Chapter 142: Fog Locks the Deep Forest, Rain Torrents Pour

"What? Already sent a rescue team? What nonsense?"

"Who cares about some streamer? Aren't you just adding to our rescue burden?"

"If someone goes missing in a place like that, the chance of finding them is practically zero."

"Qin Ye? That TikTok Qin Ye? Oh, then it's fine."

When the Zhangjiajie fire rescue team received the call, they initially flew into a rage, hurling several curses—until they heard that the rescuer was the TikTok streamer Qin Ye, and then they fell silent all at once.

No one else could do it, but Qin Ye? No problem.

Who can rescue someone in the environment of Yaomei Peak? Who can carry a person out of a desert?

At this point, the time was already 3 p. m.

The police verified the missing person's basic information, confirmed he was truly unreachable, and immediately activated the emergency protocol.

The fire rescue team, emergency management department, forestry and grassland bureau, and police units quickly formed a search team and headed toward Mount Qixing.

Qin Yun also saw the message sent by Su Huan in the comment section.

"Brothers, the joint rescue team has arrived and will enter the forest zone soon."

After saying this, Qin Yun passed through Lin Zi, and his eyes brightened—he saw ahead a steep cliff, over ten meters high, its surface smooth and covered in moss, looking extremely slippery.

But on this cliff, he spotted signs of human climbing—the marks of shoes rubbing against moss.

He zoomed in the lens: "Look everyone, this friction is deep—someone climbed this cliff. It's very likely Zhang Kui. So I need to climb up and check the situation; maybe I can find some clues he left behind."

Zhang Kui climbed this ten-meter cliff—so for Qin Yun, it was as easy as walking on flat ground.

He scaled the cliff top without any effort. On the other side, the terrain was even more rugged, littered with broken rocks and thorns, making movement extremely difficult. Qin Yun walked about a hundred meters, then suddenly noticed a large number of chaotic footprints on the ground—these footprints were already faint, and beside them lay a tripod, its smartphone still mounted on it.

Qin Yun's eyes lit up; he quickened his pace. He examined the footprints' traces and already knew what kind of animal footprints these were. But he didn't explain immediately—instead, he swiftly picked up the phone, pressed the power button, and found it was dead.

A bad premonition stirred in his mind; he quickly plugged the phone into his drone's charging port, using the drone's reverse charging capability to power it up.

"Based on my current judgment, Zhang Kui was almost certainly safe before this—he successfully descended from his livestreaming spot and made it here. But something happened while he was recording, forcing him to flee without even taking his phone."

"Let me see if I can find out what he encountered."

Around ten minutes later, the phone powered on. Qin Yun quickly opened the album and found the latest file—a video. He played it: at first, Zhang Kui seemed normal, though disheveled, but in good spirits, even excited.

Then suddenly, his expression changed—he turned and ran without hesitation.

Shortly after, something darted across the frame, chasing after Zhang Kui. The tripod toppled, and a series of "chirp-chirp-chirp" sounds erupted from the video.

"This is…"

Qin Yun's expression subtly changed. He paused the frame and placed it before the drone's lens.

"As I suspected, Zhang Kui encountered a wild macaque troop. That's why he didn't hesitate—he turned and ran immediately. From the sounds and silhouettes in the video, there were probably around twenty or so."

Netizens, hearing Qin Yun say this, flooded the comments.

"Zhang Kui is so unlucky—he ran into a macaque troop. How big is this troop? Do they attack people?"

"Online sources say macaques are small, only about fifty to sixty centimeters, but they move in groups and are extremely aggressive."

"I've been to the Mount Qixing scenic area—those macaques will pounce on you. If bitten, you have to get a rabies vaccine."

"Zhang Kui was probably chased by macaques, panicked, and lost his way."

Qin Yun glanced and nodded: "Macaques are a nasty species. If they sense you're easy to bully, they'll swarm you. But if you lock eyes with them and shout loudly, they'll see it as provocation and attack you. If you have food, they'll come steal it—basically, a thoroughly despicable animal."

He paused, glanced at the video's recording time, then tucked the phone away to conserve the drone's battery.

"I'm talking about the macaques in the scenic area—these wild ones are even worse. Twenty macaques targeting one adult? There's no way a person can fight back."

"Also, I just checked the video's timestamp—this scene happened on December 1st. Today is December 3rd. That means two full days have passed. So we can conclude that Zhang Kui was still fine within the first twenty-four hours after going offline."

He finished speaking, looked up into the dense forest, his expression Grave: "But now, it's uncertain."

In fact, he had a bad feeling.

At this moment, the rescue team watching his livestream also felt a sinking dread upon hearing Qin Yun say that over twenty macaques had chased Zhang Kui.

These macaques aren't to be trifled with. Though small and seemingly harmless, they're vicious by nature. In the scenic area, it's not too bad—they still fear humans. But here, in undeveloped territory?

Records show that besides macaques, the area harbors wild boars, black bears, leopard cats, spectacled cobras, centipedes, and venomous spiders.

