Chapter 111: A Bite for Him

The last pile of rubble had once been a small restaurant that had operated in Mount Daheng for many years. It was something of a local institution.

A couple of years ago, during the boom of short video platforms, the restaurant owner seized the opportunity to renovate the place and invited a few food bloggers to promote it. Thanks to the excellent quality of the dishes and the pleasant dining environment, this old establishment quickly became a popular hotspot online, drawing in a steady stream of customers every day.

But then came a sudden earthquake that turned all that prosperity into dust. Aofeng lowered his head and looked at a dust-covered poster on the ground. It showed the restaurant owner posing with a minor celebrity. The poster had originally been hung at the entrance, but somehow had ended up here.

He let out a sigh and began circling the ruins, sniffing as he went, ears perked and alert. To his disappointment, there were no tapping sounds, no voices, nothing. Just as Aofeng was about to leave, another aftershock hit. They had already experienced two aftershocks the night before. Fortunately, these tremors weren’t strong, not like the one on the highway that had shaken the cliffside loose.

This one was the same—just a mild tremble before everything settled again. And then, Aofeng heard something.

“Ugh…”

It was faint, muffled by debris. Without careful listening, it would’ve gone unnoticed. The voice sounded weak, barely a whisper, as if the person was hanging by a thread.

Aofeng’s ears twitched. He immediately determined that there was still someone alive beneath the rubble. He pressed his ear against a chunk of concrete, his expression grave. The people nearby saw his reaction and held their breath. Usually, when Aofeng did this, it meant he had found something.

He moved to a different spot and listened even longer. There was no doubt—someone was down there. He heard the voice again, this time strained with pain.

Aofeng barked once at Song Changfeng in the crowd, signaling him to come dig—there was someone trapped here. Song Changfeng understood and stepped forward. The others gathered around, waiting for Aofeng to mark the exact spot before they began digging. None of them had quite realized that, in this human-led rescue team, the true core was a police dog.

Living up to expectations, Aofeng quickly pinpointed the clearest source of the sound. With his front paw wrapped in gauze, he tapped the spot a few times. The others rushed over with shovels and picks.

A team of nearly twenty people working together was no small force. In less than ten minutes, they had opened a hole in the rubble. Spirits lifted, they kept digging and clearing, widening the opening.

Another ten minutes passed, and the hole was now big enough for a person to crawl through. One of the rescuers leaned in, trying to spot the survivors. But the space below was pitch black, completely cut off from daylight. Nothing was visible, and no one called out.

“Bring the floodlight!” someone shouted.

A large lamp was handed over, and the rescuer strapped it to his head and peered down. The area below was littered with fallen concrete, broken tables and chairs. Shattered bowls and liquor bottles were scattered about. It wasn’t hard to imagine that, before the earthquake struck, a group had been here drinking and laughing, enjoying themselves. As the light swept across a corner, the rescuer gasped.

In that cramped corner, three or four people were tightly packed together, their bodies overlapping with barely any space between them.

The one at the bottom had a purplish face and stiff limbs—clearly already dead. The others were pale and ashen. If not for the faint rise and fall of their chests, one might think they were gone too. Had it not been for the aftershock that triggered a groan from one of them, they would’ve been overlooked and left to die for real.

Rescue had to begin immediately. Any further delay, and these people wouldn’t make it. But they were all unconscious and couldn’t move on their own. Someone would have to go down and carry them out.

“Let me go!” “No, I’ll go!” “Stop fighting, I’ll do it!”

As soon as the plan was proposed, several people volunteered at once. Aofeng looked at their dust-covered young faces, his eyes filled with complex emotion. Every face was sincere. Did they not know the risks? No, they knew. It was precisely because they knew how dangerous it was that they wanted to go themselves.

Aftershocks could strike again at any moment. A decision had to be made quickly. While the others were still arguing, one person had already strapped on the floodlight and quietly climbed down.

“Woof woof!” Aofeng was so anxious he was almost speaking human, because the one who had jumped down was Song Changfeng. That guy was big and heavy, definitely not the best choice!

The others quickly realized what had happened and rushed toward the opening. By then, Song Changfeng had already gone inside. Under the beam of the floodlight, he quickly located a group of people huddled in a corner.

At the top of the pile was a man in his thirties, sitting on his back with his face up. His chest rose and fell faintly, and blood streamed down his forehead, still not fully dried. Judging from the debris around him, it looked like he’d been hit by a falling ceiling panel. He was likely the one who had made the noise earlier. Song Changfeng didn’t waste time examining further. He bent down and hoisted the man onto his back, then began moving him out.

The space was extremely cramped, littered with obstacles. It had already been difficult for him to move alone, and now, hunched over with someone on his back, it became even more grueling. Fortunately, Song Changfeng was in excellent physical condition. In no time, he had carried the man to the entrance and lifted him upward.

