Chapter 96

"Quick, look, someone is climbing the mountain!"

"Come down, come down, it's dangerous!"

"Quick, send someone to bring him down."

"It's no use, the horse team, the person is gone!"

"The two missing female students haven't been rescued yet, and now another one is missing. How can I explain this? Who is that person?"

"I think it's Xiao Hai..." Yuyan's gaze was fixed on the mountain where nothing could be seen: "He went to save Mengmeng and Yunyun."

"Nonsense." The horse team was anxious: "We can't find them with so many people, how can he find them? He's just playing with his life!"

But Yuyan suddenly became very determined: "If anyone can save them, it must be Xiao Hai."

She believed in Xiao Hai just as Deng Mengmeng believed in Xiao Hai...

...

"Everything in the world, heed my command!"

In the heavy rain, Xiao Hai stood calmly, his consciousness spreading out one after another.

"Cloud Mountain rats pay homage to the king!"

The first to arrive were countless field mice and mountain rats. The leading mountain rat was the most terrifying, nearly half a meter long: "Your subordinate has received the message from the rat clan and has brought all the rats of Cloud Mountain to welcome the king!"

Mountain rats are much larger than other rats and generally live in forests at altitudes of 500 to 1000 meters, with some even living at 2000 meters. These mountain rats are extremely fierce, usually feeding on bamboo roots, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes. Once attacked, they will launch a fierce counterattack. There have even been cases of a large mountain cat being bitten to death by a group of mountain rats.

Xiao Hai looked and saw that there were over a thousand mountain rats and field mice gathered before him. And the large mountain rat told him that more rat clans were on their way to Cloud Mountain.

Everything in the world, heed my command—King Xiao's order was so powerful.

With the help of so many rat clans, they could search every corner of Cloud Mountain. Whether Deng Mengmeng and Xu Yunqi were alive or dead, they would surely be found.

Just as he was about to speak, countless birds flapped their wings through the rain and flew in, and countless animals waded through the rain to arrive.

"Cloud Mountain magpies, turtledoves, and swallows' joint army pay homage to the king!"

"Cloud Mountain sparrows' army pays homage to the king!"

"My rabbit family of 336 members pays homage to the king!"

"Pangolins pay homage to the king!"

...

Consciousness after consciousness came, almost all the birds and beasts of Cloud Mountain had arrived.

Looking out, in the heavy rain, the sky and the ground were densely packed with King Xiao's subordinates! Regardless of the heavy rain and harsh weather, these animal armies were ready to cover the entire Cloud Mountain at the king's command, even a needle could be found.

"I need to find two humans like me!" Xiao Hai conveyed his order accurately: "They disappeared here. Every corner of Cloud Mountain must be searched. If they are alive, I want to see them; if they are dead, I want to see their bodies!"

"Dagang, you are responsible for relaying the message to me non-stop." Xiao Hai gave the largest mountain rat a made-up name.

"Yes!"

"Move out!"

"Joint army, move out!"

"Sparrows' army, move out!"

"Rabbit army, move out!"

The birds in the sky and the animals on the ground moved out in a grand procession, spreading across the entire Cloud Mountain...

This was the largest and only joint rescue operation in the history of the animal kingdom. They were the masters here, and humans could never be as familiar with every blade of grass and tree as they were.

Hang in there, Deng Mengmeng, Xu Yunqi! As long as you are still alive, I will definitely find you.

Stay alive, no matter how difficult it is... Deng Mengmeng, if you get hurt, where will I find a beautiful girl who is willing to treat me to a meal? Xu Yunqi, I haven't heard enough of your chatter... Stay alive, no one is allowed to die without my command, King Xiao!

Xiao Hai wiped the rain from his face and realized he had never been so determined to do something.

Find them, no matter how difficult it is to find them...

...

"The search for the two missing college students from Xinan University is ongoing, and the continuous heavy rain has greatly increased the difficulty of the rescue efforts..." Yuyan reported in the midst of the wind and rain.

She was extremely worried about Deng Mengmeng and Xu Yunqi, wishing she could participate in the search. However, her professional ethics forced her to stay at her post: "Originally, these two female students had been rescued, but the selfish actions of one of their companions may cost them their lives..."

"Yuyan, this is a live broadcast, saying this might..." her assistant quickly reminded her with a laugh: "Besides, Tao Yanwen's father is a good friend of our station director."

"We are not just singing praises." Yuyan was not worried about any retaliation. She faithfully presented the entire truth of the incident to the TV audience, though she did not directly mention Tao Yanwen's name.

