# 180
**Chapter 180: Disaster**
As the rain began to fall, the crowd scattered and ran, leaving only a few standing in place.
“Wow, Brother Shen! You’re actually being transferred to a squad in Shangjing City!”
“Yeah, Brother Shen, that’s incredible!”
“Ah, I’m so jealous. I’m stuck being stationed in some city in Tibet—so far from Shangjing. I won’t be able to visit you often… but still, Brother Shen, you’re amazing!”
“That’s right! Brother Shen is awesome!”
Deng Wei and the other two crowded around Shen Qingzhu, their faces glowing with excitement—more excited than if they themselves had been assigned to Shangjing City.
Shen Qingzhu frowned and glanced in Lin Qiye’s direction, then glared at the three of them.
“Shut the hell up!”
Deng Wei and the others immediately fell silent.
Shen Qingzhu took a couple of steps forward, as if he wanted to say something to Lin Qiye, but hesitated. After a moment, he turned and walked away…
His steps were slow and heavy. Though he was heading to the best city, he looked utterly desolate.
“Qiye…” Baili Pangpang stood in the rain, hesitating.
“No need to comfort me. Staying in Cangnan is exactly what I wanted.” Lin Qiye smiled. He meant it.
Though he was puzzled as to why he had been assigned to Squad 136, that was all it was—puzzlement. Rather than go to a distant, unfamiliar city and meet unfamiliar people, he preferred to stay in Cangnan, with the people of Squad 136.
His goal had never been to protect humanity or rise to glory… He just wanted to fulfill his promise to Zhao Kongcheng.
A promise could be kept anywhere.
Cao Yuan silently patted his shoulder. “Let’s go. The rain’s getting heavier.”
In just moments, the rain poured down as if the sky had tipped over. The torrential downpour soaked them to the bone.
Lin Qiye nodded and was about to leave when he suddenly froze.
“What’s wrong?” Baili Pangpang asked, puzzled.
Lin Qiye frowned slightly. “Do you guys feel that… the ground is shaking?”
“Shaking?” Baili Pangpang blinked.
Cao Yuan frowned, crouched down, and placed his hand on the ground. A trace of confusion flashed in his eyes. “Yeah… it is shaking. And it’s getting stronger.”
…
At the border of Cangnan.
At the foot of Jinan Mountain, among scattered villages.
The torrential rain battered the low, tile-roofed houses. Water seeped through cracks in the walls, dripping onto the floor.
On the worn threshold of one such house sat a little girl with braided hair, wearing a faded short-sleeved shirt, resting her chin in her hands as she gazed at the gloomy sky.
The rain carved deep brown rivulets through the muddy paths of the village, snaking down the fields. The entire world seemed submerged.
“Yaya, why are you still sitting there?” A woman hurried out of the house. Seeing the girl at the door, she said, “It’s raining so hard. You’ll catch a cold. Come inside.”
Yaya gave a soft “oh” and obediently went in.
The woman stepped to the doorway, looked up at Jinan Mountain through the rain, and frowned anxiously.
“With rain like this, your dad’s still up on the mountain… What do I do? I told him not to go today, but he wouldn’t listen!”
She stamped her foot in frustration, then went back inside and grabbed a raincoat from the wall. As she put it on, she said to Yaya:
“Yaya, Mommy’s going up the mountain to find Daddy. Stay here with Grandpa and Grandma. Don’t run off, okay?”
“Okay.” Yaya nodded solemnly, her braids swaying like little tails.
The woman pulled on the raincoat and stepped into the storm, trudging slowly but steadily up the muddy path.
Yaya ran to the door, her dark eyes watching her mother’s fading figure and the mountain blurred by rain…
Suddenly, the earth trembled!
Yaya staggered, nearly falling. She grabbed the threshold, her small eyes wide with terror.
The shaking grew stronger. The ground heaved so violently she could barely hold on. The house above her groaned and creaked, as if it might collapse at any moment.
She looked up at Jinan Mountain.
As the earth shook, massive chunks of earth and stone slid down the slope. Mixed with the rain, they formed surging waves of deep brown sludge!
The mud-and-rock torrent rushed down the mountainside like a roaring dragon, tearing across the slope and racing toward the foot of the mountain.
Houses and villages were swallowed whole. What looked solid and sturdy crumbled like paper beneath nature’s fury.
Yaya’s eyes widened. She stumbled back inside, shouting:
“Grandpa! Grandma! Run! It’s a mudslide!!!”
**BOOM—!!!**
From above, the mudslide looked like an unstoppable beast. In the pouring rain, it devoured every village at the foot of Jinan Mountain.
In the end, everything fell silent beneath the rain…
…
**Tweeeet—!!!!**
A sharp whistle pierced the training camp. Lin Qiye and Baili Pangpang, who had just returned to the dorm to shower, exchanged glances, dropped their towels and basins, and sprinted through the rain toward the training ground.
Despite the torrential downpour, no one was late. Moments later, everyone stood assembled on the field, ramrod straight in the rain.
“Qiye, what do you think happened?” Baili Pangpang whispered.
“No idea.” Lin Qiye shook his head, expression grave. “But I think… something bad has happened.”
It wasn’t just the recruits—every instructor had been called out too. They formed ranks, equally confused about the sudden assembly.
**Vroom—!!**
The low growl of engines approached. Military-green trucks sped down the road, headlights cutting through the rain and lighting up the dim field.
Chief Instructor Yuan Gang strode to the front. Beneath his cap, his face was sterner than ever. After a quick headcount, he barked:
“Ten minutes ago, an earthquake triggered a massive mudslide near Jinan Mountain! Six villages were hit. Preliminary estimate: nearly two hundred casualties!”
“Rescue teams are en route, but due to road conditions, they won’t arrive for some time!”
“In a mudslide, time *is* life!”
“Our training camp is the only place nearby that can deploy large numbers immediately! I know you’ve finished training and are about to ship out to different cities!”
“But don’t forget—you are still soldiers!”
“Soldiers of Great Xia go wherever we’re needed!”
He took a deep breath, pointed at the trucks waiting in the rain, and shouted:
“Everyone! Board the trucks!!”
“We’re going… to **disaster relief**!!”