After becoming a widow, I became the apple of a rough man's eye.

Qin Lie strode over to her and steadily supported her elbow with his large hand.

The surrounding area was filled with villagers recovering from the shock of the earthquake, along with a few rescue workers maintaining order. Qin Lie reached out and wiped the bloodstains from Lin Qingqing's face, asking, "Can you stand up?"

Lin Qingqing nodded, her voice still trembling, "Yes."

Qin Lie withdrew his hand, looked at Lin Qingqing's pale face from exhaustion, then at her hands still stained with blood, and suddenly reached out to rub her head:

"Our Qingqing has grown up."

Lin Qingqing was stunned for a moment, her nose tingled, and she buried her face in Qin Lie's dusty arms.

Not far away, Li Dongye's hangover head throbbed as if it had been smashed open with a hammer, his temples throbbing. He propped himself up and sat up, looking in that direction with a dazed expression.

The first thing I saw was my older brother holding Lin Qingqing.

The little woman was curled up in her older brother's arms, a tiny bundle that looked so pitiful.

Li Dongye rubbed his face vigorously, stood up, swayed for a moment, but quickly regained his balance.

Since I'm still alive, and since I'm still a man, I can't be such a coward.

To protect someone as wonderful as her, what good are those two flirtatious words?

Li Dongye strode over.

"Awake?" Qin Lie glanced at him.

"You're awake." Li Dongye's voice was still a little hoarse. "I'm going to drive. I heard that the road to the east is half open. I'm going to the county to pick up some supplies. We're short of medicine here."

Qin Lie nodded. "Be careful on the road."

Li Dongye turned and left, the engine roaring, the car kicking up a cloud of dust as it drove away.

Lin Qingqing lifted her head from Qin Lie's embrace, looked in the direction the truck had disappeared, and asked softly, "Is Fourth Brother alright?"

"It's nothing serious." Qin Lie tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "What can't a grown man get through?"

Just then, a man in an orange rescue suit rushed over, holding a blueprint in his hand, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Captain Qin! Is Captain Qin there?"

Qin Lie released Lin Qingqing. "It is I."

The rescue team leader looked grave and spread out the blueprints in front of Qin Lie. "The primary school building on the west side is half collapsed. There are still signs of life below, at least three children! But the structure is completely destroyed. There was another aftershock just now, and it's just a pile of blocks now, which could collapse again at any time. Large equipment can't get in at all; we can only have people crawl in and pass the children out."

Qin Lie turned around and glanced back.

Of these men, Xiao Yong was the strongest and most agile, making him the most suitable for this kind of physical labor.

"Second brother," Qin Lie called out.

Xiao Yong was squatting on the ground helping Gu Qiangying pack her medicine kit when he heard the shout. He immediately stood up and asked, "What's wrong, brother?"

"Go to the elementary school in the west, rescue them," Qin Lie said succinctly. "Be careful."

Xiao Yong rolled up his sleeves, revealing his well-defined muscles. "Alright! I'm off!"

"I'll go too." Lin Qingqing stepped forward. "If any children are injured, we need to treat them immediately."

Qin Lie glanced at her but didn't stop her. At times like this, every extra person helps.

"Second brother, keep an eye on her," Qin Lie instructed in a deep voice.

"Don't worry, brother, you can hold me responsible if even a single hair is missing!" Xiao Yong patted his chest and assured him.

Qin Lie was also called by the rescue team to help carry the precast concrete slabs, and the group split into two.

The situation at the western elementary school is worse than imagined.

The original three-story building is now just an empty shell, collapsed in the middle, forming a huge funnel-shaped ruin. Steel bars are exposed like the fangs of a monster, and concrete slabs are teetering on the verge of collapse.

Several parents were kept outside and cried their hearts out.

"It's right there in that corner!" The rescue team leader pointed to a dark hole beneath the rubble. "It's right there, but the passage is narrow and very unstable."

Xiao Yong went over to take a look, and the entrance was indeed narrow, just enough for one person to crawl in.

He tightened his rescue suit, turned around and grinned at Lin Qingqing, revealing a set of bright white teeth, "You stay here, don't move forward, it's dusty here."

Lin Qingqing handed him the first aid kit, "Be careful, don't push yourself too hard."

"I know, it's nothing." Xiao Yong casually slung the first aid kit around his neck, lay down on the ground, and crawled inside like a gecko.

Lin Qingqing stood to the side, her hands tightly clasped together, her eyes fixed on the hole.

Time passed by, second by second.

Every second felt like being fried in a pan of oil.

"Found them!" Xiao Yong's muffled voice came through the walkie-talkie, echoing. "All three kids are here! One of their legs is trapped; I need to get them free!"

The parents outside immediately stopped crying and stared longingly at the hole.

About ten minutes later.

A dirty little hand reached out from the hole.

"Catch it!" Xiao Yong shouted from inside.

The rescue team members outside quickly reached out and pulled the first child out. Then came the second one.

Both children were terrified and covered in dirt, but thankfully neither was seriously injured.

Lin Qingqing quickly went up to check on the child, and after confirming that everything was alright, she handed the child over to the parents.

"There's one more!" Xiao Yong's voice was slightly out of breath. "This leg is stuck pretty tightly, throw the rope in!"

The rescue team quickly threw the rope in.

A moment later, the child was pulled out by the rope, and just then, the ground beneath their feet suddenly trembled violently.

It is a fracture in the internal structure of the ruins.

