Chapter 1624 - 1676: Save the Woman First
Chu Xiaoyao didn’t insist, knowing Li Yifei wouldn’t agree. Fortunately, Li Yifei was next, and they would soon be out of danger. Chu Xiaoyao kissed Li Yifei on the lips and said, "Honey, I’m going up first. We’ll wait for you up there!"
Li Yifei pinched Chu Xiaoyao’s cheek and said, "Alright, hurry up and go."
Chu Xiaoyao nodded in agreement, secured herself, and the rope ascended once more.
On the ground, some family members had already arrived. Seeing their loved ones trapped in the air, they were almost desperate, running to Song Zhentao and others, constantly begging them to rescue their family first. Song Zhentao and Qin Yuanjiang naturally agreed, because if there were no Li family members up there, they could rescue anyway, naturally starting with children and the elderly, then women. Doing it this way, no one would have much to say. However, with the Li family there, they must be rescued, even if Li Yifei refused; it’s a political task!
The Li family has many businesses in Mile City now. If something happens to Li Yifei, it would be a turmoil.
On average, it takes four to six minutes to rescue one person into the helicopter due to the wind’s influence and the time needed for ascent, descent, and securing. By the time Chu Xiaoyao got up, it was already a quarter of an hour later. The rescue soldier came down again, and a fierce wind suddenly blew, causing the hovering helicopter to wobble slightly, directly throwing the soldier off.
"Watch out!" Li Yifei shouted.
The rescue soldier spun a few times in the air before stabilizing. The helicopter pulled him up a bit and lowered him again. At this moment, a steel cable suddenly snapped from the middle, causing both ends to whip away rapidly. One end struck a tree, pulverizing a branch as thick as a barrel, and the other end flailed upwards, missing the helicopter by just ten meters, nearly hitting it.
Li Yifei gulped down his saliva, realizing that inside the helicopter were his two daughters and wife. Damn it, if it got hit, no one in the helicopter would survive. Even if they weren’t directly killed, crashing would leave no hope for survival.
In the cabins on both sides, some were cursing angrily, some were crying, some were questioning why Li Yifei and the others were being saved first. Someone was shouting, "I beg you, please save my wife first, she’s having a heart attack and her eyes are rolling back. Sir, please, take my wife with you!"
This man, pleading, recognized that Li Yifei and the others were not ordinary people, otherwise the helicopter wouldn’t have gone directly for them. But his wife, frightened into a heart attack, was worsening. He was heartbroken. Originally, today he brought his wife and child for a stroll. The child was still young, breastfeeding, so the child’s grandmother was holding him below. He took his wife for a round, not expecting such an incident!
The rescuers hadn’t descended yet. Li Yifei glanced back, thought for a moment, and then shouted, "Save his wife first!"
The rescuing soldier was taken aback and shook his head, "No, my orders are to save you first."
"I can wait for the next time, no rush; there’s no immediate danger!" Li Yifei shook his head and said, "Save that woman first!"
"I’m sorry, I need to request permission!" The rescuing soldier relayed the situation over the intercom, and the helicopter pilot passed it to the ground. Song Zhentao and Qin Yuanjiang exchanged a glance, both appreciating Li Yifei’s demeanor, so they nodded and said, "Okay, save that woman first and then come back for him, but his safety must be ensured!"
The wind grew stronger, followed by the sound of thunder. Several lightning bolts streaked through the sky, sounding like explosions over everyone’s heads, making it feel as if they could be struck at any moment. Those on the ground were even more terrified, not to mention those hanging in mid-air.
Two children, who had remained calm, now looked pale with fear under the might of the lightning. The two daughters hugged Chu Xiaoyao’s waist, their bodies trembling. After a few more rumbles of thunder, the younger daughter burst into tears. Chu Xiaoyao held her tightly in her arms. Even though she was scared too, she still protected her child.
Chu Xiaoyao, shielding her children, looked down at the cabin where Li Yifei was. The rescue soldier had descended, and Li Yifei would soon be up with them.
But... Chu Xiaoyao leaned out to see the rescue soldier wasn’t saving Li Yifei. The helicopter moved slightly, and the soldier went to rescue someone from another cabin. Chu Xiaoyao hurriedly shouted to Li Yifei, "Why aren’t you coming up?"
Li Yifei vaguely heard her, lifted his head, leaned out of the cabin, waved at Chu Xiaoyao in the helicopter, and shouted, "I’m fine, the next round is my rescue!"
