Chapter 21: Trapped

The heavy rain showed no signs of letting up. 

Qiao Nan and his group were forced to remain in the cave. 

Every two hours, two people would be arranged to go to the mountain entrance together to check if the driver had arrived as promised.

In the last two hours before dark, it was Qiao Nan and Qiu Ran’s turn to go out and check the situation.

The two trudged through the rain to their destination, but there were no traces of a vehicle at the entrance. 

Even the message they had left hadn’t been touched. 

The driver who had promised to pick them up was still nowhere to be seen.

Qiao Nan glanced at his phone again; there was still no signal. 

He tried dialing the emergency number, but the mechanical voice continued to repeat that he was out of the service area.

Around six in the afternoon, the distant horizon had already darkened. 

The end of the winding mountain road, stretching far into the distance, was swallowed by deep darkness, with no end in sight.

From here to Fengxi Village, the map showed a distance of over thirty, almost forty kilometers. In their current state and with the terrible weather, some of them might not be able to hold on before they even reached a populated area.

Qiao Nan wiped the rain from his face and said to Qiu Ran, “Let’s go back before it gets completely dark.”

When they returned, Old Li and the others looked at them eagerly.

Seeing the two shake their heads in silence, they also quietly averted their gaze.

The sky outside had completely darkened.

With night falling, they could only remain where they were, try to get through this night, and then figure something out.

The relatively dry drawing boards and easels had already been burned.

The wet branches they found outside were hard to ignite, and when they finally did, they produced thick smoke that choked everyone, making it impossible to stay.

They had no choice but to extinguish the fire.

Now that it was dark, the cave was almost pitch black.

A faint light from a mobile phone appeared in the cave.

Someone suddenly whispered, “My phone’s dead too.”

This statement made the atmosphere even more oppressive.

From yesterday to today, they had been in the mountains for two days and one night. 

They had limited supplies for their sketching trip. 

Their power banks had long run out, and most of their snacks were gone.

Some people had even caught colds from being soaked and cold, and they could only tough it out.

Suppressed sobs quietly arose, unsettling everyone’s nerves.

“Will anyone really come to pick us up?”

“Yes, they will.”

Old Li, the only adult, tried his best to reassure every anxious student.

“Even if the driver doesn’t come for us, the people in Fengxi Village know we entered the mountain. If we don’t return in two or three days, they’ll report it to the police. The police will come looking for us. The heavy rain might have delayed the rescue efforts, but don’t panic, everyone. Wait a little longer; maybe someone will arrive tomorrow.”

But too much comfort loses its effectiveness.

An atmosphere of despair infected everyone.

At first, only the girls cried softly and suppressed, but later, even the boys began to lose control of their emotions.

Qiao Nan gripped his phone and looked at the darkened screen.

Just now, his phone had also run out of its last bit of power and shut down.

“When Qiu Ran and I went out, I tried sending my brother a lot of WeChat messages and texts asking for help. Just before my phone died, I checked and one WeChat message had been sent successfully.” 

Qiao Nan swallowed, maintaining a calm voice. 

“My brother will definitely find a way to come look for us when he sees the message.”

“Really?”

“So, if we hold on for two more days, we can wait for rescue?”

Qiao Nan emphatically said, “Yes.” 

“It’s raining heavily outside, so we don’t lack water. If we ration the remaining snacks, we can last through tomorrow. If push comes to shove, there are trees everywhere; we can find some plant roots and won’t starve. In the worst-case scenario, even if we hold on for three or four days, rescue will come. Our most pressing problem right now isn’t food; it’s hypothermia and getting sick. Everyone, move around more while resting to maintain body temperature, and if you feel unwell, be sure to say something immediately.”

His tone was incredibly firm, like an injection of adrenaline, causing the despairing atmosphere in the cave to dissipate slightly, and people gradually began to regain their spirits.

***

When he got off work, the rain outside had intensified.

