Chapter 122: Torrential Rain, Trapped in the Small Mountain Village
The quiet Johnson Villa.
William had been sleeping in the guest room these past two days. He first went to the children's room to check on James and Michael, who were already awake, then went to the master bedroom to see Emily sleeping soundly.
Emily, the youngest, hadn't cried or made a fuss after learning that Sophia was away on a business trip. She had been very well-behaved at home.
As if sensing something, she suddenly murmured, "Daddy..."
William's heart felt like it was soaking in warm spring water. He bent down and kissed her cheek, his large palm stroking Emily's head.
William said, "I'll bring Sophia back to you."
Just this morning, Cloud City was hit by the strongest regional rainstorm in a hundred years.
Several cars were parked at the entrance of the Johnson Villa.
Before leaving, Sophia had already transferred James and Michael to a private kindergarten. The security was just as good as before, but the teachers here were much more tight-lipped.
For families like theirs, what they feared most was having their children's information leaked by others.
They could post photos themselves, but absolutely wouldn't allow outsiders to secretly post pictures of the children.
Since William would be away from Empire City for a few days, he arranged for a large number of bodyguards to guard around the Johnson Villa.
He even deployed hidden forces to handle picking up and dropping off the two children at school.
"Mr. Smith, everything has been arranged."
Compared to Tony, Mark had a fiercer quality about him.
William said, "Let's go."
On the way to the airport, the car radio kept broadcasting updates.
[Early this morning, Cloud City was hit by a severe rainstorm, with rainfall breaking historical records... 108,762 people were affected in the city, 942 houses damaged out of a total of 1,862 households... resulting in 8 deaths and 27 missing persons.]
Cloud City airport had already shut down.
William could only fly to the nearest city where planes could land, then drive to Cloud City.
Hillwater Village was at the southernmost edge of Cloud City.
From the plane landing to Hillwater Village, it would normally take at least six hours by car.
Now, with the severe rainstorm, it would only take longer.
If they happened to encounter road collapses and blockages along the way, who knew how long it would take to reach Hillwater Village.
Although Sophia's phone hadn't lost connection, William was still very worried.
At the entrance of Hillwater Village, the river had risen seriously due to the rainstorm.
The village houses were all made of traditional rammed earth walls, which couldn't completely withstand the washing of rainwater and could easily cause house collapses.
Just in the courtyard where Sophia and her team were staying, two out of four rooms had already collapsed.
Some of the team moved into two vacant courtyards nearby, while others remained in the two intact rooms, but some places couldn't block the rainstorm's assault either, and were more or less damaged.
Sophia stood by the window inside the house, silently gazing at the curtain of rain outside.
The old window couldn't block the fierce wind and rain outside, and some rain threads blew onto her face with the wind.
Although they had brought plenty of supplies and there were no casualties among the personnel, Sophia was still somewhat worried. If the rain continued like this, it could easily trigger flash floods.
As soon as the rainfall decreased, they could leave by car immediately.
But what about the people in the village?
Especially since there were many elderly people in the village with weak bodies.
This rainstorm came suddenly, and everyone didn't have time to respond. Many people were lying in their rooms with colds and fevers.
Sophia had just asked Monkey to deliver fever medicine to Gerald, having him distribute it to the villagers.
Through the rain curtain, a person walked closer from afar.
In such a rainstorm, umbrellas weren't very useful. Monkey wore a black raincoat and military boots, walking through the rain curtain back to the courtyard, his forehead hair already completely wet.
"Sophia, the medicine we brought is barely enough, but if more people get fevers later, it won't be enough."
They also needed to keep some medicine for their own people.
Although the bodyguards were physically strong, they couldn't be sure when this rainstorm would stop or when they could leave.
Most importantly, the grass roots they had dug up weren't Revival Herb!
Sophia had originally wanted to stay here for a few more days and continue searching in the mountains.
Given how rich the vegetation was on this mountain, maybe this medicinal herb really was growing in some corner.
If they found it, Emily could make fewer trips to the laboratory.
As a mother, she really couldn't bear to see her child, not even two years old yet, having to go to the laboratory every three months. Those needles might as well be stuck in her own body.
Monkey knew what this herb was for, which was why he personally came along to search together.
"I know you're worried about Emily, but given this mountain village's location, if the rainstorm doesn't stop, it could very likely trigger flash floods. By then, we won't be able to leave even if we want to."
Sophia had also thought of his concerns.
From Empire City to Hillwater Village, they had already spent two days just on the journey.
If they returned empty-handed, she really wouldn't be willing to accept it!
Sophia said, "I understand."
"The houses in the village have collapsed badly. Ask Gerald if he needs help repairing them."
Speaking of this, Monkey frowned and said, "I already asked him just now. He said no."
"He also said something about everything being fate, and there was no worry on his face at all. Most importantly, when I delivered the medicine to him, he refused outright."
Earlier, when they returned to the village from the mountains, Sophia had specifically asked about Hillwater Village's situation.
Gerald said the villagers were very united and the neighborhood relationships were harmonious, but now the elderly in the village were experiencing continuous fevers, yet when someone offered to deliver medicine, he refused?
Sophia's expression also grew serious. "That is indeed quite strange."
She lowered her voice to remind him, "Pass the word to the guys, keep an eye on Gerald's situation."
Monkey nodded. "I'll go check again. You stay inside and don't go out."
Although rain drifted into the room through the cracks, they had collected plenty of firewood from the mountains before the storm hit. With a fire burning, the room stayed warm enough.
There was still a lot of firewood piled in the corner.
Although not particularly dry, at least it could burn for a long time.
She closed the somewhat drafty window and lay down on the bed, starting to think about the next steps.
This rainstorm was even bigger than the one at Rain Village before.
And Hillwater Village's infrastructure was even worse. Fallen trees had directly damaged the surrounding power towers.
Now the village didn't even have electricity.
Sophia's team had brought two generators when they came, which could maintain basic power usage.
At this moment, she didn't know that William was on his way to find her.
A landslide along the route had directly blocked the road ahead, and this road was the only way into the village.
The rear car window rolled down a crack, revealing William's deep eyes.
Mark checked the road ahead and hurried back.
"Mr. Smith, floodwater has damaged half of the road foundation ahead. The landslide is too severe. Our vehicles can't pass directly."
Although they had prepared contingency plans in advance, given the current road conditions, to make the vehicles passable, they would need to clear at least half of the debris from the road, which would take several hours at a minimum.
William's jaw tightened. "Have everyone get out and clear it."
Mark took out the walkie-talkie to pass along his orders.
Seeing William putting on a raincoat, he froze for a moment and quickly said, "Mr. Smith, leave that to us. The rain is too heavy. You should wait in the car."
William ignored his words and quickly finished putting on the raincoat, pushing open the car door to get out.
His black military boots stepped in the water, splashing up small droplets. His whole figure stood upright like a pine or cypress, radiating a stern coldness.
His face was stern as he said, "I can't wait any longer."
The longer the time dragged on, the more danger Sophia would be in.
William said, "We must reach Hillwater Village today."