Chapter 183: Preparing for the Rescue

Chapter 183: Chapter 183: Preparing for the Rescue

"Did anyone else fall to the bottom when you went down?" Zhang Wei Qiang asked.

Everyone looked at each other. Finally, a middle-aged man shook his head and said, "No."

"Is anyone seriously injured?" Zhang Wei Qiang asked again.

"No."

"No."

...

Almost everyone shook their heads, until a sharp, surprisingly strong female voice cried out, "I am! I’m injured! Sir, my daughter and I are both seriously hurt! Ouch, the pain is killing me! You’re a good man, please, get us out of here first! My husband is..."

"How shameless! The two of you were just bouncing around, you nearly made the bus fall again! And now you have the nerve to pretend you’re seriously injured in front of everyone? Sir, don’t listen to her." Before Zhang Wei Qiang could say anything, the others were already glaring at the woman with contempt.

Not to be outdone, the woman opened her mouth to curse, "Who says I’m faking? I am seriously injured! I..."

"That’s enough! Anyone who says another word goes out last!" the middle-aged man who had spoken earlier barked, glaring at the woman. He then turned to Zhang Wei Qiang. "Sir, I’m the driver of this bus. You said your grand-niece is up top waiting for a passing car to get help. Didn’t you see the truck that was parked up there? The one that hit us? Did it just take off?"

"We saw a truck driving away on our way here, but I don’t know if he fled the scene or went to get help for you," Zhang Wei Qiang said truthfully. He suddenly recalled Gu Nuan Nuan mentioning the strong smell of alcohol from that truck and frowned. He had a feeling the driver had probably run off and wouldn’t be calling for anyone. Of course, he wasn’t about to voice his suspicions.

"That son of a bitch! I hope he dies a miserable death and his family line ends with him!" the driver snarled, gritting his teeth. He had just been driving along, minding his own business, when some blind idiot came charging straight for them without a second thought—

"Do you have any rope in the bus? On my way over, I noticed a small, recessed platform on the cliff face not far from you. It should be big enough to hold everyone. If you have a rope, I’ll go clear it off, secure one end, and tie the other around your waists. That way I can pull you out of the bus one by one and help you climb over to it."

Zhang Wei Qiang glanced down at the bottomless gorge below. He knew it was impossible to ask these ordinary people—already terrified and with no special training—to climb like he did, using only vines to cross even the short distance to the platform.

The passengers’ expressions flickered. They exchanged uneasy glances, and finally, all turned to the middle-aged driver with expectant eyes.

"We don’t have any rope," the driver said, his voice full of dejection. The others’ faces fell in unison.

"Don’t worry. Do you have any sharp tools, like a knife? There are plenty of vines here. I can cut some down, take them up top, and weave them into a rope. You’ll just have to wait a little longer." Zhang Wei Qiang wasn’t too disappointed. He asked casually, without much hope, already planning to find a sharp rock or just rip the vines down with his bare hands.

"I do."

The boy who had first spotted Zhang Wei Qiang pulled a folding Swiss Army knife from his pocket, then carefully shuffled over to the window and handed it to him.

"This is great! This knife is a huge help. I’ll just borrow it for a little while, and I’ll give it back when I’m done," Zhang Wei Qiang said, pleasantly surprised as he took the knife. A tool would make cutting the vines much easier. Most importantly, it would save a lot of time.

"Mister, please hurry back and save us," the little boy said, his face full of hope.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be as fast as I can. You’ll be fine for now as long as you all stay put." Zhang Wei Qiang nodded. He quickly climbed over to the small platform, carefully surveying the path to form a plan. After clearing the loose rocks from the ledge, he started climbing up, cutting down plenty of vines as he went.

"Nuannuan!"

The moment his feet touched solid ground, Zhang Wei Qiang saw that the area was littered with short, chopped-up vines and a long, crudely-woven but unfinished rope... but he couldn’t see Gu Nuan Nuan’s small figure anywhere. A jolt of panic shot through him, and he cried out her name.

"Great-uncle, I’m here." Gu Nuan Nuan appeared from around a corner in the cliff face, carrying a bundle of vines.

"How do you know how to weave these? And how did you know I would need them?" Zhang Wei Qiang was stunned.

"Grandpa taught me, but my work is nowhere near as good as his," Gu Nuan Nuan said with a shy smile. "When I saw you untying your rope, I knew it was too short and you’d definitely need more."

"You really are a smart kid."

Zhang Wei Qiang patted Gu Nuan Nuan’s head, not holding back his praise. He then let out an appreciative sigh. "Those people down there are incredibly lucky. Not only did they all survive such a serious accident, but none of them seem to have any major problems for the time being. The two trees holding up their bus have only loosened a little; it looks like they can hold on for a good while longer. If their luck is any better, they could probably even wait for someone else to find and rescue them."

"Then why don’t we just go get someone to rescue them?"

"The longer we wait, the more things could go wrong. The trees have loosened, and even though it’s not too bad yet, they *have* loosened. Besides, even if someone else arrived, they’d still have to get everyone out of the bus one by one and move them to safety. Since I can do that myself, why wait for others?"

Even as he spoke, Zhang Wei Qiang wasted no time. He quickly began processing the vines and weaving them into a rope. He told her about the small platform he’d found, laughing again. "Such a coincidence."

’Master, that little platform wasn’t my doing! That was purely their own good luck,’ Cao Cao immediately protested in Gu Nuan Nuan’s mind.

’You’re certainly honest,’ Gu Nuan Nuan chuckled to herself, thinking her Plant Pet was just adorable. Seeing her great-uncle weaving the vine rope, she quickly got to work as well.

Although she wasn’t as fast as Zhang Wei Qiang, and the rope she wove wasn’t as neat as his, her pace was by no means slow. When he was done, Zhang Wei Qiang tested his own vine rope first. After measuring it, he connected it to the original rope he had been wearing, gave it a hard tug, and smiled.

"Great-uncle, what about the one I made? Will it work?" Gu Nuan Nuan had eyeballed her own vine rope, and seeing it was about the same length as her great-uncle’s combined rope, she tied off the end.

"It’s great. It’ll work." Zhang Wei Qiang didn’t mince words. He tested Gu Nuan Nuan’s rope section by section and found that while it didn’t look as neat, it was every bit as sturdy as the one he’d made. He couldn’t help but smile and praise her again.

There was no time to lose. He gave Gu Nuan Nuan a few more instructions, then tied her vine rope to the concrete guardrail, gave it a tug, and tossed it down the cliff. Finally, he tied his own woven rope extension to his waist and leaped over the edge once more.

’Cao Cao, keep watch,’ Gu Nuan Nuan instructed as she watched her great-uncle’s figure disappear. ’As soon as he gets everyone out, make that bus—and the two trees holding it—fall off the cliff.’