As simple pleasantries exchanged, a deafening roar was heard; amidst the overwhelming sounds of water, Ling Chengyan turned back and saw the dam collapse for the second time. The floodwaters roared out through the breached opening, splashed mud and foam into the air, and were immediately swallowed by the turbulent waves.

Standing beside Ling Chengyan were Wu Qingyun and Chief Li. In the urgency of the situation, she first grabbed Chief Li, flinging him onto the crane nearby, shouting loudly, "Get in!"

She simultaneously pulled Wu Qingyun along and stepped onto the crane’s boom herself.

Stabilizing herself, she threw a rescue rope, catching Liu Xianghu, who had already been swept away by the water. Next, she quickly tossed another rope and rescued three more people.

When she threw the rope for the fifth time to rescue someone, it landed less than a meter away from a struggling middle-aged man. He reached desperately for the rope, but failed to grasp it. The next moment, the water swept him away, leaving no trace.

Wu Qingyun and Liu Xianghu collapsed in tears, with Wu Qingyun murmuring, "If only we had been wearing life jackets..."

But who could have predicted the dam would collapse a second time?

They had gone to unblock the vehicles and repair the road, successfully bringing back materials and vehicles. Who would have thought they’d face the dam’s second collapse as they arrived at their destination?

Besides, even with life jackets, could one truly escape with their life when faced with the turbulent floodwaters after the dam collapse? It’s uncertain.

The water’s velocity is too fast, its power immense. Encountering a flood, one cannot control their body and is swept away by the current. The debris in the water, submerged stones, and passing trees can all be fatal. Moreover, the flood carries a massive amount of silt; if one chokes on the water, it almost certainly leads to death.

Ling Chengyan stood on the crane’s boom expressionless, silent.

She did her best, but in the face of natural disasters, human strength is so insignificant.

Those fortunate enough to survive, like her, hung onto relatively sturdy cranes were no different from the disaster victims clinging to tree tops or rooftops.

They had only two ways to escape their dire straits: first, wait for the water to calm and attempt self-rescue, as they were close to the dam; the tents on the undamaged section of the dam housed their comrades and supplies. Second, wait for rescue, like the trapped disaster victims.

Ultimately, they chose neither self-rescue nor waiting for rescue but to continue saving lives.

The crane driver was trapped in the cab with only a narrow slit for air, pressing his head against the roof to breathe.

This time, Ling Chengyan didn’t act; Wu Qingyun and Liu Xianghu crawled over, spent over ten minutes struggling before they managed to open the cab door.

The crane driver was finally rescued, pulling himself out of the cab and was then pulled atop the cab by both Wu Qingyun and Liu Xianghu.

The middle-aged man in his thirties sat crouched on the roof, holding his head and wailing.

This vehicle was purchased with his cousin through a loan, with less than a third of it paid off. The flood likely ruined the vehicle’s engine, and his cousin was the one Ling Chengyan couldn’t save moments ago.

He sobbed, "How can I explain this to Uncle and Aunt when I go home..."

His cries were heart-wrenching, and Ling Chengyan and the others had teary eyes, Liu Xianghu couldn’t help but cry and punched himself hard multiple times: If he hadn’t been useless and the captain hadn’t wasted time saving him, perhaps the cousin might have been rescued.

Feeling as if his heart was being clawed, Liu Xianghu punched the crane’s boom, tearing the skin on the back of his hand...

Wu Qingyun stepped forward, grabbed his still-moving fist, and shouted through gritted teeth, "Save your strength; you’ll need it to save more people and shore up a few more stones by the breach!"

The driver was strong enough; after crying, his eyes were somewhat vacant, but he didn’t falter. He wiped his face with both hands and crawled silently into the crane control cabin, started the boom, extended it, and lifted people out from the surging flood.

With the crane’s presence, the other cars knocked askew by the flood were uprighting, with the focus on lowering the cage from the truck.

With all this hustle, the initial onslaught from the flood eased somewhat, the waters gradually calmed, the excavator’s high clearance allowed it to start and operate, assisting the crane in pulling the trapped vehicles from the water and pushing the crane out as well.

Without orders from Ling Chengyan, Liu Xianghu, and Wu Qingyun helped the crane driver check the crane’s mechanical status, after emergency measures, all the water inside the crane was cleaned out, yet it couldn’t be started due to the internal water.

The command center contacted the city by phone, reporting the situation while requesting supplies and vehicle parts.

Others began dividing tasks, focusing on cooperating with the loader to transport stones and the cage.

The loader transported stones in batches down to the dam, people hoisted and carried them to the dam. The cage, being large and heavy, couldn’t be moved manually, so it was temporarily placed down below the dam.

After roadbed repairs, Ling Chengyan participated in the discussion for the first time, offering her opinion, "I don’t understand hydraulics, but I have an idea. Can we perhaps erect a levee in the outer areas where the water flow is relatively calm as it’s difficult to directly plug the breach?"

With prior roadbed repair experience and observing the floodwaters, because of the dam breach’s narrow opening, the floodwaters flowed quickly and violently.

Once through the breach, water disperses, reducing the water level, slowing its flow, and speed... This brings feasibility for a temporary levee.

However, Ling Chengyan’s advice was rejected.

First, the consecutive collapses causing the breach to expand, constructing a levee would be too time-consuming and labor-intensive with insufficient flood supplies for a large-scale levee construction.

Second, initially constructing a levee might be easier than filling the breach, but as the levee rises, the intercepted floodwaters would become increasingly fierce... as proven by previous attempts at repairing the overflooded levee.

Ultimately, the discussion decided not to block the breach directly but to reinforce the residual ends of the collapsed dam to prevent further collapses.

The only relief for Ling Chengyan, Wu Qingyun, and Liu Xianghu was that their team was present during the second collapse.

Ling Chengyan joined the team to transport supplies, heading to reinforce the collapsed dam.

Amidst the bustle, someone shouted, "Reinforcements have arrived; our dam will be saved."