CHAPTER 195: CHAPTER 193: THE IMPACT CAUSED BY THE EXPLOSION

The four people in the car had no intention of meddling nor did they want to watch the commotion.

So, once they reached a consensus, Ding Ning swung the steering wheel and floored the gas pedal, quickly driving the car back to Chen Xin’s shelter.

Fortunately, the high-speed rail station was not far from Chen Xin’s shelter, and soon the four returned to his shelter.

After parking and getting off the car, Li Yulong, with a somewhat anxious expression, asked Chen Xin, "Brother Chen, what on earth happened? Was that really an explosion?"

"It’s hard to say if it was an explosion, but it certainly wasn’t the sound of a meteor falling," Chen Xin said seriously. He thought for a moment and told Li Yulong, "Xiaolong, you’d better take your people back quickly. Once you’re back, remember to close the shelter door tightly. Don’t open it casually, report anything unusual."

"Alright, I’ll listen to you, Brother Chen!" At such a time, Li Yulong didn’t throw any tantrums and agreed directly.

After reminding Chen Xin to stay safe, he returned to the city with the subordinates who had been waiting outside Chen Xin’s shelter.

Watching Li Yulong leave, Chen Xin also closed the shelter door properly.

Once the heavy nickel-chromium alloy steel door was locked, Chen Xin finally felt relieved.

"A Xin, what do you think happened? Could it be..." Qin Lan asked Chen Xin with a grave expression.

Her professional instincts as a special police officer had already told her that it was an explosion, and she could naturally speculate based on recent events.

Chen Xin hesitated slightly; he wasn’t sure if the explosion was caused by terrorists as Qin Lan suspected, but he still said to her, "It might be, so I’ll seal the door temporarily. Until we confirm safety, it’s best if you and Xiaoding don’t go out."

"Okay." Qin Lan responded affirmatively to Chen Xin’s decision to temporarily seal the shelter, and Ding Ning, beside her, nodded as well.

Although Qin Lan wanted to bring those terrorists to justice and avenge her fallen comrades, she was no reckless person.

Qin Lan knew very well that she couldn’t fight against terrorists alone, and her current task was to protect Chen Xin. Until she completed this task, she couldn’t leave his side.

Moreover, without knowing what happened, even if she wanted to catch the terrorists, she wouldn’t know where to find them. The explosion was too abrupt, making it impossible to determine where the sound came from.

The three of them reached a consensus and returned inside the shelter.

At this moment, Ding Ning held Chen Xin back and asked him, "A Xin, what do you think was the cause of the explosion?"

"That’s hard to say; there are too many things that could explode." Chen Xin couldn’t determine what caused the two explosions earlier: "It could be terrorists attacking a city shelter, or the city government rounding up terrorists, or it could be terrorists attacking another place... with just two explosion sounds, there are too few clues for me to judge what really happened."

"Then should I contact my dad to find out what happened?" Ding Ning thought first about her father, who was the captain of the special police.

Chen Xin shook his head slightly, stopping Ding Ning from taking this action: "Let’s wait; if something really happened, Uncle Ding would be busy now, and contacting him will only cause him more trouble."

Hearing Chen Xin say this, Qin Lan also agreed, "Yes, A Ning, no matter what the explosion was caused by, even if it’s not terrorists, the team is busy now. If you contact the captain, he won’t have time to talk much, so let’s wait for now."

Seeing that both Qin Lan and Chen Xin had spoken, Ding Ning gave up the idea of contacting Uncle Ding immediately, but she was still concerned about the situation in the city: "If only we knew exactly what happened."

"It’s not that easy! The city doesn’t even have broadcasting now," Chen Xin shook his head.

In theory, post-disaster, although TV signals were gone for various reasons, radio broadcasts should be available, but for some reason, the city government had not restored broadcasting. This left Chen Xin with no channels to learn any news.

Without new information, the three of them couldn’t reach any conclusion even if they discussed. Eventually, they just casually talked about their own views and stopped discussing this topic.

——————————————————

At this time, the battle to root out terrorists in the city had ended.

