Wilderness Survival with Druid System

Chapter 453: Chapter 2: Arrival

Upon arriving in Yun Province, Chen Wen met the person who came to pick him up at the airport.

One of the brothers from the island, Wang Zhi.

Having successfully lost weight, Wang Zhi now had dark circles under his eyes and was smoking relentlessly.

After picking up the short-tailed cat, Chen Wen walked up to Wang Zhi.

”Smoking? That’s not a good habit.”

Chen Wen forced a smile.

Wang Zhi gave a bitter smile and shook his head: ”Troubled times, Mr. Chen.”

”You have no idea about the current situation, it’s incredibly complex. In short, you’ll understand once we get there. Get in the car, I’ll take you to the scenic area first; our people are currently there waiting for news.”

Chen Wen nodded and placed the short-tailed cat in the back seat.

Seeing the short-tailed cat, Wang Zhi thought of the tabby cat his girlfriend owned and asked, ”Can this guy be touched? It looks very fierce.”

”It is indeed quite fierce. It’s a purely wild animal.”

Chen Wen replied, ”You can try if it allows.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhi cautiously reached out his hand.

The short-tailed cat stared at Wang Zhi without blinking. Wang Zhi was instantly intimidated: ”Forget it, judging by the look in its eyes, it’s a boss cat I can’t mess with.”

”By the way, Mr. Chen, why did you bring it here?”

”To assist in the search and rescue.”

After sitting in the passenger seat, Chen Wen answered.

Search and rescue?

The car sputtered twice and stalled.

Wang Zhi looked at Chen Wen, confused, then glanced at the short-tailed cat.

Can this guy really help in a search and rescue?

Is there some mistake?

While restarting the car, Wang Zhi said, ”Mr. Chen, you must be joking. I’ve heard of search and rescue dogs, but never search and rescue cats. Can it really do it?”

”It’s at least not inferior to a search and rescue dog.”

Chen Wen said confidently.

After all, the short-tailed cat could understand the specific meaning of his words and even grasp some aspects of human society.

Except for its limited knowledge of human society, in terms of intelligence, it was no less than an adult human.

In critical moments, the short-tailed cat’s role was no less significant than that of an adult human.

That’s why Chen Wen brought the short-tailed cat along.

”Enough.”

Seeing that Wang Zhi wanted to ask more, Chen Wen immediately said, ”First, tell me the situation over there. Has the search and rescue team found any traces left by Mr. Yan and the others?”

When the topic returned to Yan Bian’s situation, Wang Zhi immediately looked distressed.

”Oh, it’s really hard to say.”

While driving, Wang Zhi continued, ”It was probably the day after we received the news that Mr. Lv arrived in Yun Province. He first found the wife and children to stabilize the situation there and then rushed over here, planning to organize a local search and rescue effort using money.”

”Initially, everything went smoothly. By the third day, when we arrived, Mr. Lv’s organized search and rescue team had already reached the deepest part, which was where Mr. Yan got lost. But going any further, the locals dared not proceed even with extra pay, so Mr. Lv had to give up and instead set up a camp where they went missing.”

”Currently, the camp there is like a bridgehead, and this rescue’s headquarters are there. Additionally, the route to that place is blocked, and now only the police, your Survival Association people, and a local search and rescue team are present.”

”On the fourth day and yesterday, a group of armed police came to patrol the perimeter. They could only conduct a basic inspection and dared not go deep. For now, it’s only confirmed that Mr. Yan and the others went further in, but nobody knows their condition. Today, there are rumors that the soldiers are on their way, but no one knows if it’s true.”

Listening to the situation, Chen Wen gently rubbed his temples.

It seemed that the situation was indeed very complicated, even requiring military involvement.

”Let’s go. When can we arrive?”

”If we hurry, we can reach the scenic area by this afternoon, but we’ll probably get to the temporary main camp by night.”

”Alright, drive faster.”

...

