Returning to the hall, Ou Yunchen changed into his ski suit and tossed his equipment into the ski car.
He ordered Mrs. Su to contact all media outlets and quickly report Su Ruiyi's disappearance on the snow mountain. The media at the foot of the mountain were to track in real-time, and the rest would be up to him.
Wang Ziran stopped Ou Yunchen. "I'll go with you."
Ou Yunchen said calmly, "You'll die."
"If I can't find Yiyi, I'd rather die!" Wang Ziran was somewhat agitated.
Ignoring the staff's attempts to stop him, Ou Yunchen drove his diesel-powered ski car onto the course. It had already started snowing heavily, and the visibility on the snow mountain had become very low well before 4 PM.
Ou Yunchen looked at the ski resort and said, "Is it always this same track?"
Wang Ziran nodded. "Yes, Su Ruiyi and I often ski here. This track is the longest and its difficulty is above professional level."
Ou Yunchen looked at the winding track, the slopes rising and falling, but it shouldn't be enough to make an experienced skier disappear. Could she have changed tracks at the last minute?
Ou Yunchen noticed a signpost near the first fork in the track. Where did it lead?
Wang Ziran pulled Ou Yunchen back. "You're wrong, we should keep going down."
Ou Yunchen ignored Wang Ziran's objection and accelerated until he reached the fork. He then discovered that this section of the ski path was obscured by many trees, making it not the most obvious route.
"Wang Ziran, have you been on this path before?"
"No, Yiyi doesn't like this path. She said there are too many buffer zones that affect speed."
It was clear that Su Ruiyi would not have chosen this path. She was a very competitive girl; if she was going to race, she had to win. She must have fallen behind Wang Ziran this time, causing her to change tracks. Perhaps she got lost while looking for a faster shortcut.
Ou Yunchen turned back to ask, "Did she mention any other routes?"
"I don't remember..."
"Think carefully!" Ou Yunchen roared.
"Ah, I remember now. She said there was a track in the middle section that was very exciting! She found it by accident last time. That track is much more dangerous, but it's the closest distance to the end, saving a few minutes!"
Ou Yunchen suddenly had hope. Su Ruiyi feared losing, so she would definitely choose a shortcut. She wouldn't be afraid of danger!
Wang Ziran hesitated. "But there's a cliff down that path. We've never been there, and I can't figure out where to turn to get back on the right route."
When Ou Yunchen and his group arrived at the track marked t557, the car suddenly got stuck in a snowdrift. Even after Wang Ziran managed to push the car out, it would stall within a minute.
The snow was falling harder, and this path had never been skied before. Soft snowdrifts were everywhere, and even bulging snowdrifts could be misleading; underneath might be a large rock. Driving the snowmobile on this path was a mistake!
Ou Yunchen took out the necessary tools from his bag and decided to abandon the vehicle and walk.
"It's Yiyi's ski pole!"
Wang Ziran suddenly shouted from ahead. Ou Yunchen trudged through the snow and ran towards it. A section of the ski pole was exposed in the snow, but they searched all around it and found no sign of Su Ruiyi. Wang Ziran called out her name repeatedly, but there was no response.
At this moment, Ou Yunchen noticed that the snow on a tree near the ski pole was not much more than on the surrounding trees. Furthermore, there were impact marks on the trunk.
He guessed that Su Ruiyi must have been going too fast when she swoofed down and hit this tree, then dropped her ski pole in a panic!
Ou Yunchen looked at the map. A little further to the left was the cliff Wang Ziran had mentioned!
The unease in his heart grew. He followed the map to the edge of the cliff. The snow indeed showed signs of disturbance. Ou Yunchen crawled to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Fortunately, the cliff was not sheer; there was a sloping buffer and a moderately wide platform below.
Wait!
As dusk fell, he picked up his high-powered flashlight and shone it downwards.
"Su Ruiyi!"
He saw the girl in a pearly pink ski suit lying on the buffer platform at the bottom of the cliff. He and Wang Ziran shouted a few times, but the girl lying there remained motionless.
