Chapter 1124 - 1112: Old Xu Rescue Plan (10)

Chapter 1124: Chapter 1112: Old Xu Rescue Plan (10)

On Old Xu’s side, he went back to the bedroom to rest, and on Hu Xiaodong’s side, a group of squad members also went off to find places to sleep.

Everyone knew very well how important the upcoming operation was, so they seized the downtime to recharge whenever they could.

After all, no one could predict what they might run into once the operation began.

By around noon, the night?watch members who had slept for a few hours started getting up one after another.

At the same time, the mixed stew Hua Biao was cooking had just come off the stove.

Right now, the focus of everyone gathered together was all on the coming rescue.

Even at mealtime, it was no exception.

They enjoyed the rush that came with good food while joking around about today’s operation, acting like there wasn’t the slightest tension before a big fight.

Just like that, night came. After the Survivor Squad members sorted out the night watch, everyone went off to find a place to sleep.

Hu Xiaodong and Tang Xiaoquan had slept the whole day, so they weren’t sleepy at all and naturally took on the first half of the night watch.

Two cups of tea and a bag of peanuts—this was the most comfortable night watch they’d had in a while.

Hu and Tang sat on their sleeping bags on the floor, cracking peanuts and sipping tea.

Neither of them spoke. One, because they didn’t want to disturb the others’ sleep; two, because there really wasn’t much to say.

After all, neither Hu Xiaodong nor Tang Xiaoquan were the rowdy type. They weren’t like Wen Quanxin or Wang Zhongyu with their constant joking, so the atmosphere in the room felt a bit heavy.

Outside, the moon was bright with sparse stars, and the night after the snow was unusually luminous.

Everything looked so peaceful, but no one expected that this calm night would suddenly change with a deafening crack of thunder.

The thunder was fierce, earsplitting. Wang Qiang, who hadn’t been sleeping very soundly, was jolted fully awake by the sudden blast.

If Wang Qiang was startled like that, then there was no need to even mention Hu Xiaodong and Tang Xiaoquan on watch.

The two of them almost instinctively glanced at each other, then stood up in unison.

Right now, for the Survivor Squad, the thing they feared most was the weather suddenly turning bad.

Because once it changed, the upcoming operation would be full of unknowns.

And before Hu and Tang could even finish praying in their hearts, raindrops like exploding beans hammered against the glass with sharp "pa?pa" sounds.

The rainstorm came even more suddenly than expected; in almost an instant, the rain was pouring down as if someone had upended a bucket in the sky.

The torrential downpour looked like it was going to swallow everything. Standing at the window, Hu Xiaodong frowned tightly.

One after another, the sleeping survivors were all jolted awake by the thunder and lightning.

Still groggy, they clearly hadn’t figured out what was going on. Once they realized, horror spread across their faces.

Who would have cared about this kind of rainstorm in the past? But right now, for the survivors, this was a bolt from the blue.

In no time, the originally spacious living room was packed with people.

Everyone wore worried looks as they stared out the window, listening to the sharp drumming of the rain, each of them looking extremely grim.

"Fuck! Heaven really doesn’t cut us any slack. The damn snow just stopped, and now it pulls this crap. Are we not supposed to live anymore!?" Wei Dazhuang cursed irritably.

His words summed up what everyone was thinking; the sudden downpour had left them all frustrated and on edge.

Hua Biao muttered blankly, "No idea how long this damned rain is gonna last."

"Hey, it shouldn’t be too long, Commander. Looks like a thunderstorm, right? Rains a few minutes and should be over," Old Xu chimed in with the same question. He had just finished switching shifts with Lei Tong, lay down for barely ten seconds, and then the rain came crashing down.

Old Xu took Lei Tong’s judgment as gospel, so of course he could tell this downpour wouldn’t last too long.

But the key issue wasn’t when this particular rain would stop, it was when this whole bout of unexpected rainfall would finally end.

No one could answer that question, and in the end, the reality was that by the next morning, the rain was still coming down "selflessly."

After days of heavy snow, the heavens had now followed up with a rain assault.

"This is really fucking unlucky!" The rotten weather made the already impatient Wei Dazhuang even more irritable.

Luckily, Wang Qiang had completely changed his temper by now. Otherwise, if you added him into the mix, the whole place would’ve blown up.

"Forget it, let it rain. With this rain, the snow will melt faster. You could say it’s actually helping us out, right?" Playing the self?consoling Ah Q, Hu Xiaodong patted the agitated Wei Dazhuang on the shoulder to comfort him.

But just as Hu Xiaodong finished, Duan Chengwu let out a soft sigh. "If only things were really that simple."

Wei Dazhuang glanced over at Duan Chengwu and scratched his head. "Alright, Xiao Wu, don’t give me that scholarly crap. Just say it—what could be worse than this shitty weather?"

"There is something worse! Look at the temperature. The rain does help melt the snow faster, sure, but then what? Our city’s drainage network needs people to maintain and clear it. Out here where we are, the rain just pools on the ground, and with the freezing temps, it’ll form an ice layer on the surface. Once that happens, it’ll definitely make our upcoming operation a pain."

At those words, Hu Xiaodong, who hadn’t been too worried until now, suddenly felt his heart clench.

Right! How did I forget that? With the temperature plummeting and the snow melting, it’ll drop a few more degrees. The snowmelt and rainwater will most likely freeze over on the ground.

When it’s time for the rescue, that’s definitely going to screw with our driving.

What do we do? What should we do?

"If it really doesn’t work, we’ll have to push the rescue back."

With no better option, Tang Xiaoquan could only suggest delaying.

But as soon as he finished, Hua Biao immediately shot it down. "No. We can’t keep delaying."

"Why not!? Hua, you know what happens if we rush it, right? Old Xu’s supplies can still last half a month. We don’t have to take the risk."

"Yeah, Old Xu’s supplies can last two weeks, but can you guarantee that once this rain stops, nothing else will happen? What if there’s another bout of extreme weather—then what? You planning to just sit here and keep dragging it out?"

"I get it, Hua, I understand what you’re saying, but... but with the ground freezing out there, driving is extremely dangerous. If we run into zombies and have to speed up, we could easily flip the vehicle. I don’t think you want a scenario where we rescue people only to end up with a wreck and everyone dead in a crash." Though it sounded jinxed, given the situation, Tang Xiaoquan couldn’t back down.

"No need to panic! I can figure out the vehicle issue. Remember that car?accessories shop we passed on the way here? I’ll head over there later. If we’re lucky and I can get my hands on some tire chains, driving on ice won’t be a problem." Hua Biao was just as firm, but after he finished, Tang Xiaoquan didn’t keep arguing. After a quick mental calculation, he also felt Hua Biao’s proposal was feasible.