CHAPTER 1494: CHAPTER 1495 THE EARTH TREMBLES

Seeing the slightly moving small hand, the middle-aged man appeared very excited and wanted to use the stick in his hand to pry open a cement slab pressing on the small hand immediately.

"Wait!" You rushed forward urgently, addressing the five, "Don’t pry it open yet! This cement slab is acting as a support, and once pried open, it may collapse again!"

Everyone took a closer look and found it to be true.

"Then what should we do?" The middle-aged man looked at you.

You walked over in silence, squatted directly at the child’s position, and used your hands to move three heavy stones away continuously, then stuck your entire head in.

Inside, the light was dim, and it wasn’t very clear, but you still saw a pale little face. The one trapped inside was a little boy, about ten years old. His body was relatively intact, but his head was slightly bruised and bleeding a little, making him look somewhat weak.

You pulled your head back, thought for a moment, then turned and said to the middle-aged man, "Uncle, I’ll hold up this cement slab with my body. You guys pry open these two smaller pieces below so this kid can get out!"

"Huh? That’s not okay! Won’t you be in danger?"

"Yes, brother."

You said solemnly, "I’m fine. I’ve received professional training. Once you rescue the kid, just lend me a stick."

The middle-aged man still seemed hesitant, "But..."

"There’s no time! If a bigger aftershock happens, this kid is done for!"

Saying this, you decisively took off your backpack and tossed it aside, then stepped forward, firmly grasping the thousand-pound cement slab and the debris above it with your hands. Then, fearing it wouldn’t be secure enough, you even bent down to prop up the cement slab with your back!

"Lift!"

With your low roar, the cement slab was actually held up by your mere flesh and blood, causing the two slabs below to loosen instantly.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man shouted, "Quick! Quickly save the child!"

The five hurried forward, using all their strength to move the two pieces of debris aside, and a shorter person rushed in, bending down to carry the little boy out of the rubble.

When the little boy and the short man who saved him passed by you, "click" sounded suddenly outside, as a young man captured the breathtaking moment with his phone.

After the boy was rescued, many around turned their eyes to you.

The middle-aged man urgently shouted at you, "Brother, get out of there quickly!"

Just as he spoke, the ground beneath shook again!

"Hurry!"

The middle-aged man rushed up to brace the thick stick against the cement slab you were supporting. As soon as the stick was in place, you quickly withdrew, your bent legs suddenly exerting force like a rabbit ready to sprint, darting over ten meters. As soon as you stood firm, the rubble behind you collapsed again with a loud crash.

"Phew—"

Everyone present breathed a long sigh of relief.

At this point, the young man who had just taken a photo was the first to applaud you, and intense applause erupted from the surrounding crowd as well.

"Let’s keep searching to see if there are any other survivors!"

As the middle-aged man spoke, the crowd dispersed. Meanwhile, the young man who had taken the photo hurried up to you and said, "Hey elder brother, do you know martial arts?"

You shook your head slightly without saying much, picked up the backpack from the ground, and just as you put it on, the aftershock stopped.

At this moment, a middle-aged woman holding her rescued child walked up to you, about to kneel and kowtow, but you quickly supported her, "Sister-in-law, you don’t need to do that."

"I have to, I have to! My husband has already gone, the child is my only hope to keep living, and you saved both of us!"

Seeing the middle-aged woman’s agitation, you said again, "I am a soldier, this is what I should do."

After calming the middle-aged woman’s emotions, the middle-aged man stood in front of you, exclaiming, "Young man, we owe it to you this time."

You didn’t respond but instead asked the middle-aged man, "Uncle, do you know where Baishui Village is?"

"Baishui Village? What are you going there for?"

"I have a relative there, I must find her." Although your tone was calm, the middle-aged man facing you directly saw a dazzling light in the depths of your pupils.

"Baishui Village is still some distance away from here, though it’s usually faster by car, the landslides on the mountain road are quite serious now, making it hard to get in." The middle-aged man looked at you, "Young man, I’ve never seen you before, you can’t be from Baishui Village, right?"

You nodded: "I came to find my comrade’s sister. I once promised him that if he sacrificed himself, I would care for her like my own sister."

"Your comrade’s sister?" The middle-aged man muttered while pondering, "The village has more than one hundred households in total, and for someone your age... Young man, the comrade you’re talking about, is it Liang Zi?"

You were stunned, not expecting to meet someone who knew Liang Zi here. Hearing this, you quickly nodded: "Uncle, my comrade is Liang Zi!"

"What a coincidence, I never thought I’d meet you here," the middle-aged man sighed, "Everyone in Baishui Village has the last name Liang, so Liang Zi would be of a junior generation to me. That poor kid, lost his parents when he was young. Sigh, speaking of which, his sister is Xin Yue, right? She’s probably not in the village."

"Uncle, where is she?" This was the first time you, as Li Tian, showed such an excited expression.

The middle-aged man shook his head slightly, "I’m not too sure about that. Baishui Village is quite small, without even a primary school, let alone a middle school. That girl, New Moon, has always been with her aunt. Though she can’t speak, her grades have always been good. After Liang Zi’s sacrifice, both the country and the troops provided some consolation money, and every year a kind person sends money over. Thanks to Liang Zi, her aunt’s family has achieved a moderately prosperous life."

"If there is no middle school in Baishui Village, then where would children go for middle school?"

With your prompting, the middle-aged man clapped his hands, "Right! Our county only has one middle school, kids from nearby villages all come here, New Moon might be studying here!"

"Uncle, can you take me there?"

"Okay, let’s go right away!"

The middle-aged man didn’t dilly-dally, giving a few instructions to some others before urgently leading you northward to Wen’an Middle School.

This journey was a real eye-opener. Looking around, you couldn’t find a single intact building, and more heartbreaking was spotting blood in every corner, signaling someone had been trapped there. Although it’s unknown how those moved from the rubble are doing now, given such harsh conditions, the chances of survival are slim.