The people above quickly reached down to pull him out, then placed him on a stretcher and rushed him off for treatment. Song Changfeng turned back without pause to retrieve the next person. After two or three trips, everyone who had survived was safely rescued.

After lifting the last survivor up, the others immediately reached down to pull Song Changfeng out. But disaster struck in an instant. A sudden aftershock hit, so strong that no one could keep their footing.

Aofeng had already sensed something was wrong, but this time the tremor came too fast. He didn’t even have time to bark a warning before the ground began to shake. All he could do was watch helplessly as Song Changfeng, who had nearly climbed out, slipped and fell back down.

The aftershock lasted nearly two minutes. Though not particularly strong, it was enough to wreak new havoc on the already unstable ruins. The entrance they had dug out was now half-collapsed, and the floodlight that had been strapped to Song Changfeng’s head had broken in the fall. They could no longer see what was happening inside. Even shining a light from outside only revealed vague outlines due to the narrowed opening.

“Comrade Changfeng!”

“Song Changfeng!”

The moment the tremor stopped and everyone regained their balance, they began shouting his name, hoping to wake him. But no matter how loudly they called, there was only silence below. Only Aofeng could hear it—the steady breathing that belonged to Song Changfeng. His breathing was still strong, which meant his life wasn’t in danger. But along with that breath, Aofeng caught a whiff of fresh blood.

Song Changfeng was injured!

Of course he was. How could he not be? He’d fallen nearly two meters onto a floor littered with jagged concrete. There was no way to avoid getting hurt.

When they couldn’t rouse Song Changfeng, the team picked up their tools and began digging again. As long as they could reopen the entrance, they could go down and rescue him.

Aofeng was spinning in circles with anxiety. There was no telling when another aftershock might hit, and if it did, the situation below would become even more unpredictable. They had to wake Song Changfeng. Relying solely on outside help was too risky!

“Woof woof woof!!” Aofeng suddenly barked loudly. As everyone turned to look, a black blur shot toward the hole like lightning and leapt in.

Aofeng had already scoped out the space earlier. The tunnel wasn’t a straight vertical drop, so as he jumped, he kicked off with his hind legs to launch himself farther in, avoiding landing directly on the fallen Song Changfeng and causing further injury.

Thankfully, his eyes could still see in the dark. Otherwise, the jump would’ve been useless. Once he landed, he immediately turned and dashed toward Song Changfeng. He found him lying on his back, the back of his head resting against a protruding chunk of concrete. His eyes were tightly shut, and his face was contorted in pain.

Aofeng didn’t dare waste a second. He ran to his ear and let out a thunderous bark. The deafening sound rang out right beside him, and Song Changfeng, still unconscious, furrowed his brows.

It worked! Aofeng barked again, louder this time. But aside from the frown, Song Changfeng didn’t react.

With no other choice, Aofeng bit down on his shirt and tried to drag him upward. But he quickly realized it was impossible. Even though he was larger than most police dogs, he still couldn’t lift a grown man.

What now? Aofeng was so anxious he was practically sweating. He nudged Song Changfeng with his head, slapped his face with a bandaged paw, but nothing worked.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. Gritting his teeth, he bit down hard on Song Changfeng’s arm through the fabric. The sharp pain jolted Song Changfeng’s nervous system. With a cry of pain, he sat up straight and opened his eyes.

Surrounded by darkness, Song Changfeng looked dazed. Where was he? Why did his whole body ache? Especially the back of his head and his arm.

“Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!” The sound of barking rang out again beside his ear. Song Changfeng’s consciousness returned, and he remembered falling during the aftershock.

“Aofeng, you came down too?” Song Changfeng reached out and felt around, his hand landing on a round, furry dog head.

Aofeng barked again, reminding his big brother that now was not the time for small talk. Song Changfeng got the message and realized getting out was the top priority. He crouched and began crawling toward a nearby source of light.

Above, the opening of the hole was nearly dug through. The rescue team was just about to send someone down when they saw that Song Changfeng had already regained consciousness.

“Quick, Comrade Changfeng, tie the rope securely!” A thick rope was tossed down. They were worried that Song Changfeng might be too injured to climb up on his own.

Song Changfeng picked up the rope, but instead of tying it around himself, he pulled Aofeng over and felt around to fasten it to the dog. Aofeng wanted to resist, but he knew how stubborn Song Changfeng was. If he didn’t go up first, Song Changfeng definitely wouldn’t leave either. So he stayed still and let him tie it, then was hauled out.

Soon after, the rope was lowered again. Song Changfeng tied it around himself and was quickly pulled up.

Almost the moment he got to his feet, a powerful tremor rumbled beneath them. The hole they had just dug open collapsed completely.

Everyone was shaken. If Song Changfeng hadn’t woken up and they had sent someone down to rescue him, both of them might have been buried alive.

Thankfully, Aofeng had jumped down. At the time, everyone thought he was causing trouble and regretted not tying him up. But now it was clear Aofeng had saved the day. If not for him, two outstanding officers would have lost their lives here today.