Chapter 393: Chapter 322: Yi Wan, Giddy-up
As expected, some people absolutely refused to leave.
Their reason was that they had a sick person at home who couldn’t get out of bed.
Dai Yajun offered to find a car to take them.
But they still refused, saying the old man got carsick and couldn’t handle a bumpy ride. If something happened, who would be responsible?
Dai Yajun pointed to Shen Xin. "The police are right here."
The man wasn’t scared at all, shouting that the police couldn’t just arrest people without cause. He hadn’t broken any laws.
In the end, after a great deal of coaxing, they strong-armed Dai Yajun into signing a letter of guarantee, promising the village would take full responsibility if anything happened to the father. Only then did they finally agree to go.
Once they were outside, Shen Xin murmured, "You shouldn’t have signed that."
Dai Yajun looked resigned. "Don’t worry," he said. "I signed the village chief’s name."
Shen Xin froze for a moment, then gave him a thumbs-up.
And that wasn’t the only problem.
For example, people who had gone into the mountains to forage.
Dai Yajun stomped his foot in frustration.
Shen Xin couldn’t help but ask, "Can people really go into the mountains to forage all year round?"
Dai Yajun nodded. "It can’t be helped. Those who live by the mountain live off the mountain. There aren’t many paying jobs in the countryside. You can just take a stroll up the mountain and earn some cash. It’s basically like picking up free money."
As he spoke, he looked pained, wondering what to do.
Searching for them in the mountains was clearly unrealistic; they had to focus on the people in the village first.
And it didn’t end there.
On the far west side of the village, there was a family that raised chickens.
They were probably the ones who planned to build a chicken farm up on the mountain.
They flat-out refused to leave, vowing to live or die with their hundreds of chickens.
When Shen Xin and Dai Yajun arrived, the husband and wife were in their yard, digging a drainage ditch. They were completely ignoring their young child, who stood at the front door, wailing.
They tried every form of persuasion, telling them that even if they stayed, they wouldn’t be able to save the chickens if disaster struck. Protecting people was the most important thing.
But it was no use.
The wife stated bluntly that these chickens were their lifeblood; if the chickens were gone, they’d rather die.
It was something said in anger, but sometimes, people get an idea stuck in their heads and simply refuse to listen to reason.
Infuriated and helpless, they had no choice but to focus on evacuating the other villagers first.
Few people owned cars, so most used three-wheelers and motorcycles to evacuate toward the high ground on the mountain they had just come from.
The ground was higher there, so they moved the people there first.
The village chief was in town and said he was coordinating for vehicles to come and pick people up.
Ma Bao Gou Village wasn’t small, with over a hundred households and more than two hundred residents.
They worked in the pouring rain, dealing with all sorts of people who wouldn’t follow instructions—some dragged suitcases, others clutched their chickens, ducks, and geese.
Shen Xin tried to stop them, arguing and shouting until his voice was nearly gone.
It was pouring outside, and he was sweating buckets under his raincoat. He turned his head and nearly bumped right into a donkey’s head.
In the darkness, the icon above its head was incredibly conspicuous.
"What are you doing here?"
Yi Wan brayed, as if to say, ’All the old folks are gone, and I’m the only one left! Did you forget about me?’
Shen Xin didn’t quite understand, but he was glad the donkey was here. He might as well, so he swung himself onto its back.
’My legs are killing me from all this running around.’
Riding the donkey gave him a high vantage point, which also made it easier to direct people.
He ran into Dai Yajun, who saw him riding the donkey and said in surprise, "Look at you, playing Afanti."
Shen Xin laughed. "That’s right, I’m Afanti."
’But riding Yi Wan really is much more convenient,’ he thought. ’I can ride all over the place to see if anyone is secretly hiding or has snuck back.’
In a chaotic situation like this, it was impossible to be completely thorough.
And there were bound to be people like that.
A little after seven, after more than two hours of torrential rain, the storm finally began to let up.
But it had only lessened slightly; it was still at the level of a rainstorm.
The villagers had already been evacuated to the mountainside.
After more persuasion, the chicken-farming couple had also abandoned their fantasy and headed up the mountain with their child.
Dai Yajun rode his three-wheeler while Shen Xin rode Yi Wan, and they canvassed the village, shouting and checking to see if anyone had been left behind.
They met back up. Neither had found anyone.
"Let’s shout one last time," Dai Yajun said.
Shen Xin nodded, telling him to go east while he rode Yi Wan west.
He shouted for a full circuit but got no response.
’Looks like no one’s left.’
Shen Xin turned to leave. The rain continued to pour, but with Yi Wan beside him, he felt a little less anxious.
Just then, Yi Wan stopped dead in its tracks and whipped its head around to look behind them.