"Yuyan, it's a call from the station director."

The phone was handed to Yuyan, and the station director's reprimand soon came: "Yuyan, I asked you to report on the rescue efforts, not to judge who is right or wrong."

"Director Lu, the rescue efforts are at a standstill. Shouldn't we let everyone know the truth to prevent such tragedies from happening again? A group of students with no mountaineering experience acted rashly, using so many resources, and the selfishness and cowardice of some individuals may cost two female students their lives. Should we hide this? Besides, I didn't directly name anyone." Yuyan was not intimidated by the director.

"With the internet, Tao Yanwen's name will be exposed within an hour!" Director Lu seemed angry: "His father is our station's biggest advertiser, investing twice as much in advertising fees as Deng Xiusheng's Tianzi Group each year. Do you know what that means for the TV station? Xinan TV has one of the highest influences nationwide. How much trouble will this cause for Old Tao? If he withdraws his investment, how much loss will it cause us? Do we still need to complete next year's tasks?"

Yuyan listened coldly. In some people's hearts, money is always more important than human life... If Deng Mengmeng's father were the biggest advertiser for Xinan TV, perhaps Director Lu would not have such an attitude...

"Let's do this, Yuyan. You've worked hard these past two days. Hand over the front-line work to Xiao Huang for now and take a good rest."

Yuyan hung up the phone, said nothing, and handed the microphone to Xiao Huang.

Freedom? Yuyan suddenly thought of the two words Xiao Hai had said to her at Yunhai Farm. Yes, animals need freedom, and humans need freedom too, but in the pursuit of freedom, humans always have to pay a much higher price...

"Look, so many birds!"

"Yes, how can there be so many birds in such heavy rain?"

People around them looked up at the sky.

Yuyan also saw it. Countless birds were flying in from all directions, fighting against the storm and making their way into Cloud Mountain.

This was too abnormal. How could so many birds appear in such weather?

"Rats, so many rats... Oh my, there are even snakes... What's that? Hedgehogs, those are hedgehogs..."

On the ground, a large number of animals were also rushing into Cloud Mountain...

The scene was in chaos...

Xiao Hai? For some reason, Yuyan suddenly thought of Xiao Hai. Could the appearance of these birds and beasts be related to Xiao Hai?

She quickly called Xiao Hai, but his phone was off...

...

"Professor Sun, hello. What is your opinion on the abnormal behavior of the animals near Cloud Mountain?" Xiao Huang, who had taken over Yuyan's work, called the animal expert Professor Sun.

"This is a normal reaction in the animal kingdom. Continuous heavy rain forces animals to find new homes..."

"Thank you, Professor Sun... I also urge the citizens on behalf of Xinan TV not to spread rumors and to believe the experts..."

Yuyan heard it clearly. They were rescuing people, but Xiao Huang was concerned about the animals? Believe the experts? The animals' normal reaction? Such words would not even fool the "experts" themselves.

But, Mengmeng, Yunqi, where are you now? Xiao Hai, where are you now?

...

"Mengmeng, it hurts, it hurts..."

"Just hold on, someone will come to rescue us soon."

The small rock shelter could not stop the rain from seeping in, but it was better than being completely exposed to the rain.

How many days had it been, the third or the fourth? Deng Mengmeng couldn't remember. She only remembered that she and Xu Yunqi had ventured down the mountain to find help, but not knowing how to descend, they wandered for over two hours and ended up going further away.

Moreover, Xu Yunqi had injured her foot.

The usually delicate Deng Mengmeng burst with energy at this moment. She had been supporting her best friend, falling and getting up, falling again and getting up again... Several times, Xu Yunqi wanted to give up, but Deng Mengmeng said nothing and, driven by a strong will, led her best friend to this small shelter.

Then, she was exhausted and could not take another step...

The two of them stayed there, surviving on the only half-pack of cookies and rainwater, waiting desperately for rescue...

Xu Yunqi's injury was swollen and extremely painful. In her condition, she could not leave this place.

"Mengmeng, you go, don't worry about me." Xu Yunqi cried: "Otherwise, we will really die together."

"No, I won't go." Deng Mengmeng was stubborn: "We will leave together or die together."

Xu Yunqi cried even harder, and suddenly shouted: "Xiao Hai, you didn't come with us, and now this has happened. Xiao Hai, where are you? Come out, come out!"

Deng Mengmeng's tears also flowed uncontrollably. Yes, Xiao Hai, where are you?