Chapter 810: The Story of Ling and Heng (73)
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Feng Ling wanted to stand up; however, the movement immediately caused the pain in her back and lungs to flare up. She staggered back from the sensation.
Qiao Fei, who was about to jump off the skerry, had sharp eyes and immediately caught onto her. He lowered his eyes to watch her, using his gaze to ask if she could still hold on.
Feng Ling’s expression did not change as she shook her head to answer softly: “I’m fine.”
“You’re injured?” Li Nanheng approached. He noticed Qiao Fei’s movements to support Feng Ling and calmly moved his gaze onto Feng Ling’s pale complexion. “The rescue team said that you were injured by the explosion of the cruise. You went missing after you fell into the ocean and Qiao Fei jumped in to rescue you. How are the both of you? Are you seriously injured? Why did you drift onto such an island? Were you too far away from the shoreline?”
Before Feng Ling could speak up, Qiao Fei answered: “Boss, I’m completely fine. More importantly, in order to rescue the mayor’s wife, Feng Ling spent too much time with her on the cruise. At the time, she even gave her own gas mask and life vest to that child, causing her to breathe in large amounts of fumes. Afterward, she was also caught up in that explosion. Her injuries seem very serious. We have to send her to a hospital after we return.”
“It’s not as serious as Vice-drillmaster Qiao makes it out to be. Boss, I’m not…”
Before Feng Ling could finish speaking, Nanheng noticed that her voice was hoarse and very unlike her usual self. His expression turned heavy. He did not continue listening to her rubbish and immediately ordered someone to help her and Qiao Fei down the skerries.
When Qiao Fei released Feng Ling, he gave her another glance. After seeing that her clothes were properly fastened and did not give anything away, he set his heart at ease and climbed on the helicopter.
Feng Ling however, was different. Her injuries were truly quite serious. Earlier, Qiao Fei had been supporting her but right now, even walking was difficult for her to manage alone. It was clear that she had been hurt from that explosion. Thankfully, during the explosion, the flames did not directly impact her skin. She also had to be thankful that she had fallen into the water. Otherwise, it was likely that Feng Ling would have been charred black from the impact of that explosion, even her hair would have been turned into ashes.
After Xiao Xu supported Feng Ling up the helicopter, Nanheng calmly issued his orders: “Team Three, bring all of the injured members back to the base and into the sick bay. Han Jin, Ah Bai, stay behind and check through all of the rescue helicopters. Team Four and Team Five, return directly to the base and await further orders on the training ground.”
After he finished speaking, he quickly returned to the helicopter. He entered the cabin to see Feng Ling, who had just been supported to sit down.
Feng Ling turned to see the man who had just come in. Right now, the bigger picture was much more important. Seeing the man’s composed expression and hearing his voice as he spoke into the headphones, Feng Ling’s heart immediately felt at ease. It was as though, regardless of what happened, this man would never easily frown. Regardless of it all, he would always be able to arrange everything well. He would never take the responsibility he had to the members of the base lightly.
The helicopter ascended into the air once more. Qiao Fei was in the other helicopter. Right now, this helicopter only had Xiao Xu, who was piloting, Nanheng, and her.
The propeller noise was too loud. Feng Ling reached for the headphones at the back and placed them on. Nanheng’s concise and comprehensive follow-up orders filled her ears. As they flew past the ocean, she could see that the smoke was still thick underneath. The cruise had long been swallowed up by the water, leaving only black fumes behind. However, the warehouse that had been bombed earlier was still ablaze.
Li Nanheng was steady and collected. He methodically issued his next orders.
Ten helicopters; up to thirty members. Everyone listened attentively to his arrangements.
After settling the follow-up matters, Nanheng tossed his headphones aside. He headed to the pilot seat and spoke briefly to Xiao Xu. When he turned back, he saw that Feng Ling, who was sitting in the back, appeared not to have returned to herself from her combat ready status.
He approached her side and lowered his head to check her pale complexion. “We’re headed directly for the Los Angeles Hospital. There’s a back-up tarmac there. The helicopter can be parked there.”
Feng Ling hesitated for a moment before speaking up: “Boss, there’s no need to take the trouble. I’ll just go for a simple check-up at the hospital on my own. This helicopter is used for our missions. We can’t use it for my private matters.”
“You were injured by an explosion during the mission. Sending you to the hospital isn’t considered a private matter.”
“But…”
“Stop wasting your breath. Where does it hurt?”
“I’m not sure if this can be considered an internal injury, but I think it might be. It feels like my internal organs were all jolted. Right now, it hurts everywhere,” Feng Ling met his stern gaze and instinctively answered honestly.
“After suffering the explosion of an oil tank, consider it your good luck that your life didn’t end there and then. Go for a proper check up at the hospital. If it’s serious, we’ll directly get you admitted for surgery. Return to the base only after you’ve made full recover.”
Feng Ling did not speak. Right now, she also could not confirm if her injuries were serious. Although she wasn’t bleeding on the surface, her body was hurting everywhere.
She could only wait for the check-up at the hospital.
Although Feng Ling did not speak, her expression was slightly heavy.
Nanheng glanced at the helicopters near them. He then stretched his long legs and approached her to sit down by her side. He asked mildly: “It’s your first time participating in such a mission. How does it feel?”
“I feel quite agitated.” Feng Ling’s answer was very appropriate. Her voice was hoarse and her tone was composed.
Nanheng chuckled. “With your ability, I could have well left the mission of dealing with those terrorists in your hands. Don’t think that sending you off to the cruise was my denial of your abilities. Both sides require people with different abilities. Qiao Fei and you are adept with water; if it had been anyone else, they may not have performed better than you. Besides, this sort of mission that appears simple is actually the hardest. Now that the mission has ended, you should be able to fully understand what I mean.”
It was indeed very difficult.
When it came to terrorists, she only needed to protect her own life while coming up with methods to kill the opponents.
However, when she was on that cruise, she needed to sacrifice her own life and safety over and over again in order to protect the victims. This was especially so for that three year old child who had been badly frightened.
Feng Ling turned away from Nanheng and coughed several times. After she felt better, she turned back to look at the man by her side. “At the time, it was the Mayor’s wife who refused to jump down no matter what. This wasted around three to four minutes. Otherwise, we could have safely avoided the explosion.”
“I know. Typically, these sort of rescue missions are the hardest. This is because the victims may not cooperate with you. Their courage is beyond our control, but you’ve already done exceedingly well.” Nanheng watched her complexion. “If you’re uncomfortable, lean back here. We’ll be arriving at the hospital soon, en?”