Super Soldier in the City-Chapter 2113 - 2176: Evacuation
As dawn was approaching, Li Yifei finally rested for a while, but only for a short time. During this period, Li Yifei rescued an elderly man, but it saddened him to find out that the man was already dead. Although there were no visible wounds on his body, it was unclear whether he froze to death or succumbed to an illness. He was also found in a house soaked with water, sitting on the highest cabinet with his legs submerged in water, leaning against the wall. When Li Yifei entered, he immediately wanted to use True Qi to revive the man, only to find out he had already died. Carrying the body out, many were moved, and after speaking with residents, it was discovered that this man was a widowed old man, who had been a teacher for many decades when he was younger, living alone after retirement. It was said he had a son, but the son hadn’t returned for decades.
The old man had a good relationship with his neighbors, guarding his small house and having a small vegetable garden. Whenever he grew more vegetables than he could eat, he would share them with his neighbors, and if the neighbors cooked anything delicious, they would bring him a bowl. Everyone got along quite well.
In small towns, neighbors were familiar with each other, and as long as they didn’t have exceptionally difficult personalities, they got along harmoniously.
Unfortunately, in this natural disaster, the old man died in his home. If Li Yifei hadn’t discovered him, the floodwaters might have swept away his body, never to be found.
It was lamentable, yet the living still needed saving. After a brief rest, Li Yifei noticed the sky had brightened, and snowflakes were gently drifting down, enhancing the somber atmosphere.
Many people in the small town recognized Li Yifei. They didn’t know his name, but they knew who he was. Yesterday, he jumped into the icy, danger-filled river numerous times to rescue people. Additionally, the people who came with him not only saved lives but also brought the first batch of food, water, and tents.
Even though it was bone-chilling cold, having tents to block the wind made a big difference compared to having nowhere to shelter from the wind. The freezing wind stabbed like a knife, but without it, conditions felt somewhat better.
As more rescuers arrived, things became chaotic. There was a commotion from over there. Li Yifei walked over and found Yang Rui standing next to a middle-aged man in a military uniform, who looked like a deputy division commander level. This man, wearing a thick military coat, was shouting through a megaphone at the crowd in front of him, "What are you doing here? Leave immediately, we don’t need you here."
The people he was driving away were the security personnel and rescue teams brought by Li Yifei. They’d been working all night, managing to drink perhaps only some cold, ice-chipped water, without even a bite of food, yet they were driven away by someone who appeared to be a leader. Naturally, they were unhappy, glaring at the man.
"Hurry up, don’t dawdle. Is this the place for you?" The man continued shouting.
As Li Yifei approached, Yang Rui hurriedly came over and explained, "Mr. Li, this is a leader from a provincial military unit. They’ve come saying they want to take over here."
"Take over?" Upon hearing this, Li Yifei frowned. This wasn’t wartime or foreign combat, so why talk about taking over? Right now, it was about saving lives and providing disaster relief. While having more people wasn’t necessarily ideal, in the absence of large-scale rescue equipment, more people represented more hope.
Li Yifei walked over, looking at the leader. The other man noticed him as well and asked, "Who are you?"
"Leader, this is the Mr. Li I was telling you about," Yang Rui quickly explained.
"Oh, it’s you. Fine, get going. I’m taking over here," the man said with the same attitude, offering no introduction of himself.
Damn it, Li Yifei’s eyebrows raised. Since the other person was rude, there was no need for him to be polite either. He said directly, "Leader, this isn’t wartime. There’s nothing to take over or not take over. My people aren’t causing trouble. Ever since we arrived last night, we’ve been saving people. For you to just tell us to leave with one sentence, isn’t that inappropriate?"
"I understand what you’re saying. After everything’s done, I’ll include you in the report for your achievements. There’s no need to bargain this with me, just leave. What kind of rescue team are these people who don’t have any professional knowledge!" the man said.
Hearing this, Li Yifei chuckled, nodded, and said, "My people are very professional. In my view, they’re more professional than your soldiers. Look at you, standing directly on the rubble. If someone were buried underneath, you’d step on them and kill them. And you call that professional? It’s a joke. Leader, I don’t know what you’re intending to do, but let me tell you, we are here to save people. You better not mess things up, or you’ll regret it later."
Seeing their leader actually standing up to a military officer, the security and rescue personnel felt gratified. After all, they had been exhausted from working all night. If they could take a break, they’d certainly welcome it. But being forced to leave was something they wouldn’t agree to. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
Li Yifei’s confrontation prompted the leader’s subordinates to step forward, surrounding Li Yifei and saying, "Apologize to the leader. Is this how you talk?"
