lowered their

heads. They regretted not stopping Kevin.

"Forget it! Let's focus." Lee was very upset. If he had been here, this wouldn't have happened.

Kevin crawled with difficulty inside the ruins. One place was blocked off by a big stone, so it was all but

impossible to move, but at last, after some wiggling, he reached the old granny.

"Grandma, how are you? Are you hurt?" Kevin asked the old granny, concerned as soon as he saw

her.

"I think that my feet are crushed, and I have some other minor injuries. Thank you for coming to save

me!" The old granny was in her sixties. She was relieved to see Kevin. After being buried for a day and

a night, she was finally saved.

"It's what we do, Granny. Now, we have to find a way to get you out of here." Kevin looked around. The

place where the old granny lay was somewhat protected by a large prefabricated board, which was

why she had survived.

"Major General, what's going on down there?" Lee's voice came over the radio. He sounded worried.

"Lee, ask the soldiers to prepare a board for one person to lie on. Then make a few holes to tie her to

the board, and let the soldiers hold the rope. The passage down here is too narrow, so we can't both

make it through at the same time. I will tie the old granny onto the board, and you can pull her out."

Kevin calmly gave the orders. If the old granny's feet had not been injured, she could have climbed out

using the rope. But she couldn't move now, so this wasn't an option.

"Okay. I see. I'll get everything ready right away!" Lee didn't dare to delay, and rushed to find what was

necessary. Fortunately, it was an easy task, because many of the things he needed were at the

ambulance station.

The waiting felt long, and the old granny was scared. Kevin spoke to her encouragingly while studying

the debris around them.

"Major General, I've got everything ready. Now, I am going to push the board down carefully." Lee said

as he began pushing down the board he had just made, but it was difficult for the board to make the

descent. Kevin didn't wait idle; instead, he returned to the place with the big stone, that he had

previously passed, and eased the board down.

"Grandma, I'll lift you onto the board and secure you with a rope. Then they can pull you out," Kevin

explained to the old granny. He was afraid that she wouldn't understand and become panicked.

"Okay. That sounds like a good plan." The old granny had been buried for a long time, but she seemed

to be mentally equipped, and had coped well with everything that had happened. She didn't object to

Kevin's arrangements.

Kevin carefully lifted the old granny onto the board, and then tied her to it with the rope he had brought

down with him. He was careful to tie her in such a way that she could grasp the rope for support.

"Okay, you can pull up!" Kevin commanded the soldiers on the ground above over his radio.

As the old granny was slowly pulled free, Kevin prepared to climb up. However, as he started his

ascent, the ground suddenly began shaking violently. An aftershock at the critical moment of his

escape!