Hesitate Any Longer, and There Won't Be Another Chance

It was Gu Zheng!

He really was on the front line of the disaster relief effort.

"Regimental Commander Gu, I came with the medical team!" Song Ning explained briefly after recognizing him.

"Fill it in! Hurry!" Gu Zheng glanced at the child trapped in the mud, then issued orders to the soldiers who had run up behind him.

They all carried sandbags on their shoulders and tossed them into the mudflow one after another.

"The old man was the previous village chief. When the mudslide struck, he rushed to warn the villagers, but his own grandson didn't escape in time."

Gu Zheng quietly explained the situation to Song Ning. "At first, the child could still answer when we called, but he's too young to catch the rope loop we threw him. He's in bad shape now and may already be unconscious. Get ready to give emergency aid."

Sandbag after sandbag went in. Those near the bank stayed in place, but once they extended a few meters out, nothing would hold. No matter how many they threw in, the bags sank deep into the mud.

"Have you found the winnowing baskets?"

"They're here! They're here!"

Someone carried over a stack of large, round winnowing baskets freshly collected from the villagers' homes. They covered more area than wooden boards and weighed less.

"Try again! Hurry!"

Another soldier ventured out. The baskets had been roughly wired together and laid toward the child to form a path.

The first few baskets held up well enough to support the soldier's weight, but farther out, mud welled up as soon as he stepped down, and the entire basket began to sink. When he tried to advance, the mud gradually rose over his calves, leaving him unable to take another step.

He was still about three or four meters from the child.

He wanted to try again, but not only the basket beneath his feet sank-the ones attached in front and behind it went down too.

"Get back here, now!" Gu Zheng ordered.

"Keep laying them! Try again! Get those sandbags over here faster!"

"Commander Gu, the rain's getting heavier again! We have to hurry!" a soldier reminded him anxiously.

In fact, even as they worked to rescue him, the mud was slowly shifting, carrying the child visibly farther from the bank.

They added another round of sandbags, but it did little good. The baskets were tied together again and laid out toward the child.

Just as another soldier was about to step onto them, Song Ning came forward. "Wait!"

She told Gu Zheng, "Let me go! I'm the lightest, so I have the best chance! That child can't wait any longer!"

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Gu Zheng stared intently at Song Ning without speaking.

The rain really was getting heavier. If the mud started flowing, it would sweep the child away.

Song Ning stepped forward and took the rope from the soldier. "Regimental Commander Gu, hesitate any longer, and there won't be another chance!"

Gu Zheng did not hesitate again. He took the rope and wound it around Song Ning's waist, telling her in a low, firm voice, "Keep your body relaxed once you're out there. Stay balanced, and don't panic! Whatever happens, I'll hold on to you!"

Song Ning nodded in acknowledgment, took a deep breath, and stepped onto the round baskets with another rope in her hand.

"Commander! This is bad! The mud's starting to move!" someone shouted nearby.

As the rain intensified, so did the flow of water. The mud that had been still moments earlier began surging downhill.

Song Ning kept her breathing steady and did not let it distract her.

By the time she stepped onto the third basket, she could clearly feel the unstable footing.

Her lighter weight did give her an advantage over the soldiers. The baskets did not sink, but the mud beneath her feet was moving noticeably faster.

"Song Ning-don't push beyond your limits!" Gu Zheng called from the bank.

"Ah-hurry! The child's being swept away!" someone cried out.

"Tiedan!" the old woman wailed in anguish before passing out completely.

There's no time! The rain began pelting down!

She knew that if she backed down now, the child would have no chance of being rescued.

"Gu Zheng-hold on to the rope!"

Song Ning shouted as she broke into a run.

By the time she reached the last two baskets, they had already sunk.

Without hesitating, Song Ning leaped forward and caught the child as the mud swept him along.

Mud rapidly engulfed her entire body. Holding tightly to the child's arm, she wrapped the rope in her right hand around him by feel.

One loop, two loops, three loops, then a firm knot.

Then she shouted, "Pull-pull now!"

At the same time, she heard another startled cry. "Rocks! Big rocks are falling! The rope..."

After that, the roar of water and rain filled her ears, drowning out everything else.

Her body plunged rapidly downward, carried along by the muddy water.

As the rain fell ever harder, another mudslide erupted.

The rope was still around her waist, but there was no longer any force pulling her back. The mudslide must have dislodged rocks that severed the rope held by those on the bank.

Please let the child's rope be all right.

As the rain grew heavier, the mudslide turned into a flash flood. Song Ning clung to a section of log and drifted with the current, struggling to stay alert and avoid being struck by anything.

She did her best to study her surroundings, looking for a chance to reach the bank.

But the farther downstream she went, the more water joined the flow, and the faster it became.

She had no idea how far she had drifted when a deafening roar ahead made her realize-

Oh no! A cliff!

If she kept drifting with the current, she would be smashed to pieces.

Fortunately, the current took a zigzag turn up ahead...

That's the place!

Song Ning thought, This is my last chance!

She did her best to steer the log, turning it sideways so the current would push her toward the bend.

At the first bend, the log struck the rocks as she had hoped. But it was too thick, and she was on the far side of it. She reached out but could not grab anything on the bank. The log paused for only a moment before carrying her farther downstream.

It's all right! There's another bend! Song Ning encouraged herself.

With that experience behind her, she adjusted the log's direction. She would have to let her own body strike the rocks, because only then might she be able to grab a tree or rock on the bank and climb out.

It was her only option if she wanted to avoid being swept over the cliff.

The farther downstream she went, the stronger the current grew!

The bend was just ahead. Song Ning adjusted her angle and braced herself to be slammed against the rocks by the current.

But at that critical moment, something tightened around her waist. A force checked her downstream plunge, and before she could react, a figure moving even faster wrapped his arms around her and slammed into the rocks at the bend in her place.

Held tightly against his chest, Song Ning did not strike the rocks at all.