Super Soldier in the City-Chapter 2122 - 2185: A Retired Soldier

No matter how much he is worth, how much money he has, or what status he holds, Li Yifei has always remained the same Li Yifei. Although not entirely unchanged, his pure heart has mostly persisted.

Watching these videos as an ordinary person, seeing the images, listening to the sounds, even the remarks and sentiments of the photographer during the filming, and the difficulties of rescuing people—do these need further explanation? Not at all. Just by watching the video, countless people will understand what truly happened.

The women of the Li family were even moved to tears by what their husband had done.

Of course, Li Yifei dared to do this because he was skilled and courageous, able to know he wouldn’t encounter great danger. Even if there was danger, he could turn peril into safety. However, looking at it from another angle, if he were still that retired special forces soldier from a few years ago, Li Yifei would probably still do it, albeit with greater risk.

The general public is unaware of these things. Watching this video, they wouldn’t know what to think—a retired special forces soldier, during a disaster in the neighboring province, could have just donated money or supplies, or even done nothing, without facing criticism. After all, it wasn’t his hometown that was hit by disaster, yet he organized a rescue team of over two hundred people, bringing tents, water, and food, and arrived at the epicenter of the quake in just a few hours...

Ning Xin’er immediately reached out to friends in the circle. Some had good relationships with her, some had benefited from her help, while others agreed to share due to face or other reasons. So when Li Yifei’s account was set up, those celebrities were the first to follow him. These stars were curious about Ning Xin’er’s mysterious husband, some only knowing he was a mega-millionaire but not much more.

Li Yifei’s Twitter handle was called "A Retired Soldier." An extraordinary yet ordinary name, he pondered it for a while. It was a sentiment—should his fame spread, it would surely evoke more people’s sentiments, considering many have served in the military!

This was also a summary of Li Yifei.

In no time, more than a dozen celebrities with major influence—more than typical Internet celebrities—followed Li Yifei. Some even privately messaged to ask if it was really Li Yifei. Before he could reply, Xu Shanshan contacted several troll companies with prominent Internet celebrities, who usually posted positive messages. The incident did not involve them initially, earning some goodwill from the Li family, so they agreed to find him to participate in the counterattack.

Of course, at this point, they didn’t know who the opponent was, leaving this counterattack somewhat incomplete.

But this matter wasn’t the immediate concern. The urgent task was to upload this video. After Chu Xiaoyao set it up, she allowed Li Yifei to press the send button, with the women of the Li family gathered around.

This was a battle unlike previous business battles, different from Li Yifei’s life-and-death battles with others, yet it was a unique fight—a new battlefield.

Li Yifei clicked send. The celebrities didn’t immediately share it as if they were watching the video first.

A Retired Soldier, on this Twitter account, Li Yifei used a character of his name for the avatar, no other photos were uploaded, the followers were only the default users from the system; even those celebrities didn’t follow back. Li Yifei’s video title wasn’t long, just a simple statement: "I am Li Yifei, the widely talked-about ’heartless wealthy man’ today. I am a retired soldier, and these years I have remembered one thing: I face heaven and earth, with a clear conscience. Right and wrong, justice and injustice, rest in the hearts of the people."

The nobility of facing heaven and earth with a clear conscience—those celebrities, initially compelled by Ning Xin’er’s connection to share, quietly watched the half-hour video after it was posted. This thirty-minute clip was edited from days of footage, the full version even four or five hours long. Chu Xiaoyao, not a professional editor, planned to seek professionals for the final editing.

Some parts of the video weren’t entirely clear, being filmed at night, but fortunately, the photographer was experienced, knowing how to choose lighting and position in dim conditions. Thus, this half-hour video turned out exceptionally exciting every minute. From the beginning, showing Li Yifei with a worried expression sitting in the car, as the convoy merged continuously without stopping, he instructed over the intercom for everyone to arrive as quickly as possible and join the rescue swiftly. Fast-forward to several hours later on-site, with precise instructions from Li Yifei in the rescue operation. The voiceover explained that the team he brought was faster and appeared more professional than local troops. Most importantly, their methods were steady, with rapid rescues, often saving one person after another quickly.

