I'm Going to Die! (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

I'm Going to Die! (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

Wind and rain lashed with lightning as Zhao Anping and his group trudged through the mud, struggling their way to a point not far from the Changpai Village Levee.

Everything around them was pitch-black, and the flashlight beams were swallowed by the darkness after reaching only a short distance.

"Turn off the flashlights," Zhao Anping ordered.

The moment the only source of light went out, absolute darkness descended.

After several minutes, once everyone's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, they still could not see their own hands before their faces, but they could vaguely make out a few outlines.

The Changpai Village Levee in the distance had indeed not collapsed, though its details remained invisible.

"Get closer," Zhao Anping said.

Everyone's faces went pale. The roar of the river was deafening. If they went that close and the levee collapsed, they would not even have time to run.

But the commandery governor's authority still held, and everyone shuffled a few steps forward.

Just then, a massive bolt of lightning split the sky and struck the river. Silver-white branches twisted wildly through the air, and the majesty of heaven and earth came rolling down, halting everyone in their tracks.

As the flash lit up the entire world, Zhao Anping clearly saw someone racing down the fifteen-meter-high levee as if flying.

Zhao Anping shouted, "Lin Wen!"

The man immediately raised his head to look over. The lightning vanished in an instant, and he switched on the miner's lamp on his head. Its powerful beam immediately illuminated Zhao Anping and his group.

It also lit up his own face.

That was right. It was him!

The mayor of Changle Town, the only town-level official in Long Mountain Commandery under thirty, the youngest Grade Six official in East Qin Province in thirty years, and the Empire's official with the greatest number of promotions skipped in twelve years.

Lin Wen!

Zhao Anping clenched both fists, unable to find the words for a moment.

Lin Wen, meanwhile, looked extremely surprised. He called out, "Governor Zhao," but immediately turned away again and dragged two steel cages filled with rocks from the pile of supplies. They had not been on the levee before.

Because of the poor lighting, Zhao Anping could not make out the size of the two steel rock cages and did not know that each weighed eight hundred kilograms.

He paid no attention to that detail at all and shouted, "Lin Wen, what are you doing here? How is the levee?"

Without even turning his head, Lin Wen lifted a steel cage and started walking. "I'm dealing with the emergency. The levee is in danger. I don't know whether it can be saved."

Zhao Anping shouted, "How many people have you assigned to the emergency work? Do you have enough supplies?"

Lin Wen answered, "I assigned one person. We have enough supplies."

One person?

Zhao Anping could hardly believe his ears. What the hell did one person mean?

Wasn't that just him alone? What use was one person in an emergency?

Beside him, Secretary Little Zhang's legs had gone weak. He said in a trembling voice, "Governor! We need to leave, quickly! This place definitely can't be held!"

"Exactly," another person chimed in. "Little Lin is a hero. He's guarding the levee alone, which proves it can't be saved anymore. He's carrying out his final duty."

"That's right, we have to do our duty too. We still need to protect the people."

"Please, Governor, hurry back and lead the people in evacuating!"

The torrential rain struck their raincoats and streamed down before their eyes like a brook. Zhao Anping watched the rapidly shrinking light, watched that tiny spark climb the levee at an unbelievable speed, watched him run through the darkness like a black giant beast and hurl the things in his hands with all his strength.

Then he suddenly said, "I'm staying here."

"Governor!"

"I'm staying here," Zhao Anping repeated. "I'll watch the levee."

"If the levee collapses, I'll notify you. Then you must hurry back and lead the evacuation."

After a moment of silence, Zhao Anping continued in an unquestionable tone, "Little Zhang, go back now and tell them to prepare. But don't panic. Get proper rest and recover your strength. Maybe nothing will happen. Hu Ping, you three with walkie-talkies, line up for me. The moment any information comes in, relay it back immediately. The rest of you stay with them. Don't let anyone get lost!"

"Go!"

Before long, Zhao Anping was the only one left in the darkness. He gazed at the faint light in the distance. It swayed in the wind and rain, so tiny, yet like a star that would never go out.

