Chapter 72: Searching for Qin Shen

Jiang Si held up a flashlight and waited anxiously for Da Bai to return.

After a while, another aftershock rippled through the ground. Everyone quickly moved away from the abyss-like fissure, terrified for Jiang Chengwu and Zhang Qingfang below.

Loose stones kept tumbling down, and the eerie echo from the bottomless chasm made everyone’s hair stand on end.

Jiang Linhai wanted to call out for Jiang Chengwu and Zhang Qingfang, but Jiang Si grabbed him and whispered sharply, “Don’t shout. After an earthquake, the vibrations from sound waves can trigger rockslides.”

Jiang Linhai immediately clamped his mouth shut, eyes bloodshot and wide, silently praying that Da Bai would bring them back safely.

The aftershock lasted for a while longer, making everyone dizzy. Suddenly, Jiang Si’s sharp eyes caught sight of a faint white blur bounding upward.

It had to be Da Bai.

Jiang Si clutched Shen Baoying’s hand excitedly. “It’s coming up—Da Bai’s coming up!”

The white figure drew closer and closer. Under the beam of the flashlight, they could clearly see the injured Zhang Qingfang and Jiang Chengwu on Da Bai’s back.

Cheers of relief erupted—Da Bai was truly their guardian angel.

Jiang Si’s eyes reddened as she watched Da Bai climb onto level ground. If Da Bai hadn’t gone down there… what would they have done?

Jiang Linhai rushed over. “Dad, are you hurt anywhere?”

He carefully helped Jiang Chengwu off Da Bai. Jiang Si finally got a clear look—both of Jiang Chengwu’s legs were broken.

Zhang Qingfang’s injuries were lighter. Besides some scrapes, two of her fingers had been crushed and were a bloody mess.

Fortunately, Lu Zhifeng had anticipated they might be injured and had already found some sturdy sticks nearby.

Lu Zhifeng was a forest ranger. Besides protecting the forest from poachers, part of his job was to rescue injured villagers or lost hikers—so he was half a trauma specialist.

He pressed on Jiang Chengwu’s legs, treated the wounds with medicine from Jiang Si’s backpack, and within minutes, had stabilized both legs.

Jiang Si also gave Zhang Qingfang emergency treatment for her fingers.

Since Jiang Chengwu’s legs were both injured, carrying him on someone’s back wasn’t an option.

Jiang Si looked at Da Bai, then at the sticks on the ground. She approached Da Bai and said gently, “Can you help carry my grandpa? I promise—whatever you want in the future, I’ll give it to you.”

Da Bai’s deep eyes flickered slightly, as if it had memorized her promise.

A mighty tiger like Da Bai probably just wants cuddles and food anyway, Jiang Si thought with a grin.

Since Da Bai didn’t object, that meant it agreed. Jiang Si rubbed its soft, round cheek and beamed. “Thank you, Da Bai!”

Jiang Si had always been handy, and after ten years in the apocalypse, she was even faster.

In no time, she’d fashioned a sturdy stretcher out of the sticks, secured so well on Da Bai’s back that Jiang Chengwu could rest comfortably without risk of falling off.

To avoid more aftershocks, they immediately set off toward flatter terrain.

Jiang Si knew these aftershocks were minor. Stronger quakes could hit at any time.

It was best to leave the area as soon as possible.

The helicopter in her spatial dimension was their only real hope of getting out.

Although she trusted Lu Zhifeng and Niu Niu, Jiang Si still didn’t want to reveal her powers just yet.

After a moment’s thought, she said to the others, “The helicopter locator shows one nearby. I’ll go check—maybe I can find something useful. We don’t have many supplies left.”

Given how severe the earthquake had been, food would be hard to come by. If she could retrieve anything from the crashed helicopter, their survival odds would increase greatly.

Lu Zhifeng immediately offered, “I’ll go with you.”

Jiang Si shook her head. “Niu Niu’s still in shock. She might catch a fever and needs someone to look after her. I’ll go with my dad—we’ll be back soon, don’t worry.”

Moved by Jiang Si’s thoughtfulness, Lu Zhifeng nodded firmly. “I promise—I’ll take good care of everyone.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Si and Jiang Linhai walked for about fifteen minutes before he finally asked, “Is the helicopter really nearby?”

Jiang Si shook her head. “No. I’m going to take one out of my space and say we found it near the crash site. Everyone else on board died—we just got lucky.”

Jiang Linhai frowned. “That lie’s kind of shaky. What are the odds?”

Jiang Si glanced around at the pitch-black surroundings and said calmly, “Sometimes luck just works that way. I won’t say anything. You won’t say anything. Who’s going to know?”

Jiang Linhai nodded. “True. If we keep finding good stuff, they’ll just think we’re ridiculously lucky.”

Then he asked again, “What about Qin Shen? Aren’t we going to look for him?”

Jiang Si’s brow furrowed. “Yes, we are. We’ll search the area with the helicopter. If we still can’t find him, there’s nothing we can do. He could be buried anywhere—this place is huge, and the fissures run deep. If there’s a signal, we’ll go down and rescue him.”

“If not… then today becomes his death anniversary. We’ll remember him every year.”

Jiang Si truly wanted to save Qin Shen. Over time, she’d come to respect and trust him deeply.

He was calm, powerful, and had even saved her life during a sudden medical emergency.

But they couldn’t afford to linger forever.

If the Pandora fungus spread rapidly and consumed the oxygen in the air, even escaping would be impossible.

Jiang Linhai felt heavy-hearted. Everyone else survived the crash just fine… why did it have to be Qin Shen who disappeared?

He sighed deeply. “Let’s hope he gives us some kind of sign.”

When Jiang Linhai returned to the group, he announced excitedly, “We found an intact helicopter near the crash site! Si Si is inspecting it now. If it works, we can leave this place!”

Lu Zhifeng and Niu Niu had no doubts. They thought Jiang Si and Jiang Linhai were just incredibly lucky and laughed with joy.

The others who knew the truth played along, smiling and pointing Da Bai in Jiang Si’s direction.

They walked for about half an hour before they saw the helicopter—much smaller than the one Zhao Yunning had flown before.

But it was big enough to fit them all comfortably.

Climbing into the cabin, they were thrilled to find basic camping supplies, food, weapons, military uniforms, and bulletproof vests.

Lu Zhifeng guessed this had to be a military helicopter—what a stroke of luck!

Had he known more about helicopters, he’d have realized this one was a brand-new civilian model.

But he didn’t know—and didn’t question it.

After pretending to inspect the aircraft, Jiang Si confirmed it was ready for takeoff.

She told everyone to buckle up—she was going to start the helicopter and search for Qin Shen.