"Waa-waa-waa—"
The piercing wail of an ambulance echoed down the main road before it pulled up in front of Limei Hotel.
Several medical workers wearing heavy windproof winter clothes, non-slip shoes, and goggles got out of the vehicle and looked toward the hotel entrance.
Using the hotel steps as its foundation, a circular ice wall more than four meters high had risen up, completely sealing off the main entrance. No one could get in or out.
The medical workers looked at one another in confusion when they suddenly heard shouting from above.
"Hey, over here! Here!"
They looked up and saw several people standing by a third-floor window, waving down at them.
One of the medical workers shouted, "What happened?"
Someone by the third-floor window shouted back, "The hotel's glass front doors shattered. We can't clear them out, and the snow wall has trapped us inside!"
Another person stuck their head out and complained, "Why did you people take so long to get here? Several people have already died of illness here, do you know that?!"
"We're short on manpower!" the medical worker shouted. "There are too many medical emergencies across the city every day. We can't possibly handle them all!"
Another medical worker asked, "Are there still patients inside who need emergency treatment?"
"There are several! We'll wrap them in sheets and lower them down!"
The people on the third floor then got busy, tying more than a dozen thick bedsheets into ropes. They wrapped several patients up and slowly lowered them out the window.
The medical workers caught them and immediately carried them into the ambulance. Someone on the third floor shouted again, "We've been without water for ten days! Is anyone going to do something about it?!"
"That isn't our responsibility. Call the Emergency Management Bureau!"
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