Chapter 154

Ling Yue listened to the account, slowly widening her eyes—someone is trapped in the sewer pipe?

She didn't know exactly what the reason was, but seeing A Hui's pleading gaze, she said in a low voice: "I will help you."

A Hui exchanged a glance with her, then immediately turned his body: "I, I I I know!"

Ling Yue blinked slightly, realizing she might have frightened it; she averted her gaze. Indeed, the socially anxious mouse A Hui, whose breathing had been rapid just moments before, could no longer feel her gaze and immediately looked away.

Ling Yue immediately sprang into action; she didn't know how long the other party had been trapped there, but in any case, the situation was urgent.

Ling Yue had A Hui lead the way, bringing her to the site of the incident.

Unexpectedly, after driving ten or so kilometers, they arrived at a relatively secluded side road in another part of the city.

A Hui got out of the car and headed straight to the right, with Ling Yue and Xunbao Shu Duo Duo following behind; they had taken only a few steps when they stopped before a patch of weeds, and Ling Yue blinked in surprise: "A Hui?"

A Hui stood on its hind legs, rubbed its two front paws together, stroked its long whiskers, dared not look at her, yet spoke firmly: "It's right here!"

Ling Yue was about to take two more steps when she suddenly sensed an indescribable danger, and her steps halted instantly.

Xunbao Shu Duo Duo ran recklessly across the grass, still wondering why Ling Yue had suddenly stopped, when its shriek suddenly rang out: "Whoa whoa whoa, whose manhole cover got stolen?!"

"Mousey, I'm going to hell! La la la!"

The narrow manhole cover actually produced an echo; hearing it, Ling Yue felt both terrified and oddly amused, causing her lips to twitch upward.

She cautiously approached and realized it wasn't a patch of grass at all—it was a large hole concealed by weeds, connected to the entire Jing Shi sewer system.

Because the dry grass was too tall, it created a blind spot; if one wasn't careful, they would surely fall into the hole.

Xunbao Shu Duo Duo fell down precisely for that reason, but she wasn't worried; instead, A Hui lay prone on the manhole cover, peering down.

Below was pitch black, making the whole mouse tremble with fear; suppressing its terror, it asked Ling Yue: "Boss... is it okay down there?"

It cautiously called down: "Wuu wuu wuu, boss? Boss, answer me!"

There was not the slightest movement; knowing that it had gauged the height earlier—very high, very high—if it fell, it would surely die beyond any chance of survival!

A Hui kicked its legs, plopped onto the grass, and whispered through sobs: "It's over, over—boss has become mouse jerky! Boss must have splattered into mouse jerky!"

At that moment, Ling Yue narrowed her eyes toward the well opening, and a squeaking sound reached her ears.

She looked over and saw a golden little mouse ball—namely Duo Duo—clutching a pair of paws, slowly flying up from the bottom of the well.

The instant it saw her, the little mouse's rolling eyes lit up: "Yueyue!"

Seeing it, the tearful A Hui's watery eyes instantly shed tears; it screamed in fright and bolted away: "Fraud, fraud corpse!"

Just learned to fly, Xunbao Shu Duo Duo: "......"

"Come back here, who's faking death? I ain't dead!"

Only then did A Hui understand—this was a mix-up; seeing the boss who could fly, it scratched its little ears, finally realized, and stared in shock: "Boss, you can fly?!"

Xunbao Shu Duo Duo lifted its chin smugly: "Otherwise what?"

"What are you seeing now?"

"Hahaha." It planted its feet on the firm grass, striking a proud pose before Ling Yue: "Didn't expect that, huh? I'm no ordinary mouse—I can fly! Those treacherous manhole covers mean nothing; even ten or eight more, I wouldn't die!"

"Yueyue, do you think I'm awesome or not?"

Ling Yue watched it, its tail wagging from its time with the dog, that smug little demeanor, and she couldn't help but chuckle: "Yes yes yes, you're the best."

She said with a teasing lift of her brow, then added: "And did you see—how is the little boy down there doing?"

The triumphantly laughing Xunbao Shu Duo Duo instantly went blank: "What little boy?"

Didn't notice, don't know QAQ

A few minutes later, after Ling Yue had readied everything, Xunbao Shu Duo Duo strapped on a tiny pack larger than its own body, gave her an OK sign, Ling Yue nodded, and Xunbao Shu Duo Duo coolly said nothing, instead flicked its headlamp and leapt into the uncovered underground passage.

A Hui admired the brave boss: "Wow, boss is so awesome—actually jumped straight down! Boss is so handsome!"

