Reinforcements from all sides arrived swiftly.
Gu Zheng also reached the explosion site as fast as he could.
The main hall of Mazu Temple was gone.
Only a few broken walls protruded from the sea, marking where it had once stood.
In the rear sleeping hall, more than half of which had collapsed, terrified worshippers huddled together in bewilderment, trembling.
The "staff," now wearing red armbands, were directing the evacuation through megaphones.
Meanwhile, Chen Liang and Han Xiao were both standing in the seawater, working in tense silence alongside the team responsible for recovery and rescue.
When Gu Zheng appeared, the comrade in charge of operations there stepped forward to give him a more detailed report.
For the first time, neither Chen Liang nor Han Xiao acknowledged him. They did not even look up.
Even after the comrade finished his report and left, neither man raised his head.
Gu Zheng looked at the two of them, then at the murky seawater, and fell silent for a moment.
Then he headed toward the back without a word.
Dealing with the candles that had not yet exploded and finding any other explosives hidden in the temple were the most urgent tasks at hand.
Both docks on Ping Tan Island were placed under emergency lockdown.
The entire Ping Tan Island would be sealed off.
Few dared object.
The oppressive weight of the explosion bore down on everyone's heart.
Peace had not been established all that long ago, and most people had not forgotten those turbulent years.
Soon, a specialized Combat Engineer Unit discovered nearly twenty kilograms of explosives in two locations in the West Side Side Hall.
Judging by their condition and composition, the explosives had probably been accumulated in small quantities over many trips.
If both caches had been detonated, the base