Chapter 739: Chapter 739: Rescue

At the end of the twelfth lunar month, the base began setting off fireworks and firecrackers to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The snow had once again blocked the roads, and travel remained difficult for the residents.

That day, a message came back from the team sent to find a salt mine. They had located one in Oakhaven, but heavy snow had blocked the mountain passes, immobilizing their vehicles. With supplies running low, they had no choice but to request a rescue from the base.

According to Rhys Chase, the deposit contained nearly ten thousand tons of salt. The team consisted of two hundred people, including drivers and mining personnel, with a convoy of fifty vehicles.

After they sent the distress call, their telegraph machine likely malfunctioned in the extreme cold, and Rhys Chase lost all contact with them.

When the base leadership dispatched the team, they had equipped them with a year’s worth of food. They had departed in August and, according to the plan, weren’t expected back until August of the following year. Unexpectedly, they found the salt mine ahead of schedule, only to run into trouble on their return journey.

"The situation is dire. First, we don’t know their exact location. Second, even if we wanted to send a rescue party, the snow outside is higher than a man’s head. Driving or riding is nearly impossible. Planes can’t fly either—the winds are too strong, and there’s severe turbulence."

But these people were on a mission assigned by the base. If we don’t rescue them, it will demoralize the more than one hundred thousand soldiers stationed here.

"Can helicopters fly?"

"They can’t. The wind is too strong, the fog is too thick, and we’ve had hail for the past few days."

The base was now caught in a dilemma. Quite a few soldiers organized themselves, volunteering to rescue the trapped team. However, with the outdoor temperature reaching minus forty degrees, the base refused to grant permission, fearing for their safety.

The situation remained at a standstill. Just as Rhys Chase was caught in his indecision, an assistant rushed over to tell him that a thirty-person rescue party had taken five large trucks and left the base to save the trapped team on their own.

Rhys Chase was furious when he heard the news. He immediately dispatched twenty people to pursue the rescue party, but they returned empty-handed. Meanwhile, a rumor began to circulate within the base: that the leadership was abandoning the team trapped in Oakhaven. Their families braved the heavy snow to gather at the administration building, demanding an explanation. Some accused the base of being ruthless and ungrateful, unfurling banners with messages written in blood in front of the building.

The leadership held an emergency meeting that night. One group of officials felt they had to send people to rescue the trapped team, preferably by helicopter to be faster. Although the risk was extremely high, they argued that if the matter dragged on, the residents might lose faith in the base. Moreover, if they didn’t send an official party, more impulsive individuals might organize on their own and leave the base to attempt a rescue.

Of course, another group of officials felt the residents were ungrateful wretches. Their lives had been improving for less than two years, and now they were already starting to rebel. They argued that the trapped team had left with a full year’s worth of food and plenty of clothing. Even stranded by the snow, as long as they had a way to make fire, they could certainly hold out until the next year. This whole "out of supplies" story was nothing but a lie fabricated to trick the base.

"Commander, should we go out and explain the situation to the families?"

"What is there to explain? The base gives them a place to live and plenty to eat and drink. And what do they do? They bite the hand that feeds them! We do a hundred good things for them, and they don’t have a shred of gratitude. But the moment one thing goes wrong, they start a riot to threaten us. Let them protest. It’s so cold out there, they’ll freeze to death sooner or later."

"We can’t just say that. It’s their family members who are trapped; of course they’re going to be worried. Besides, that team left to find salt for all of us. The base has less than a hundred tons of salt left. To put it bluntly, if we can’t retrieve that salt deposit, no one will have any salt to eat in a year."

Everyone in the room knew how important salt was. Oakhaven was a major salt-producing province, and for the past few years, the base had dispatched a team there annually to search for salt mines. None of the previous teams had ever encountered a situation like this. This was an anomaly.

"Send another team. Will the light helicopters be able to take off in the next few days?"

"As long as it’s not hailing, they can fly."

***

In the courtyard, Rhys Chase and Ryan Rowe hurried back from the base, braving the wind and snow. Rhys found Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick and spoke with them privately for an hour. After Rhys left, Evelyn and Ronan quickly packed some luggage, clearly preparing to go out.

"Are you two going to rescue the trapped team?"

Evelyn Ford shook her head. "To be precise, we’re going to rescue the ten thousand tons of salt."

Evelyn Ford wasn’t sure how long they would be gone. Although they weren’t short on food at home, she still left behind a large stash of supplies, including food, medicinal herbs, water, a generator, and gasoline.

"You two have it rough. Whenever the base has an unsolvable problem, they come to you."

Evelyn Ford smiled. "The main thing is that transporting ten thousand tons of salt is incredibly difficult. The base is desperately low on salt, and if they sent anyone else, the best they could do is bring back the trapped personnel."

"Please, be safe. And come back soon."

"Don’t worry. We’ll be back in a month at the latest."

After saying goodbye to the others, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick went to the base airfield, where the light helicopter was already prepped. Ryan Rowe was eager to join the mission, but the aircraft only had two seats.

After taking the map from Rhys Chase, the pair boarded the helicopter. Rhys had marked the approximate location on it. The trapped team’s telegram had mentioned Mount Grol in central Oakhaven, and Rhys speculated that they were stranded somewhere there.

The helicopter slowly lifted off. Evelyn Ford waved to Rhys Chase and the others below. A few minutes later, it flew into the dense fog and vanished without a trace.

"I wonder how long it’ll take to fly to Oakhaven," Evelyn Ford said to Ronan Kendrick once they were airborne.

"Under normal conditions, probably two and a half hours."

"And under abnormal conditions?"

Ronan Kendrick was silent for a few seconds. "Hard to say. Four or five hours, maybe. If we stray from our flight path, it could take even longer."

Evelyn Ford couldn’t help but laugh. "I can’t speak for other pilots, but with you at the controls, I’m sure we’ll reach Mount Grol within two and a half hours."

Hearing that, Ronan Kendrick raised an eyebrow. "Have that much confidence in me?"

"Of course. Other people’s eyes are just eyes. You have telescopic vision."

Six and a half hours later, the helicopter landed in a clearing on Mount Grol in Oakhaven. Evelyn Ford had barely stepped off the aircraft before she burst out laughing.

’You really can’t praise a man; the moment you do, he gets cocky,’ she thought. ’Ronan actually managed to fly off course. A trip that should have taken two and a half hours ended up taking them six and a half.’

"It was just a small mistake. I won’t get the route wrong on the return trip," Ronan Kendrick said with a cough, trying to save some face.

"Mhm, I believe you. HAHAHA..."

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