In the name of supernatural powers

Chapter 131 The storm is coming
Located 80 kilometers from Fangshi and 50 kilometers from the border station, Yunshan Reservoir.

The dam slowly closed its gates.

At 8:20, in the dam management office, the duty officer closed the sluice gate as in previous years to prevent the water from flooding the roads downstream and causing the aquatic animals to expand their range of activity.

Every year, the dam reserves a portion of the water level in advance to help downstream areas share the pressure during the flood season.

At 9:40, the shift leader observed the water level and found that it was rising a bit too fast, but fortunately, enough space had been reserved in advance.

At 12:50, an official braved the heavy rain and ran over, demanding that the sluice gates be opened to release water because the town upstream was flooded.

The shift leader immediately refused, saying, "No, we absolutely cannot open the sluice gates to release water without orders."

The official cursed, "If we don't open the floodgates soon, all the cash crops upstream will be flooded, and half of the Federation's spices are in there!"

"If it floods, we'll only get a few less bites to eat, but if the downstream area is flooded, then the water monsters will devour us!"

The shift leader also lost his temper and yelled, "Someone died, are you going to take responsibility? You son of a bitch, I'll spit your mother's ass!"

At 14:20, the water level remained normal.

The shift leader reported the situation to the higher-level water resources department.

At 15:10, the radio signal was interrupted, but the telephone line remained normal.

That night, the shift leader kept recording the water level changes until midnight.
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Huangshui Village.

At 8:20, Zhao Lizhi woke up to find it pouring rain and learned from his wife that his cell phone had no signal.

Watching the raindrops, the size of longan fruits, fall continuously, the entire sky was black, and eight o'clock in the morning was the same as eight o'clock in the evening.

"This rain is a bit strange, honey, bring me a basin."

Aunt Zhao muttered to herself as she brought over a washbasin and said, "It's just raining. It rains this hard every year. It'll stop in a day or two."

"But I've never seen one this big before, and the cell phone signal is down."

Zhao Lizhi squatted under the eaves, pushed the plastic basin out, and glanced at the clock on the wall.

8:25
He went back inside to get a cigarette, squatted by the door, and smoked while watching until the water was full, which took ten minutes.

"This rain is strange."

Zhao Lizhi's unease grew stronger.

It does rain heavily every year in their area, so they came up with a simple method of catching water in basins to estimate rainfall.

Calculating rainfall is impractical, but we can use years of experience to determine whether a disaster will occur.

Six years ago, there was a flood here. He used a basin to collect the water, and it took him a full twelve minutes to fill it.

This time it was two minutes early.

"Honey, there might be a flood. Quickly steam all the glutinous rice in the house, and pack up all the pickled vegetables and other things. I need to go to the village office now to notify all the villagers."

Zhao Lizhi put on a raincoat and rushed into the torrential rain, going into people's homes along the way, calling out the able-bodied men, and having the women prepare dry food.

Zhao Li went to the village office, intending to report to the city via landline, but he was horrified to find that the phone was completely unreachable.

10:1, the power went out.

The village was plunged into complete darkness.

The villagers panicked. Some suggested running towards the city, while others thought they should run up the mountain.

Zhao Lizhi was the first to calm down. He called over three able-bodied young men and asked them to drive a tractor to the town to report the situation.

At 12:00, the sky was only slightly brighter, but it was still like night.

A military pickup truck arrived in the village, bringing Lu Zhao's orders.

The villagers instantly felt reassured, and the panicked atmosphere quickly subsided. The village was soon mobilized, and every household started preparing food.

At the same time, all four towns and twenty-two villages within the jurisdiction received the order.

The reason why authority can command millions of followers is that people are willing to believe in and entrust their lives and fortunes to those who wield authority.

The more critical the situation, the easier it is to unite people's hearts.

--------------

August 4th, 3 AM.

After ten hours of emergency repairs, the nearly 15-kilometer stretch from the border post to the outpost was finally cleared, and basic communication was restored.

The flood prevention work has only just begun, and half of the people at the border station are already exhausted and lying on the ground.

Lu Zhao quickly had someone administer life-restoring supplements to help them recover.

This is another use of life supplements; they can provide the energy needed for life development and also enhance various bodily functions in a short period of time.

In hospitals, when faced with serious illnesses, patients are often given appropriate doses of high-purity life supplements.

This is almost a panacea that only treats the symptoms, not the root cause; it keeps you alive as long as you have a breath left.

The only problem is that if you consume too much in a short period of time, your body may not be able to digest it, which can lead to bloating, dizziness, coma, and in severe cases, sudden death.

"Brother Lu, the water level in many rivers is rising rapidly, several times faster than in previous years."

Liu Qiang rushed over, and Lu Zhao had just changed into clean clothes.

His body was soaking wet all day yesterday; if it weren't for his high level of life development, he might have caught a cold.

The power of vitality development lies in this: ten points of vitality may not turn you into a superhuman, but it can immunize you against minor illnesses such as fever and colds.

Soldiers are made to work like nuclear-powered oxen and horses, working at high intensity for more than ten hours a day, around the clock.