Zhang Kui's luck is terrible—encounter any one of these, and he's in deep trouble.

Not to mention, in the wild, once you lose your way, food and water become problems. After so long, the probability Zhang Kui is dead is extremely high.

Qin Yun steadied himself and continued forward along the chaotic footprints.

As he walked, mist suddenly rose from the dense forest—within moments, his visibility dropped to less than five meters, forcing him to turn on his headlamp. Even then, it barely illuminated a small patch ahead.

"With visibility this low, can Qin Ye even guarantee his own safety?"

"I think Zhang Kui is probably gone."

"Qin Ye, be careful!"

Qin Yun carefully avoided the scattered rocks and thorns, speaking calmly: "Don't worry—I never do anything without confidence. But I'll remind you: if you encounter thick fog in the wild, never wander blindly. One misstep could mean broken bones."

After another half-hour of walking, Qin Yun suddenly noticed a flood of comments in the chat.

"Qin Ye, I'm from the fire department—the weather forecast says Mount Qixing Scenic Area will have heavy rain soon."

"Qin Ye, I'm from the fire department—the weather forecast says Mount Qixing Scenic Area will have heavy rain soon."

Qin Yun cursed under his breath at the comments.

Once this place rains, all traces vanish. And aside from rescue complications, walking in this environment would be extremely dangerous for him.

"Thanks for the heads-up—I know."

Qin Yun replied: "I must immediately build a shelter to avoid the rain—otherwise, getting soaked in this weather will easily lead to a cold or fever."

He rubbed his fingers together—sure enough, the air felt increasingly humid, and the wind had grown stronger than before.

"I've said before—when building a shelter in the wild, location is key," Qin Yun swiftly scanned the surroundings, searching for the optimal spot. "Don't choose open areas needing walls on all sides—even if the ground is flat."

He kept walking. After another ten minutes, he found a depression backed by a massive rock, flanked by thick shrubs.

"Look here—it uses the rock to block wind and rain, the shrubs to stabilize the structure, and the slightly elevated ground prevents water pooling."

He spoke as he found a wooden staff and quickly cleared away the surrounding debris.

Soon, the sunken ground was leveled, but the dried grass and fallen leaves he had cleared still had use. After finishing, he searched the surroundings for main support poles for the shelter, and after a moment, found several thin yet sturdy tree trunks.

He took out a rope saw from his backpack and swiftly sawed down the required trunks.

Since he was here for rescue, livestreaming wasn't the goal, so Qin Yun had brought some equipment.

He carried the trunks back to the depression, propped both ends against the boulder and the roots of the shrubs on either side, forming a "human"-shaped frame, with the tops crossed and secured.

"Main supports set. The 'human'-shaped structure diverts rainwater and ensures stability. Next, we build the side and roof coverings."

He spoke as he gathered several slightly shorter thin trunks, evenly laying them across the main frame to form a dense lattice. Once the frame was complete, he began collecting covering materials—easiest to find in the wild were leaves, dried grass, and bark.

"Watching Brother Qin build a shelter is pure pleasure—nothing wasted at all."

"I feel like Brother Qin could survive anywhere."

"You're stating the obvious. If you dumped Brother Qin into a primeval forest, even the animals there would suffer."

"Boom—"

A sudden roar came from above; air pressure plummeted instantly, and Qin Yun couldn't help but speed up. He layered the collected leaves over the frame, starting from the top and working downward, pressing each layer down with thin branches to keep them from blowing away, overlapping the leaves tightly without gaps to ensure no rain could seep through.

To further enhance waterproofing, he laid a thick layer of dried grass over the leaf layer.

Then, he spread evenly across the shelter's floor the dried grass and fallen leaves he had cleared earlier from the depression—this both insulated against ground dampness and provided cushioning, so even sitting for long periods wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

"Plop—!"

A raindrop suddenly landed on his face. Qin Yun looked up sharply and, through gaps in the dense forest, saw the sky now choked with dark, heavy clouds.

He darted into the shelter and tossed the drone inside.

"It's going to rain."

No sooner had he spoken than raindrops began pelting down—first striking the thick canopy, then the trees, unable to bear the weight, letting the rain fall further.

Soon, water began streaming steadily down the sides of the shelter along its "human"-shaped frame. But Qin Yun, sheltered inside, remained completely dry—viewers in the livestream clearly noticed this.

"Haha, torrential rain outside, not a single drop inside—Brother Qin is awesome."

"Brother Qin's movements were fast and precise, everything orderly—impressive."

"I never worried about Brother Qin—I worried about Zhang Kui. After this rain, even if he's not dead, he's done for."

"Yeah, soaked in this weather, you're half-dead even if you don't die."

"There's nothing we can do—the rescue team won't arrive quickly, and with this weather, their progress will slow even more."

"I think now we can only rely on Brother Qin."

Qin Yun looked at the comment section and sighed: "This rain shouldn't last long. Once it stops, I'll resume the search immediately—I hope he's still…"

Before he could finish saying "safe," a piercing scream suddenly tore through the depths of the forest.

"Ahh—help—!"