Chapter 55: Resurgence from the Brink of Death

Wang Mengru rushed towards the cave in great excitement.

Coming to her senses, He Tiantian did not run over immediately. Instead, she turned her head to look at Lin Feng and smiled triumphantly.

Though she said nothing, her meaning was unmistakable.

Lin Feng’s gaze, however, turned icy. He gripped his dagger tightly, his entire body radiating a murderous intent.

"Is this to silence me?"

He Tiantian felt a pang of shock, her face turning pale as she turned to run.

Thud!

Panicking too much, her feet slipped, and she fell heavily to the ground.

Terrified out of her wits, He Tiantian shook violently. She opened her mouth to scream for help, but tension choked the sound in her throat.

It was over!

She was dead for sure!

He Tiantian felt an overwhelming sense of despair.

Yet, after a long while, Lin Feng still had not come to kill her.

Boom!

Instead, a massive explosion suddenly echoed from ahead.

What was going on?

He Tiantian was utterly bewildered.

As for Lin Feng, the reason he hadn't rushed forward to kill her was because he had witnessed the rescue helicopter in the sky suddenly lose control. It had plowed straight into the peak of the mountain—standing a dozen meters higher than the hill where the cave was located—and burst into flames.

This, this, this...

Why had the helicopter suddenly lost control?

It was too bizarre.

Lin Feng’s emotions became somewhat complicated.

The strangeness of the deserted island proved that aerial rescue missions were futile, making it even harder for them to escape the island.

Thus, he no longer needed to worry about having killed Wang Xingyu.

At the same time, though, he had no desire to be trapped on this desolate island for the rest of his life!

Slowly calming down from her panic, He Tiantian raised her head to look in the direction of the explosion.

Thick black smoke billowed into the air, and the helicopter that had just been conducting aerial searches had vanished.

Without needing to think, she knew the helicopter had crashed.

"Ah... No... Why did this have to happen? Why?"

He Tiantian screamed uncontrollably.

She shook her head frantically, completely unable to accept the reality before her.

Having learned earlier that official search teams had failed for three days, she had completely abandoned all hope of leaving the island.

She had not expected a rescue helicopter to suddenly appear in the sky, making her feel as though rescue was imminent and filling her with hope.

Yet, moments later, the helicopter crashed, shattering her hope once again.

And all of this felt deeply eerie.

It felt as though aerial rescues were useless and they were truly doomed to be trapped on the island forever.

...

Qin Meng, Luo Ruifang, and the others had been anxious to reach the cave to see Cheng Xiangyu. When they subsequently saw the rescue helicopter in the sky, drawn by the smoke rising from the cave, they had sprinted desperately toward the cave. Luo Ruifang had even refused the support of Ye Tian and Li Hao.

They never anticipated that the helicopter would suddenly crash.

For a moment, unable to accept this, they stopped in despair.

Ye Tian couldn't help but bring up the strange phenomenon that had occurred when their cruise ship met with the accident earlier that day.

Sighing, he said, "Before, I thought this island was bizarre and that I was just overthinking things. But seeing the helicopter suddenly lose control and smash into the mountain peak, I finally realize just how truly eerie this island is."

Hearing this, Qin Meng collapsed to the ground in utter despair.

Would they really never be able to leave this deserted island for the rest of their lives?

Unable to bear the mental pressure, Li Hao dropped to his knees in a breakdown, weeping loudly, "Wuuwuu... It's over, it's over. Are we going to be trapped on this desolate island forever?"

Despite her age and life experience, Luo Ruifang stood frozen, filled with a deep sense of despair.

Seeing them all looking so hopeless, Ye Tian realized he had spoken out of turn and might drive someone to commit suicide out of fear.

He hurriedly added, "Everyone, don't be too sad. Perhaps this island isn't as bizarre as I thought; maybe I was just overthinking and scaring myself."

"Aunt Luo, Li Hao, didn't you want to see Cheng Xiangyu?"

"Let's go, let's go see her right now!"

Hearing this, Luo Ruifang and Li Hao remembered that Cheng Xiangyu was still alive, which eased their sorrow slightly. They urged Qin Meng to lead them to the cave to see Cheng Xiangyu without delay.

The four of them then hurried toward the cave once more.

...

Meanwhile, at the cave entrance, Cheng Xiangyu stood staring at the site of the helicopter crash and explosion, frozen in place with a heart full of despair, unable to accept the harsh reality.

Slap! Slap...

Coming back to her senses, she dropped to her knees and began slapping her own face repeatedly, berating herself: "It's my fault, it's all my fault! To further attract the rescue helicopter's attention, I deliberately threw some damp weeds into the fire to make the smoke thicker."

"Instead, the smoke blocked the pilot's vision so he couldn't see the mountain ahead, causing him to crash directly into it and perish with the aircraft!"

"I killed them! And worse, I robbed everyone of this precious chance at rescue..."

Arriving at the cave entrance, Qin Meng, Luo Ruifang, and the others witnessed this scene and rushed forward to stop Cheng Xiangyu.

"It's Xiaoyu, it really is Xiaoyu! My daughter, why are you hitting yourself? You did that to quickly draw the pilot's attention so we could be rescued sooner. You didn't do anything wrong..."

"Xiaoyu, you really are alive! This is wonderful, it is so wonderful to see you!"

Seeing Cheng Xiangyu, Luo Ruifang and Li Hao were overjoyed and rushed forward to embrace her.

Lifting her head and seeing her mother, Cheng Xiangyu was also pleasantly surprised.

"Mom, Mom..."

Crying out twice, she stood up quickly and threw her arms around Luo Ruifang.

As for Li Hao, she did not allow him to hug her.

She had no fondness for this fiancé of hers.

She found him too effeminate, too cowardly, lacking any masculine charm. Anyone unaware might have mistaken him for a gay man.

Unlike Lin Feng, who was tall, majestic, and capable of killing a ferocious beast like a leopard all by himself.

Seeing that Cheng Xiangyu didn't let him hug her, Li Hao felt awkward, but he said nothing, merely curling his lip with a grievance in his heart.

Qin Meng watched this scene with a slight frown, thinking to herself: 'Cheng Xiangyu doesn't seem to like Li Hao very much. Could it be that she has already fallen for Lin Feng?'

'I just hope Aunt Luo looks down on Lin Feng as a poor boy and won't let Cheng Xiangyu be with him.'

Ye Tian, however, asked, "Cheng Xiangyu, did you just say the helicopter crashed because the smoke you made was too thick and blocked the pilot's vision?"

Looking at him, Cheng Xiangyu replied softly, "Though I hate to admit it, that is the truth."

Ye Tian burst into a laugh. "Ha-ha! If that's the case, it means the crash wasn't because the island is bizarre. I was just overthinking! We still have hope of leaving."

Hearing this, the others reasoned it made sense and breathed sighs of relief.

Li Hao said excitedly, "That's right! The fact that a helicopter appeared in the sky above the island means the authorities are actively conducting aerial searches. Another helicopter will show up before long."

"When that happens, we'll surely be rescued and get to leave this damn desolate island!"

Hearing these words, the people felt hope reignite in their hearts.

At that moment, Wang Mengru also arrived at the scene.

Unaware of their previous conversation and worried that everyone would fall into despair over the crash, she offered words of encouragement: "Even though this island feels eerie at every turn, we must maintain faith in the authorities. Since they managed to send one helicopter into the skies above the island to search, they will definitely send more to rescue us."

"Yes, exactly!" the others echoed, their despair completely vanishing.