The next moment, Xunbao Shu Duo Duo's shrill scream came from below: "Whoa whoa whoa, so high, so thrilling!"

Ling Yue, who wanted to speak but didn't get the chance: "...... Is it possible that it doesn't need to jump, but can just fly up?"

In the end, Ling Yue felt perhaps Xunbao Shu Duo Duo simply preferred the thrill of bungee jumping.

In the pitch-black sewer passage, the mouse about to hit the ground hastily gripped its paws, the downward momentum finally weakening, and it floated up like a tiny balloon.

Xunbao Shu Duo Duo let out a breath, rubbed its little head, and came away with a handful of frizz.

"What, what is that?" a male voice suddenly called out.

Even earlier, the boy who had sensed something falling in had been speaking cautiously, subtly shifting his arm.

He had previously thought it was some rubble falling, and hastily clutched his head.

But the boy waited a long time and felt nothing actually smash down; he rubbed his rumbling stomach, so hungry he plopped straight onto the ground.

"Wuu wuu wuu…… wuu wuu wuu……"

He finally couldn't hold back his tears; he wiped his injured arm across the tear on his face, tugging the wound, and winced in pain.

A day ago, he had still encountered a mouse, but now he had nothing beside him.

No food, no water, not even any sound-making animals remained.

Desperate, he lifted his head, dried his tears, yet still couldn't resist calling upward for help.

In an instant, his gaze met a pair of mouse eyes the size of soybeans.

At that moment, Xunbao Shu Duo Duo was fully equipped; as its paws made contact, the little lamp on its head instantly lit up.

In the pitch-dark, gloomy sewer, a beam of light suddenly pierced the darkness; the boy stared in astonishment at this golden little mouse, its whole body seeming to glow—no, it was actually glowing!

Moreover, it seemed to be flying!

Just like the flying mouse from the fairy tale he'd once seen!

He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, utterly unable to describe his astonishment, and suddenly felt as if he were dreaming.

After all, in reality, how could there be such a little mouse!

Xunbao Shu Duo Duo saw him frozen, and urgently squeaked: "Don't be scared, Yueyue's already here—you'll be out in no time!"

Having said that, it realized not every human could communicate with it directly like Ling Yue could.

Regarding this, Ling Yue had already anticipated it, so she had Xunbao Shu Duo Duo bring the prepared note and paper, and Xunbao Shu Duo Duo acted as the messenger between them.

Xunbao Shu Duo Duo immediately opened the small bundle; the folded paper inside unfolded, and there were also some foods Ling Yue had bought that could quickly replenish energy.

The boy bit into the chocolate in one gulp—sweet, soft!

His stomach, long empty, suddenly growled; he wolfed down the food, and with his free hand he unfolded the note paper, using the light from Xunbao Shu Duo Duo to see the handwriting and quickly skimmed it.

He was already in junior high this year, not a clueless child; he read each word carefully, afraid of missing anything.

Ling Yue's note was simple: she said she had been entrusted by the rat, discovered he had fallen into the sewer, bought some food and drink and sent it in, and asked him to clearly write his name, his parents, his home phone number, etc.

That way Ling Yue could call the police and immediately notify his family.

At the same time, after she arrived, she confirmed the location, had already dialed 119, and called the fire department.

If his mouth weren't stuffed full, the boy would have thought he was dreaming; he hastily picked up the pen and paper, placed them directly on his book to write, each stroke trembling terribly.

Partly from the excitement of being about to be rescued, partly because the wound hurt so much he couldn't exert strength and couldn't hold the pen tightly.

Only then did Xunbao Shu Duo Duo discover he had many abrasions. He was lucky, because the weather was cold and he was wearing thick clothes, so after falling he didn't break any limbs, just suffered some superficial injuries.

He wrote while crying, the letters crooked, the first line being——

Thank you, sister.

I am Liu Xi, a first-year student at Feng Hua Junior High in Jing Shi; my father is Liu Yan, my mother is Zhuo Yan Yan, and our home phone number is 150-xxxxxxxx.

Soon, Xunbao Shu Duo Duo took the letter up.

Just as it handed over the note, A Hui, hiding at the street corner, squeaked loudly: 'Wu wu wu someone! Someone's coming!'

It shrank into a ball from fright, trembling as it hid in the wall corner.

The Xunbao Shu Duo Duo flying in the air instantly perked up its ears, darted quickly into Ling Yue's pocket, only its little head poking out, and told Ling Yue: 'It must be that you called the police earlier—they're here!'

Ling Yue nodded: 'That's perfect—if they arrive even a second earlier, that child trapped in the sewer pipe will have one more hope.'

