red moscow

Chapter 3129

Victoria, leading Baharov and Braun, struggled to climb out of the narrow opening. The three of them, covered in dust and mud, stood on the ruins, slightly out of breath. She instinctively reached into her pocket for her phone, but the screen was shattered into a spiderweb pattern, rendering it unusable. Victoria frowned, turned to Baharov behind her, and said urgently yet calmly, "Baharov, is your phone working? I need to call the rescue team; we must get them here as soon as possible to search for Misha."

Baharov gave a wry smile and shook his head. His face was weary and apologetic, his voice hoarse. "I'm sorry, Vika. You know, I've been trapped underground in the hospital for two whole days. My phone died a long time ago; I can't even turn it on." He then turned to Braun beside him, asking with a last glimmer of hope, "Where's your phone? Does it have power?"

Braun raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow, a helpless, bitter smile on his face. "Bakharov!" he sighed, a hint of self-mockery in his voice, "We were trapped together, don't you remember? If my phone still had a little battery left, I would have called for help long ago. How could I have waited until now..."

Seeing that neither of their phones worked, Victoria hesitated for a moment, then walked towards the police car parked nearby. She opened the passenger door, leaned inside, and expertly opened the glove compartment, retrieving a spare phone. She deftly removed the SIM card from her own phone, inserted it into the spare, and pressed the power button. The moment the screen lit up, her eyes hardened.

A moment later, the call connected, and a crisp male voice came through the receiver: "Hello, this is the rescue team!"

“Hello, I am Police Major Victoria,” she said clearly. “I am currently at Hoflin Hospital.” She paused briefly and continued, “A friend of mine is trapped underground in an emergency, and I would like to request that you send someone to rescue him.”

Upon hearing Victoria's words, the person on the other end of the phone fell silent, seemingly processing this sudden request or perhaps checking some records.

After a long pause, the rescue team member who answered the phone finally spoke, his tone cautious: "Dear officer, our rescue team participated in the rescue operation underground at Hoflin Hospital yesterday, and all those trapped were rescued. According to our records and on-site confirmation, there should be no one left inside."

“Yes, sir!” Victoria said, her voice firm and unwavering. “I just crawled out from under Hoflin Hospital, along with two other people who were trapped a few days ago. I can confirm that completely.”

"Two more trapped people?" a rescuer exclaimed in surprise, his voice filled with disbelief. "But we conducted multiple thorough searches of the underground buildings of Hoflin Hospital yesterday, leaving no corner unchecked, and found no one there. Are you sure you're not mistaken? Or perhaps they're in another area?"

Victoria naturally wouldn't tell them that Baharov and Braun had traveled back to the Great Patriotic War era while they were searching the underground structure—such a thing was too far-fetched. She could only vaguely but firmly say, "There may be some hidden locations, passages, or complex areas that you haven't searched. But I swear on my position that what I said is true; there were indeed two people who came out of the underground with me."

After listening to Victoria's words, the rescue team member paused for a moment, seemingly weighing the weight of her words. Then he continued, his tone more serious than before: "Did you go down to search alone?"

“No,” Victoria said, her voice slightly lower. “I went down with a friend. We’ve successfully rescued two people, but my friend is missing. He’s probably trapped somewhere underground and needs your professional support.”

Upon hearing this, the rescue team member immediately understood Victoria's intention. His voice became more cautious as he tentatively asked, "Officer, do you still want us to organize another search to look for your friend?" "Yes, that's exactly what I mean," Victoria replied without hesitation, her tone resolute.

"Officer, please call back in half an hour," the rescue team member said politely, but with a measured, procedural tone. "This is a serious matter, and I need to report to my superiors to see what they think. We will also reassess the situation on site."

"Alright then, I'll call you back in half an hour." Victoria said, sighed softly, and then pressed the end call button, her fingers gripping the phone slightly.

"Vika!" Seeing that Victoria had finished her call, Baharov immediately leaned over and asked anxiously, his brow furrowed, "What did the rescue team say? When are they coming to rescue Misha?"

Victoria slowly put down the phone, turned to Baharov with a serious expression, and said in a low voice, "Baharov, things are more complicated than you and I think." She paused briefly, as if choosing her words carefully, "The rescue team can't be mobilized immediately with just one phone call. The person who answered the phone said he needed to report to his superiors first, and the final decision would depend on their arrangements."

Baharov seemed somewhat anxious and pressed, "When will they be able to give us an answer?" His voice was filled with obvious worry.

“They said they would report it immediately and there would be an initial response in about half an hour.” Victoria tried to sound calm. “I’ll call back then to ask about the specifics.”

After saying this, she carefully examined Baharov and Braun before her. Both were pale and exhausted, clearly not yet recovered from their previous ordeal. She turned to Baharov and said in a gentle yet firm tone, "Baharov, you and Braun have been trapped underground for over two days, and your condition doesn't look good. I'll call the hospital right now and ask them to send an ambulance to take you for a full checkup. What do you think?"

Baharov was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. He recalled his near-collapse from lack of food and water before his transmigration. Although his body had recovered during the Great Patriotic War, fatigue and discomfort returned once he returned to the modern world. He replied softly, "You're right, Vika, we should go to the hospital."

Victoria immediately picked up the phone and quickly and skillfully dialed the emergency number "03". Once connected, she spoke clearly and calmly: "Hello, this is Police Major Victoria. I am currently near the ruins of Hoflin Hospital with two men who have been trapped underground for over two days. They are extremely weak, showing signs of dehydration and exhaustion. Requesting an ambulance to be dispatched as soon as possible to take them to the hospital for examination and necessary treatment."

“Baharov!” Victoria hung up the phone and said to Baharov, “I’ve already called the hospital. The ambulance will be here soon, and then you can go to the hospital for treatment.”

(End of this chapter)