Chapter 86: Safety and Danger (Part 1)

  Gu Huanli was worried, so she ended up hiding on the sofa in the living room, covered with a thick down quilt. Half asleep and half awake, she seemed to hear Cassidy speaking. She immediately woke up, perked up her ears and listened. Gradually, her stomach began to ache, cold sweat dripping from her forehead.

  "Where did their trail disappear?" Bill asked.

  "Mountain valley?"

  "Now, the temperature at night is around minus eighteen degrees. Even if they wear enough clothes on their bodies, but without heat input and prolonged exposure to low temperatures, it's really too dangerous."

  "A rescue team has been organized? Alright, I'll go too." Cassidy hung up the phone and raised his head. He wasn't surprised to see Gu Huanlin suddenly wake up. In a low voice, he said, "Miss, it's now confirmed that Vanessa and Antonio are in danger. So, Nanxing and I will join the rescue team. Tonight, only you and the maid can stay home."

  "Uh-huh, I see." Gu Huanli thought for a moment and smiled faintly. "I'll go call Mai De over to keep me company. On a night like this, probably no one in the whole community can sleep well."

  "It's okay, miss, please don't worry." Cassidy made a phone call to the Maddie family and slightly put his mind at ease. "Lisa and Reggie will come over with Maddie in a bit, there's cake and red tea in the fridge... Please bear with me for a little while longer, although I've tried my best to teach Risa, but there's still a big gap between her and your requirements."

  "I'm not so picky, the food in Shanjing City is really hard to eat, but for survival, I still have to eat." Gu Huanli said while searching her memory for information about the valley, suddenly a light bulb went off in her head and she asked, "Kasidio, do you know that cave on the northern mountain ridge of the valley?"

  She paused for a moment, explaining, "You can see the quarry from that one. Although it's in a hidden location, Anton and everyone were chatting when I heard him mention that Vanessa often goes hiking and camping besides driving hot air balloons, and to be on the safe side, she regularly replaces the clean water and food placed there."

  "Oh?" Cassidy's eyes also shone with a glimmer of hope, "That place is at least ten miles away from the valley where they landed, and you have to go through a forest. Especially the abandoned quarry's water pit and cliff, it's as dangerous as it gets."

  "As it is their only hope for survival, they will not stop because of danger." Gu Huanli said as she put the silver-plated enamel-painted sugar box that she always carried with her into Cassidy's breast pocket. "This can provide energy and warmth, I know your body is 'fine' but please remember, to me, you are my indispensable assistant and also my most trusted partner."

  Gu Huan saw Cassidy off in a hurry, and after Mai De and the others arrived, the four of them sat silently in the living room, looking anxious but also helpless.

  On the other hand, Cassidy and Nanxing arrived at Songgang earlier than you, panting heavily on the office desk, explaining to Cassidy how many people had searched in which places.

  "Did Antonio's parents call the police?" Cassidy furrowed his brow slightly, saying seriously, "Ask them to bring a police dog, this place is too big, there are too many bushes and cliffs, we can't afford to waste time." After finishing speaking, he nodded at Nan Xing, and the two quickly ran towards Nan Xing's off-road vehicle.

  "Where are you going?" Billy asked loudly.

  "I'll go take a look along that road by the abandoned quarry," Cassady said, looking at Billy's skeptical expression but not saying anything further.

  But Bill still called someone to guide them, after all, the mountain valley on the quarry side was also within the search team's range, it was just too far away, and most people thought Vanessa and Antonio wouldn't go in that direction.

  The road had been deserted for a long time, and on the right was a large forest that stretched for miles with few people passing by. From dusk onwards, the forest was pitch black, and Mrs. Andrew, who led them along the way, prayed to God while trembling constantly. However, what Cassidy worried about more were the deep pools of water and steep cliffs in the abandoned quarry; if they weren't careful...

  What's more, they also brought a sick child and his mother who was not in good health.

  "Do you really think they'll come this way?" Mrs. Andrew asked timidly.

  "I don't know." Cassidy didn't have much of a mood for talking, he kept his head down inspecting the rescue equipment and ropes.

  "We should follow the main force to search..." Mrs. Andrew wanted to say something more, but she saw Nan Xing's cold face in the rearview mirror and was frightened into closing her mouth.

  Nanxing's driving skills were excellent, and he carefully avoided the large rocks on the road while keeping their speed at sixty miles per hour so they could arrive as soon as possible.

  "What are we going to do now?" Mrs. Andrew exclaimed in alarm as the cross-country car turned into the abandoned quarry area at the end of the road.

  Cassidy stepped out of the car and walked while shouting loudly, "Antonio Vanessa!" The voice echoed repeatedly in the empty field. He had always known about human insignificance and helplessness, but his heart was filled with infinite awe for humanity's infinite potential.

