Chapter 140: Emergency Rescue

Zhang Kui went to work right after high school graduation.

Due to his low educational background, he could only take on unstable, entry-level jobs.

He hauled bricks, worked as a waiter, tightened screws, delivered takeout—but none of these jobs lasted long; the longest lasted only a year before he quit.

With the rise of self-media, he saw online stories of people like him, with low education, who suddenly went viral and made money, filling him with envy. In the exhaustion between shifts, he wondered whether he too could film videos and become a video blogger.

But after careful thought, he realized he had nothing impressive to showcase in videos.

Making skits required writing scripts—he couldn't do that; sharing his daily life was too dull, no one would watch.

After much deliberation, he thought live streaming might be a way forward.

But learning from Giao Ge's style? He couldn't bring himself to do it. Earning money that way—he didn't care if others laughed, but he couldn't live with himself.

Finally, over the past two months, a name suddenly exploded on Douyin.

Brother Qin!

A man netizens called "Brother."

After watching Brother Qin's videos, Zhang Kui felt like he'd discovered a new continent—he became utterly obsessed with all of Brother Qin's feats.

Amazed by Brother Qin's bare-handed rock climbing, stunned by his solo ascent of Yaomei Peak, awed by his challenges of every extreme.

Then…

After Qin Yun returned from the Qaidam Desert, Zhang Kui finally took his first step—he searched for other outdoor streamers on Douyin for comparison.

He found that Brother Qin's wild stunts were beyond ordinary people's reach. But in all those livestreams, there was one thing ordinary people could try.

That was wilderness survival!

No need to match Brother Qin's extremes—just find a spot, set up equipment, and live outdoors.

If you're skilled and comfortable in the wild, people will watch; if you're clueless and keep falling into pits, people will still watch. So Zhang Kui dug up dozens of similar Douyin accounts, analyzed them one by one, applying the same effort he'd used for his junior high entrance exam.

Soon he reached a conclusion—it could be done.

Then he took out all his savings and began preparing for his self-media journey—buying gear, learning filming, studying basic wilderness knowledge.

In the end, he chose a place in his hometown—Zhangjiajie Mount Qixing.

Mount Qixing was a tourist attraction, so he naturally avoided crowded spots, which would expose him. Instead, he used the Mount Qixing boundary marker on the northwest side as his anchor, walked about three to four hundred meters back, and picked a slightly more open area.

Beyond five hundred meters past the Mount Qixing boundary marker, signal vanished abruptly. Inside the boundary marker, 4G/5G coverage was complete, even with public Wi-Fi.

So the place Zhang Kui chose was perfect—empty, with good signal, and no interference with his livestreams; and if he got tired, he could return to the scenic area anytime to buy food and drinks.

With such a good idea, he quickly put it into action.

The first two days of livestreaming went smoothly—wilderness survival had recently gained traction, so any video or livestream on the topic came with built-in traffic. His livestream had no standout moments.

But most netizens were bored, and Zhang Kui actually reaped the livestreaming benefits—the tips.

This made Zhang Kui even more excited and energized.

But trouble struck on the third day—two days ago, December 2nd.

"A netizen spotted a signal tower and viewing platform in the livestream, saying he wasn't in Zhangjiajie's uninhabited zone but near the scenic area, accusing him of falsely labeling his livestream as 'uninhabited zone'—pure clickbait."

"Zhang Kui then went deeper, and the signal cut out completely. That location should've been safe, but once the signal vanished, he never reappeared. It's been exactly 48 hours, and his phone still won't ring."

Su Huan tapped a satellite map on her PAD, pointing to a spot.

"Zhang Kui's signal disappeared right here."

Qin Yun frowned: "Did you report it?"

"The person who contacted us was an old coworker. Zhang Kui had no real friends—this guy only stayed in touch because Zhang Kui once helped him at work." Su Huan sighed, "He's an orphan, raised by his grandparents. After they passed away during high school, he left home to work."

Nowadays, all business contacts on Qin Yun's Douyin and Weibo accounts list Su Huan's details.

Hearing this, Qin Yun felt helpless.

Logically, this had nothing to do with him—but the key issue was Zhang Kui's livestream title: "Disciple of Brother Qin, Kui's First Uninhabited Zone Livestream."

With fifty million followers, Qin Yun was no longer an ordinary person—he was a public figure.

His influence was immense.

If you downplay it, this was just someone piggybacking on his traffic; no incident, no big deal. But if you magnify it, this person acted under Qin Yun's influence—and now something happened, netizens would inevitably attack him.

It would inevitably escalate into debates about life philosophy and values.

Of course, even if something truly happened, Qin Yun believed his fans had enough discernment to resist being led astray.

But from the bottom of his heart, now that he knew, he couldn't pretend ignorance—or ignore it. Especially since the guy was genuinely his fan.

"What will you do?" Su Huan asked.

"I'm going there in person."

Su Huan thought, as expected—once Qin Yun heard this, he flew straight from Zhoushan to Hangzhou; she wasn't surprised.

"Beyond five hundred meters past the Mount Qixing boundary marker, it's no longer part of the regular scenic area—it's undeveloped prime forest, complex terrain, large day-night temperature differences, still somewhat dangerous."

Qin Yun nodded: "I'll go take a look. I'm leaving today—when I arrive tonight, you contact that guy and file a report."

