Life is Like a Journey – Chapter 83

Volume 2: Inheritance

Devour

In the past, she lived for many others; from now on, she will die for one person alone.

The sudden interruption in communication gave Lu Qingshi a bad feeling. She pressed the communicator again but received no response, only static in her earpiece.

            

She briefly closed her eyes: “Scalp clip.”

Hao Renjie placed what she needed into her palm: “Is Captain Gu alright?”

Lu Qingshi bit her lip and shook her head: “Should be fine, let’s hurry.”

            

After opening the skull, the situation was more complex than she’d anticipated. The hematoma was deep, close to the optic nerve. They had to complete the surgery in an extremely short time – even the slightest deviation could cause irreversible damage to the child.

After a brief moment of grief, Gu Yanzhi’s communicator connected, and the disaster relief commander spoke directly to her: “Gu Yanzhi…”

Before he could finish, her resolute voice came through the intercom: “Will absolutely complete the mission!”

            

Once again, she climbed the landslide dam alone, with rushing river beneath her feet and the possibility of collapse at any moment. A safety line was attached to her waist, with dozens of firefighters and special forces members forming a human wall in the surging river, holding her line.

The flood gradually rose past their waists. Gu Yanzhi bit through the fuse – part of the explosives had gotten wet. She quickly recalled her past experience, recalculated the ratios, and packed them into dry explosive bags, carefully digging a hole at the target location.

A drone circled above her head, calculating the maximum blast radius, then command headquarters came through: “Comrade Gu Yanzhi, it is now 16:42 (4:42 PM). Evacuate within three minutes. The explosion may trigger a secondary landslide. Please proceed to the designated shelter area.”

            

Gu Yanzhi looked up at the towering mountains, frowning: “The original detonation time was five o’clock. Why advance the explosion? There are still people…”

The other party interrupted her, emphasizing: “Comrade Gu Yanzhi, I hope you understand that the interests of the masses supersede everything, including individual lives.”

“Bullsh*t!” In her urgency, she burst out cursing: “You bastards have already evacuated and are giving orders from helicopters, while we’re the ones risking our lives! Us!”

            

Facing her outburst, the other’s voice carried a hint of pity: “Regrettably… but for the sake of three million people downstream, we must sacrifice the few to ensure the safety of the majority…”

Gu Yanzhi clenched her fists tightly.

“Think about it, every minute you delay, people are dying, houses are being swept away by floods, countless farmlands and livestock are being submerged…”

            

She dug her nails into her palm until it bled: “This is exactly why I hate hypocrites like you… Speaking of righteousness while being utterly selfish!”

“If you knew this would happen today, why rush the project schedule? Why not notify people to evacuate earlier?! Why not dredge the river channels and improve water conservancy earlier? It’s always like this when something goes wrong…”

With a “snap,” her communication was abruptly cut off, replaced by a cold system prompt: Explosion countdown, three minutes.

            

The numbers on the dashboard before her changed rapidly. Gu Yanzhi bit her lower lip until it bled, frantically pulling out her communicator: “Qingshi? Qingshi? Qingshi!”

She couldn’t control the panic in her voice; the usually calm person was now running around like a headless fly (Chinese idiom: “无头苍蝇” – meaning someone who is extremely panicked and disoriented).

Time ticked by second by second.

            

Lu Qingshi remained focused on the surgery: “Alright, let’s close up.”

An excellent team can improve surgical efficiency by eighty percent. Even in adverse conditions, everyone performed their roles – anesthesia managing vital signs, Hao Renjie handling instruments, Lu Qingshi as lead surgeon, Liu Qingyun as first assistant. Through everyone’s joint efforts, the patient’s vital signs gradually stabilized, and the group carefully carried the stretcher out.

Upon emerging from the culvert, the little dog that had been following them refused to go further.

            

Hao Renjie tried to coax it – saving one life or saving one more dog, it was all saving lives.

As the firefighters were securing the stretcher with bandages, the dog looked at its owner, crawled over to lick his cheeks, cleaning the blood off his chin with its tongue, its round eyes brimming with tears.

It could no longer stand, only lying on the ground whimpering, its slashed belly revealing its intestines.

            

Chen Yi couldn’t bear to look anymore and turned away slightly.

Lu Qingshi went over to remove its collar. The dog obediently lowered its head. She squeezed its nape, and the dog gave her hand a quick lick.

The warm sensation reminded her of Hamburger and French Fries, wondering how they were doing at home during these past few days.

            

As she removed the collar, the dog let out a long whimper and fell into her palm with tears in its eyes. Lu Qingshi gently stroked its head and closed its eyes.

“Don’t worry, we’ll definitely get your owner out safely.”