  Perhaps some people would say that if the sick child was kept in the hospital under strict protection, he shouldn't have made such an unreasonable request to fly. To them, freedom or adventure is simply a fantasy.

  Maybe some people will say that if Vanessa had refused their request, if she hadn't set up this hot air balloon flight project in the suburbs, then all the danger wouldn't have existed.

  Cassio detested hearing such a voice, although no one was saying it in his ear, but the voice from his heart was far clearer than any spoken words. If not for searching for Antonio, he would never have used this spell.

  They are different from Gu Huan Lian. As a soul guardian, even without using magic, they can hear Gu Huan Lian's thoughts and feelings; however, wanting to listen to other people's secrets is not as easy as imagined.

  Cassidy and Nanshin left Mrs. Andrew in the car, taking rescue tools and ropes to advance towards the cave entrance of Gu Huanli. The distance from the abandoned quarry to there is about three miles, but this is a straight-line distance. To reach the destination, the actual walking distance will be nearly seven or eight miles, which is already the shortest distance.

  "Vanessa—" Cassio shouted, "Antonio—"

  And Nansheng also shouted loudly.

  Suddenly, a faint echo drifted through the wind, "Help... me..."

  Cassidy and Southern Star strained their nerves trying to locate the source of the sound, and searched with a strong flashlight on the mountain.

  "Hey we're up there"

  Cassidy looked up along the precipitous wall studded with granite fragments. "Thank God."

  He turned his head and said to Nan Xing, "Indeed, Miss was right."

  Two people slightly calmed down, one made a phone call to notify Billy to send an ambulance immediately, and the other climbed up the steep cliff, inching his way up. When Cassidy reached the entrance of the cave, he saw Vanessa and Antonio lying on the cold ground in their undergarments, while the mother was holding her son wrapped in a pile of clothes, crying out, "Hurry up and save them, or they will freeze to death."

  Cassidy's eyelids were slightly moist, he immediately took out a thick blanket from his backpack and covered Vanessa and Antonio with it, then took out the dozen or so hand warmers that Gu Huan had put in his school bag and stuck them on their bodies, and handed the remaining few to the mother and child.

  After the warming measures were in place, he gave each of them a few pieces of chocolate to help them get the energy they needed to survive. However, he noticed that Vanessa had a visible wound on her forehead, and Antonio's pant leg was also stained with blood. Just then, Nanxing also climbed up from the cliff. He examined them briefly and said in a low voice, "Judging from the current situation, Antonio's leg injury is very serious, but based on my experience, the most dangerous one is Vanessa's head wound."

  "It's all my fault. If I hadn't insisted that they take Joey on the hot air balloon ride, we wouldn't have encountered that gust of wind. Their injuries were all for the sake of saving us mother and son..."

  "The ambulance will arrive soon." Nan Xing said lightly, then gestured to Cassidy to help him stop Antonio's bleeding and fix it. As for Vanessa, given her condition, the only thing they could do was try to keep her body temperature stable without moving her.

  Time passed minute by minute, perhaps only half an hour, perhaps as long as a century, the sirens of police cars and ambulances finally pierced the silent night sky.

  Antonio was awakened by the sharp sound of a flute, and he opened his eyes dazedly to see Cassidy and Nanxing sitting beside him, smiling and saying, "Was it Xiaoli who told you about this secret base?"

  "Yes."

  "It's really dead, I was thinking of waiting for her to finish tenth grade and then inviting her here for a camping trip. Now, there's no mystery at all." Antonio slowly closed his eyes and muttered to himself, "I knew she would remember this place... would definitely come... to save us..."

  "Tenth grade? Even if it's tenth grade, the young lady is still a minor." Cassidy chuckled and shook his head, saying to Nanxing beside him, "Looks like you'll be busy from now on."

  Professional rescuers carried down Vanessa and Antonio, then rescued the mother and son, while Cassidy and Nansing climbed down smoothly. As they watched the ambulance drive away, everyone swarmed around them in excitement. Cassidy smiled and nodded, sharing the joy with the crowd. At the same time, he also called Gu Huanli to tell her the good news, after all, it was thanks to her efforts that they were able to find them so smoothly.

  "Vanessa and Anton have been rescued, they should be in the ambulance now. The mother and child are also safe."

  Yes

  "God bless"

  The other three people couldn't help but cheer up. Gu Huanli and Lisha couldn't help but wipe away the tears from the corners of their eyes, having worried for a night, now, the hanging heart finally fell by half.

  Mai De stretched out his hand and put it on Gu Huanli's shoulder, saying softly, "Today was a long nightmare. Fortunately, the nightmare has ended. Now, let's leave everything to the doctor."

  Ruiji looked at them and suddenly clenched his fist, "Let's go to the hospital, at least when I hear that their condition is stable, I can finally be at ease."

  "Good." The crowd nodded, hastily putting on their coats and the four of them set off towards the hospital in a grand manner. Although the night wind was cold, their hearts were warm.