Pei Xu drove back to Botting Mansion. 

As soon as he opened the door, Little Qiao wagged its tail and greeted him.

Before Qiao Nan went to Guizhou, he was afraid Little Qiao would become a lonely dog, so he specifically sent him to Pei Xu’s place. 

Qiao Nan had been away for more than half a month, and Little Qiao’s fur had grown considerably longer. 

Its white fur was thick and felt very good to the touch. 

Pei Xu petted it, preparing to make dog food first.

As he passed the French windows, looking at the rain illuminated by the neon lights, his right eyelid suddenly twitched without warning.

He pulled out his phone and saw that the WeChat message he’d sent that morning still hadn’t been replied to by evening. 

He frowned and sent another message to Qiao Nan, then hesitated before contacting Old K.

However, Old K, who usually replied promptly, didn’t respond this time either.

All these abnormalities intensified Pei Xu’s unease. 

He searched online for news and only found scattered reports about heavy rain red warnings and disaster prevention in Guizhou, mostly from local news outlets with low traffic. 

However, on Weibo, some local Guizhou netizens were already asking for help, saying they were trapped on rooftops by floods and so on.

Guizhou is mountainous and rainy, so floods aren’t uncommon.

Remembering the uncontactable Qiao Nan and Old K, Pei Xu couldn’t sit still any longer. He immediately called Zhao Bo, “Book me a flight to Ziyun for tomorrow. Also, contact the staff who worked on the poverty alleviation project before and ask about the disaster situation in Guizhou. The sooner, the better.”

Zhao Bo quickly checked business class flights and said apologetically, “There’s continuous heavy rain in Guizhou; all flights are canceled or delayed.”

Pei Xu didn’t hesitate, “Then you gather information first. I’ll drive there directly.”

After hanging up, he headed downstairs to get his car.

Just as he entered the elevator, his phone rang again. 

It was Old K.

Pei Xu’s heart immediately lightened, and he answered the call.

But Old K’s words plunged his recently eased mind back into despair, “Mr. Pei, something’s happened. Young Master Qiao went into Hongya Mountain yesterday morning and hasn’t come out. The winding mountain road leading into the mountain is impassable due to a landslide, so I can’t go in to look for him. Shita County is too severely affected; rescue efforts are happening everywhere, and there are simply no hands available for mountain search and rescue.”

Old K’s signal was very poor, cutting in and out, “Young Master Qiao has been in the mountain for two days and one night already. The communication base stations were extensively damaged by lightning and floods, and they’ve only just been repaired—”

He hadn’t finished speaking before the call was forced to end due to the bad signal.

Pei Xu sent him a text message, telling him to wait there. 

Then he immediately called Zhao Bo back, “No need to inquire further. Contact the Air Traffic Control Bureau immediately and apply for an emergency disaster relief flight plan. Tell them Xunnan is willing to provide a batch of supplies and disaster relief drones to the affected areas in Guizhou. Also, have Peng Yi contact several professional private search and rescue teams and relief supplies to come with me to Guizhou. We’ll meet directly at Nanjing Airport.”

After giving instructions, he quickly went downstairs to drive to Nanjing Airport. 

At the same time, he called Qiao Nan’s parents, informing them about their son being missing in the mountains.

Xunnan owned a private jet, but its use was restricted, and applying for flight routes was troublesome, so it usually just sat as a display in the Nanjing Airport hangar.

When Pei Xu arrived at Nanjing Airport, it was already 9:50 PM. 

Emergency relief flight routes only required an application one hour in advance, and the flight department would respond with approval or denial fifteen minutes before the proposed takeoff time.

At 10:35 PM, the flight application was approved.

At 11:45 PM, the private search and rescue team contacted by Zhao Bo arrived at the airport.

At 3:25 AM, all urgently procured disaster relief supplies were in place.

At 3:42 AM, the plane took off from Nanjing Airport, heading to Ziyun City, Guizhou.