It wasn’t yet sunset, but the sky had darkened again, with rain pattering on the tent.

            

Xu Qiankun paced anxiously back and forth: “Why aren’t they back yet?”

Every five minutes, he would lift the curtain to look outside, but both the quiet mountain path and the dark tunnel entrance remained empty and silent.

Yu Gui sat by the hospital bed, desperately pressing her phone buttons, calling until the battery died, but still no one answered.

            

She buried her face in her hands, letting out a long sigh. When she looked up, she noticed the vital signs dropping on the monitor and stood up to check the old lady’s eyelids.

“Has the ambulance not returned yet?”

Qin Xuan shook her head: “I just called, they said soon. Why hasn’t your Teacher Lu come back either?”

            

Although their camp was on higher ground on the bridge, it didn’t mean they would be safe during the explosion, and this elderly patient needed to get to the hospital for further treatment urgently.

Yu Gui put on a raincoat: “I’ll go take a look.”

Qin Xuan also grabbed an umbrella to join her: “I’ll go too.”

            

They hadn’t taken two steps when a familiar figure wearing a tactical vest came running through the rain: “Come with me.”

Qin Xuan stumbled as she was pulled: “What are you doing?! Let go!”

Xiang Nanke turned to look at her, slightly out of breath. She had rushed back from the city center; the police car’s lights were flashing nearby.

            

“It’s about to explode. Do you want to stay here and die?!”

“My friend is still inside!!!” Qin Xuan shouted back with tears in her eyes.

“So what? I just want you safe!” Xiang Nanke wiped the rain from her face, gripping her wrist to pull her toward the car.

            

“Let go!” Qin Xuan stomped hard on her leg. The high heel packed quite a punch; Xiang Nanke winced in pain, furrowing her brows, and released her wrist.

Qin Xuan stepped backward: “You’re wearing a police uniform, you’re a people’s police officer with your own duties. I don’t blame you if you can’t stay.”

“But I’m wearing a white coat. I’m a doctor, and before my patient leaves, I won’t move a single step away.”

            

“Qingshi, Qingshi, Qingshi, Qingshi…” Gu Yanzhi clutched the communicator, muttering while tears streamed down her face.

After a long moment without hearing her voice, the usually composed fire instructor held her head in her hands, letting out whimpers like a young beast.

The numbers on the dashboard counted down rapidly, emitting “beep beep” sounds.

            

Gu Yanzhi looked around desperately, grabbed a nearby stone, and smashed it down hard.

Sparks and tears fell together.

The hard metal casing didn’t budge an inch.

            

The dashboard numbers continued counting down.

“Ahhhhhhh…!” She struck it dozens of times with all her might, sparks flying everywhere, leaving the dashboard covered in marks, but it was useless. Even until her right hand lost all strength, that beeping sound still rang in her ears like demonic chanting.

Gu Yanzhi knelt on the damp ground, watching as the dashboard numbers approached sixty. She bit her lower lip hard, making a decision.

            

No matter what, she couldn’t let her be in danger.

Until she came out, she wouldn’t allow the explosive to detonate, even if the price was her own life.

In the past, she lived for many people; from now on, she would die for one person alone.

            

Gu Yanzhi began digging, her nails filled with soil, blood flowing freely, until she finally embraced the explosive and tucked it inside her uniform jacket.

The drone circled above her head: “Gu Yanzhi, execute the mission, execute the mission!”

“Go to hell!” She grabbed a stone and hurled it fiercely, sending the drone spinning twice before it plunged into the turbid river.

            

She rose in a daze, looked at the towering mountains, then at the whirlpool that had just swallowed Chengdu.

Closing her eyes slightly: Qingshi, goodbye.

“Gu Yanzhi!” Static crackled through her earpiece.

            

Lu Qingshi’s voice had lost its usual calmness: “Where are you?!”

“I…” Loose rocks rolled from her toes as Gu Yanzhi choked up: “I’m… I’m sorry…”

She didn’t know why she was apologizing, but hearing her voice made all emotions resurge through her body, like the endlessly rushing river – swift and fierce.

            

She could no longer contain herself.

Lu Qingshi panted heavily, moving the stretcher out with the firefighters: “I’m coming out! Did you set the explosive?”

She looked back at the tunnel entrance hidden in the majestic mountains, where flashlight beams flickered like stars.

            

“Really?”

“No good, the tunnel entrance is too narrow, can’t pull it out.” The stretcher was stuck in the tunnel entrance they’d come through.

Lu Qingshi pressed her communicator: “You all go out first, I’ll push from behind.”

            

She hadn’t even realized how gentle her voice had become when she opened the communicator again and spoke to Gu Yanzhi in lowered tones.

