187: The Unnamed Mountain

"I'm telling the truth! You're on the mountain too; don't you care about your own life anymore?" Ai Yue said coldly.

"Who told you we're still on the mountain? We returned to the Safety Tower days ago. Let me tell you, Ai Yue, stop your little tricks. Even if the mountain collapses, Xiheng won't go! You're not allowed to call Xiheng ever again!"

Cheng Siyu finished harshly and slammed the phone down.

Having hung up on Ai Yue, Cheng Siyu said with a sinister expression, "No one is allowed to ruin my engagement ceremony, not even the gods themselves, let alone you, Ai Yue!"

After being hung up on, Ai Yue's brow furrowed so deeply it could have crushed a fly.

Was this woman crazy? She had long since stopped associating with Gu Xiheng; couldn't she see that? Why was she still treating her like an imaginary rival?

What was even more irritating was that she didn't even pass on the message. They might not be on Nameless Mountain, but there were still many soldiers there building the sub-district. Did she not care about them either?

Fortunately, she still had Gu Yan's contact information, so she immediately called him. Absurdly, another woman answered the phone.

"Who is this?"

"Hello, I'm looking for Uncle Gu Yan. This is Ai Yue, I have an urgent matter to discuss with him," Ai Yue said steadily.

On the other end of the line was Gu Xiheng's mother, Madam Gu. When she heard it was Ai Yue, her brow furrowed slightly.

She had long heard of Ai Yue's name, not only from her daughter's mouth but occasionally from Gu Xiheng and Gu Yan as well.

"Is there something you need? He's been very busy lately. You should know he's busy with post-disaster reconstruction and building the sub-district. Plus, Xiheng and Siyu are getting engaged, so he has no free time. If you have anything to say, you can tell me just the same!"

Madam Gu spoke with a polite but distant tone.

Ai Yue was speechless, but she repeated herself anyway.

"You're saying there will be a disaster at Nameless Mountain? That it will be very dangerous and we should evacuate the people?"

"Yes!"

"And how can you be so sure?"

"I can't go into detail, but what I'm saying is true. I hope you'll take it seriously!" Ai Yue urged patiently.

"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that your vague explanation is too hard to believe," Madam Gu said dismissively.

Sensing the hostility in the woman's tone, Ai Yue grew angry and said bluntly, "I'm not asking you to believe me. I'm just asking you to pass the message to Uncle Gu. I believe he'll make his own judgment. If you don't pass it on and something happens, I don't know if you'll be able to take responsibility! Madam, pass it on if you want, or don't."

With that, she hung up the satellite phone. Ai Yue was afraid that if she spoke another word, she would crush it in anger.

Ai Yue looked down at Gong Qiuqiu; he was still in a half-dead state.

She looked back at the calm Nameless Mountain, feeling increasingly uneasy the more she looked.

She picked up Gong Qiuqiu and quickly moved further away.

Meanwhile, Ai Yue called her parents again. They were packing their things. Ai Yue told them to leave everything and get down the mountain immediately, but their only escape pod was still there.

Ai Yue slapped her forehead; how could she have forgotten that?

There was no other way. Ai Yue told them to come down first while she went back to retrieve the escape pod.

The escape pod couldn't be abandoned; it had to be recovered.

Unexpectedly, before she could hang up, a sudden change occurred.

The entire Nameless Mountain suddenly began to shake, and even the surrounding area started to tremble.

Anxious, Ai Yue tried to run up the mountain, but the tremors grew so violent that she couldn't move quickly.

She could only shout into the phone, "Get into the escape pod, quick!"

"Got it! We're right by the escape pod and have already gotten inside. Don't worry!"

Hearing Ai Guosheng's words, half of Ai Yue's heart returned to its place, while the other half remained suspended in mid-air.

Seeing that she couldn't help and that the tremors where she was were intensifying, she had to look out for herself first and find a safe spot.

She continued carrying Gong Qiuqiu as she ran further away, only stopping when she felt the vibrations subside.

From her current position, she could only see a third of Nameless Mountain. Ai Yue set Gong Qiuqiu down and watched the mountain tensely.

Nameless Mountain was heaving violently, as if something inside was trying to burst out.

Just then, Gong Qiuqiu shook his head and woke up. Opening his eyes, he saw the distant mountain splitting apart, with boulders tumbling down.

"What's happening?" Gong Qiuqiu asked weakly.

Without even glancing at him, Ai Yue replied, "It's exactly what it looks like. The mountain is splitting!"

"Where's my brother?" Fully awake now and not seeing his brother, Gong Qiuqiu asked in a panic.

Ai Yue said with a grim expression, "He was afraid you'd die, so he had me stay and watch over you while he went to tell my parents to get off the mountain. Who knew it would be too late? He's trapped on the mountain."

"What?" Gong Qiuqiu sprang up from the ground. "He's still on the mountain?"

Seeing the mountain disintegrating, Gong Qiuqiu's heart sank, and his face turned deathly pale.

"Don't panic. My parents have an escape pod. He's with them, so he's safe for now," Ai Yue said.

"He's in the escape pod too?" Gong Qiuqiu looked at Ai Yue with a glimmer of hope.

"Rest assured, he is! And you don't have to worry about the quality of the escape pod; it'll remain unscathed even in a magnitude ten earthquake."

At this moment, he could only trust Ai Yue.

But he still couldn't help worrying. His heart was wrenched with anxiety for his brother, causing him immense pain.

A thunderous "Rumble!" startled them both, and they hurriedly looked toward Nameless Mountain.

A massive cloud of smoke and dust rose from the peak, obscuring the nearly collapsed Nameless Mountain.

"We have to save Gong Qiumu and the others," Gong Qiuqiu said, about to run toward the mountain.

Ai Yue grabbed him. "Wait!"

"Wait for what? We need to save them!" Gong Qiuqiu was frantic.

"Calm down! Look again!" Ai Yue shouted.

Calming down slightly, Gong Qiuqiu fixed his gaze.

The entire collapsed summit of Nameless Mountain continued to shake violently before suddenly sinking, revealing a massive hole. The earth instantly stopped trembling.

Ai Yue and Gong Qiuqiu looked at each other, seeing mutual confusion in their eyes.

Was it over?

Just a mountain collapsing?

The two of them looked at the mountain that had abruptly gone still, feeling that something was off.

But since it had stopped, they could go look for the missing people.

Ai Yue pulled the exhausted Gong Qiuqiu toward Nameless Mountain.

Just then, with a loud "Crack!", a terrifying claw suddenly reached out from the deep pit.

The two of them stood frozen in shock. What was that? Not even a prehistoric monster could have a claw that big.