Chapter 142

"What? Already sent a rescue team? Are you kidding?"

"What host? This is 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? The TikTok Qin Ye? Oh, then it's fine."

When the Zhangjiajie fire rescue team received the call, they initially flew into a rage, cursing for a few moments—until they heard that the rescuer was the TikTok livestreamer Qin Ye, at which point they fell silent.

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 moment, the time was 3 p. .

After verifying the missing person's basic information and confirming he was truly unreachable, the police immediately activated their 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 soon enter the forest zone."

After speaking, Qin Yun passed through the woods and suddenly saw ahead a steep rock face, over ten meters high, its surface smooth and covered in moss, looking extremely slippery.

But on this rock face, he spotted signs of human climbing—the marks left by shoes scraping against moss.

He zoomed in the camera: "Look everyone, this friction is deep—someone climbed this rock face. 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."

If Zhang Kui could climb this ten-meter rock face, then for Qin Yun, it was as easy as walking on flat ground.

He scaled the top of the rock face without effort. On the other side, the terrain was even more rugged, littered with broken stones and thorny bushes, making progress extremely difficult. After walking about a hundred meters, Qin Yun suddenly noticed a large number of chaotic footprints on the ground—faint, worn-down prints—and beside them lay a tripod, still holding a fruit-brand smartphone.

Qin Yun's eyes lit up. He took two quick steps, examined the footprints, and immediately recognized the animal tracks. But he didn't explain yet; instead, he swiftly picked up the phone, pressed the power button, and found it was dead.

A bad premonition stirred in his chest. He quickly plugged the phone into his drone's charging port and used the drone's reverse-charging capability to power it up.

"Based on my judgment, Zhang Kui was most likely 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 grabbing his phone."

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

After about ten minutes, the phone powered on. Qin Yun quickly opened the gallery and found the latest file—a video. He tapped to play it. At first, Zhang Kui seemed normal; though disheveled, he appeared energetic and even excited.

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

Shortly after, something darted across the frame, chasing after Zhang Kui. The tripod was knocked over, and a series of shrill "ji-ji-zha-zha" sounds erupted from the video.

"This is…"

Qin Yun's expression shifted slightly. He paused the video and placed the frame 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 are probably around twenty or so."

Netizens flooded the comments upon hearing Qin Yun's words.

"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—the macaques there will pounce on you. If bitten, you have to get a rabies shot."

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

Qin Yun glanced at the comments and nodded: "Macaques are nasty creatures. If they sense you're easy prey, they'll swarm you. But if you lock eyes with them and shout loudly, they'll see it as a challenge and attack you. If you have food, they'll come steal it. They're just thoroughly troublesome animals."

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 the person can fight back."

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

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

In fact, he had a bad feeling.

At that moment, the rescue team watching his livestream also fell silent upon hearing Qin Yun's report of twenty-plus macaques chasing Zhang Kui.

These macaques were no joke. Though small and seemingly harmless, they were vicious. In the scenic area, it wasn't too bad—they still feared humans. But here? In an undeveloped zone?

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

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

Not to mention, once lost in the wild, food and water become problems. After so long, the probability of Zhang Kui being dead was extremely high.

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

As he walked, mist suddenly rose from the dense forest, reducing his visibility to less than five meters within moments. He had to turn on his headlamp—but 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 dead."

"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 flooding 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 it rained here, all traces would vanish. And aside from rescue complications, it was extremely dangerous for him to move in this environment.

"Thanks for the heads-up. I know."

Qin Yun replied: "I need to build a shelter immediately to avoid the rain. If I get soaked in this weather, I'll catch a cold or fever."

He rubbed his hands together—yes, the air was growing damper, and the wind had picked up.

"I've said before: when building a shelter in the wild, location is key," Qin Yun scanned the surroundings rapidly, searching for the best spot. "Don't choose open ground requiring full construction—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 anchor the structure, and the slightly elevated ground prevents water pooling."

As he spoke, he grabbed a wooden staff and swiftly cleared away debris around the area.

Soon, the ground was leveled—but the dry grass and fallen leaves he removed still had use. After clearing, he searched for main support poles and soon found several slender yet resilient tree trunks.

He took out a rope saw from his backpack and quickly cut the required trunks.

Since this was a rescue mission—not a livestreaming show—he'd brought some gear.

He carried the trunks back to the depression, propped their ends against the rock and the shrub roots, forming a "A-frame," then secured the top where they crossed.

"Main supports done. The A-frame sheds rain and ensures stability. Now, we build the side and roof coverings."

As he spoke, he gathered several shorter, thinner trunks and laid them evenly across the frame, forming a dense lattice. Once complete, he collected roofing materials—easiest to find in the wild: leaves, dry grass, and bark.

"Watching Qin Ye build a shelter is pure pleasure—zero waste."

"I feel Qin Ye could survive anywhere."

"You're stating the obvious. Bet if you dropped Qin Ye into a primeval forest, even the animals there would suffer."

"Boom—"

A thunderous roar echoed overhead. Air pressure plummeted. Qin Yun instantly sped up, layering leaves over the frame from top to bottom. Each layer he pressed down with thin branches to prevent wind from lifting them, overlapping tightly to ensure no water could seep through.

To further enhance waterproofing, he added a thick layer of dry grass atop the leaves.

Then, he spread the dry grass and fallen leaves he'd cleared earlier evenly across the shelter's floor—blocking ground moisture and cushioning the surface, so even prolonged sitting wouldn't be uncomfortable.

"Plop—!"

A raindrop suddenly landed on his face. Qin Yun looked up through the canopy—dark clouds had swallowed the sky.

He dashed into the shelter and tucked the drone inside.

"It's starting to rain."

No sooner had he spoken than rain began pelting down—first striking the dense treetops, then cascading through the branches.

Soon, water streamed steadily down the A-frame roof—but Qin Yun remained completely dry inside. Viewers in the livestream clearly noticed.

"Haha, torrential rain outside, not a drop inside—Qin Ye is amazing."

"Qin Ye's movements were fast and flawless—every step orderly. Impressive."

"I never worried about Qin Ye—I worried about Zhang Kui. This rain? Even if he wasn't dead before, he's dead now."

"Yeah, soaked in this weather? He's lucky if he survives half his life."

"What can we do? The rescue team won't arrive quickly, and bad weather will slow them down even more."

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

Qin Yun glanced at the comments 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 the word "alive," a piercing scream tore through the depths of the forest.

"Ahh—help—!"