"I've put up with you long enough. You buzz all day like a fly."
"You, just you wait. Someone's coming to save me any minute now. You can stay here and wait to drown! Xiao Wen, I'll take you with me later!" Wei Wei covered her face and sobbed.
Right then, a shark fin broke the dim water's surface and cut toward them at speed.
"Look, what's that?"
"My god, is that a shark?"
Those who had been praying for rescue stared toward the waves. When hunger became unbearable, they opened their mouths and swallowed a few red nematodes.
The rooftop was crammed with diners and staff. The moment someone shouted, every head turned and the whispers churned about the thing that had suddenly appeared.
A young man lifted his phone and started filming. "It's our second hour trapped on the roof of Ai Jia supermarket. Something that looks like a shark is rushing over. It's so fast, so cool. Wait, maybe it's not a shark. Look, there are lights on it."
"My god, it's a speedboat!"
In a blink, the shark closed in on the supermarket roof. The roar of its motor shook everyone. Only then did the crowd realize it seemed to be some kind of speedboat.For a moment the rooftop erupted, excitement surging.
"Is it the police? Are they here to save us?"
"Are you dumb? Why would the police ride a shark over here? And even if it's a boat, how many people can that tiny thing take?"
"Then what do we do? The water's rising fast. If this keeps up, it'll swallow the roof. Are we all going to die here?"
"I don't want to die."
Among the sea of bald heads, Jing Shu spotted Jing Lai at once, identifiable by a rain hat and raincoat. Jing Shu drove straight toward Jing Lai, the motor thundering as she feathered the throttle to hold position.
Jing Shu cranked open a window and shouted over wind, rain, and red nematodes. "Auntie, are you okay?"
"Jing Shu? What are you doing out here in this flood? I'm fine, all thanks to the gear you gave me!" Jing Lai's voice shook with excitement. She had already decided that if rescue did not come soon, she would try to swim for it.
But the water was swift and fierce. Anyone who fell in would be swept away.
"Hurry and get in. I didn't dare tell Grandma that you were trapped in a flood or she'd cry her eyes out," Jing Shu yelled. The rain drowned everything. Talking meant shouting.
So the boat was here to pick up a person.
Wei Wei stared at Jing Lai in disbelief, tears spilling. So this was the niece Jing Lai kept mentioning. In this moment of danger, only her niece had come piloting a boat to save her. How was Jing Lai this lucky?
Right then, plaintive voices rose all around. "Please save us!"
"Save me. I don't want to die."
The young man kept his phone trained on the craft. "This shark submarine is seriously cool, and it's driven by a girl. But it looks like she's only here to pick up her family. The rest of us might die on this roof."
After the initial rush of relief, Jing Lai faltered. As part of management, she could not just leave. "Jing Shu, can we think of a way to save these people?"
Jing Shu frowned and shouted, "Isn't the Second Detachment stationed nearby? Why aren't the police here yet?"
Jing Lai shouted back, "They're evacuating the residents of the oil-base community first. Those buildings are old and low, easy to collapse in a flood, and there are seniors and kids there. Our supermarket has higher floors, so they told us to hold out a while longer. But at this rate, we won't last much longer either."
Thank goodness the Ai Jia supermarket had three stories of mall above it, or it would have gone under already.
Jing Shu had never been one to play the hero. In her previous life, she barely had the ability to keep herself alive.
In this life, her rule was simple. If it was within her power, she would save people. If it was beyond her power, then everyone would have to fend for themselves.
"Hold on," Jing Shu shouted. "Quiet, everyone. I'm calling Officer Li Yuetian to ask when they can get here."
The noisy rooftop fell silent at once. Nobody expected that little boat to save many, but if this girl knew a police officer, maybe she could bring help.
The young man kept recording. "Looks like the situation might turn around. The girl knows someone. She's calling for rescue."
Beep, beep.
"Hello? Jing Shu? What is it? Make it quick. If you're about to ask me to rescue people, don't. Half the residents in the oil-base community are still being evacuated. It'll take at least two more hours. There's another group waiting at Ai Jia supermarket. We don't have enough life jackets or boats. We don't have enough supplies or people!" Officer Li Yuetian's voice came harsh over the line. If Jing Shu had not sent him a kilogram of soybeans earlier, he would not have picked up at all.
Officer Li Yuetian was at his wit's end. This time they were in real trouble. Wu City had been fine overall, but the oil-base community under his Second Detachment's jurisdiction was the first to be hit.
That community sat at what was basically a natural river inlet. The flood rushed through there before surging toward the city.
Downtown Wu City at least had an hour to evacuate. The oil-base community was swallowed all at once, with no time to run.
Many would likely die today. His career was probably over. If he saved the oil-base community, he would not save the people at the supermarket. If he saved the supermarket, the oil-base community would be wiped out.
Jing Shu narrowed her eyes. Officer Li Yuetian clearly could not spare anyone for the supermarket.
The city itself was flooding. Over a million people were on the move. The government had to secure emergency shelter. There was no way to free up rescue teams. At the current rate, the top floor of the supermarket would be underwater within the hour. There were over a thousand souls on this roof. They would likely all die.
In her previous life, Jing Shu had never learned how many people died at the Ai Jia supermarket. The news never reported it. Most of those reported missing were later found dead.
People around Jing Shu watched her with bated breath. It felt like even the rain had paused.
The young man's camera caught only Jing Shu's voice as she spoke into the phone. "Officer Li, one question. Where's the nearest emergency shelter in the development zone? I'll handle the transfer for the people at the supermarket."
"Got it. Then set someone there to receive them."
Most people heard Jing Shu despite the storm. Even so, the rooftop remained eerily quiet. No one understood what she meant by "I'll handle the transfer." How was she going to save people with a shark submarine that could only take a handful at a time?
Jing Shu hung up with a resolute look. She had seen death too often to fear it, but that did not mean she would ignore lives she could save. If she could do it simply, without exposing any of her secrets, she would.
"From this moment on, we move fast."