Yet unlike the tragic grandeur Zhao Anping imagined, Lin Wen had fallen into an unprecedented frenzy. Amid the storm, he faced heaven and earth's thunderous might head-on, as though battling the immortal gods above. The floodwaters were their means of attack, and the levee was his final line of defense.

Wasn't his desperate defense of the levee now the prelude to the eruption at the final moment?

Lin Wen's blood boiled throughout his body. The exhaustion from his continuous battle had long vanished without a trace, and the burden brought by two uses of [Strength of Nine Bulls and Two Tigers] and [Sight Without Eyes] in quick succession seemed not to exist at all.

He kept throwing sandbags and earth into a breach about two meters wide. Since the two steel rock cages had perfectly wedged themselves into position, the breach was quickly sealed.

Lin Wen pounced on it and stomped it firm with both feet, then turned and rushed toward another break.

At that moment, the thunderstorm arrived. Lightning fell from the sky again and again, while rolling thunder crashed continuously, joining into one unbroken roar without even half a second of pause. The universe flickered rapidly like a broken flash camera.

In that terrifying scene, every living creature trembled in fear, but Lin Wen threw back his head and laughed. His laughter echoed between heaven and earth, like an unyielding will to fight.

Countless rocks, loads of earth, and sandbags were thrown into the breaches, and the danger was quelled in an instant.

And so, the levee remained on the verge of collapse, yet never fell. Nor did it develop powerful piping like the Ying Family Village Levee had.

After an unknown length of time, Lin Wen suddenly woke from his frenzy. The storm still raged, but at some point, the river level had actually begun to drop!

The flood peak had receded?

That wasn't right. The radio had clearly said that the second flood peak would last thirty-six hours. How many hours had it been? Not even a full day, right?

Lin Wen suddenly felt a little panicked. No way. If this is all the flood peak has, won't I fail to die?

Couldn't a huge wave come and take me away?

He somewhat wanted to deliberately rush into a dangerous place and get himself killed, but then he would have the subjective desire to die, and he might become someone who had committed suicide.

No, no, don't worry.

This is only temporary. The flood peak is gathering strength. Seeing how well I'm defending, it wants to go big. While I'm dealing with the emergency, one huge wave will roll in and sweep me away.

Perfect!

So I absolutely must not let my guard down, cut corners, or deliberately fake it. I have to devote myself wholeheartedly and give everything to this emergency work. Otherwise, if I fail to meet the conditions, wouldn't I die for nothing?

Though that was what he thought, he felt less and less certain, because the floodwaters were receding rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the dangers along the levee grew fewer and fewer.

By morning, when the sky was just beginning to brighten, the rain had actually stopped.

The river level had already fallen below where it had been before the flood peak arrived.

Lin Wen's mood plunged to rock bottom. He wandered aimlessly along the levee, unable to find even a single hidden danger, as though he had lost his soul.

By noon, the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds. Like the cold light of minus 273 degrees, it froze Lin Wen's heart into a block of ice.

The roar of vehicles and the rhythmic sound of marching came from behind. Lin Wen turned and saw the Empire's reinforcements rushing in—tens of thousands of Imperial engineers and several hundred trucks of every size.

Not far below the levee, Governor Zhao was speaking with an Imperial officer.

As though noticing his gaze, Governor Zhao and the Imperial officer turned at the same time and waved to him. The officer even let out a whistle and bellowed, "Salute the Imperial Hero!"

With a thunderous crash, tens of thousands of Imperial soldiers stood at attention and saluted in Lin Wen's direction.

"Salute the Imperial Hero!"

The officers' voices rang through heaven and earth.

Lin Wen's last shred of hope shattered. The spell's duration had ended, and exhaustion, drowsiness, and despair surged over him like a tide, instantly crushing his will. Darkness filled his vision, and he fell backward.

"Quick! Go protect the Imperial Hero!"

That was the last sentence Lin Wen heard before he fainted.