CH 8

With wind and rain came lightning, Zhao Anping and his group arrived at the dike of Changpai Village, not far away, trudging through the muddy ground.

It was pitch black all around, nothing was visible, and the flashlight could only illuminate a short distance before being swallowed by the darkness.

"Turn off the flashlight," Zhao Anping commanded.

With the only source of light gone, absolute darkness descended.

After a few minutes, when everyone's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, they could vaguely see some outlines, even though they still couldn't see their own hands in front of their faces.

"Get closer," Zhao Anping said.

Everyone's faces turned pale, the roar of the river was deafening, and if they got too close and the dike collapsed, they wouldn't be able to run away.

But the sheriff's authority was still there, and everyone moved forward a few steps.

Just then, a huge bolt of lightning struck the river, and the silver branches and twigs bent and twisted wildly, the power of heaven and earth rolling in and stopping everyone in their tracks.

When the lightning illuminated the whole world, Zhao Anping saw someone, running down from the 15-meter high dike as if flying.

"Lin Wen!" Zhao Anping shouted.

The man immediately looked up and saw Zhao Anping's group. When he turned on his headlamp, the powerful light immediately illuminated everyone.

It also illuminated his own face.

Yes, it was him!

Lin Wen, the mayor of Changle Town, the only town-level official under thirty in Changshan County, the youngest level six official in East Qin Prefecture in thirty years, and the official with the highest level jump in the Empire in twelve years.

Zhao Anping clenched his fists and didn't know what to say.

Lin Wen looked very surprised. He shouted, "Sheriff Zhao." But he immediately turned his head and pulled out two steel cages filled with stones from the pile of supplies, which were not on the dike.

Due to the lighting problem, Zhao Anping didn't see the size of the two steel cages filled with stones and didn't know that each one weighed 800 kilograms.

He didn't even notice this detail and asked, "What are you doing here, Lin Wen? How is the dike?"

Lin Wen didn't turn his head and just picked up the steel cage and walked away. "I'm doing disaster relief. The dike is in danger, and I don't know if I can save it."

"How many people are doing disaster relief? Are the supplies enough?" Zhao Anping asked.

Lin Wen replied, "One person is doing disaster relief, and the supplies are enough."

One person?

Zhao Anping couldn't believe his ears. What was the point of one person doing disaster relief?

Little Zhang, the secretary next to him, was so scared that his legs trembled. He said in a trembling voice, "Sheriff! Let's go! We can't defend this place!"

"Yeah," another person chimed in. "Little Lin is a hero. He's guarding the dike alone, which proves that the dike can't be saved. He's doing his duty to the end."

"Yeah, we have to do our duty too. We still have to protect the people."

The rain beat against their raincoats like streams, and Zhao Anping watched the rapidly shrinking light, the little spark moving up the dike at an incredible speed, and him running and throwing things with all his might in the pitch-black darkness like a giant black beast.

Suddenly he said, "I'll stay here."

"Sheriff!"

"I'll stay here," Zhao Anping repeated. "Watch the dike."

"If the dike collapses, I'll let you know, and you can quickly go back and evacuate the people."After a moment of silence, Zhao Anping continued with an unquestionable tone, "Xiao Zhang, go back and notify them to prepare. But don't panic, rest well and recover your strength. Maybe nothing will happen. Hu Ping, you three with the walkie-talkies, get ready and immediately relay the information back when it comes. The rest of you stay with them and don't lose anyone!"

"Go!"

In the darkness, only Zhao Anping was left soon. He looked at the distant faint light, which was swaying in the wind and rain. It was so small but seemed to be an eternal star that would never go out.

Unlike the tragic scene imagined by Zhao Anping, Lin Wen was in an unprecedented state of frenzy. He faced the thunder of the world in the storm as if he was fighting against the immortal gods. The flood was the means of the immortal gods' attack, and the embankment was his last line of defense.

He was guarding the embankment now, wasn't it the prelude to the imminent outbreak?

Lin Wen's blood was boiling, and the fatigue caused by the consecutive battles had long disappeared. The burden brought by the two consecutive uses of "Nine Bulls and Two Tigers" and "Seeing Without Eyes" with an extremely short interval seemed to be nonexistent.

He kept throwing sandbags and soil into a breach that was only two meters wide. Due to the perfect position of two reinforced stone cages, the breach was quickly blocked.

Lin Wen stepped on it with both feet and then ran towards another broken part.

At this time, the thunderstorm came, and lightning frequently fell from the sky. The roaring thunder came rolling and connected into a whole, not stopping for half a second. The universe was flashing like a broken camera, frequently flashing.

In this terrifying scene, the living creatures trembled, but Lin Wen laughed loudly, and the laughter echoed between heaven and earth, as if it was an indomitable will to fight.

Countless stones, soil, and sandbags were thrown into the breach, and the danger was quickly resolved.

In this way, the embankment was always on the verge of collapse but never fell, and there was no strong gushing like the embankment in Yingjia Village.

Find the original at "pawread dot com".

After some time, Lin Wen suddenly woke up from the frenzy. The storm was still raging, but he didn't know when the water level of the river had dropped!

The flood has receded?

No, the radio clearly stated that the second flood would last for 36 hours. How many hours has it been? It hasn't even been a day yet?

Lin Wen suddenly panicked. This flood's power was so great, could I not survive?

How about a big wave taking me away?

He wanted to rush into the dangerous area and die on purpose, but if he did so, it would be a subjective willingness to die, and he might become a suicidal person.

No, don't worry.

This is only temporary. The flood is still gathering strength. It sees that I have defended it so well and wants to come up with a big one. While I am rescuing, a big wave will come and wash me away.

Perfect!

So I must not let my guard down, be sneaky, or cheat. I must devote myself to the rescue wholeheartedly. Otherwise, if I fail to meet the requirements, wouldn't I die in vain?

Although he thought so, he became more and more uneasy because the water level of the river was rapidly falling, and there were fewer and fewer dangers on the embankment.

In the morning, when the sky was just getting bright, the rain had stopped.

And the water level of the river had already fallen below the flood peak.

Lin Wen's mood fell to the bottom. He wandered aimlessly on the embankment where he couldn't find any hidden dangers, as if he had lost his soul.

At noon, the first ray of sunlight shot out from behind the dark clouds, freezing Lin Wen's heart like a -273-degree cold light.

The roar of vehicles and the neat sound of running came from behind. Lin Wen turned around and saw the imperial troops coming to support, tens of thousands of imperial engineering soldiers and hundreds of trucks of all sizes.And not far from the embankment, Sheriff Zhao was talking to an Imperial officer.

As if sensing his gaze, Sheriff Zhao and the Imperial officer turned their heads and waved to him. The Imperial officer even whistled and shouted, "Salute to the hero of the Empire!"

With a loud boom, tens of thousands of Imperial soldiers stood at attention and saluted in Lin Wen's direction.

"Salute to the hero of the Empire!"

The voices of the sergeants echoed through the heavens and earth.

Lin Wen's last hope was shattered. The time for the spell had come, and the tide of exhaustion, weariness, and despair rushed over him, instantly crushing his mental will. He blacked out and fell backwards.

"Quick! Go protect the hero of the Empire!"

This was the last sentence Lin Wen heard before he passed out.