Since they have come all the way here, there is no reason for them to return empty-handed. They can only try their luck at the liquefied gas station.
Yao Ran took her mobile phone, which was placed in a waterproof plastic bag, out of her backpack and opened the offline map she had downloaded earlier.
She showed it to the others and said, "The nearest liquefied gas station is here. It's about five or six kilometers away. There's also a big banyan tree in front of the station that can be used as a landmark."
Although the liquefied gas station is not particularly far away, it is located in a secluded area. Judging from its secluded location, there might be some liquefied gas cylinders left there. After figuring out the location, Long Yu drove a motorboat to the liquefied gas station.
The suburbs of Juncheng are full of bungalows. Now that it's all submerged in water, the area looks vast and empty.
On the way, they encountered several teams of firefighters who were rescuing trapped people. When the firefighters saw Long Yu's motorboat, one of them quickly grabbed a loudspeaker to call them.
"Comrade, please help us."
The intention was clear. They wanted to seize control of the motorboat and move the survivors over. In this sudden heavy rain and flood, rescue tools were simply not enough.
Long Yu ignored the firefighter and drove away without looking back. Upon seeing this, the firefighter could only put down his loudspeaker and continue to evacuate the trapped people. It was their duty to save these people, but he could not force others to do the same.
Because of the flood, Juncheng has turned into a vast ocean, making it difficult to identify the direction.
Yao Ran looked around with a night vision binoculars and found something underwater. She pointed at it with her flashlight and said, "That should be the top of the banyan tree."
Shi Xuan glanced at the spot where the flashlight shone and saw something green. He nodded and said, "Yeah, it should be the banyan tree."
After Yao Ran and Shi Xuan finished talking, Long Yu drove towards the shadow under the water. As they approached, he slowed down, and sure enough, he saw banyan leaves. Such a tall banyan tree was actually completely submerged underwater.
Long Yu tied the motorboat to the tree and looked at the map again. After roughly memorizing the location of the liquefied gas station, he put on his diving mask and headlamp, tied the rope around his waist, and dove into the water.
A few minutes later, Long Yu came out of the water and said, "I found the station, but it has rolling shutter doors and sliding iron doors. Huang Qian, help me take out the crowbar from my backpack."
After hearing what he said, Huang Qian opened Long Yu's backpack and took out the crowbar. Seeing the diving mask and rope inside, he said, "I will go down with you."
However, this weight meant nothing to him and Long Yu. After tugging on the rope, the two of them held a liquefied gas cylinder in each hand.
On the motorboat, Yao Ran felt the movement and said to Shi Xuan, "Pull them up."
The two quickly pulled the ropes, and soon, Long Yu and Huang Qian came out from the water. They swam to the motorboat, and the four of them worked together to move the heavy liquified gas cylinders to the motorboat.
Seeing that there was still a lot of space left, Long Yu said, "There are a few more bottles down there. We will go down and bring more back."
After he and Huang Qian took a short rest, they dived back into the water. While Yao Ran was focusing her attention on the water surface, Shi Xuan used night vision binoculars to observe the surroundings.
Not long after, he suddenly said, "Someone is coming."
Yao Ran looked over and saw a motorboat approaching quickly in the heavy rain. It was hard for her to see clearly, but at least five people were on the motorboat.
She frowned and asked, "How many people are there?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Natural Disaster: I Started By Hoarding Tens Of Billions Of Supplies