37: Chapter 37 You've blocked the entrance so tightly, how are we going to get out at night?

She walked over to Su Qingxue's side and crouched down naturally, "President Su."

Su Qingxue opened her eyes and glanced at her.

Wang Lan's face wore a hint of a helpless, bitter smile, like a virtuous wife cleaning up a mess for her husband.

"Chen Jian is just stubborn, a dead-headed person who holds onto one fixed idea and wouldn't budge even if you pulled him with ten cows."

Wang Lan paused, then changed the subject.

"However, if you look at it from another angle, since he insists on going, just let him go. It's no loss to us anyway."

Su Qingxue's gaze flickered slightly.

Wang Lan continued softly, "He's willing to brave the forty-five-degree high temperature to do physical labor, and he can bear the risks himself. Once he picks up the firewood and brings it back into this rock crevice, won't these supplies ultimately belong to you for unified allocation?"

"Just in case... I mean just in case, if the rescue is delayed by half a day or a day due to weather reasons, we'll also have a backup heating plan. You don't have to pay anything, and you get a batch of supplies for free—it's a guaranteed win-win deal. Don't you agree?"

These few words struck Su Qingxue's fatal weakness.

Having a background in finance, Wang Lan knew all too well how to calculate accounts with capitalists.

Transfer the risk, gather the profits.

No boss could refuse such a zero-investment, high-return proposal.

More importantly, this upheld Su Qingxue's absolute right to rule.

Su Qingxue's tense jaw relaxed. She glanced at Wang Lan, her gaze holding a hint of appreciation.

This woman was simply smart.

"Let him go," Su Qingxue said indifferently, her voice not loud, but enough for the few people around to hear clearly, "However, the rules must be set. He insisted on going out himself, so if any accident happens, such as heatstroke and fainting, the team will not be responsible for rescue. Our water and medicine are limited and cannot be wasted on people who don't listen to commands."

"Understood. Thank you for your understanding, President Su."

Wang Lan nodded submissively.

She retreated to her original position and sat down.

Her gaze swept past the crowd, looking towards the direction outside the rock crevice where Chen Jian had disappeared.

...

Halfway up the mountain, inside the Karst Cave.

Lin Fan forcibly pushed the last piece of rock, weighing over a hundred pounds, to the right side of the cave entrance.

Accompanied by a teeth-gritting friction sound, the stone locked seamlessly into the reserved position.

The cave entrance, which was originally over two meters wide, was now more than half blocked by a waist-high stone wall.

Only at the very top and left side was an inverted "L"-shaped gap about thirty centimeters wide left open.

This provided ventilation and smoke exhaust while reducing wind resistance to a minimum.

"Bang."

Song Ya threw the last large bundle of dead branches she was holding in her arms onto the ground.

She looked like she had been fished out of water; her torn white shirt clung tightly to her body, revealing the outline of her underwear underneath.

Her cheeks were flushed red from the heat, and she was panting heavily.

"Th-this is the last trip." Song Ya slid down against the rock wall and sat, her voice hoarse.

Lin Fan glanced into the depths of the Karst Cave.

The bone-dry Mangrove Forest dead branches, shrub twigs, and large pieces of tree bark had already piled up into a small hill.

It was enough to keep a big fire burning for a full two days and two nights.

"Enough."

Lin Fan picked up the bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to Song Ya.

"Take a couple of sips, don't drink too much."

Song Ya took the water, raised her head, and gulped down two mouthfuls.

The water trickled down the corner of her mouth into her neck, and she finally felt like she had come back to life.

She looked blankly at the stone wall Lin Fan had built.

"Lin Fan... Why did you block the cave entrance so tightly? How are we going to get out tonight?"

"Get out?"

Lin Fan sneered, walked to the cave entrance, and looked past the gap in the stone wall towards the sky outside.

[Time remaining until the extreme cold wave strikes: 1 hour 15 minutes.]

[Current ambient temperature: 46.5°C (Peak reached)]

[Barometric pressure: Plummeting rapidly.]

[Warning: A strong convective cloud cluster has cut into the airspace above the island.]

Lin Fan raised his head.

The western skyline had disappeared.

In its place was a huge, oppressive wall of dark clouds.

The clouds were as thick as lead blocks, with dark red lightning faintly winding through them, yet not a single sound came over.

Lin Fan withdrew his gaze and walked back inside. This angle was just right to see the desperate expressions they would have tonight.

Chen Jian dragged the firewood and carried the embers left from last night, walking into the rock crevice.

Inside the rock crevice.

The temperature was maintained at around thirty degrees.

Compared to the forty-six-degree hell outside, this place was simply paradise.

Dozens of people were lying haphazardly on the ground.

When Chen Jian walked in, the sound of dragging firewood sounded exceptionally harsh in the quiet rock crevice.

"Oh man!"

Lao Li from the Finance Department, who was sleeping near the cave entrance, was startled awake and sat up abruptly, just as a puff of dust kicked up and choked into his mouth.

He began to cough violently.

Everyone opened their eyes.

Chen Jian threw the two large bundles of firewood onto the ground.

With a dull thud of "Bang," the dry soil and stone chips on the ground were sent splashing.

"Are you fucking sick in the head?!" Wang Qiang immediately stopped fanning himself, pointed at Chen Jian's nose, and cursed bitterly, "Everyone is resting, what are you making such a big commotion for? Are your bones itching for a beating or what?"

Liu Feifei covered her nose and mouth in disgust and shrank back a bit.

"Such a strong stench of sweat... Hey you, can you stand further away? This place is already poorly ventilated, and you've brought all the heat from outside inside."

"Exactly, no one stopped you if you wanted to suffer, but why did you have to get everyone covered in dust?"

Su Qingxue frowned slightly.

Looking at Chen Jian's mud-stained and disheveled appearance, an instinctive disgust arose in her heart.

"Chen Jian. I won't stop you from gathering firewood, but you've disturbed everyone's rest."

Chen Jian's hand paused for a moment.

He raised his head and looked at Su Qingxue. In those bloodshot eyes, there was not a shred of reverence.

"President Su, the clouds outside have already pressed in."