If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong - Chapter 77
Chapter 77: The Twenty-Eighth Day
The main roads leading to the earthquake zone were blocked, impassable. Rescue workers could only access the area by helicopter, but the designated landing zone was still some distance from the actual epicenter.
So, Cheng Liu and the others had to transfer to vehicles.
With the persistent rain and the sudden aftershock, the lead military vehicle signaled for all vehicles to retreat.
Time was of the essence. The heavy rain obscured their vision. The vehicles behind couldn't clearly see the red flag, so the soldier in the passenger seat jumped out, running back through the rain, shouting at the top of his lungs, “The road ahead has collapsed! Retreat! Everyone retreat!”
Already on high alert, everyone immediately reversed upon hearing the warning.
As the vehicles retreated, the ground continued to shake, everyone’s hearts pounding.
But they were too late. The front half of the lead military truck had already sunk into the collapsing road, stuck and unable to move.
Cheng Liu, unbuckling her seatbelt, stood up and saw the rear wheels of the military truck still spinning, the driver clearly trying to free the vehicle.
“That truck’s not going anywhere,” Cheng Liu said, frowning, walking towards the bus door. She told the driver to open the door. “Keep reversing. I’ll get them out.”
The driver, looking at Cheng Liu, instinctively opened the door.
As Cheng Liu got off, He Bai silently followed.
“What are you doing?” Feng Shi, gritting his teeth, followed as well. Cheng Liu was his responsibility. She couldn’t get hurt.
Cheng Liu ignored them both, running through the pouring rain towards the military truck, already drenched before she even reached it. The front half of the truck had sunk, and she could barely see the driver inside, still trying to accelerate out.
“Abandon the vehicle!” Cheng Liu shouted.
The soldier inside, seeing someone outside, quickly rolled down the window: “Don’t stand there! It’s dangerous!”
“Get out,” Cheng Liu said, looking at the young soldier. He looked even younger than Cheng Gui.
“I have a truck full of supplies. I can’t leave them,” the young soldier said, unwilling to abandon his vehicle.
“The first batch of supplies has already been delivered. They don’t need this truckload,” Cheng Liu said, wiping the rain from her face. “Get out, now!”
“A lot of supplies have been delivered?” the young soldier asked, looking at Cheng Liu.
“Yes,” Cheng Liu said firmly. “Have you heard of Dongchu Hotels? Their CEO delivered the first batch, even before the aftershock, a large amount.”
“CEO Cheng,” He Bai called out, having caught up.
Feng Shi, seeing the cracks forming on the road, shouted, “Cheng Liu! Get over here! The road’s about to collapse!”
“You go first,” Cheng Liu said to He Bai.
He Bai shook his head: “We’ll go together.”
Cheng Liu, turning back to the soldier: “If you get out now, you can deliver more supplies.”
The young soldier looked around, then finally made a move.
Cheng Liu and He Bai backed away, watching as he jumped out of the truck.
“Hurry!” Feng Shi shouted.
They ran towards Feng Shi, but halfway there, they heard the rumbling of the collapsing road behind them.
The young soldier turned around. His truck was gone.
“Let’s go,” Cheng Liu said, pulling him along, towards the bus.
“Are you crazy? Your life is more important than a truck!” Feng Shi shouted as they ran. “You could have died trying to save some supplies!”
“CEO Feng, you’re spitting,” Cheng Liu said helpfully.
Feng Shi instinctively wiped his mouth: “…It’s just rain!”
Cheng Liu laughed, the first to reach the bus.
All four of them climbed back on board, the driver relieved.
The young soldier, finally regaining his composure, thanked Cheng Liu.
“When did you arrive?” Cheng Liu asked, still dripping wet. The project manager handed her a towel from his bag.
“A few hours ago,” the young soldier replied.
He had arrived after the aftershock, a low-ranking soldier following orders, unaware of the situation in the disaster zone.
Cheng Liu handed the towel to the young soldier: “You haven’t been inside yet?” If he had, he would have known about the delivered supplies.
The young soldier shook his head: “No. I’m from this area, familiar with the roads, so they sent me.” He had only had time to hear directions from those returning, nothing else.
“Are there really a lot of supplies inside?” the young soldier asked again, worried about his family.
“Have you heard of Shenyin Technology?” Feng Shi asked, pointing at Cheng Liu. “They and Ranshan delivered two batches of supplies an hour before the aftershock, enough for immediate relief. The main concern now is rescuing people.”
The young soldier looked at Cheng Liu, finally recognizing her from TV. She was the founder of Shenyin Technology.
“CEO Cheng,” He Bai said, handing her another towel.
Cheng Liu wiped her face and hair. The tremors seemed to have stopped, and people on the bus were asking if the aftershock was over.
All vehicles had retreated to an open area, stopping only after the tremors had completely subsided.
The rain had also lessened.
Several drivers got off, along with the soldier who had jumped from the truck earlier. They walked around, assessing the situation, trying to find a safe route.
“Several alternate routes are blocked by mudslides.”
“We’ll have to go back and get help clearing the roads.”
The doctors on the bus, unable to wait any longer, rushed out: “We can’t go back! We have to get in there! The patients are waiting for our equipment! We can’t delay any longer!”
“But we can’t get through. The roads are blocked,” one of the drivers said, frowning, cursing the weather under his breath.
“We’ll have to use helicopters,” Feng Shi said helplessly. “We can airlift the medical equipment and the robots.”