Although the terrorists detonated a bomb at the City Hall Shelter’s entrance, the city was well-prepared for this. The entrance was heavily guarded, and the bomb, which was supposed to be brought inside the shelter for detonation, was stopped outside. Furthermore, the terrorists attacking the shelter were suppressed by the pre-embedded special police, armed police, and military forces.

Although the terrorists displayed incredibly fierce fighting spirit, unafraid of death, they lacked weapons and were blocked at the tightly closed entrance of the shelter. The terrorists were quickly eliminated.

The few survivors were intentionally left by the special police to gather intelligence.

Yet, as his subordinates cleaned up the battlefield, Uncle Ding and the Commander of the armed police troops had grim expressions, along with the military officer beside them, whose face was equally ashen.

Despite successfully wiping out these terrorists, everyone should be pleased, but after the terrorists detonated the bomb during the fight, a second explosion from the distance made everyone realize that the terrorists before them were just decoys. The enemy had attacked other places.

"Did we find out exactly where the explosion happened?" Uncle Ding asked his political commissar beside him sternly.

The political commissar, with a grave expression, nodded and said in a low voice, "It was a rail bridge leading to the Hubei Province. The terrorists blew up the bridge."

"What?!" Uncle Ding’s expression changed immediately. He clearly realized the severity of the problem: "Hadn’t the railway colleagues been warned to strictly ensure railway safety? How did the rail bridge get blown up?"

Upon hearing this news, the armed police commander and the military officer flanking him immediately changed their expressions, appearing tense.

Uncle Ding and his team had every reason to be nervous; most of the city’s supplies currently depend on external input. The railway is the lifeline for the thirty thousand survivors of this city. If this lifeline is blocked, these residents would be severely affected.

"What is the extent of damage to the rail bridge? Can it be repaired?" Uncle Ding asked the political commissar.

However, the political commissar shook his head: "The specifics aren’t clear yet; the railway colleagues and old Zhang’s squad have already gone to the scene."

Upon hearing the commissar’s words, Uncle Ding didn’t say more, remaining silent like the armed police commander and military officer beside him.

This matter profoundly impacts everything.

The subsequent emergency meeting confirmed this point: the demolished rail bridge had significantly disrupted railway traffic between Hubei Province and the city.

Although material flow between Hubei and Xiang Provinces could take the railway towards Wuling, compared to going directly from the city, this route undoubtedly involves a massive detour, greatly affecting material transport between the provinces.

Based on the railway staff’s evaluation results at the site, repairing the rail bridge would take at least seven days, even when working around the clock.

Seven days is not insurmountable for the city government. Existing supplies across various shelters in the city can support two weeks. During this period, as long as the rail bridge is restored, material supply can resume, so the government does not worry about supplies.

What truly concerns everyone at the meeting is coal.

Post-disaster, all of the city’s electricity comes from thermal power plants, which consume a large amount of coal daily.

Previously, with railways operational, a coal train from Hubei would enter the city every three days, delivering necessary coal. Though consumption was high, the government managed to save a five-day supply for emergencies.

But clearly, even with conservation, this batch of coal can’t sustain seven days.

"Can the province provide some coal?" A city official asked the province’s representatives, seeking assistance first.

"Yes, but allocation takes time, so city colleagues must overcome difficulties first," the provincial side replied, noting logistical delays.

The city leaders accepted this outcome and, after consultation, made decisions accordingly.

"Railway colleagues must restore the railway with the utmost speed; any difficulties will receive maximum city support. Whether materials or personnel, they must restore the railway in six days... no, in five and a half days!" The Mayor demanded, regardless of whether it was humane or if railway workers could achieve it.

Railway leadership, understanding the severity of the Mayor’s order, responded seriously, "We’ll complete the task!"

Such times require action, not bureaucratic language, so after promising results, the railway official left the meeting to organize repair teams.

Though the railway promised to repair the bridge in five and a half days, the city must prepare for the worst.

"Starting now, all departments must fully support timely railway bridge repairs! Simultaneously, shelters must implement power restrictions, reducing plant output to ensure coal suffices for heating and essential electricity," the Mayor decided finally.