I Want to Die!

In the wind, rain and lightning, Zhao Anping and the others stepped on the mud and arrived not far from the levee of Changpai Village with difficulty.

They could not see anything in the darkness. The flashlight would be swallowed by the darkness before it could reach anything.

"Turn off the flashlight," Zhao Anping ordered.

Once the only source of light was switched off, absolute darkness descended.

After a few minutes, when everyone's eyes got used to the darkness, although they still couldn't see their own hands, they could still vaguely see some outlines.

Not far away, the dam of Changpai Village did not collapse, but no details could be seen.

"Let's get closer," Zhao Anping said.

Everyone's faces turned pale. The roar of the river was deafening. If they walked so close and the dam collapsed, they wouldn't be able to escape.

But the county governor's authority was still there. Everyone moved forward a few steps.

Right at this time, an enormous streak of lightning hacked down from the sky, striking towards the river surface. The silver-white branches bent about wantonly, stopping everyone's footsteps with the power of nature.

When the lightning lit up the entire world, Zhao Anping clearly saw a person running down the 15-meter tall embankment.

Zhao Anping shouted, "Lin Wen!"

That person immediately raised his head and looked over. The lightning disappeared in the blink of an eye. He turned on the mining lamp above his head, and the strong light immediately illuminated Zhao Anping and the others.

It also illuminated his own face.

That's right, it was him!

He was Changle Town's mayor, the only town official under thirty years of age in Changshan County, the youngest grade-six official in the last thirty years of Eastern Qin State's history, and the official who had skipped the most levels in the Empire's twelve years of history.

Lin Wen!

Zhao Anping clenched his fists, not knowing what to say.

Lin Wen looked very surprised. He shouted, "County governor Zhao." But he immediately turned his head and dragged out two steel cages filled with rocks from the pile of supplies. These were not on the dike.

Due to the lack of light, Zhao Anping could not see the size of the two steel cages. He did not know that either of them weighed 800 kilograms.

He didn't even notice this detail. He shouted, "Lin Wen, what are you doing here? How is the dam?"

Without looking back, Lin Wen picked up the steel cage and left. "I'm doing my job. The dam is in danger. I don't know if I can keep it."

Zhao Anping shouted, "How many people are there? Do you have enough resources?"

Lin Wen replied, "One person. There are enough supplies."

One person?

Zhao Anping couldn't believe his ears. What the hell was a person?

Wasn't he the only one? What was the point of him being there?

Beside him, Secretary Xiao Zhang's legs turned weak. He said with a trembling voice, "County Head! Let's leave quickly! We definitely can't defend this place!"

"That's right." Another person chimed in. "Xiao Lin is a hero. He guarded the dam alone, which means that the dam can't be held anymore. He's doing his final duty."

"Yeah, we have to do our part too. We still have to protect the people."

"County governor, please return and evacuate the people!"

The torrential rain hit his raincoat and fell like a stream in front of him. Zhao Anping looked at the rapidly shrinking light and the tiny spark that went up the dike at an unbelievable speed. He watched as he ran in the darkness like a giant black beast and threw the things in his hand with all his might.

Suddenly, he said, "I'll stay."

"County governor!"

"I'll stay," Zhao Anping repeated. "I'll watch over the dam."

"If the dam falls, I will inform you. Hurry up and go back and evacuate."

After a moment of silence, Zhao Anping continued in an unquestionable tone, "Xiao Zhang, go back and inform them to make preparations now. But don't panic. Rest well and recover your strength. Perhaps everything will be fine. Hu Ping, the three of you who have a walkie-talkie, line up for me. Send the message back as soon as it arrives. The rest of you will accompany them. Don't lose them!"

"Go!"

In the darkness, Zhao Anping was soon left alone. He looked at the faint light in the distance. It swayed in the wind and rain. It was so tiny, but it was like an eternal star.

Contrary to what Zhao Anping had imagined, Lin Wen fell into an unprecedented state of fervor. He faced the might of lightning in the storm, as if he was fighting against the gods of heaven. Floods were the gods' means to attack, and the levee was his last line of defense.

Right now, he was bitterly guarding the dam. Wasn't this the prelude to the final climax?

Lin Wen's blood was boiling. The fatigue from the continuous battles had long disappeared. The burden brought by the repeatedly used Nine Bulls and Two Tigers and Light in Darkness also seemed to not exist.

He kept throwing sandbags into a two-meter wide hole. As the two reinforced stone cages were perfectly, the hole was quickly blocked.

Lin Wen pounced forward and stomped on the ground. Then, he turned around and ran towards another broken area.

At this moment, the thunderstorm was approaching, and lightning frequently fell from the sky. The rumbling thunder rolled over and joined together without stopping for half a second. The universe flashed like a broken camera.

In this terrifying scene, all living beings trembled in fear, but Lin Wen threw his head back and laughed. His laughter reverberated between heaven and earth, as if he would never yield.

Countless rocks and sandbags were thrown into the hole, instantly resolving the danger.

Just like that, the dam continued to wobble, but it did not collapse. There was also no strong surge like the Ying Village's dam.

After an unknown period of time, Lin Wen suddenly woke up from his feverish state. The storm was still raging, but at some point, the water level on the river had dropped!

The flood peak retreated?

That can't be right. The radio clearly said that the second flood peak would last 36 hours. How many hours had it been? Not even a day?

Lin Wen was suddenly flustered. No way? The flood peak only has this power. I won't die, right?

Can a big wave bring me away?

He wanted to rush into a dangerous place to die on purpose, but if he did so, he would have a subjective desire to die, and he might become a suicidal person.

No, no, don't worry.

This is only temporary. The flood peak was accumulating power. Seeing that I did so well, it wanted to prepare a big one. While I'm doing my job, a huge wave will come and wash me away.

Perfect!

That's why I can't let my guard down. I have to be crafty and intentionally fake. I have to focus all my attention on my job. Otherwise, if I fail, wouldn't I die in vain?

Although this was what he thought, he felt more and more uncertain because the flood was returning at a speed visible to the naked eye. The danger on the dam was decreasing.

In the morning, the rain actually stopped at dawn.

The water level on the river was already lower than before the flood peak arrived.

Lin Wen's mood fell to rock bottom. He wandered aimlessly on the dam where he could not find any hidden dangers, as if he had lost his soul.

At noon, the first ray of sunlight shot out from behind the dark clouds, freezing Lin Wen's heart into ice.

The rumbling of vehicles and the sound of running footsteps came from behind. Lin Wen turned around and saw the reinforcements from the Empire. There were tens of thousands of imperial engineers and hundreds of trucks.

Not far from the dike, County Head Zhao was talking to an imperial officer.

As if sensing his gaze, County Head Zhao and the imperial officer turned around at the same time and waved at him. The imperial officer even whistled and shouted, "Salute the imperial hero!"

With a loud bang, tens of thousands of imperial soldiers stood at attention and saluted Lin Wen.

"To the hero of the Empire!"

The voices of the soldiers filled the air.

Lin Wen's last bit of hope was shattered. The spell's time was up. Exhaustion, fatigue, and despair washed over him like a tidal wave, instantly knocking down his mind. He blacked out and fell backward.

"Quick! Protect the hero of the Empire!"

These were the last words Lin Wen heard before he fainted.