“We can’t go back,” the young soldier said, having climbed onto the bus roof for a better view, jumping back down. “The road behind us has collapsed as well.”
“Are we trapped here?” one of the doctors asked anxiously. They had brought essential equipment that could save lives if they could get there in time.
“Can we contact the people at the landing zone?” He Bai asked Feng Shi.
Feng Shi, checking his phone: “No signal.”
Cheng Liu, looking out the window, saw they were back at the square where they had stopped earlier, the collapsed tower nearby. She opened the map photos on her phone, tracing the routes, comparing them with their current location.
Almost all the main roads were blocked, the heavily marked routes on the map impassable.
Cheng Liu zoomed in on the map and noticed a faint line, likely drawn in pencil.
She traced it carefully, then, using the photo editing tool, highlighted it in red. Turning to the window, she called out to the young soldier.
“Do you know this route?” Cheng Liu asked, showing him her phone.
The young soldier studied the map for a moment, then said, “I haven’t taken this route before, but it should lead to the earthquake zone. It’s…not an easy road.”
“If it’s passable, we’ll try it,” Cheng Liu said.
“I’ll go tell the others,” the young soldier said, taking her phone and explaining the route.
After a brief discussion, everyone agreed to try it. No one wanted to wait.
“Even locals might not know this route,” the young soldier said to Cheng Liu after returning to the bus. “It’s rarely used.”
Rarely used meant rarely maintained. The conditions would be treacherous.
But as they slowly proceeded, the road wasn’t as bad as they had feared. The mudslides hadn't reached this area, and there were only a few cracks in the road.
The only problem was its narrowness, barely wide enough for a truck.
Cheng Liu’s phone, after being passed around for the drivers to take photos of the map, was returned to her. She looked down at the screen, still no signal, feeling strangely disconnected. She had grown accustomed to messaging Ji Chaozhou every morning and night. Now, it felt like they hadn’t seen each other in ages.
Cheng Liu scrolled through her photo album. Apart from the photos taken by the entertainment reporter, she didn't have any photos of Ji Chaozhou, only a few where his hand had accidentally appeared.
She clicked on one of the photos, staring at Ji Chaozhou’s hand, lost in thought.
She had kissed his palm before. It had carried a faint fragrance, different from Midu, yet just as pleasant.
The bus bumped along. Several times, everyone had to get off and help clear the road of fallen trees and rocks.
At 5:16 pm, the core members of Shenyin Technology and Keda Technology, along with the doctors and their equipment, finally arrived at the temporary rescue point in the earthquake zone.
“CEO Cheng, go change your clothes,” He Bai said, bringing over her suitcase and his own.
“You go first. Leave the suitcases here,” Cheng Liu said, pointing at the project manager and Zou Pan. “You two can go with the Keda team to prepare the robots.”
They both nodded.
Cheng Liu took her suitcase and went to the temporary shelter to change, quickly drying her hair with a towel before coming back out.
He Bai was already waiting. He handed her a raincoat: “Wear this. It might rain again tonight.”
Cheng Liu put on the raincoat, adjusting the hood: “Get some rest. I’ll be back soon. We’ll go see Feng Shi together.”
“Where are you going, CEO Cheng?” He Bai asked instinctively.
“Just nearby. I’ll be back soon,” Cheng Liu said, hurrying away.
She wanted to check on the Ranshan fleet. They had lost contact earlier, and she wanted to make sure they were safe.
Although the temporary rescue point was bustling, Cheng Liu quickly found the fleet.
Only one driver was sitting outside a tent when she arrived.
Cheng Liu approached him and realized he was one of the drivers from S City.
“We’re fine. We had just unloaded the supplies when the aftershock hit. A few tents collapsed, but thankfully no one was hurt,” the driver said, his hand shaking as he lit a cigarette. “It’s a shame we’re stuck here. We could have transported more supplies.”
“The road will be cleared soon,” Cheng Liu reassured him.
The driver suddenly remembered something: “I need to tell our boss that three of our trucks were commandeered. They’re blocking the road to the rescue point, preventing mudslides.”
“I’ll inform Ranshan when communication is restored,” Cheng Liu said.
After a brief conversation, having confirmed that all the drivers were safe, Cheng Liu turned to leave.
Just as she took a few steps, her phone started vibrating.
—Communication had been restored!
Cheng Liu quickly checked her phone. Several missed calls, from Cheng Gui, Li Dong, and even Ji Mushan.
She didn't call them back, checking her WeChat messages instead. There were messages from the same people.
Cheng Gui: [Sister, I passed!]
Cheng Gui: [Sister, why aren't you home?]
Cheng Gui: [Sister, you’re in Z Province?!]
Li Dong: [Cheng Liu, are you crazy? Why are you in the disaster zone?]
Li Dong: [Stay safe.]
…
Cheng Liu replied to each message, assuring them of her safety, then finally opened the pinned contact at the top.
Ji Chaozhou had only sent a few photos of the food on the dining table, nothing else.
Boyfriend: [Having dinner.]
A smile appeared on Cheng Liu’s face. She typed a few replies, deleted them, then finally sent a single message: [Looks delicious.]
A few minutes later, Ji Chaozhou sent a voice message.
Cheng Liu raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he had sent her a voice message.
She clicked on it and listened.
His clear, pleasant voice came through: “Wait for you to come back and eat.”
The last word was so soft, almost a whisper, easily missed.
Ermmm why did I get butterflies from that 😳😳
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