Chapter 55: Danger in the High Altitudes!

Mist and clouds swirled all around, and the sun had seemingly gone into hiding, leaving no trace of its presence.

On the precipice of a vast cliff, wild winds raged. Several girls trembled with fear, their legs beginning to go weak.

"Are you okay?"

Jiang Chen asked with concern at the end of the group.

"I'm fine."

At this moment, Li Shurui could not afford to dwell on her personal grievances. Following Hu Heng's instructions, she gripped the handrail with all her might, maintaining her balance and waiting for the wind to die down.

*Whoosh...*

As the great wind howled, the sea of clouds surged like a tide; it was an incomparably magnificent sight, rarely seen.

However, at this moment, no one dared to take a photo to cherish the memory—not even the men.

Because they simply didn't dare to let go of the handrail.

Swaying along with the sea of clouds was the plank road beneath their feet. Although the movement was not large, it was enough to make their hearts tremble with terror.

In this moment, humanity could profoundly experience its own insignificance.

"I want to go back, I'm not climbing anymore..."

Zheng Jingjing's legs buckled, and she was nearly kneeling on the plank road. Clearly, the majesty of nature had torn her meager courage to shreds.

"Didn't you promise President Hu that you would come?"

Li Shurui felt both exasperated and amused, but at a time like this, she could only offer comfort: "We're almost there. Look back—if you turn back now, the path will be even longer. Just hold on a little longer."

"Waaaah..."

Caught in a difficult position, Zheng Jingjing felt like crying without tears.

About five or six minutes later, the wind gradually subsided.

The sea of clouds slowly returned to calm.

Sunlight began to pour down once again.

Hu Heng breathed a secret sigh of relief and shouted loudly, "It's okay now! Everyone, keep moving forward!"

Under his leadership, the group resumed their journey.

On the plank road, the difficulties the twelve people had to overcome were not just the fear of heights, but also the stubborn branches protruding from the crevices of the cliffs.

They grew horizontally like roadblocks, obstructing the middle of the path.

Left with no choice, everyone had to bend over to avoid them, ducking underneath as they passed.

"Oh no, my phone!"

Unexpectedly, as Zheng Jingjing crouched down—perhaps because her buttocks were too perky—the phone tucked into her back pocket was squeezed out and fell into the gap between two wooden planks.

She scrambled to grab it, but her reaction was too slow. She could only watch helplessly as her phone flipped and plummeted into the bottomless abyss.

A phone wasn't cheap; it would cost at least several thousand yuan.

Zheng Jingjing felt a sharp pang of heartache.

"Don't look at it. If it's gone, it's gone. I'll buy you a new one," Li Shurui said quickly.

"Really?"

Zheng Jingjing turned around, momentarily forgetting her fear.

"Why would I lie to you?"

With Li Shurui's current income, a phone was indeed a trivial matter.

"But my phone has so many precious photos in it..."

Zheng Jingjing was reluctant to let go, but she also understood that her phone was certainly never coming back.

"These people should really clear these branches out!"

She said indignantly, straightening up to continue walking.

Li Shurui bent down, following closely behind to duck under the branches.

"About a hundred meters left! We're almost there, keep it up, everyone!"

Hu Heng's encouraging voice came from ahead.

Li Shurui breathed a sigh of relief, and her tension eased slightly. But accidents often arrive quietly just when one lets down their guard.

*Crack...*

As a white sneaker stepped onto a wooden plank, perhaps due to years of decay, the plank suddenly snapped in the middle without warning.

Li Shurui was completely unprepared; her entire body plummeted downward in an instant!

Hearing the commotion, Zheng Jingjing instinctively turned her head. The sight that met her eyes caused her expression to freeze, and her mind went completely blank.

"Shurui!!!"

A scream tore through the sky.

The people ahead turned their heads in unison, and without exception, their hearts skipped a beat!

Li Shurui was falling straight down.

At the critical moment, someone stepped forward.

No.

They lunged forward!

While everyone else was stunned by the sudden accident, only Jiang Chen did not freeze. The moment Li Shurui lost her footing, he lunged toward her almost without thinking. In a desperate, life-risking move, at the exact moment half of Li Shurui's body had already slipped off the plank road, he grabbed her arm firmly.

"Hold onto me!"

Setting others aside, even Li Shurui was stunned. It took a second or two for her to snap out of it.

A suffocating fear enveloped her entire body, and she instinctively looked down.

Beneath her feet, the clouds were misty and the depths were bottomless.

If she fell, there would certainly be nothing left of her.

"Don't look down! Hold onto me!"

Jiang Chen's face was flushed red, and the veins on his neck bulged.

Although Li Shurui was not heavy, he was currently on the plank road with no leverage. He could only grip the rope on one side of the handrail with one hand while clutching Li Shurui's arm with the other.

Even though he was exerting all his strength, that slender arm wrapped in clothing was still slowly sliding down.

Li Shurui finally realized the situation. She hurriedly reached back to grab Jiang Chen's wrist and looked up, meeting a face that was straining to its absolute limit.

"Jiang Chen..."

Character is revealed in times of trouble.

One must realize

This was at a height of thousands of feet; not everyone possesses such reckless courage.

It was entirely possible that he could have been pulled down into the deep abyss along with her, becoming a pair of doomed lovers.

"You can't die!"

Jiang Chen gritted his teeth, pulling Li Shurui upward with all his might.

This girl was his target for conquest; if she were gone, his beautiful future would shatter along with her.

Therefore, she absolutely could not be harmed!

Li Shurui, of course, did not know any of this.

No girl can resist a man who is willing to risk his life for her, no matter how realistic or vain she might be.

Li Shurui did not know her significance to Jiang Chen; she only knew that an unprecedented feeling was crashing into her heart and soul like a flood. This momentary image was something she might never forget for the rest of her life.

"What are you standing there for! Help, quick!"

Jiang Chen shouted.

Zheng Jingjing's body shuddered, and she finally snapped out of her trance. She rushed over, crouched down, and grabbed Li Shurui's arm.

Working together, the two of them finally pulled Li Shurui back from the brink of death.

"Whew..."

Jiang Chen slumped onto the wooden planks, gasping for air.

"Shurui, are you okay?!"

Hu Heng shouted from ahead.

The breathtaking scene just now had truly left him drenched in a cold sweat. If Jiang Chen hadn't reacted in time and risked his life to save her, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

"I'm fine."

It wasn't that Li Shurui didn't want to answer loudly, but she simply had no strength left. Anyone would be in a daze after experiencing something like that.

"Shurui, you scared me to death!"

Zheng Jingjing hugged Li Shurui tightly in panic, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.

"It's alright. I almost became a headline," Jiang Chen said with a bitter smile, letting out a long breath as he sat slumped nearby.

Li Shurui's eyes trembled as she slowly turned her head.

The man was wiping away sweat, looking completely exhausted.

At this moment, his face was far from handsome—it was actually quite disheveled—but it was enough to be etched into her memory forever.

(End of Chapter)