The video displayed timestamps and noted edited parts. When it showed Li Yifei’s cold and resolute expression facing merciless, turbulent floods, his determined speech, Yang Rui’s intervention, and Li Yifei’s words were recorded clearly. With the spotlight on, Li Yifei stripped off his clothing, tying a makeshift bathing basin to himself, nearly bare skin bound with icy ropes, his muscles taut from the chill, diving into the water resolutely, showing no fear to save lives. Despite sinking and resurfacing like a log in the flood, seemingly about to drown any moment, he managed to overcome dangers, inching his way to a two-story building. First saving two infants, ensuring they weren’t battered by the freezing floodwaters, putting in maximum effort, then saving their mother on a return trip—despite being hit by floating timber and submerged, he resiliently swam back and rescued her.

Seeing this, even the celebrities couldn’t help but cry. What kind of spirit is this? The video was only halfway through. Li Yifei ran from downstream to upstream, draped only in an army coat, which was no match for the wind chill. He even gave his coat to flood victims. Upon spotting Su Xiaoxiao over a hundred meters away in the water, the camera captured his determination to save lives despite Yang Rui and others pointing out difficulties, adding to Li Yifei’s willingness to disregard his own safety.

Ultimately, Li Yifei leaped in, a swim ring on his back, concerned that the little girl might suffer from the cold water was especially sought out. Under the conditions, no better solution could be found; even a speedboat struggled to reach there due to the challenging currents, let alone the myriad dangers beneath the water surface.

Here, not much footage of Li Yifei was captured, as the water was pitch black, and the spotlight often reflected or got absorbed by the water surface, with only occasional glimpses of Li Yifei’s head above the waves.

As the editor, the staff added some narration above, not overly emotional. Chu Xiaoyao adjusted it to a more straightforward narrative, only supplementing with brief textual explanations.

For instance, during the sequence with the onlooker’s and Yang Rui’s worries, a caption noted, "He actually swam for nearly ten minutes to reach that tree, which had originally stood in front of the girl’s house on the mountain. Brought downhill by a landslip, it had once towered dozens of meters high, now only branches remained. After he rescued her, the tree washed away in the flood—a delay of a few minutes might have carried the little girl away."

The scene with two women and their children was also narrated: "The house collapsed in the flood after rescuing the last person."

Subsequently, Li Yifei carried the little girl, astonishingly in a riding posture, allowing her to ride on his back while he sank into the water, occasionally surfacing for a breath near a shore. A caption read, "Appearing like a turtle struggling in the water."

But no one could laugh at this sight, as this wasn’t a turtle—it was a savior, a deity, bearing the hope of the little girl’s life. In the darkness of the water surface, people couldn’t clearly see Li Yifei and the girl, only ripples amidst the waves, as vigorous currents pushed against them. The swim ring protected her from water ingress, and miraculously, Li Yifei brought her back.

Here, the video went dark, and a voiceover appeared: "He was swept away hundreds of meters by the current, hence this part of the process wasn’t captured."

The scene shifted to Li Yifei swimming with the little girl ashore. He hoisted her up, not attending to himself, quickly instructing others to bring her inside a car to warm up and get checked, as he emerged from the cold water, emitting white mist, his skin bright red as if burned—a look familiar to winter swimmers who knew the cold induced this vivid redness as the blood surged.

At this point, many celebrities couldn’t compose themselves, tears flowing openly, for as the camera zoomed closer, they saw scars crisscrossing Li Yifei’s body, clearly not from fights or brawls, as they remembered his identity, a once-retired soldier.

The latter third of the video captured a controversial scene—after the deputy division commander arrived, his actions sparked unanimous condemnation, vividly recorded, even his demeanor. Although some foul language from Li Yifei’s confrontation was trimmed in editing, the scenes where he struck the person remained uncut, the narration adding here: "Hitting people is wrong, kids, don’t learn from this!"

This comment made people chuckle. The video showed Li Yifei discovering and rescuing someone buried near the deputy division commander’s feet, though this part wasn’t shown due to its strangeness.