Ace Takes the Field

Xie Haining arrived on the rooftop of the low-rise building and first calmed the family of three down before beginning the rescue with their daughter.

He carried the child on his back and jumped from the roof. The girl was light and barely affected his movements, so he bounced back across the footholds on the water the same way he had come.

But when it came to the two adults, Xie Haining's physique made it difficult for him to rescue them using the same method.

However, Xie Haining differed from Mutants like Xiao He in one respect: he carried a great many Special Response Department tools with him. His fighting style was to make reasonable use of those tools through his ability.

Thus, Xie Haining raised his wrist, and a grappling hook shot out from it.

"The rope in that hook is made from the spider silk Xia Yu spun," Cui Man explained. "We collected it during your last fight with her. The silk she spins is thousands of times thicker than that of ordinary spiders. You've experienced how tough it is, right? You couldn't even tear it apart after activating your ability."

"Mm..." Xiao He nodded.

Cui Man said eagerly, "Maybe we can use this material to make more tools in the future..."

Xie Haining had the wife embrace him, then leaped from the rooftop with her. The grappling hook's elasticity cushioned their fall. He stepped on a car roof to borrow momentum, swung through the air like Tarzan, and landed with the woman in the safe area across from them.

Then he repeated the process, moving the trapped husband to safety using the same method.

Although Xie Haining's movements were indeed smooth and fluid, and watching him act was as pleasing as watching a stunt film, stamina was still his greatest weakness. Simple tasks became complicated because of his physical limitations.

If it had been Xiao He, he could have rescued the family of three in a single minute without even activating his ability.

But Xiao He had to be patient and wait for his moment to take the stage.

At that moment, he was restless beyond measure, yet all he could do was watch people around the city struggle on the screens, helping one another with difficulty as they fought desperately through the flooding.

"How much longer until the press conference naming the flood?" Cui Man frowned and urged the staff behind her.

"The reporters are still entering. It should begin in about twenty minutes," the technician replied.

"Make them hurry!" Cui Man said impatiently. "People are waiting to be saved! Even one second matters!"

"Yes!" The technician answered and went aside to press them.

Ye Wanqing was still pacing back and forth beside Xiao He. Xiao He himself was anxious too, but for now, they could only wait.

Cui Man instructed the technicians to shift the drone cameras to the breached embankment, where the armed police were busy working on flood diversion.

But the torrential rain was truly getting in the way. The diversion zone had not even been excavated properly yet, much less put into use. And after diverting the floodwaters, they would still have to find a way to seal the breach. The work would likely continue for quite some time.

"It's been released already?! Okay, I'll look now!" Cui Man said delightedly from nearby.

Then Cui Man took out her phone. Xiao He leaned over to look, and a news broadcast was playing on the screen.

"Because this flood has had such a major impact, we have decided to name it 'Changyou' and will mobilize the strength of the entire nation to carry out rescue operations in the affected areas..." the news spokesperson solemnly announced to the reporters below.

Though it had only been mentioned in passing, the flood had indeed been named.

The task was not over yet. The editing team still needed to create an online entry for the flood and wait for it to pass review before Ye Wanqing could change the flood's name.

Second by second, everyone waited anxiously for the online entry to appear, repeatedly refreshing the search results without tiring.

"It's here!" Ye Wanqing said excitedly. Under the entry for "Changyou," a new entry had finally appeared: "Flood disaster that broke out in AL City on September 29, 2021." Ye Wanqing immediately raised her hand and changed the entry's name.

"It's happening..." Xiao He clenched his fists, feeling power surge from within him. "Finally!"

With that, Xiao He could no longer wait and rushed straight out of the military tent, flying into the air.

At last, it was time for him to take the stage. Every minute and second spent sitting in the command center had been agony.

"Get yourselves together!" Cui Man clapped her hands and called out. "Don't think our work is over! On the contrary, our work is only beginning now! Categorize every rescue site according to rescue difficulty. Leave the red-level rescue points to Yinglong and the Gluttonous Beast, and the yellow-level rescue points to Candle Dragon. Cooperate fully with the local armed police and firefighters!"

"Yes!" everyone on site replied. Under Cui Man's leadership, the command center began bustling as well.

Xiao He first flew into the air. The rain was still falling, and he took a deep breath. A familiar heat rose from within him. He removed his mask and breathed a massive burst of fire into the sky. Crimson flames lit up half the heavens, turning the gloomy rainy day into something like dusk.

Driven away by the blazing fire, the clouds above them temporarily dispersed, and the rain stopped. But it was only over this small patch of sky, and the clouds were already gathering again. The rain would probably resume soon.

"Tch, so it really won't work..." Xiao He muttered with a frown.

After all, it was the flood that had been renamed, not the rainstorm. He had merely wanted to try. If he could stop the rain, it would greatly ease their current predicament.

Cui Man demanded through his earpiece, "What are you doing?! Hurry to the breach and help! The firefighters over there are waiting for you!"

"Understood!" Xiao He replied and flew toward the breached embankment.

He was extremely fast as he darted through the rain, quickly arriving at the riverbank where the breach was. The place was still a complete mess.

The firefighters and armed police were working together on the breach. One group was trying to block it with sandbags, while another was attempting to excavate a flood diversion zone.

Xiao He was still not skilled at landing, so he slowed down and gradually descended among the crowd.

Faced with the suited man descending from the sky, everyone froze for a moment. They froze, and Xiao He froze too, unsure of what to do.

Cui Man reminded him through his earpiece, "Tell them you're from the Special Response Department and here to provide support."

"I'm from the Special Response Department and here to provide support!" Xiao He immediately explained.

"I know. He seems to be that Mutant called Yinglong..." "A Mutant? What can he do?" The people around him whispered among themselves. But then a somewhat older armed police officer squeezed through the crowd and gave Xiao He a salute.

"I'm Wu Wei, commander of the Fourth Company! I've received Officer Cui's orders!" The commander's voice was thunderous.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Xiao He asked tentatively.

Wu Wei looked at the diversion zone beside them. "We have to excavate the diversion zone as quickly as possible, guide the river water from the breach into it, and then seal the breach! What do you think you can do?"

"I'll give it a try." Xiao He walked to the diversion zone as he spoke, pondering: How can I excavate this diversion zone quickly?

Suddenly, he had an instinct. Following its guidance, he raised his right hand and slowly clenched his fist.

As he moved, an invisible hand like a shovel gouged up a huge chunk of ground in front of him.