“When have I ever lied to you? It must be close to detonation time, right?” She glanced at her wristwatch – less than thirty seconds until 4:50.

“Gu Yanzhi.”

            

“Mm?”

“Live.”

Those two simple words made her face stream with tears. In that instant, after confirming her safety, her survival instinct was completely awakened.

            

Gu Yanzhi started running back, needing to return the explosives to the designated location and find a suitable shelter.

Countdown.

Twenty.

            

Hao Renjie crawled out of the tunnel, followed closely by Chen Yi, Liu Qingyun with her, and several firefighters pushing from behind.

“One, two, three, push!”

Several rocks fell from above, and Lu Qingshi reached out to protect the boy’s head, her wrist instantly bruising purple.

            

“No good, it’s too dangerous. You all go out first. Forcing and pulling isn’t good for this child either.”

“What about you, Sister Lu?”

“I’m thin, I’ll get out easily later. You go first, and drill another opening from outside.”

            

“Alright.” Liu Qingyun released her grip on the stretcher and crawled out of the narrow tunnel entrance.

Countdown.

Ten.

            

In the distance on the mountain road, headlights appeared. Xu Qiankun ran out in the rain, shouting excitedly: “Over here, bring the car over here!”

Countdown.

Five.

            

“Patient female, sixty-five years old, acute myocardial infarction due to coronary artery stenosis, has undergone coronary artery artificial vessel replacement surgery. Currently, vital signs are not yet stable. Please transfer to hospital urgently for further treatment.”

Yu Gui removed her stethoscope and worked with several medical staff to lift the stretcher into the ambulance.

Countdown.

            

Three.

Gu Yanzhi plunged into the rushing river, instantly swallowed by the whirlpool.

Xu Qiankun held the ambulance door: “What are you doing? Hurry up and get in!”

            

Yu Gui stepped back: “No, I’ll wait for Teacher Lu to come out.”

Just as she finished speaking, a deafening explosion erupted. The earth and sky shook, the ambulance rocked violently, medical equipment on top crashed down, and the light bulbs flickered twice before shattering.

Yu Gui was thrown to the ground by the shock wave, her eardrums ringing. She clutched her head, seeing only white.

            

The landslide dam was blown open, and the flood waters rushed into the prepared drainage channel as planned. The earthen-yellow ribbon flowed through the emerald mountains, sweeping away countless wooden houses but growing increasingly distant from the gray high-rises in the distance.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, even the elderly officials in the far-off Jinzhou command center relaxed their brows.

Hao Renjie regained consciousness, feeling something warm and wet on his face – he reached up to touch it: blood.

            

Several firefighters in orange uniforms lay unconscious on the ground.

Liu Qingyun and Chen Yi were not far from him. Where was Sister Lu?

His brain seemed to freeze for a moment.

            

He heard a familiar sound that made his blood run cold.

The earlier vibration seemed to echo through the mountains, a rumbling sound like thunder rolled continuously toward them.

He suddenly scrambled up from the ground, pulled up Liu Qingyun, supported Chen Yi, and started running back.

            

“Run quickly, don’t come here!”

In the distance, Qin Xuan and Yu Gui came to meet them, but before Yu Gui could show any joy at their reunion.

Behind him, the sky collapsed and the earth split.

            

The entire tunnel collapsed at a visible speed, its entrance buried by falling rocks and earth.

“Teacher Lu!!!” Yu Gui fell to her knees, screaming until her voice broke.

Qin Xuan held her waist tightly, tears flowing: “Don’t go… don’t go…”

            

“Cough cough…” Gu Yanzhi emerged from the surging waves, grabbing a floating log and drifting in the cold river water.

Seeing a branch ahead, she stretched out her arm desperately to reach it, grabbed it, then leaped. The tree she pulled collapsed into the river, creating a splash.

Gu Yanzhi stood panting on the damp muddy shore, the water-soaked areas of her body stinging.

            

She reached behind her back, her hand coming away sticky – she was bleeding heavily, though she didn’t know when she’d been cut.

Gu Yanzhi simply took off her jacket and searched through all the pockets for the communicator.

Nothing.

            

It might have been washed away by the water.

She bit her teeth, and just as she was about to go back into the water, she felt it in the inner pocket of her pants.

After shaking off the water and forcefully tapping the casing several times, the display lit up red, indicating it was still working.

            

This military-grade equipment really was reliable.

Gu Yanzhi inwardly marveled, then pressed the switch: “Qingshi, Qingshi, where are you? I made it out…”

The blood-stained communicator, buried beneath fallen rocks, lit up red in the darkness.

            

Gu Yanzhi’s voice carried far: “Qingshi, Qingshi…”

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