"Alright, I'll book your flight right away."

In no time, the ticket was bought. Su Huan packed her things, grabbed a suitcase, and walked out of the bedroom.

"Uh… what are you doing?" Qin Yun asked, puzzled.

"I'm coming with you. I'll wait for you at the scenic area hotel—I can't let you go alone."

Qin Yun opened his mouth to say there was nothing to worry about, but seeing Su Huan's gaze, he instantly swallowed his words.

"Hmm, alright then. Having company means we can chat."

Su Huan rolled her eyes, pushed open the door, went downstairs, dropped her suitcase, and sat right in the front passenger seat.

Qin Yun placed his backpack in the back seat, rubbed his nose, and obediently took the driver's seat.

On the way to Xiaoshan Airport, after Su Huan confirmed he'd livestream the entire rescue, Qin Yun witnessed her work mode—phone after phone call, and in under an hour's drive, she'd secured another commercial deal before they even got out of the car.

After parking, Qin Yun smiled and said, "Without you, I'd probably earn half as much."

"Hmph, good that you know."

Su Huan tilted her pale neck and pushed her suitcase inside.

From Hangzhou to Zhangjiajie, direct flight plus taxi takes three hours; the flight departs at five in the afternoon, so they'll arrive at Mount Qixing Scenic Area around eight at night.

Su Huan bought economy class tickets, with two seats side by side.

"I heard you bought a house?"

Qin Yun paused mid-fastening his seatbelt and said dryly, "You and my mom really talk about everything."

"Hehe." A faint smile appeared in Su Huan's eyes. "I'm best friends with your mom now."

Qin Yun smirked. "Best friends with a middle-aged woman? Has your mental age already hit fifty?"

"Your mom says her mental age is about the same as mine, yet you say mine's nearly fifty—what do you think she'd say if she heard that?"

Qin Yun fell silent for a moment, then picked up his phone while the plane hadn't moved yet.

【Alipay received 50 yuan.】

"Pfft"

Su Huan's eyes crinkled with laughter as she patted his arm. "You're so annoying!"

They chatted and laughed, and the plane took off on time.

……

The ride-hailing car drove straight through the scenic area gate and soon stopped at the lower station of the Mount Qixing cableway. They got out, boarded the nighttime cableway, and soon arrived at the Mount Qixing Villa Hotel.

Su Huan booked a triangular wooden cabin, entirely in rustic log style, with three bedrooms, each with a spacious outdoor terrace offering sweeping views.

"Wow, so beautiful!"

Looking out the floor-to-ceiling window, the mountain scenery beneath the stars looked like a painting, prompting Su Huan to exclaim in admiration.

Qin Yun nodded, thinking the money wasn't wasted.

After he finished showering and stepped out of the bathroom, Su Huan's expression was somewhat uneasy.

"What's wrong?"

Su Huan looked at him. "I can't reach that person anymore—the last time I called, they blocked me."

"What if we report it to the police directly?"

Su Huan shook her head. "I already called the police—they need to verify, but that won't happen until tomorrow."

Qin Yun felt helpless. Someone who'd sunk this low, even dead, wouldn't be missed.

"Fine, call the police again tomorrow."

"Could this be a misunderstanding?" Su Huan couldn't reach the person and got blocked—something felt off.

Qin Yun shrugged. "Douyin already confirmed the livestream ended abruptly due to signal loss, not because he shut it off voluntarily. The certified phone for Zhang Kui also showed 'out of service area.' I don't think it's a misunderstanding."

Saying this, he smiled and walked beside Su Huan to gaze out at the view beyond the window.

"Even if it is a misunderstanding, I'll treat it as a wilderness survival livestream."

Hearing this, Su Huan nodded. "Alright, I'll contact the police again tomorrow."

"Good. Go freshen up—I'm going to sleep. I'll leave promptly at seven tomorrow."

Back in his room, Qin Yun thought for a moment, then pulled out his phone and created a livestream announcement.

【Tomorrow at 8 a. m., Mount Qixing in Zhangjiajie. Don't miss it.】

After setting the announcement, Qin Yun saw that all the videos from the Qaidam Desert survival episode had been released. This episode was still a co-production with Douyin, so it didn't involve Fang Nan's company.

Currently, every video in this episode had surpassed five million likes and all had over one hundred million views—genuine viral hits.

The creator's share alone was already a substantial sum.

But for him, compared to his livestream earnings, video revenue meant little—he was the steady, long-term type.

Fang Nan's company had already edited the longboard downhill video, but he hadn't uploaded it yet. He'd been waiting until the Qaidam Desert survival episode was fully released. Now that all Qaidam Desert videos were uploaded, he directly uploaded the longboard downhill video via his computer for review.

After uploading, he posted the announcement on Weibo.

Instantly, comments on the announcement began surging.

"Oh? Qin Ye is taking a break for a week and then restarting livestreams? Which other streamer is this lazy?"

"Heh, the missing person's back."

"Looking forward to it! But isn't Mount Qixing a tourist spot?"

"Above, Mount Qixing isn't just the tourist zone—that's barely a fraction of the original forest area."

"Wow, wilderness survival again? Is this the primeval forest? I got hooked by Qin Ye's Daxing'anling wilderness survival."

Reading these comments, Qin Yun edited the post about Zhang Kui and pinned it as the top comment.