Standing Out Alone

(The third update will be a little later, after midnight, because today is Sunday. The rankings update after midnight, so I'm fishing for a wave of "recommendation votes." You all know how it is...)

The same Psychokinesis as Counterforce Hero from E-Russia! Xiao He thought as he looked at the mound of earth he had dug up. I've mastered another new ability!

"Is a flood diversion area this big enough?" Xiao He turned to ask Company Commander Wu beside him. After staring blankly for a moment, Company Commander Wu replied, "One more area this size should be enough. We only need to temporarily slow the flow through the breach, and then..."

Xiao He temporarily set this mound of earth aside, then raised his left hand and dug out another huge chunk.

"That's enough!" Company Commander Wu said, turning to the armed police behind him. "Prepare to divert the flood!"

"How do we do it?" Xiao He asked Company Commander Wu, following the floodway dug by the armed police with his gaze. "Do we open up the path over there leading to the river?"

"That's right." Company Commander Wu nodded.

Xiao He kept both chunks of earth suspended with one hand, then freed his right hand and made a grasping motion before yanking backward. The section of riverbank separating the floodway from the river was pulled out by his Psychokinesis like a cork from a wine bottle, and river water surged madly into the diversion channel.

The flood diversion area he had dug was quickly filled, and the current noticeably slowed. The pressure at the scene immediately eased.

"Next, we just need to plug the breach and we'll be done!" Company Commander Wu said, pointing at the breach where the flood flow had greatly slowed.

"Understood!" Xiao He said, lifting the two huge mounds of earth he had dug up into the air with his Psychokinesis.

Everyone at the scene stood there dumbfounded, looking up as two small mountains dozens of meters tall drifted over their heads toward the breach, then plugged the leaking gap.

The same thought surfaced in everyone's minds: Is this Yinglong's power? It's too strong!

Xiao He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Company Commander Wu. "Will this do?"

"Yes, basically..." Company Commander Wu nodded blankly. "It'll be fine after a little patching..."

"Good! That solves the root problem!" Xiao He clenched his fist.

Meanwhile, Cui Man was also run off her feet at the command center.

"Did you get that?! The footage just now!" Cui Man asked the staff controlling the drones, then instructed several communications officers, "You lot, don't stop either! Confirm the locations needing rescue with the firefighters, then prioritize them!"

Then Cui Man pressed her earpiece. "Yinglong, don't stand around spacing out! Once you've solved one problem, get moving! We'll send you the locations that need rescue, so get there as quickly as possible! If you encounter anyone needing help on the way, lend them a hand!"

"Received!" Xiao He snapped back to his senses, pulled out his phone to check the locations, then turned to Company Commander Wu. "Then I'll head out for rescue first. I'll leave the cleanup here to all of you."

With that, Xiao He shot into the air again and vanished into the torrential rain in the blink of an eye, leaving the stunned people behind.

"Wanqing, you can handle communications with your boyfriend, right?" Cui Man instructed Ye Wanqing at command headquarters. "The communications staff will send over some areas that are harder to rescue later. Pass them on to your boyfriend. We're short-handed, so everyone has to contribute."

"Got it." Ye Wanqing nodded and pressed her earpiece. "Can you hear me? D-dear..."

That sudden "dear" made Xiao He plummet headfirst from midair. Fortunately, he managed to fly back up before he hit the ground.

"What are you doing?!" Xiao He asked irritably, pressing his earpiece. "Act normal!"

"Aren't we a couple?" Ye Wanqing retorted indignantly.

Xiao He teased, "How about calling me Brother Xiao instead?"

"Shameless!" Ye Wanqing said angrily. "Be serious, look at the situation!"

"Got it," Xiao He muttered, speeding forward.

"There are trapped people beneath the subway station ahead of you. Can you figure something out?" Ye Wanqing asked.

Xiao He looked down and indeed saw a crowd gathered below, apparently trying to drain the water.

So Xiao He slowed down and descended gently into the middle of the group. Under everyone's astonished gazes, he asked, "I'm here to help with the rescue. Is there anything I can do?"

"No, the water has already backflowed into the subway. We can't rescue anyone unless we pump it out first." A rescuer operating a water pump frowned. "The air pocket beneath the subway station can only hold for a few more hours at most, but the drainage is far too slow."

"Step back." Xiao He raised a hand to signal everyone to retreat, then pointed his hand toward the subway entrance.

As if an invisible vortex had appeared, the surrounding water was drawn toward him. Xiao He raised his hand and stepped backward, and the water gathered above his head with his movements, slowly forming a brown sphere of water that kept growing larger.

The water sphere overhead did not put much pressure on him, so Xiao He continued gathering the floodwater with his Psychokinesis. By the time all the water near the subway station had been drawn above him, a massive water sphere more than forty meters in diameter had formed over his head.

"The water... the water's been drawn away! We can rescue them now!" The firefighters came back to their senses and rushed into the subway station with rescue equipment.

Xiao He, meanwhile, used his Psychokinesis to lift the water sphere and flew high into the sky.

"What do I do with this? Where am I supposed to dump this water ball?" Xiao He looked at the enormous sphere above him, troubled.

After thinking it over, he flew away with the water sphere, intending to dispose of it somewhere. But there was no small amount of water in it, and most of the city was flooded. Dumping it anywhere would only make things worse...

"There are more than a dozen critically ill patients in a hospital ahead who urgently need to be transferred. Can you find a way?" Ye Wanqing spoke up again.

Xiao He glanced over. The hospital was not far ahead, so he flew there with the water sphere overhead. Then he repeated the process, using Psychokinesis to gather the water around the hospital into the sphere above his head, making it expand even further.

The water around the hospital was quickly drained, and the patients began to be transferred smoothly.

But Xiao He was now stuck in a difficult position: what was he supposed to do with the water sphere?!

"Might as well go all the way! I'll deal with this 'Lin Tiannan' in one shot!" Xiao He gritted his teeth and used Psychokinesis to gather all the standing water around him above his head.

For a time, thin streams rose from the ground everywhere, connecting to the water sphere above Xiao He's head. The sphere grew larger and larger, until even Xiao He gradually began to struggle.

"I can't do it anymore. This is my limit!" Xiao He said with a frown, looking at the water sphere overhead.

Who knew how huge the water sphere had become by now? From his perspective, he could not even see its edges. He only knew that a vast shadow beneath his feet had enveloped the city.

However, most of the floodwater inundating AL City had already been gathered above his head. Although there was still plenty of standing water throughout AL City, it was no longer enough to cause a disaster.

The problem now was how to deal with this gigantic water sphere...

Xiao He floated alone above AL City with the water sphere, unable to leave and unable to stay, utterly awkward.

"You really are a cut above the rest..." Ye Wanqing complained quietly through the earpiece. "What are we supposed to do now? That's so much water."

"What else can we do? Send it south-to-north!" Xiao He replied irritably, flying out of the city with the water sphere overhead.