Chapter 350

Upon hearing Li Yong’s words, Anji nodded slightly in rare agreement.

Then, with a smile, Anji spoke.

“Mr. Li, I admit your rescue team has some capability—at least, I agree with your estimation of the missing persons’ range, and I’ll have my team arrive at the rescue zone quickly.”

At this moment, Li Yong had no interest in responding to him, and simply said:

“Officer Anji, I have more to say. To improve coordination, let’s split into two rescue command centers.”

“You handle your own Maple Police rescue team; our team members will be managed by our production crew.”

Anji first froze at these words, then glanced at Li Yong with a faint smile and said softly:

“Mr. Li wants to compete on efficiency? I like it. Let’s see who rescues more people, faster.”

Seeing Anji say this, Li Yong said nothing more.

Competition? Li Yong did indeed mean it—he wanted to temper this arrogant fellow’s arrogance.

“Officer Anji, if your team needs anything, just let the production crew know—we’ll do our best to accommodate you.”

As the conversation seemed to wind down, Li Yong spoke up, subtly signaling dismissal.

Meeting Anji had been a pleasant arrival, but left Li Yong thoroughly disappointed.

So once everything was said, Li Yong summed it up directly:

“Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Li, but my rescue team doesn’t need your support—we’re fully equipped and the most professional personnel.”

After saying this, Anji nodded again at Li Yong, then summoned his team and headed straight out of the base toward the primary rescue site.

“Anji, your behavior was excessive just now!”

After Anji and the officers left, someone nearby frowned and spoke up.

The Maple Police and Note Corp, through Xiao Yi as a “mediator,” had established a certain, good working relationship.

Note Corp needed Maple Police to protect their interests in Maple Country.

Meanwhile, Maple Police hoped to receive financial support from Note Corp.

And once Note’s traffic engine launched in Maple Country, they wanted more positive coverage of Maple Police.

Clearly, Anji’s words would create friction and harm future cooperation.

But upon hearing this, Anji merely smirked slightly and said:

“I don’t mean to target the production crew—but don’t you think the media has overhyped Xiao Yi?”

“Maple Country doesn’t need a Chinese hero. I want the public to know this ‘Chinese hero’ just happened to stumble upon the killer doctor.”

“Actually, I think Anji’s right—Maple Country doesn’t need a Chinese hero. The media has overpraised Xiao Yi too much. Domestic media is disgusting, chasing clicks without restraint.”

At this moment, someone else spoke up, agreeing with Anji.

Where there are admirers of Xiao Yi, there are also those who resent him.

Of course, not because of Xiao Yi himself—he hasn’t appeared in Maple Country since the Killer Doctor incident.

What these people truly resent is the media’s excessive praise of Xiao Yi.

Many have grown to dislike Xiao Yi simply because of the hype surrounding him.

Xiao Yi “...”

Of course, Xiao Yi knew nothing of this—if he did, he’d laugh and cry at once; he was completely an innocent victim of collateral damage!

…

…

“What does the Maple Police mean by this?”

After Anji and his team left, Li Yong spoke, visibly angry.

Hearing this, the assistant beside him chuckled bitterly.

Then he comforted: “Xiao Shen’s image and influence in Maple Country have been too perfect—naturally, some locals are resentful.”

Hearing this, Li Yong fell into thought—he wasn’t just a naive youth, and quickly understood the assistant’s meaning.

Indeed, not just Xiao Shen—even their own production crew had been too smooth and successful lately, blinding Li Yong himself to external praise.

But then the assistant smiled and said: “Actually, I’m now quite hoping Officer Anji runs into Xiao Shen.”

“Why’s that?”

Li Yong asked eagerly.

“Mr. Li, why have you lost faith in Xiao Shen? He’s the man who can wrestle bears and seize tigers. If Xiao Shen really agreed to spar with Anji, do you think Anji stands a chance?”

Li Yong “...”

“Hah! Hah!”

After hearing the assistant’s words, Li Yong froze, then burst into laughter.

He’d been overly anxious—angry enough to lose his composure. Right! Even if Anji was fierce, could he be fiercer than a grizzly?

Xiao Yi was the one who tamed black bears and killed grizzlies with a dagger.

He was a monster—who’d be foolish enough to provoke a monster? Total overconfidence.

Once he saw clearly, Li Yong dropped the matter and continued to the assistant:

“Call Wang Ming. Tell him what just happened—tell him not to bother with the Maple Police rescue team.”

“By the way, when will our domestic rescue teams arrive?”

Li Yong then remembered something else and asked his assistant again.

“They’ll reach the nearest airport at 1 PM, but won’t arrive at the base until around 2:30 PM.”

The assistant reported back, matching Li Yong’s tone.

“Are the snowplows ready? Have the five helicopters promised by the Chamber of Commerce arrived?”

“All snowplows are in place, with drivers assigned. As for the helicopters, the Chamber confirmed they’ll all arrive by 2 PM.”

Hearing this, Li Yong exhaled in relief, paused briefly, then quickly added:

“Send the snowplows to Wang Ming first. Once the drones and rescue personnel arrive, send them straight to Wang Ming too—we can’t let Anji’s team find anyone first.”

Hearing this, the assistant sighed again—he knew his boss had truly taken this personally.

Then he said: “Understood, Mr. Li. I’ll arrange it.”

…

…

Not long after the assistant left, Wang Ming received his call.

He learned from Li Yong’s assistant about the situation at the base.

The news made Wang Ming smile bitterly, yet secretly breathe easier.