"What’s wrong?"
Yi Wan let out a few urgent brays.
’It must have heard something.’
A donkey’s hearing is incredibly sensitive with those two big ears; it was practically a mobile radar.
Shen Xin turned to look, but all he could hear was the ROARING of the rain.
But as he listened carefully, he could faintly hear someone shouting.
He swept his flashlight in that direction.
It wasn’t a high-powered flashlight, so the beam didn’t reach very far.
Shen Xin squinted, and sure enough, he could vaguely make out a figure running toward him from the foot of the distant mountain.
’That must be the person who went foraging in the mountains.’
Shen Xin quickly turned the donkey around, preparing to go and meet the person.
But Yi Wan dug in its heels, refusing to move and just braying.
Shen Xin slapped its rump twice to no effect, then quickly started reasoning with it, trying to get it to obey.
It was no use.
’That stubborn temper of its is acting up again.’
Shen Xin quickly dismounted, but the moment he took a step, Yi Wan grabbed his clothes in its teeth and refused to let go.
At that moment, Shen Xin felt that something was wrong.
He quickly aimed his flashlight into the distance again.
But the darkness swallowed everything. He couldn’t see a thing.
Yi Wan tried to drag Shen Xin away.
But the man in the distance had already seen Shen Xin and was waving his arms, shouting for help.
He couldn’t see what was happening farther back, but there was definitely a problem.
But there was a living, breathing person right in front of him; he couldn’t just ignore him.
Gritting his teeth, Shen Xin broke free from Yi Wan and ran to meet the man.
Breaking into a sprint, Shen Xin quickly reached the man.
The man was a complete mess. His clothes were torn to shreds, and he was panting as if his lungs would burst. Pointing behind him, he stammered, "Mountain... water... flood... run!"
Shen Xin’s head snapped up.
Amidst the ceaseless roar of the rain, a different sound abruptly emerged.
He swept his flashlight over, but it was still pitch-black; he couldn’t see anything.
But a powerful, heart-pounding sense of dread washed over him.
Shen Xin immediately grabbed the man and started running.
The man’s adrenaline must have run out. After just a few steps, his legs gave out and he collapsed.
Shen Xin quickly hauled him back to his feet.
Glancing back in his haste, he finally saw it.
Between the two mountains, something was rapidly swelling, expanding, and approaching.
And Ma Bao Gou Village, right before their eyes, was the first thing in its path.
There was no doubt about it: it was either a flash flood or a mudslide.
Shen Xin grabbed the man and ran for his life.
Just then, Yi Wan charged out from within the curtain of rain, braying.
It skidded to a halt in front of Shen Xin and let out a bray, as if to say, "Get on, quick!"
Shen Xin all but carried the man, heaving him onto Yi Wan’s back before scrambling on himself.
In that split second, Shen Xin bizarrely found himself mentally calculating Yi Wan’s carrying capacity.
’The internet says a donkey’s carrying capacity is 25% of its body weight,’ he thought. ’A larger donkey with long-term work experience can handle up to 30%.’
’Yi Wan is 280 kilograms, which is a medium-to-large-sized donkey.’
’Twenty-five percent is 70 kilograms, basically the weight of one adult man.’
’And now there are two of us. That’s a bit overweight.’
Sure enough, as soon as he got on, Yi Wan’s body sagged, and it nearly stumbled.
But in the next moment, it forced itself upright again.
’He’s a long-time working donkey; he can bear the weight.’
’But with this much weight, he probably won’t be able to run.’
Behind them, a RUMBLING roar was already drawing near.
Just as Shen Xin was anxiously wondering what to do, a bright light pierced the darkness.
Dai Yajun!
He was barreling toward them on his three-wheeler.
He slammed on the brakes, skidding slightly as he came to a stop right in front of Shen Xin.
"Get on, quick!"
At that moment, Shen Xin felt like he could’ve hugged and kissed Dai Yajun. He quickly tossed the man into the vehicle’s cargo bed.
’Even without this man, Yi Wan wouldn’t have been able to run very fast.’
’That so-called speed of forty to fifty kilometers per hour is when he’s running by himself.’
’Carrying a person, he can manage twenty kilometers per hour at best.’
Dai Yajun twisted the throttle, and the three-wheeler shot forward.
In the darkness, a bolt of lightning illuminated the Earth.
Shen Xin turned to look. The torrent, carrying branches and rocks, was spreading rapidly and had nearly reached the village.
The chicken farm on the far west side was instantly swallowed by the floodwaters.
Shen Xin’s heart pounded in his chest. "Yi Wan, hya!" he yelled.
With a sharp bray, Yi Wan bolted forward.
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