From Xunbao Shu Duo Duo's mouth, Ling Yue learned that the boy trapped in the sewer pipe currently had no immediate danger to his life.

She first had Xunbao Shu Duo Duo stay silent, then dialed the phone number written by the other party.

However, Ling Yue didn't expect that it took several attempts to get through, and the other end was a hoarse-voiced woman asking: 'Who are you?'

Ling Yue: 'Are you Liu Xi's mother?'

On the other end of the line, the woman, who was repeatedly following the route from her child's school to home with her husband, stood on the bitterly cold street, wrapped in a thick coat, her beautiful face full of exhaustion, constantly moving back and forth.

She gripped the phone tightly, her eyes swollen into narrow slits; the woman had cried for days, her eyes already puffy from weeping, and upon hearing her son's name she instantly tensed.

'Have you also seen the news online? Do you have any news about our little Xi?'

As soon as she finished speaking, the man beside her immediately furrowed his brows: 'Little Xi? Have you forgotten how many times we've been scammed before?'

If he stayed silent it would be fine, but as soon as he spoke, the woman instantly burst into tears and shouted: 'That's our son! What does it matter if we've been scammed? As long as there's news of him, I'll go to the ends of the earth!'

Through the receiver, Ling Yue heard everything clearly; soon she heard the woman's voice again: 'You, you—are you still there?'

Ling Yue got straight to the point: 'I have news about Liu Xi; I've already contacted him and reported it to the police.'

Having said that, she immediately gave the address.

The woman's voice trembled from nervousness, even becoming incoherent: 'Please, please say the address again—is it really little Xi? We'll go right away.'

Before hanging up, Ling Yue heard the woman's shocked scream: 'Honey! Little, little Xi has news! Did you hear that? Little Xi has news!'

Perhaps out of a mother's intuition, she instinctively felt it was her son—her son must have been found!

On this side, Ling Yue hung up the phone, the firefighter came over, saw her, and immediately asked: 'May I ask if you are Miss Ling?'

Ling Yue admitted without hesitation, then led the person to the open manhole cover and said: 'When I found him, Liu Xi was right here.'

Hearing this, the firefighter lay at the edge of the manhole and shouted: 'Liu Xi, Liu Xi, are you in there?'

Not long after, a response came from below—the boy's reply.

After confirming someone was there, these experienced personnel immediately prepared all kinds of equipment.

The firefighters immediately determined the width of the manhole, selected the thinnest firefighter, and lowered him down via a nylon rope.

Ling Yue waited on the side for a while, and the firefighter beside her, seeing the message that the person below was safe and sound, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He told Ling Yue: 'This kid is really too lucky.'

Ling Yue was puzzled, but he said: 'Most of Jing Shi's sewers contain water; most people who fall in drown outright, and maybe even after a rain their bodies couldn't be found because they'd be washed away. He fell into a dry sewer, so he's already far luckier than most.'

Moreover, he only suffered some minor injuries from the fall; this place is so remote, it's a great stroke of luck amidst misfortune that you happened to find him.

Ling Yue stared for a moment, then instinctively looked at the trembling A Hui hiding in the wall corner—what a coincidence, it was clearly A Hui who came to her for help, enabling her to discover the trapped child.

Otherwise, in just a few days he would likely have starved to death at the bottom of the well.

However, she couldn't say those things out loud.

Not long after, Liu Xi's parents arrived together with a police car; seeing Ling Yue and her companions, they fell to their knees with a thud: 'Thank you! Thank you for saving my son! Thank you for saving our whole family!'

Both of them are natives of Jing Shi; under the one-child policy they had only this child, and now that they couldn't find Liu Xi, they both felt like dying.

Ling Yue was frightened and stepped aside; someone nearby helped support the couple, and nearly everyone's gaze fell on the manhole opening.

By then, dusk had settled.

What surprised Ling Yue was that, besides the police, a portion of the media also rushed over quickly; flashbulbs flickered nonstop in the light, aimed at the manhole, continuously shooting.

Only then did Ling Yue learn from others that Liu Xi's disappearance case had been spreading wildly online; surveillance showed he had left school, walked a few streets, and then suddenly vanished from the camera.

Such a bizarre and strange disappearance made people think deeply and feel terrified; various speculations pushed the event to another **, yet they had never found Liu Xi's whereabouts, and the truth of the matter is likely known only to Liu Xi himself.

His parents were almost desperate.

These days they have been constantly searching for the child's traces without cease.

At that moment, a sudden exclamation rang out, and countless lights and gazes all turned toward the manhole.

He's up! He's up! ，。，。