99: A Lonely Shadow on a Cold River

The viewers in the livestream room, looking at the images on the screen, hadn't reacted yet.

But as the helicopter drew closer, the viewers in the livestream room stared at the zoomed-in footage, dumbfounded.

The bullet comments grew fewer and fewer, until for a long time, there wasn't a single new one.

A full 200 million viewers gazed at the livestream screen, speechless for a long time.

Everyone's heart was filled with shock. What was that???

In the frame, Gao Xiaofan looked exhausted. His right hand alone held the Rebar, while his left arm hung limp and powerless. He looked up at the helicopter in the sky with a smile on his face.

The seven o'clock morning sun hit his face, and combined with Gao Xiaofan's smile, it made people's hearts involuntarily relax.

His smile was infectious, waking the stunned livestream viewers.

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! Can some expert tell me what that is???"

No one answered him because the bullet comments were all filled with similar content; countless people no longer knew what to say.

Some people immediately started taking screenshots, then suddenly thought of something and began screen recording.

Others were frantically sharing the livestream link with their friends and family.

The livestream's popularity kept rising, then plummeted sharply, before skyrocketing once again.

TikTok backend.

"We're constantly redirecting traffic, there are just too many people!" A staff member, with no time to wipe the sweat from his face, stared at the soaring data on the backend, frantically pounding the keyboard and shouting.

"Contact Chunjiang News Station and tell them to open up broadcasting rights. Our platform will cover all the costs!!!"

The supervisor of the data center was constantly shouting and giving orders.

Sichuan Prefecture Observer, Monster City News, Magic City News, and Imperial Capital News immediately started broadcasting. The data for Chunjiang News Station fluctuated wildly before finally stabilizing.

The staff member finally had time to wipe his sweat, thinking he could finally rest, only to see the popularity of the Chunjiang News Station livestream room soar again, triggering the warning line.

The staff member was completely numb, frantically typing again while shouting.

"It's no good, more people are entering the livestream room, even more than before."

The supervisor was stunned for a moment, then roared.

"Shut down the sharing links! Shut them down! Where are all these people coming from!!!!"

The staff member sighed as he watched the popularity slowly decline.

"They're coming from abroad, using VPNs to bypass the firewall."

The people in the data center stared at each other in disbelief, then sighed and looked at the large livestream screen.

In the frame, the debris flow surged. Gao Xiaofan held the rod with one hand, the tip pointing to the sky. Rounds of cloth strips were wrapped between his right hand and the handle section. He stood there like a Sheathed sharp sword, rising and falling with the mud waves as if he were walking on water.

A single phrase involuntarily surfaced in the minds of everyone watching the livestream.

A Solitary Shadow on a Cold River.

*Splash!* A wave surged in front of Gao Xiaofan, and a head the size of a basketball emerged from the water. As if pulled by some force, it lifted uncontrollably toward the sky, exposed to the camera.

The hideous head sent chills down everyone's spines. Looking through the lens, Gao Xiaofan was leaning back slightly, left foot forward, right leg slightly bent. He held the Rebar with one hand, the end of the rods tucked under his armpit, which was already bent to a certain degree.

As the head of the unknown creature rose, its entire form finally emerged from the mud waves.

Gao Xiaofan wasn't floating on the water; he was clearly standing with both feet on a giant monster.

The 80 yuan was just for a modification based on the original image. Next time, I'll try the 350 yuan original painting. I'm ready to switch careers and become an artist! High profits~.

"I'm freaking shivering all over. A Solitary Shadow on a Cold River!"

"What the hell is this??? A soft-shell turtle?? It's a turtle, right?? I'm dying of suspense."

"In a massive livestream room of 200 million people, isn't there a single person who knows what this is? Are you all useless like me???"

"It should be a soft-shell turtle, probably. But are they really this big??? This must weigh several hundred pounds."

...Is it a soft-shell turtle? Gao Xiaofan didn't know what it was either.

Gao Xiaofan looked up at the nearby helicopter with a smile. Had the rescue finally arrived?

If they hadn't come any later, he really wouldn't have been able to hold on.

Feeling the giant turtle beneath his feet trying to dive back under the mud waves, Gao Xiaofan helplessly lifted the rod. An excruciating pain shot through his left arm, causing his body to twitch.

He had a premonition that his left arm might be ruined.

Feeling the giant turtle stop diving, Gao Xiaofan let out a breath, his mind racing with thoughts.

Six hours ago, when Gao Xiaofan was dragged into the debris flow, he was completely dazed. Yet, he gritted his teeth and clung tightly to the unknown creature, being dragged frantically along. Even then, he held onto the fishing rod's handle section for dear life, refusing to let it fall into the mud.

It wasn't until the giant creature stopped and Gao Xiaofan's headlamp shone on it that the scene before him made him feel as if he'd fallen into an ice cellar, chills running down his spine.

A head the size of a basketball, with a pair of small eyes disproportionately set on its face, looking extremely hideous. Hanging from its slightly open mouth was none other than his own fishing line set.

A soft-shell turtle? A turtle this big?

Gao Xiaofan's head was buzzing. Looking at his left hand, he realized he was grasping the giant turtle's tail.

The impact of the mud waves never ceased. Overwhelming amounts of silt and sand surged toward him, constantly flooding into his ears, mouth, and nose.

Gao Xiaofan didn't have much time to think. Subconsciously, he yanked with his left hand to pull himself closer to the giant turtle, intending to climb onto its back.

With a splash, a mud wave rose. The pained giant turtle swung its right flipper near its tail.

*Thud!*

"Ah!" The piercing pain made Gao Xiaofan cry out, but his voice was drowned out by the roar of the mud waves.

His left hand gripped the turtle's soft shell edge tightly as he lunged onto its body.

*Splash~ Thud!*

*Splash~ Thud!*

*Splash~ Thud!*

The right flipper slapped repeatedly. With a mouth full of sand, Gao Xiaofan gritted his teeth, enduring the turtle's blows while clinging to the shell's edge, finally managing to flip himself on top.

Just as he got on, before he could catch his breath, the giant turtle was pressed down into the mud waves again.

Gao Xiaofan quickly crouched and lifted the rod with his right hand. Pulled by the fishing line, the turtle felt pain and was forced to swim back to the surface of the mud.

He opened his mouth to spit out the sand. As for the mud? In his nervousness, he had swallowed it all.

Gao Xiaofan felt the force coming from his right hand and clamped it tightly under his armpit, the rod tip pointing to the sky.

He glanced at his left arm, which hung limply and swayed with the turtle's movements, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Luckily, he had tied it with cloth strips; otherwise, he definitely wouldn't have been able to hold the rods.

*Rumble!* A continuous, massive roar erupted as the small hillside was completely demolished by the debris flow. With the sound of collapse, a colossal wave swept down. Even the giant turtle dodged its brunt, frantically darting to the side.

With no time for thought, Gao Xiaofan could only half-kneel on the turtle's back to steady himself.

The gravel splashed by the giant wave scattered like fireworks. Gao Xiaofan felt the barrage of stones hitting him like cannonballs, his face numb.

He thought frantically to himself, "If I survive this, it would be unacceptable if the Xiushui Mingshan Program Group doesn't reward me. I wonder if that old fellow Cheng Yan has arranged for rescuers yet."