Chu Xiaoyao couldn’t hear what Li Yifei was saying, she only saw his smiling face as she watched the rescue soldiers bring a woman out from another cabin, and she understood why Li Yifei hadn’t come up. Biting her lip, holding back tears, Chu Xiaoyao murmured, "This man... why does he have such a kind heart."
A few minutes later, the woman with the heart condition was also brought up. There was still space inside the helicopter, but because of her condition, she needed to be sent down quickly.
However, Li Yifei was still hanging up there, so Chu Xiaoyao hurriedly asked the pilot, but the noise was too loud, and the pilot couldn’t hear her. He was communicating with people below, searching for a landing spot to send the rescued down, and return to save Li Yifei.
Li Yifei wanted to go down quickly, leave this Ferris wheel that might break down at any time, but he was a man and a soldier. His conscience compelled him to make a choice at such moments, so Li Yifei waved at the helicopter with a smile.
The call connected, it was Song Zhentao calling. As soon as it connected, Song Zhentao said, "Yifei, you must come down on the next helicopter. This isn’t a joke, I, Song Zhentao, have never shown favoritism, but this time, I have to make an exception for you, so you need to cooperate with me!"
Song Zhentao spoke sternly, no matter what, if Li Yifei’s family could come down safely, his responsibility would be halved. If he couldn’t... the situation would be serious, so, it was crucial to ensure Li Yifei came down safely.
Li Yifei chuckled slightly, saying, "Alright, when the helicopter comes back, I’ll go down!"
"This is an order!" Song Zhentao added, then softly said something unexpected from someone in his position, "Personally, I hope you can get down safely soon."
Li Yifei waved below, his gaze following the helicopter, watching it fly to an open space and slowly land. Chu Xiaoyao and the two children disembarked from the helicopter, as Ye Yunzhu ran over, holding the two children.
She didn’t only care for her own child, she also cared for Li Yufei, such actions were satisfying. Li Yifei, swaying in the sky, nodded. The children and Chu Xiaoyao were safe, leaving him with himself, Li Yifei was not too worried.
Below, the rescue effort continued, another helicopter flew over, receiving orders to ensure Li Yifei was rescued, this time not allowing him to be modest.
The woman with the heart condition was immediately taken away by ambulance upon disembarking, Chu Xiaoyao and Ye Yunzhu watched the Ferris wheel with the two children as Su Mengxin and several other women called earlier, having arrived in Mile City and on their way.
Five to six minutes later, Li Yifei was rescued onto the helicopter, which then rescued five more people before delivering them to the ground.
During this time, two steel cables snapped again, but fortunately caused no harm. The broken parts smashed onto the ground, the hard concrete surface directly cracked half a meter, like an earthquake. After Li Yifei got off the helicopter, several women gathered around. Su Mengxin and the others came over, relieved to see Li Yifei unharmed, though still holding him for inspection, up and down.
Having reassured the women, Li Yifei walked towards Song Zhentao and others, upon reaching them, Li Yifei extended his hand, saying, "Thank you Secretary Song and Mayor Qin for your help."
In front of so many people, Song Zhentao had to maintain his leadership demeanor, so he spoke with authority, "You’re welcome, it’s good that you’re alright. This incident, I will urge the police to investigate thoroughly, no matter who the other party is, once found, there will be no leniency."
"Alright, I’ll go check the footage first. The person likely targeted me." Li Yifei couldn’t leave; if someone intended to harm him, then everyone on the Ferris wheel was implicated. Li Yifei wanted to wait until they were all rescued before leaving.
Returning, he asked Su Mengxin to take the women and children home first, leaving a team of security to assist Li Yifei.
Having sent off his wife and children, Li Yifei led the security team to meet Song Ranmin, narrating the sequence of events one more time. Song Ranmin promptly retrieved surveillance footage from this time period, especially from the three cameras near the Ferris wheel.
Soon, Li Yifei and his team saw the footage captured by the camera at the base of the Ferris wheel. The timing was when Li Yifei had just bought tickets and queued to board the Ferris wheel, a man wearing a hat and sunglasses appeared within the camera’s range, placing a backpack he was carrying onto the base. His body then seemed to blur for a moment, the camera’s record of him suddenly became fuzzy. Meanwhile, Li Yifei had taken his children and Chu Xiaoyao onto the Ferris wheel, which was slowly ascending as the man’s figure appeared on the camera. He was also looking up at the Ferris wheel, yet puzzlingly, the camera’s recording of him was very blurry. Other than noting the sunglasses and hat, features like nose, mouth, chin, and neck were indistinct, as if deliberately blurred, raising confusion. They asked the police officer who had retrieved the footage earlier, and he affirmed that it hadn’t been replaced.