Actually, he’d been troubled by how to accommodate the Maple Police rescue team.

Their lifestyles differed, language barriers existed, arguments might erupt during rescue ops—and most importantly, he didn’t know how to give orders to them.

After all, they were here to help, and they were more professional than he was.

Now that both teams would operate independently, Wang Ming was relieved.

But hearing Li Yong was determined to compete with the Maple Police, Wang Ming felt pressure.

After all, if their rescue team lagged behind Maple Police, Li Yong would truly rage—he didn’t want to endure Li Yong’s hairdryer blast.

Seeing Wang Ming silent for so long, the assistant could only offer brief comfort.

Then he told Wang Ming their own rescue supplies would arrive soon.

…

…

“Mmm! Mmm!”

“Chirp! Chirp!”

Though the snowplow was warm, the space was too small for the three little creatures.

At first they could lie still, but after a while, they began whining.

Seeing this, Xiao Yi felt a headache and stopped the snowplow, letting the two rough-legged hawks fly out.

Whether they’d fly around or leave entirely, he didn’t care.

“Chirp! Chirp!”

After the hawks flew out, they chirped happily.

Of course, they didn’t fly away—they clearly saw Xiao Yi as a long-term food source.

“Mmm! Mmm!”

Seeing the hawks were free, the lynx kitten grew restless and began mewing.

“You little thing wants out too? But your short legs—can you manage? They’ve got wings.”

Seeing this, Xiao Yi patted the lynx kitten playfully, then ignored it.

Xiao Yi searched for over two more hours, seeing nothing but snow and broken tree branches sticking up.

Not only were the three little creatures restless, but Xiao Yi himself was growing impatient.

Yet he knew clearly: search and rescue couldn’t be rushed.

Slowly, he calmed himself down—and another half-hour passed.

“Chirp! Chirp!”

Suddenly, he heard the rough-legged hawks calling.

At first, Xiao Yi paid no attention, continuing to shovel snow.

Seeing Xiao Yi ignore them, the hawks began pecking at the window.

This scene finally caught Xiao Yi’s attention, and he then turned toward the Featherfoot Kite.

Sensing Xiao Yi had noticed him, the Featherfoot Kite immediately flew off to the left.

Seeing this, Xiao Yi paused slightly, thought for a moment, then followed the Featherfoot Kite.

Soon, Xiao Yi stopped, for ahead of him appeared a familiar large object.

Afterwards, Xiao Yi first used the snowplow to clear away the surrounding snow, then stepped down from the vehicle.

There, parked in the snow, was a somewhat damaged snowmobile—even the key was still in the ignition.

Seeing this, Xiao Yi felt a quiet pang of emotion; though he hadn’t found any people, this was still good news.

Then, Xiao Yi contacted Wang Ming and informed him of the situation.

When Wang Ming learned Xiao Yi had found a snowmobile, he was pleasantly surprised.

After all, this was a new discovery—previously, there had been zero findings.

Though the discovery of the snowmobile was encouraging, it brought no real progress.

Xiao Yi did not dwell on the snowmobile for long, but continued exploring eastward.

Yet, the online viewers in the livestream were suddenly abuzz with activity.

“Today we finally have a win—not only did we recover a Featherfoot Kite, but we found a snowmobile too.”

“I hope Xiao Shen keeps this luck going until he rescues Team Leader Shen and everyone else.”

“This damn weather changes so fast! I feel like it’s getting cloudy again—could it snow again?”

“Don’t you dare say that, you jinx! We absolutely cannot have more snow—it’ll make rescue even harder.”

“Exactly—if it snows now, the golden rescue window for the teams will shrink even further.”

“Hey! Look up—there’s a helicopter that looks different!”

“That helicopter has the Maple Nation police emblem—did Maple Nation police send help?”

“That’s very likely—the production team must have requested assistance from Maple Nation.”

……

……

At this moment, the livestream was filled with all kinds of comments, and Xiao Yi himself had noticed them all.

As Xiao Yi continued forward after finding the snowmobile, the sky had indeed grown much darker, the clouds thicker.

The livestream viewers, across the screen, couldn't see clearly—but Xiao Yi could judge precisely: it was going to snow again.

Still, he hoped this snow wouldn’t be a blizzard—otherwise, rescue operations would have to halt, and that would be truly dire.

But the good news was that more helicopters now circled overhead; Xiao Yi recognized them as Maple Nation police helicopters.

After all, more people meant better results—increased rescue strength raised the chances of success.

Soon after, Xiao Yi received a message from Wang Ming: Maple Nation police rescue teams had arrived, and the production team’s teams had also reached the site—all now engaged in search and rescue.

Hearing this, Xiao Yi smiled; today was the second day of rescue. Though no trapped personnel had been found, good news kept arriving one after another.

After another two hours of searching, Xiao Yi reached the edge of a coniferous forest, and even spotted some footprints here.

Seeing this, Xiao Yi knew this must be one of the seven coniferous forests marked by the rescue teams.

The sky was growing darker by the minute, and Xiao Yi knew today’s search had to end here.

Then, Xiao Yi found a clear patch of ground near the coniferous forest.

He used the snowplow to clear the snow from the area, then began setting up his tent.

Seeing Xiao Yi’s actions, the two Featherfoot Kites circling above quickly landed.

As usual, Xiao Yi started a fire and cooked meat—he was still a bit hungry after the day’s exertions.

When the meat in the pot was done, Xiao Yi tossed a piece each to the two Featherfoot Kites and the lynx kitten.