Chapter 309: Tide of Fate

The ocean water carried by the tsunami was slowly receding.

Han Bing noticed that the table she was sitting at had been left on a partially collapsed rooftop. Unfortunately, the water hadn’t fully drained, and she couldn’t tell how deep it was.

Within her line of sight, she couldn’t spot a single soul.

Occasionally, dead bodies floated in the water, but Han Bing wasn’t frightened — she had the corpse of her Assistant right by her side.

It had been quite some time since the tsunami had swept away the hotel building. Han Bing guessed it must be close to an hour.

In any case, she had nothing with her at the moment. Luckily, it was warm here; otherwise, her current attire of pajamas and a jacket could easily lead to a dangerous chill.

Han Bing knew she couldn’t just wait to be swept away; she needed to find a way out of here.

After studying her surroundings for a while, she figured there must be plenty of people in the higher northern terrain. If she could manage to cross the roughly 800-meter water zone, she might have a chance to be rescued.

But there was nothing around that she could use.

Unless she could somehow free the stuck table, push it into the water, and find something to use as oars to paddle it across those 800 meters.

After searching all around, she found no such tool—only shards of roof tiles and stones on the rooftop.

At that moment, Han Bing felt extremely parched; her lips were raw and blistered, likely from being soaked in the seawater earlier.

Besides, she hadn’t had a drink in a long time.

“Why hasn’t the local government launched a rescue yet?”

Muttering under her breath, Han Bing felt frustrated—how could the authorities be so indifferent in the face of such a massive tsunami?

Just then, the sound of rushing water and a tremendous commotion reached her ears.

Han Bing quickly turned her head to look, and one glance was enough to freeze her in terror.

Some 500 meters away in the water, a crocodile was floating!

It had its mouth agape, biting into a corpse and feasting greedily, the body flailing about while splashing water.

In all her years, Han Bing had never witnessed such a horrifying sight. The thought that she might be devoured alive by the crocodile brought tears to her eyes.

However, she clamped a hand over her mouth. A sound nearby attracted the crocodile’s attention.

But matters were only beginning to take a turn for the worse.

A few minutes later, she heard water splashing from another direction.

Turning her head, she saw yet another crocodile, this one only about 300 meters away.

In a flash of inspiration, Han Bing recalled that near her hotel, there was a crocodile exhibit that housed many of them to attract tourists.

Now, in the wake of the tsunami, those crocodiles hadn’t perished—they all emerged in search of food.

As she thought this, she spotted more crocodiles swimming nearby; the closest had already reached within 200 meters.

Worryingly, this crocodile showed no traces of feeding on any human or animal carcasses.

In other words, it was likely coming straight for Han Bing.

Her whole body began trembling.

She didn’t want to die—especially not at the jaws of a crocodile.

Yet, that crocodile swam straight toward her, its bulging eyes fixed intently on Han Bing.

When the crocodile closed to within 30 meters, Han Bing realized she couldn’t simply wait for her fate.

She snatched up some bricks and roof tiles from the rooftop and hurled them at the crocodile.

After missing several times, the crocodile came within just a few dozen meters.

Finally, one of Han Bing’s thrown bricks struck the crocodile on the head, forcing it to halt.

Before Han Bing could even catch her breath, the crocodile suddenly snapped its jaws open, unleashing a roar.

It then surged forward, jaws agape, clearly intent on seizing the helpless Han Bing.

“Ah… help me!”

With terror overwhelming her, Han Bing screamed aloud, though her cries rang absurdly in the deserted area.

Instinctively, she staggered backward, losing her footing and tumbling onto the scattered roof tiles.

A deafening crack resounded as the crocodile clamped onto both the table and the corpse of her Assistant.

With a violent jerk, both the table and the Assistant’s body were dragged into the water.

Before Han Bing could even feel relief at escaping its jaws, she was horrified to see two or three more crocodiles emerging, drawn by the commotion.