Lu Zhaodao said, "Contact the city and ask them to send us more manpower. Send over any spare firefighters, police officers, and special counter-terrorism units. We may need to evacuate the public."

"Yes."

Liu Qiang left for five minutes and then returned to report: "Brother Lu, the phone call to the city went through, but the contact person said they couldn't reach the leader."

Lu Zhao frowned slightly and asked, "Why can't we get in touch during this critical flood season?" The federal government requires officials in key positions to be on call 24 hours a day, especially in areas where flood control is needed.

Liu Qiang replied, "They said there was a personnel reshuffle yesterday, the old leader has been suspended, and the new leader is still unknown."

"..."

Lu Zhao had already cursed Wei Jiahong's ancestors for eighteen generations in his mind.

He wasn't clear on the specifics, but he roughly understood why personnel changes were happening at this critical juncture. Flood control problems were a collective issue, while the issue of grain and agriculture was his personal problem.

Moreover, many people have a sense of complacency, and since there have been no problems with flood prevention work in the past two or three years, no major issues have arisen.

At most, five or six people would die. That's how it always went before Lu Zhao took over the job.

He understands all too well what certain bureaucrats are thinking.

The dead are not important, nor are the problems; what matters is whether they will affect me.

The city is probably in complete chaos right now, so there's little chance of getting anything done.

After a moment's thought, Lu Zhao said, "Liu Qiang, send out all the trucks now to organize young men and women in various villages to join the flood control team, and bring them to the camp for unified deployment."

"Yes."

"We also sent people to the city to find the nearest fire station and get them to cooperate with flood control efforts, bypassing the city."

"Yes."

Liu Qiang quickly left.

Lu Zhao picked up the landline on the table and dialed the city's number.

"I am the station chief of Ant Ridge Border Station. Please connect me to the Municipal Enforcement Office."

Soon, the call was answered.

It wasn't Wei Jiahong's voice, but his secretary's.

"Hello, Station Chief Lu, this is the Municipal Enforcement Office. How can I help you?"

"I need to speak with your deputy mayor, Wei Jiahong."

"I'm sorry, Mayor Wei is currently very busy and cannot speak to you."

"Please convey to him that the water level in the river within the Ant Ridge area is rising abnormally, and I need support."

"Okay, I will pass that on to Mayor Wei. Is there anything else?"

Do you think we're conducting business?

A surge of anger rose in Lu Zhao's heart, but he quickly suppressed it and hung up the phone without saying a word.

It is better to ask for yourself than for others.

The situation has already been reported. Continuing to argue with Wei Jiahong will only waste time. It's better to find another way.

At noon, over a thousand able-bodied young men arrived at the camp. Lu Zhao divided them into temporary flood control teams based on their village surnames and kinship.

Meanwhile, news came that a reservoir in the Ant Ridge area had reached its maximum water level.

Given the communication problems, Lu Zhao prepared for the worst.

"The reservoir may burst its banks."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Like was shocked and said, "I'll send the reinforced platoon over there right now."

Lu Zhao shook his head and said, "The reinforced platoon cannot be moved."

Zhang Like said, "All the soldiers in the company with a life development level above 15 are in the reinforced platoon. How can we not move? This reservoir breach will kill many people."

A soldier with 15 vitality points can carry two sandbags for flood control at a time and move with incredible speed.

Including stamina, one person is equivalent to five or six ordinary people, and is more efficient.

Lu Zhao said, "Old Zhang, besides the flood, we also have to face water monsters. You take the flood control team to the site to check the situation first. All command on site is entrusted to you."

"Yes!"

After saluting, Zhang Like quickly left the office, leading a company and a team of a thousand flood control volunteers to the reservoir.

At 1 p.m., when Zhang Like and his men arrived, the reservoir had already overflowed its banks, and there was a risk of it bursting at any moment.

After inquiring, it was learned that the reservoir's water level was originally normal, but due to the breach of several small dams upstream, the water level was suddenly raised.

Zhang Like decisively ordered his team to reinforce the dam, while also sending people to the surrounding villages and towns to recruit more people.

By evening, the temporarily reinforced dam finally stopped overflowing.

Zhang Like collapsed and fainted at the dam management office due to taking too many life-sustaining supplements.

Meanwhile, Lu Zhao received a call from the meteorological bureau.

"This is the Municipal Meteorological Bureau. Is this the Ant Ridge Border Station?"

"Yes."

"According to our calculations, the area surrounding Fangshi has experienced unusual rainfall, with 24-hour rainfall reaching..."

The person on the other end of the phone trembled slightly.

"950.5 millimeters. If the heavy rain doesn't stop tonight, it's equivalent to the rain that usually lasts for seven months in just two days."

"Please do a good job in flood prevention and evacuate the people properly."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Zhao remained unable to calm his emotions for a long time.

Two days of rain equaled the rainfall of the past seven months. Can the reservoir dam withstand such heavy rainfall?

If the upstream reservoir breaches its banks, what will happen to the 200,000 people in the Ant Ridge area?
Is it possible to carry out an effective evacuation when radio communications are completely unavailable, telephone lines are torn apart by storms, and even the power supply is unstable?

(End of this chapter)