He shook the dormant system awake in his mind. " Brother System! Wake up! Are Xie Hanzheng and the others trapped inside still alive?"
The system paused for a moment, then a cold, mechanical voice announced, "[Real-time broadcast available with Affection Points.]"
This system is obsessed with money! It's ridiculous that they're still haggling at a time like this. "Knock knock knock!"
[They are both alive. The injured person has a comminuted fracture of the lower leg and multiple rib fractures, requiring immediate treatment. Xie Hanzheng has a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but the problem is not serious; he just can't carry the other person up the stairs.]
Song Shi'an felt like the sky was falling. He was anxiously waiting outside the railing. The helicopter circled overhead, its searchlight sweeping back and forth, but below was only dense forest and steep slopes. There was no way to find a landing spot. If this continued, neither of them would be able to get back.
The system seized the opportunity, its tone unusually enthusiastic, almost like a salesperson. "How about exchanging for Single-Use Expert Skiing Card'? It's very cheap, only 150,000."
Good grief, so this is where he was waiting. But why is it so expensive even for a one-time use? Are you trying to rip him off?
[The temporary shop isn't offering discounts, the host's Affection Points isn't high enough, and the basic skills aren't sufficient to save people.]
Song Shi'an gritted his teeth. 150,000 Affection Points were enough for him to spin the wheel several times over. "Got it! Saving lives is the priority!"
[Alright, here's another Good Luck Card for you, lasting three hours, guaranteeing your safety within that time.]
Without time to study the card, he slid to the checkpoint ahead, only to be stopped by security. "This isn't a place for watching the fun, go back now."
Song Shi'an grew anxious. "It's been two hours and the person still hasn't come out! Don't you guys know the situation?! I have Coach Xie's location; he must have found the person but can't bring them out. I'll go in and help carry them down the mountain. The helicopter can just wait at the exit at the bottom!"
What's the point of the helicopter circling around for so long? It's all trees, there's no way it can land. It's better to just wait at the foot of the mountain.
The commotion attracted the attention of the surrounding onlookers.
Lin Fan had just run over when he heard what his brother said, and he was so scared he almost jumped out of his skin. He grabbed his brother's arm and said, "Brother, are you crazy?! With your skills, going down there is just suicide! This is not the time to be kind!"
Song Shi'an knew this, of course; he wasn't stupid, nor did he have the heart of a saint.
With the safety net in hand, and while ensuring my own safety, I still wanted to try to save them, after all, there were two lives at stake, one of which was my coach whom I had only known for two or three days.
He pulled Lin Fan aside and lowered his voice, "I know, Lin Fan, don't worry, I'll definitely be out safely within three hours. I still have over a million yuan waiting for me."
Lin Fan refused to let go, so Song Shi'an sighed and raised his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay, I won't go. But can you buy me something to eat? I'm hungry."
Lin Fan looked at him suspiciously.
"Seriously, with my skills, do you think it's possible? Am I out of my mind?" Song Shi'an pointed to the turtle-shaped buttock pad he hadn't removed from his lower back. "Do I look like I'm not afraid of death?"
Lin Fan stared at the green turtle for two seconds, thinking his brother made sense, but he was still uneasy. He kept looking back as he walked towards the other side of the mall.
Song Shi'an quickly calculated in his mind that it would take Lin Fan at least forty minutes to go back and forth, but if he was fast enough, he should be able to get the person down there.
Unable to get in from the front, he slid along the edge of the railing for a while, found a gap in the side fence that had been collapsed by the snow, and squeezed through sideways.
The turtle's rear end cushion got stuck in the gap behind his waist. He pulled hard, and the turtle's tail scratched a mark on the wire.
A curious skiing blogger named Qi Muyang was adjusting his drone, preparing to film what was going on inside, when he caught a glimpse of a figure flashing past a side opening.
He hesitated for a moment, then decisively launched the drone into the air.
The drone buzzed as it swept past the treetops, chasing after the fast-moving point of light.
In the video, a figure wearing a gray and white patchwork snowsuit is cutting across the snow in the wilderness at an astonishing speed.
The snowboards traced clean arcs on the steep slopes, and during sharp turns, the body was almost parallel to the snow surface, with the edges of the boards kicking up a cloud of snow half a person high behind.
Then, with a high-speed leap, he cleared the thick tree trunk lying across the slope, landed, and cut directly into the narrow forest path, passing sideways between two pine trees that were almost touching each other, his gray-white figure flickering in the beam of light.
The only slightly out-of-place thing was the green turtle-shaped buttock pad on his lower back.
With each sharp turn and leap, the snow on the turtle's forehead was shaken off and then covered again, its two plastic eyes reflecting an eerie light in the dim lamplight.
Even with expert-level skiing skills, it's still very difficult.
The snow layer in the wild area is extremely unstable and could trigger a secondary avalanche at any time. Every turn requires a precise assessment of the snow's load-bearing capacity.
Song Shi'an's palms were sweaty, and his ski gloves were soaked through. He hoped the Good Luck Card would be of some use.
He dodged several hidden tree stumps and exposed rocks, his vision becoming increasingly blurred. The searchlight beam scattered into a faint halo in the snow and fog, making it impossible to see the road ahead.
As he was pondering whether to slow down, a blinding white light suddenly exploded overhead.
Seeing the increasingly complex terrain ahead on the monitor, Qi Muyang decisively turned the searchlight attached to the drone to its highest setting.
Two bright beams of light shot straight down from the drone, cleaving through the night and illuminating the entire snow slope ahead as if it were daytime.
The shadows of the tree trunks were clearly visible on the snow, and the hidden rocks and tree stumps were exposed under the strong light.
Song Shi'an looked up and saw through his ski goggles that the drone was hovering above him, its searchlight steadily scanning his path.
The beam of light pierced through the snow fog, instantly widening the field of vision several times over.
He sniffed, almost moved to tears. There are still so many good people in the world. He would definitely bow down to this unknown drone operator when he got out.
He raised his hand and gave the drone a thumbs up, then lowered his center of gravity again and accelerated directly toward the location marked by the system. The sound of the snowboard cutting through the snow was particularly crisp in the night.
Finally, we saw a faint glimmer of light ahead.
Exhausted, Xie Hanzheng leaned against a leaning pine tree, his old leg injury throbbing with pain.
The injured man next to him had blood all over his legs, which had been bandaged with his first aid kit, but he was already in a semi-conscious state and his face was frighteningly pale.
He took out his phone and glanced at it; there was no signal, and the battery was down to three percent.
He gave a wry smile, stuffed his phone back into his pocket, and thought to himself, "Looks like I'm going to die here today."
A light was moving rapidly toward him in the distance. He squinted, thinking he was hallucinating.
The light spot drew closer and faster, cutting through obstacle after obstacle; it wasn't an illusion.
The rescue team has arrived! Hope ignited in his eyes. He used his hands to support himself on the tree trunk and barely managed to stand up, waving vigorously into the distance.
Song Shi'an slammed on the brakes in front of him, kicking up a cloud of snow, and panted as he pushed his ski goggles up to his forehead. "Coach, I'm here. Can you still move?"
Xie Hanzheng adjusted to the bright light of the searchlight and could see the face in front of him clearly.