The snow had already covered half of her body. If they had arrived any later, they might not have found her lying there.
Ou Yunchen nimbly tied the climbing rope to a tree at the cliff's edge, then instructed Wang Ziran to shine the flashlight down. He then began to descend step by step until he reached Su Ruiyi.
Su Ruiyi was lying on her side in the snow. Her goggles were cracked, and her other ski pole was nowhere to be seen. Ou Yunchen gently placed his hand on Su Ruiyi's neck. Fortunately, she still had a pulse, though her body was cold...
It was a stroke of luck that she was still alive!
But Ou Yunchen could not move Su Ruiyi carelessly. If she had any injuries, especially fractures, it would be even more dangerous to simply tie her up and pull her up with the rope.
Wang Ziran shouted from above, "How is Yiyi?"
Ou Yunchen replied, "She's not dead. Shine the flashlight into the air, can you do an SOS?"
"Yes!" Wang Ziran said confidently.
However, a nervous Wang Ziran accidentally dropped the flashlight as he raised it into the air. He couldn't hold onto it and watched it fall down the cliff.
"I, I didn't do it on purpose..." Wang Ziran felt guilty.
At this moment, the sound of a helicopter could be heard in the distance. Colin had already begun his game. However, Ou Yunchen was not sure. Colin was not the type to be kind and save people. He was like a pervert who only tormented others, but this was their only hope.
Ou Yunchen shouted, "Wang Ziran, go back to the ski car, open the fuel tank, find some clothes, soak them in diesel, and set them on fire!"
Wang Ziran received the order and ran back quickly. He tremblingly opened the fuel tank door, but he couldn't find anything to burn. There were no extra clothes in his bag. He held the lighter, staring at the fuel tank, stunned for a few seconds. The sound of the helicopter in the sky faded, and it was completely dark all around. They all knew that helicopter was their last chance to rescue Su Ruiyi!
Wang Ziran quickly took off his ski jacket, then his sweater. He didn't bother to put on his ski suit properly. He forcefully lifted the ski car, and diesel oil spilled onto the sweater. He ran back to the cliff edge with the sweater, lit the lighter, and quickly threw it onto the sweater. The moment it touched the diesel, a flame shot up from the sweater, illuminating the surroundings.
After waiting for a few dozen seconds, the sound of the helicopter could be heard again, accompanied by a beam of white light shining down from the sky. Their location was locked on, but the person in the helicopter remained indifferent.
A man in black pointed at the fire on the snow. "Sir, it looks like someone is injured down there."
"Injured?"
Colin jumped to the side of the helicopter. A young man wearing only half a ski suit was standing on the cliff edge, jumping up and down, waving his arms in the air, seemingly shouting. Looking down further, Ou Yunchen was kneeling beside someone, his head raised, gazing upwards. Colin recognized that expression; it was the same determined look he had when he escaped prison.
"Leave quickly, get out of here! Pretend you didn't see him!"
The pilot received the order and turned the helicopter, flying in another direction, without looking back no matter how much the people below shouted.
"Bastard, go to hell! What kind of son of a bitch doesn't help when someone is injured! Get back here!"
Wang Ziran cursed fiercely, tears of despair streaming down his face. He could drive the ski car away, but what about Yiyi, whom he loved? He blamed himself for being unable to save the girl he loved.
At this moment, the phone in Colin's helicopter rang. A woman's voice was roaring, making Colin even more irritable.
—Colin on call—
Woman: "Go save them, do something for your rotten corporate image!"
Colin: "I don't want to. No one can order me to do something I don't want to do!"
Woman: "Don't act like a fool who only makes creepy smiles. You've attracted the media's attention. Don't blame me for not warning you. The shareholders' meeting next week will decide whether to remove you as a director!"
—Call ended—
Colin angrily smashed the phone. After venting his anger, he took out a small mirror from his pocket, tidied a few strands of hair that were slightly disheveled from his rage, and then sat back in his seat, taking a deep breath to appear much more normal.
"Go save them."