Chapter 22: Foreseeing Disaster
703 Words
Nancy Gu gradually sensed that something was off. While five or six-year-old children could usually communicate normally, this child had remained silent. Just as Nancy was lost in thought, the little boy suddenly opened his mouth and bit down on her wrist. The little guy bit hard, and a sharp pain shot through her wrist instantly. She had no choice but to let go, and the little guy reacted quickly. As she released him, he turned and ran away.
She wanted to chase after him, but just then, Mason Fu and Luke Bai arrived. Luke curiously asked, "Do you know that kid?" They had been following Nancy and witnessed the whole incident.
Nancy shook her head. "He seems to have run out alone."
Mason furrowed his brow slightly. "Get in the car."
Nancy immediately understood his intention and climbed into the car. "Let's check by the Lan Jing River."
The direction the child ran was indeed towards the Lan Jing River. Mason found it puzzling; why would a small child run towards the river? Logically, a car should be much faster than running on foot, but since they were near the riverbank where many paths were tiered walkways, it would take longer for the car to reach the water's edge.
By the time they arrived at Lan Jing River, seven or eight minutes had passed.
Waves began to surge along the riverbank as many tourists who came to watch high tide raised their phones while retreating from the shore to take pictures.
The roaring waves resembled a lion charging forward with tremendous momentum. Suddenly, there was a loud splash from the viewing platform by the riverbank followed by someone shouting loudly.
"Someone fell in! Quick... someone come help; there's someone in the water!"
Those who had originally returned to shore rushed back again. However, at that moment, the waves were too high; surging tides of four or five meters crashed against the shore ferociously enough to instill fear in many tourists who initially intended to help.
In a critical moment, a figure dashed over quickly and leaped into the water without hesitation. The towering waves churned violently and soon swallowed her up entirely.
"Oh my gosh! It looks like a little girl jumped in to save someone," an elderly woman cried out.
"What are you big guys standing around for? Go save her!"
Some good swimmers considered jumping in too but hesitated when they saw several-meter-high waves approaching them; even if they were decent swimmers under normal circumstances, they truly didn't dare jump now.
Just then, a man rushed in from outside of the crowd; after quickly removing his jacket and shoes, he also jumped into the water.
"Jason!" Luke Bai exclaimed as he rushed over and saw Mason Fu leap into the river; his face changed drastically. He immediately took out his phone to call for emergency assistance.
The situation had turned so suddenly that if Jason got into trouble, Luke couldn't bear to think about what would happen next. Although Bai family was considered top-tier among families in Ping Cheng city for over a century due to their connections with Mason's family from Beijing circles, everyone knew how serious things could get if anything happened here involving Jason Fu—the old general's youngest son—especially considering how hard it would be for them to explain if anything went wrong during this rescue attempt.
Luke wished he could jump in right away too but lamented that he couldn't swim well at all. * After jumping into the water, Nancy began searching desperately for any sign of that child. She sensed he was in danger and hadn't expected it would escalate so quickly when she heard people shouting about someone falling into water just as she arrived at riverside.
At this point she already concluded that it must have been that child who fell into water—the icy cold river engulfing her body as enormous waves crashed against her relentlessly—a painful struggle ensued until finally Nancy spotted him where he’d fallen in.
Name Correspondence Table *** - Nancy Gu *** - Mason Fu *** - Luke Bai ** - Jason Fu
- Writer