She was surrounded!

“Dad, Mom, I’ll repay you in my next life…”

Han Bing closed her eyes, accepting that she could not escape her fate of ending up in a crocodile’s maw.

Suddenly, the wind rose fiercely!

Boom, boom, boom—an eruption of gunfire shattered the chaos.

Han Bing had seen warfare films before and recognized those sounds—help had arrived!

Her eyes flew open in joy as she looked up, only to be stunned by the sight above.

A massive plane, resembling a majestic eagle, hung suspended in midair, unleashing barrages that killed all the crocodiles in the water.

The water turned a deep, blood-red.

Without warning, a man leapt from the plane.

The sudden move nearly terrified Han Bing to death. The plane was still dozens of meters above ground—why would he jump without any protective gear? Was he committing suicide?

That thought forced her to shut her eyes once more.

A gentle male voice called, “Miss, are you alright?”

Her eyes snapped open in relief, and the man who had jumped was already standing before her.

Clad in a full-body suit that even covered his head—only his face was exposed—he appeared entirely prepared for the rescue.

The suit was covered in bulging pouches, clearly storing a variety of equipment.

Though she couldn’t fathom how he had landed unscathed, that wasn’t the point at the moment.

“Are you a Tang?” Han Bing asked.

The man grinned, revealing pristine white teeth. “Yes, I’m Rin Feng. We’re with the Dream Rescue Team under Dream Technology. You’re safe now!”

Quickly, Han Bing replied, “I’m Han Bing. Thank you for rescuing me. Thank you, Dream Technology!”

“Now, I need to get you onto our plane. Please bear with me,” Rin Feng said.

He produced a harness, looping it around Han Bing’s waist and securing the other end to himself, binding them together tightly.

“Hold on tight to my waist!” Rin Feng warned, his eyes gleaming with a hint of excitement as he activated his flight suit.

With a sudden burst of acceleration, Han Bing let out a startled cry and instinctively clung to Rin Feng’s waist.

Within seconds, they were aboard the aircraft.

Inside, she saw many young faces—all unmistakably Tang. One even recognized her and shouted, “Han Bing? I saw you in ‘Battle of Life and Death’!”

A group of people crowded around her, visibly excited.

Rin Feng’s voice boomed, “What are you all doing? Get down here and rescue people! Don’t just stand there chatting like fools!”

The group promptly scattered as a female nurse approached, saying, “Ma’am, please come with me. You’re injured and need an examination and treatment.”

From her tone, Han Bing immediately recognized that this was a simulation robot — similar to the high-end robotic butler at her home, a situation all too familiar.

“You head with the nurse to the medical ward. She’ll take good care of you. Your injuries seem to be mere scratches—we guarantee our medical care is top-notch,” the nurse assured her.

Han Bing nodded gratefully, saying, “Thank you!”

Once Han Bing had left, a group of team members began making merry.

“Commander, your eyesight is truly remarkable! Spotting the superstar Han Bing from above—no wonder you rushed down immediately!”

“Indeed, Commander, your vision is unmatched!”

“Commander, my admiration for you flows like a mighty river…”

…

Rin Feng hastily silenced them: “Enough! Get down here and rescue people. Can’t you see how terrifying this scene is? There’s no time for banter!”

Rin Feng then led the team on a rescue operation, scouring the area for survivors.

Fifty ‘Sky Eagle’ aircraft from the Dream Rescue Team circled over multiple islands, relentlessly evacuating stranded people from the surrounding waterlogged islets.

The operation triggered a response from the Government of Yingni; their Air Force scrambled several fighter jets in an attempt to drive away the intruders.

However, when a massive Space Aircraft Carrier slowly descended before the jets, the pilots were left speechless.

Fortunately, a voice came over the ground control radio: “Return immediately. These aircraft have been authorized by the President—they’re here to rescue our citizens.”

Thank you to “198215dai” for the 100-coin reward!