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 copsed 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 copsed houses had solidified with the debris, whichplicated


    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 amander 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,pared 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 urred asionally, 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


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


    toote.


    "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! Everybodyes to help! We have to be as careful as possible when digging. Avoid


    causing a second copse. 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 urate 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 dyed for much longer. Moreover, if an aftershock urred, 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 theirmanding officer to go down, so


    they volunteered themselves.


    "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''tmand his soldiers to do such a


    dangerous thing.


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


    "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 ce was blocked off by a big stone, so it was all but


    impossible to move, but atst, 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 foring 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


    ce where the old grannyy was somewhat protected by arge 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 dy, and rushed to find what was


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


    ambnce 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 ce 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


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


    "Okay. That sounds like a good n." 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!" Kevinmanded 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!