Chapter 585 - 389: Missing (2)

Chapter 585: Chapter 389: Missing (2)

A shout echoed through the log cabin, instantly igniting a spark of hope in everyone inside.

WHOOSH!

As if hearing a summons, everyone waiting anxiously in the living room swarmed toward the windows.

Once there, they scrambled to wipe the thick condensation from the glass.

Each one of them wanted to be the first to get a clear look at what was happening outside.

Finally, through the clearing glass, a peculiar convoy of tigers, wolves, sleds, and people came into view.

Amidst the swirling snowflakes, tigers pulled the sleds with steady strides while the Wolf Pack followed close behind.

On the sleds sat the old, the weak, the women, and the children of the Bear Tribe, wrapped in thick animal hides.

Although their faces were weary, their eyes revealed a hint of relief at having survived the ordeal.

Others walked with difficulty beside the sleds, their figures looking small yet incredibly resolute in the blizzard.

"I’ll go get them." Yves’s voice was tinged with urgency and excitement. The moment the words left his mouth, he strode quickly toward the cabin’s main door.

Seeing this, Hu Zi, Black Hide, and Frank also hurried to follow, wanting to help.

When the wooden door was forced open, a gust of bone-chilling wind poured in, making everyone shiver involuntarily.

Immediately after, a figure like a snowman, completely covered in thick snow, walked into the living room.

When everyone took a closer look, they saw that the snow on this ’snowman’ had frozen to his clothes, forming a hard shell of ice.

When the figure slowly removed his ice-encrusted windproof face mask, it revealed Feng Shan’s deathly pale face. His lips were tinged with purple, and the skin on his face was chapped by the wind.

"Brother Shan!" Xiaohua cried out when she saw his condition.

Her heart ached for him, and her eyes instantly turned red.

She instinctively wanted to rush over and hug him, to give him some warmth.

"Don’t come any closer. My coat is covered in ice; you’ll get chilled." Seeing her move, Feng Shan quickly patted his hide coat, trying to shake off the snow.

As he moved, fragments of ice and snow showered to the floor.

The outer layer of insulating fur on the hide coat was now frozen into long, thin icicles, glinting coldly in the dim light.

Then, one after another, more people walked into the log cabin.

Even though the sleds had a wind-proof layer of hide, the people of the Bear Tribe were still chilled to the bone. Their bodies trembled, their lips were blue, and the fear of the blizzard they’d endured still lingered in their eyes.

Everyone in the living room immediately bustled about.

Some quickly brought out thick blankets to drape over them, while others brought steaming hot tea and food, hoping to help them recover their strength quickly.

In the midst of this busy yet warm atmosphere, a desolate cry suddenly rang out from the crowd.

"Liu Lan! Liu Lan is missing!" Zicao’s voice was filled with terror and panic as she looked around the living room, her eyes full of despair.

Feng Shan, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, felt his heart drop.

He immediately pushed aside the people in his way and rushed over to Zicao.

"What happened to Liu Lan?"

"Khilla, Liu... Liu Lan is gone! I thought she was in another sled. I’ve asked everyone, and no one has seen her." Zicao’s face was a mask of panic, tears welling in her eyes. She gripped Feng Shan’s arm tightly and choked out the words.

"How could she be missing? Wasn’t she with you during the evacuation?!" Feng Shan asked urgently, his voice laced with anger and worry.

Then, he turned to the other members of the Bear Tribe and asked loudly, "Was Liu Lan in any of your sleds when we left?"

"No."

"She wasn’t on our sled."

"The snow was so heavy, we didn’t see Liu Lan."

Everyone shook their heads in response.

"Could Liu Lan still be at the camp? Maybe she didn’t leave with us." Someone suddenly said. The words struck Feng Shan like a bolt from the blue, and his heart dropped again.

A strong, ominous premonition washed over him.

’At the Bear Tribe’s camp, the windbreak walls have been dismantled, and the tents have long since been taken down.’

’Besides, two hours have already passed, and it’s over fifty degrees below zero out there!’

’Liu Lan is just a little girl. If she was really left behind at the camp, how could she possibly survive in these conditions?!’