"Stop yammering. When I was in the army, you couldn’t even cross a threshold without grazing your nuts," Li Yifei glanced at them and swore. He then looked at his own people and shouted, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and continue the rescue. Unless you faint, no one is leaving on my watch. Damn it, this is nonsense. Take over what? Who do you think you are? I don’t know how many army commanders I’ve met; who do you think you are?"
If Li Yifei wanted a military rank, to not mention something high, obtaining a full division level position with his skills wouldn’t be difficult. Disregarding his age, based on military merits alone, Li Yifei was more than qualified. So, when it came to an unqualified deputy commander, Li Yifei naturally had no good attitude. Especially at such a critical time for saving lives, this jerk came over to confusingly give orders. The fact that Li Yifei didn’t kick him was already merciful.
Of course, Li Yifei was disinclined to explain these things to the man. He simply turned around, showing the back of his head to him, not even wanting to know his name. It didn’t matter who he was; he just couldn’t do things this way.
His subordinates felt encouraged. Since their boss wouldn’t even acknowledge the other party, they too felt empowered and continued with the search and rescue.
Li Yifei walked some distance away, then abruptly stopped.
His subordinates, already familiar with this behavior, weren’t surprised, while the deputy division commander, having been scolded by Li Yifei, flushed with embarrassment. Although he knew Li Yifei’s name, he only knew it in passing. As a newly promoted deputy division commander, previously only a regiment-level officer, and without command over troops, he had limited knowledge of the Flying Hawk Squad. Naturally, he wouldn’t be like others who were in awe upon hearing of the Flying Hawk Squad. Being humiliated by such a prominent soldier, he couldn’t handle it. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a gun, only a shovel for show, so he immediately gave his subordinates a signal to apprehend Li Yifei.
Yang Rui sensed trouble and wanted to intervene, but he was just a battalion commander, not worth much in front of the other party, especially since they weren’t from the same unit. In the strict hierarchical structure of the military, he couldn’t say anything.
Li Yifei stood still, sensing the breath of life in the vicinity. Yet, due to the crowd, his perception was somewhat hindered, leaving him unsure.
At this time, the deputy division commander’s subordinates approached, intending to take control of Li Yifei and remove him, while his people naturally became ineffective.
Just as they approached him from behind, Li Yifei suddenly turned around. It seemed as though he didn’t see them and continued walking back, but the others reached out to block him.
The Li family’s security personnel and rescue team immediately surrounded them with their equipment in hand, but Li Yifei raised his hand and said, "Don’t move." The security personnel and rescue team stopped immediately, appearing more disciplined than the military men.
Li Yifei did not stop and continued walking back. The big soldiers in front did not give way, remaining in his path. Li Yifei smiled faintly, and without a visible move, he merely shook lightly, and the men instantly flew out — not stepped back, but flew out, landing two or three meters away.
"Are you deliberately messing with me? A retired soldier like me is to be bullied? Damn it, won’t you feel uneasy if I don’t deal with you?" Li Yifei strode up to the man. The man’s face was full of disbelief. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he’d think his men were putting on a show — how could people be sent flying without a single move?
"I reckon the one who needs to leave is you. Damn it, my people have rescued so many. Your lot arrived so late, and now you want to snatch the credit?"
Li Yifei’s words struck the man’s heart. In reality, the rescue had been going on for some time. The first wave of rescue operations was nearly over. After all, the town was small. With the earthquake happening around dusk, many fled for their lives as soon as they sensed something was wrong. Not many were buried, or to put it another way, the dead and drowned were beyond saving, and some bodies had been found. For those remaining, it really depended on fate.
Disasters are ruthless. Some people didn’t suffer trauma, but certain parts of their bodies could necrotize from prolonged compression. Even if rescued, they might end up disabled.
So, by this time, it was all about reaping the rewards. The deputy division commander was now the top military officer in terms of rank with the most people under his command. Slightly altering the arrival time or exaggerating the number of rescuers meant significant credit and was a political capital for a newly-promoted deputy division commander.
Thus, he shamelessly wanted to drive others away.
Unfortunately, Li Yifei didn’t give him any face, showing no basic courtesy. He walked up to the man, lightly slapped his face, and said, "Don’t say I didn’t give you face. You better now, immediately, get the hell out of here. You dare send someone to take me on?"
