598: The Search

The Search

Within the range, nothing escaped her vision and hearing, no matter how subtle or tiny it was.2

That was enough, Jiang Yao thought. She could drive on and push the two-kilometer envelope further, as long as she could hear the soldier's cries for help or see his silhouette, that was all she needed.

Definitely a faster way to search for the missing soldier.

It was late at night as the storm ravished the highway, not a car to be seen. The various tributaries of the West River flowed into the river next to the highway. The river flow was rapid and the current was strong as it flooded the farm patches on the banks of the river, covering everything, including the vegetation. 

Jiang Yao focused her entire attention on listening and seeing. She saw, from her vision, that there were many objects floating in the river, such as clothes, shoes, furniture, trash, and even animals, who were struggling, being brought away by the strong current.

From her hearing, she could hear very clearly unknown yelps and howls coming from the mountains. It was so clear that she could identify where exactly they came from.

There was not a human nor any houses to be found along the entire journey. Even the most daring person would have a difficult time trying to navigate a place like this on a stormy night.

Jiang Yao was not the most courageous person but her focus was currently directed at searching for the survivor. Anything not related to her mission was ignored.

The storm paused only for half an hour throughout the entire night, as heavy rain poured on the rest of the time.

Jiang Yao drove on, passing villages and towns on the way. However, she still had no luck finding the survivor.

It was dawn when she drove out of a village into no man's land. Looking up at the sky, she turned to Moe and said, "Say, the river current is so strong, do you think the soldier was swept further? Should I have searched downstream instead? Was my effort last night a waste?"

Did she lose out on precious time because of her incorrect judgment?

"I don't know," Moe answered honestly. After all, he was not omnipotent.

However, toiling the entire night away was exhausting for him. He lay on the seat and looked at Jiang Yao with bloodshot eyes. She must be feeling exhausted now, he thought. After all, using one's vision and hearing to look for a missing person was a taxing endeavor.

He observed Jiang Yao, who was driving slowly, and thought how scary she could be when she set her mind on doing something.

Would she do the same if he was found missing one day?

Probably not. She might celebrate instead.

Frankly, Moe was not quite pleased with his assumption. The unhappy Moe then chose to go to sleep.

Seeing the sleeping Moe, Jiang Yao decided not to wake him up. She was contemplating whether to turn her car around and search downstream. 

Or maybe she should just follow through with her initial plan and continue her search forward.

If she could not locate the survivor by the time she reached the borders of Rong County, she would turn her car around and drive downstream as fast as she could. That seemed to be the most reasonable solution to her dilemma.

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