Chapter 188: The Final Bottom Line

Chapter 188: Chapter 188: The Final Bottom Line

Gu Nuan Nuan clutched her head, glaring resentfully at Shao Qingyang.

She was not happy at all. ’Why does everyone love patting my head all the time, for no good reason, ever since I was reborn?’

"Not happy about it?" Shao Qingyang found her expression both funny and exasperating. He reached out to pat her head again, but this time, Gu Nuan Nuan was quick enough to dodge. Shao Qingyang was about to say something else when he suddenly heard the sound of police sirens in the distance. He quickly looked up. A police car was leading a few other vehicles, sirens wailing, as they sped up the winding mountain road.

"The rescue team is finally here." His face lit up with joy. He couldn’t be bothered to bicker with Gu Nuan Nuan anymore and focused his attention on the approaching vehicles.

"Cao Cao, how are things with Uncle? Are there still people trapped in the bus?" Gu Nuan Nuan communicated with Cao Cao telepathically.

"Just that woman is left. She’s stubbornly holding on to her pile of luggage for dear life and refuses to let go. She insists on passing out her bags for your uncle to grab first, which puts him in a tough spot. He’s been trying to explain the situation to her forever, but she won’t listen." Cao Cao sounded helpless too. "Those two trees are about to give way. The energy from the Plant Essence I injected into them is almost gone. It’s actually amazing they’ve held on for this long. If you want them to keep holding, it’s not impossible, but it will consume more Plant Essence to sustain them."

"Why waste anything on someone like that?" Gu Nuan Nuan rolled her eyes dramatically. She glanced at the time—it was already four or five in the afternoon. She thought about how her uncle hadn’t even had lunch and had been forced to keep his nerves taut without a moment’s rest in such a dangerous place. His stamina had to be completely drained by now.

Her heart ached for him. Gritting her teeth, she said angrily, "Cao Cao, from now on, just protect Uncle. Don’t use any more energy on anyone else. Are we supposed to provide the energy for her to continue this standoff with him? Since she loves her money more than her own life, let’s just leave her to fate. We’ve already done more than enough for her."

"Yes, Master! Cao Cao knows what to do now." Cao Cao perked up, excitedly bobbing its main stem, its leaves rustling loudly. It was naturally thrilled to finally stop using its energy. To be honest, it had lost its patience with that woman long ago. It could see much more clearly just how utterly exhausted the Master’s uncle was. Because of its affection for its Master, even it couldn’t bear to watch any longer. But since its Master hadn’t given the order, it had no choice but to endure. But now... hehe. Cao Cao wiggled its main stem. ’I won’t tell Master about the little trick I played earlier. I’ll save it as a big surprise for later...’

On the cliff face, Zhang Wei Qiang watched Yao Hui Zhen, who was still in the vehicle, stubbornly refusing to come out. He felt his patience reach its absolute limit. He had tried to persuade her with the same words more than once, but it was like talking to a brick wall.

He took a deep breath, trying his best to keep his tone calm, and decided this would be his final attempt to convince her. "It’s not that I’m unwilling to help you with your luggage, but you need to look at the current situation. With all these trips back and forth, these two grass ropes supporting us have been constantly rubbing against the rocks on this cliff face. They’re fraying, and none of us know when they might suddenly snap. Besides, I’m not made of iron. I’m not as capable as you think I am, able to go back and forth for hours without food or water and not feel tired. In my current state, in this environment, I can’t even guarantee my own safety without the support of the ropes. I have a family too—a wife, kids, and parents. I can’t just risk my life for a few pieces of your luggage. Please, stop making this difficult for me."

"Those are all just excuses! You were able to carry that child tied to your back, so how heavy can these bags be? They can’t possibly be heavier than a teenager, can they? How am I making things difficult for you? What do you mean by stalling like this? You just don’t want to see me do well, you want me to lose my belongings, don’t you? If you had just tied them to your back and carried them over, we’d both be safe on that little ledge by now!"

Yao Hui Zhen had completely backed herself into a corner mentally and couldn’t be reasoned with. She was stubbornly convinced that it wasn’t that Zhang Wei Qiang couldn’t do it, but that he wouldn’t. ’This country bumpkin,’ she thought, ’with his fake kindness. He must be jealous of the valuable things in my luggage, that’s why he doesn’t want me to take them back. This is just blatant, naked jealousy.’

’She’d seen plenty of people like him.’

She hugged her bundled-up bags resentfully, resolving not to compromise under any circumstances. She simply refused to believe he would abandon her.

"How can you compare these things to the life of a living, breathing child? If there were still a child here, I would risk it for them without a second thought. But these are just inanimate objects. It’s unnecessary, and I can’t possibly bet my own life on them."

Zhang Wei Qiang felt a tightness in his chest; he had never felt so suffocated with frustration. More than once, he had been tempted to just give up on this woman. But seeing the dirt and pebbles constantly falling from around the roots of the two trees holding up the bus, he had a premonition they really wouldn’t hold for much longer. In the end, he just couldn’t bring himself to abandon a living person.

’Damn it, this woman still doesn’t understand the situation. She’s still fussing over her possessions, so stingy that she isn’t willing to abandon a single thing—it would have been better if she’d used all that time to open her luggage and just tie the most valuable items to her body instead of refusing to give anything up.’

Zhang Wei Qiang shook his head with a bitter smile. ’What a clueless person.’ Did she really take it for granted that someone else’s life was less important than her luggage? That someone else *must* ’naturally’ risk their life just to protect her property? He didn’t value his own life so cheaply as to think it was worth betting on that.

’Is this the kind of person Nuannuan was talking about? The snake from *The Farmer and the Viper*?’

’Forget it. If she really doesn’t want to leave, then she can stay in the bus. Why should I force her? Everyone has their own fate. Now that she’s the only one left in the vehicle, who knows? Maybe she’s lucky enough to actually last until the real rescue team arrives to save her and her luggage together.’

With that, Zhang Wei Qiang stopped trying to persuade her. He leaned back against the cliff face in silence, deciding that if she didn’t move soon, he would leave on his own. He was keenly aware of how much stamina he had lost and knew it wasn’t wise to linger in mid-air without a proper foothold. He glanced at his watch and silently set himself a final deadline: ten minutes.