"Click—"

A crisp sound came from deep within the ruins, followed by a rumbling thud.

The precarious concrete slab overhead suddenly sank down, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Second Brother!" Lin Qingqing screamed and rushed inside without thinking.

The rescue team leader reacted quickly, grabbing her arm. "Don't go! It's going to collapse!"

"boom--!"

The smoke and dust completely engulfed the hole.

Lin Qingqing was thrown back a few steps by the huge impact, her ears ringing.

When the smoke cleared, the already narrow opening was completely blocked by several broken precast slabs.

"Xiao Yong!" Lin Qingqing broke free from the rescue team leader like a madwoman and rushed onto the ruins.

"Don't move! Don't move at all!" the rescue team leader roared. "The structure is unstable; if you move again, you'll all be buried!"

Lin Qingqing froze, and tears streamed down her face.

"Second Brother...can you hear me, Xiao Yong!" she shouted, grabbing the walkie-talkie, her voice trembling.

After a long while, a violent coughing sound came from the walkie-talkie.

"Cough cough cough... Damn it... I'm choking to death..."

Xiao Yong's voice sounded very weak, as if something was pressing down on it.

"How are you!" Lin Qingqing pressed her face against the stone, wishing she could crawl inside to see him.

"...I'm fine..." Xiao Yong gasped for breath, "It's just...a bit cramped..."

The rescue team leader came over with the equipment and took a look; his face instantly turned deathly pale.

"How is it?" Lin Qingqing grabbed the captain's sleeve.

The captain glanced at Lin Qingqing, then at the blocked opening, gritted his teeth, and said, "The secondary collapse sealed the passage, and... the load-bearing wall above is tilted, forming a triangular area. Xiao Yong is right below there. But the gap is too small; our equipment can't get in, and neither can our people."

"What do you mean by not being able to get in?!" Lin Qingqing asked.

"That gap is only..." the captain gestured, "only this wide, and it's all steel bars. A man of even slightly larger build can't squeeze through it. Forcibly breaking it open will cause another collapse, and then the people below will really be beyond saving."

The rescue team members present were all burly men, and their eyes turned red as they looked at the crack, which was only the size of a dog hole.

"I'll go get Qin Lie!" someone shouted.

"It's too late!" The captain watched the red line on the instrument fluctuate wildly. "The plate above is still sinking. In twenty minutes at most, that triangular area will be flattened."

twenty minutes.

Lin Qingqing's mind went blank.

It will take Qin Lie at least ten minutes to get here. Li Dongye went to the county town. Gu Qiangying has many patients, and Xiao Wu is helping with transportation. Everyone has lives on their hands; no one can abandon those in front of them.

No one can save him.

Except for her.

Lin Qingqing raised her hand to wipe her face, then took off her coat and threw it on the ground.

"Give me a helmet." Lin Qingqing looked at the rescue team leader, her tone frighteningly calm.

The captain was taken aback. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll go in." Lin Qingqing pointed to the gap. "I'm thin, I can squeeze in."

"Nonsense!" the captain roared. "It could collapse at any moment! Going in there is suicide! You're a medic, not a suicide squad member!"

"He's my second brother!"

Lin Qingqing's shout was extremely loud, startling everyone around her.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, but her gaze was unusually resolute. The thought of Xiao Yong always giving her his crumpled pocket money back in the village brought tears to her eyes. "He's in there. I can't watch him die. Give me the helmet, quick!"

The captain looked at the thin girl in front of him, gritted his teeth, and remained silent for a long time.

"Please!" Lin Qingqing pleaded, snatching a helmet from a teammate and putting it on her head, then grabbing a flashlight.

"Tie the rope around my waist." Lin Qingqing turned her back to the captain. "If it collapses, pull me out. If you can't pull me out, then go find my older brother."

The captain's hands were shaking, but he still managed to tie the safety rope around her slender waist.

"Girl..." The captain's eyes reddened, "Be careful."

Lin Qingqing didn't say anything, took a deep breath, and lay down on the ground.

The gap was really small, filled with steel bars and gravel.

It was pitch black inside, with only the beam of a flashlight flickering wildly. The air was thick with the smell of dust, making it hard to breathe.

"Xiao Yong..." Lin Qingqing called softly as she crawled forward.

"Qingqing?!" Xiao Yong's voice sounded terrified. "What are you doing! What are you doing in here! Get out! Get out now!"

"I'm already down here!" Lin Qingqing cursed, her elbows rubbing painfully against the gravel, the skin even scraped raw.

The further you climb in, the narrower it gets.

For one stretch of road, the concrete slabs were almost touching her back; she could bump into them if she looked up even slightly.

Fear surged up like a tide.

The suffocating feeling of being buried alive made her tremble all over.

But as soon as she thought of Xiao Yong ahead, and that big, clumsy guy holding up the sky with his body, she felt her strength return.

Finally, the flashlight beam reached its end.

Lin Qingqing saw Xiao Yong.

The man, who was usually as strong as an ox, was now kneeling on the ground, his calves pinned down by steel bars that had pierced his calves.

His legs were covered in blood, the veins on his forehead were bulging, and all the muscles in his body were trembling violently.

Seeing Lin Qingqing crawl out of the darkness, Xiao Yong's bull-like eyes widened, and tears mixed with blood streamed down his face.

Xiao Yong cursed, "Are you out of your mind...?"

Lin Qingqing crawled up to him, reached out to wipe the blood from his face, and tears streamed down her face.

"Why are you even more slow-paced than Fourth Brother?"