’Why didn’t I do a headcount before we left?’

At this thought, Feng Shan’s eyes filled with anxiety and self-reproach.

"Liu Lan!"

When Bear’s Fang heard that his daughter was missing, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck him squarely in the head.

A loud ringing filled his ears, and the world began to spin.

This tough man, who had once dared to face down gold thieves head-on, suddenly felt his legs go weak, as if the strength had been drained from them. He pitched forward uncontrollably.

Fortunately, his fellow tribesmen nearby were watching him and quickly caught him.

But Bear’s Fang’s face was ashen, his eyes were vacant, and his lips trembled as he muttered his little daughter’s name, as if his soul had left his body.

At almost the same moment, Feng Shan turned without hesitation and sprinted toward the cabin door.

In the blink of an eye, he reached the doorway and snatched up his stiff, ice-covered hide coat.

The instant Feng Shan moved, Nash followed him with long strides.

Ma Wei, Bear’s Fang, and the other Bear Tribe members were only a beat behind. After a moment of shock, they snapped back to their senses. With a sudden rush, everyone surged forward, their hearts burning with anxiety as they followed.

For a moment, the log cabin devolved into chaos, a cacophony of footsteps and shouts.

But the same anxiety was written on every face; they just wanted to set out for the Bear Tribe’s camp as quickly as possible to find Liu Lan.

Feng Shan quickly threw on the hide coat and deftly fastened the buttons, his movements fluid and unbroken.

Then, he whipped his head around, his gaze as steady as stars in the cold night, and shouted to the panicked crowd.

"You all stay in the cabin and wait for word from me."

"Boss, let me go with you. We can watch each other’s backs." Yves walked up to Feng Shan, his eyes full of earnestness. He tilted his head up slightly to look Feng Shan directly in the eye and spoke with a resolute tone.

"I’m going too!" Bear’s Fang and other tribe members crowded around, chiming in one after another.

Every face was filled with worry and anxiety. Beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads, mixing with the warm air in the room and leaving wet streaks on their cheeks.

"I don’t need you. I can do it alone. More people would just be a burden and slow me down." Feng Shan’s brow furrowed as he flatly rejected their requests to accompany him.

However, when his gaze swept over Nash’s face, he paused.

Nash’s face was solemn, his jaw clenched. The determination in his eyes seemed to say that he would follow even if the sky were falling.

Feng Shan sighed helplessly. "Fine. Nash, you’re with me. Even if I told you not to, you’d follow me anyway."

"Brother Shan, here’s a walkie-talkie. It’s freshly charged; you should be able to use it." Hu Zi hurriedly squeezed through the crowd, holding a walkie-talkie out to Feng Shan. His eyes were full of worry and his voice trembled slightly as he said softly, "Be... careful out there."

"Alright. Wait for my call!" Feng Shan took the walkie-talkie, gripping it tightly in his hand.

Then he stood shoulder to shoulder with Nash, took a deep breath, and together they pulled open the heavy wooden door.

In an instant, a furious wind carrying thick, swirling snow slammed into them, pouncing like a wild, white beast with bared fangs.

Feng Shan and Nash didn’t hesitate for a moment. They resolutely strode out, facing the howling wind head-on.

Standing outside the cabin door, they faced a vast sea of snow. As far as the eye could see, it was a world draped in silver, the boundary between sky and earth nearly invisible.

Looking at the endless wind and snow, Feng Shan’s brows knitted tightly, and he couldn’t help but shake his head helplessly.

’In these conditions, trying to get to the Bear Tribe’s camp on foot is nothing short of impossible.’

’By the time we got there, it would be too late.’

’Liu Lan can’t afford any delay.’

His gaze then searched the surroundings, finally landing on a sled, which was already buried under thick snow.

’This is our only hope now. I just don’t know if it’ll hold up.’

"Nash, we’re taking the sled." Feng Shan then shouted in the direction of the tiger dens, "Tyson! All of you, come here!"

The Tiger Pack, which had just crawled into their snow dens and curled up to rest, immediately perked up at their master’s urgent call. One by one, they emerged from the snow.

...