With Wang Zhi driving at high speed, they arrived at the scenic area a little past four in the afternoon.

However, Chen Wen was slightly surprised that the area didn’t look like a place where an accident had occurred.

In his mind, the scenic area should now be quite desolate.

Not to say deserted, but certainly sparsely populated.

But looking at all the different stalls selling chicken leg sandwiches, roasted sausage, and icy drinks, Chen Wen was momentarily dazed.

”Are we in the Ailao Mountain Scenic Area?”

”Yes, doesn’t it feel that way?”

Wang Zhi said as he handed a mask to Chen Wen: ”Put this on to cover your face. A lot of people recognize you. I’ll explain as we go.”

Feeling a bit bewildered, Chen Wen put on the mask and listened to Wang Zhi explain.

”Ailao Mountain is divided into the scenic area, the protected area, and the restricted area. We are currently in the scenic area. Move about five kilometers inside, you’ll reach the newly built Ai Lao Mountain Square, which marks the boundary between the scenic area and the protected area. Going further, it’s the protected area.”

”The route Mr. Yan was developing is in the protected area, and the place where they got lost is at the boundary between the protected and restricted areas.”

Back to the condition of the scenic area, Wang Zhi laughed coldly: ”The situation here is simple, just two words—traffic. A lot of internet celebrities came over to ride the hype, recording at the outskirts, but they can only film at the edge since the police blocked the roads to prevent more people from getting lost.”

Listening to Wang Zhi’s words, Chen Wen sighed.

”Let’s go, to the square quickly, where the wife and kids are.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Wen adjusted his mask and followed Wang Zhi inside.

As they passed by the internet celebrities with their various filming equipment, Chen Wen couldn’t help but glance over.

Their livestream titles were all about the Ailao Mountain scene, and what they were saying was just various speculations.

”It’s absolutely absurd. I’ve heard three utterly ridiculous guesses.”

Chen Wen couldn’t help but complain to Wang Zhi: ”One is saying people are trapped deep in the mountains, caught in an Eight Trigrams Array left by Zhuge Liang; another says a dragon inside has been revived, and the authorities are suppressing it; the third is even more absurd, saying the dragon’s energy is leaking, and absorbing it here will make you prosper.”

Wang Zhi snorted disdainfully: ”There’s lots of believers in such absurdities. Without mentioning others, the dragon energy rumor is blowing up online, and I’ve seen it more than once.”

This is just absurd.

Chen Wen shook his head.

Wang Zhi took Chen Wen to the police blockade.

The other party immediately reached out, and Wang Zhi produced a temporary credential: ”I’m with the rescue team, went out to bring in external help, have reported this before.”

Upon hearing this, the officer on duty checked the logbook, then saluted Wang Zhi: ”Thank you for your hard work!”

”You’re the ones working hard, see you.”

Wang Zhi smiled and took two bottles of water from his backpack, placing them in an empty box.

Chen Wen followed him into the walking path, while the two policemen behind them sat up straight, with one turning back to glance at the short-tailed cat in Chen Wen’s arms.

Noticing Chen Wen’s gaze, the policeman smiled kindly, though the exhaustion on his face could not be hidden.

...

”Five kilometers, can you manage, Mr. Chen?”

Wang Zhi looked at Chen Wen and asked with a smile.

Chen Wen grinned, showing a rare smile: ”Last month, I was chased by dogs through the deep mountains of the Da Xing’an Ridge, starting with a five-kilometer run every day. What do you think?”

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhi hissed: ”Wow, are you training or what? I feel like your vice president is putting you through Japanese-style hardships!”

This remark made both of them laugh.

After laughing, Wang Zhi couldn’t help but sigh: ”Your line of work is truly tough!”

”Not tough in normal times, but when it comes to survival, that’s when it’s deadly tough.”

Chen Wen seemed to take it lightly.

As they chatted while walking, they arrived at the Ai Lao Mountain Square, where the families were temporarily housed, in less than fifty minutes.