Chapter 354: Extreme Descent, Into the Inferno!

The moment those words echoed, everyone’s hearts clenched.

They had celebrated too soon.

What would happen during the descent? With one side of the glider gone, a crash seemed inevitable.

But while everyone was still discussing it, Wang Yun had already plunged into the thickest part of the smoke. Blinded mid-air, he could see nothing. A sticky, acrid sensation clung to his nose and mouth, making it hard to breathe. His chest tightened, and dizziness clouded his head.

“Wang Yun, can you descend from your position? The six people who called for help should be right beneath you. But I’ve lost contact with them,” Li Long’s urgent voice crackled through. 

His concern ran deep—both for the trapped survivors and Wang Yun’s safety. Yet, he trusted Wang Yun completely.

“I should be able to!”

Hack! Cough, cough!

The thick smoke scorched Wang Yun’s throat, triggering a fit of coughing.

“Stop talking! Just follow my instructions,” Li Long ordered, his voice tense.

Wang Yun dove without hesitation. The most critical moment had arrived.

As the onlookers watched in nail-biting silence, Wang Yun gripped the glider’s controls and plunged straight down—sixty degrees, like a diver cutting through the sky.

Flames below? He didn’t care.

He shot down, fearless and reckless, leaving the crowd holding their breath in terror.

A deafening impact shattered the tension three seconds later.

It wasn’t the sound of a hard impact, it was Wang Yun hitting a tree branch. The branch snagged his glider, tearing his clothing on the frame.

‘Got it!’ Wang Yun thought, relieved.

This was his plan all along—to catch the branch and break his fall. But he had been flying blind, gambling on pure instinct.

Luck was on his side once again.

Everyone watching exhaled a breath they hadn’t realized they were holding. He did it. No one expected Wang Yun to pull off an emergency landing using a tree branch.

Without wasting a second, Wang Yun pulled out a bottle of water from his pack. It wasn’t for drinking. It was stream water he had collected earlier—meant for washing up, but now it had a better use.

He tore seven strips of fabric from the glider’s sail and soaked them thoroughly. Wrapping one around his mouth and nose, he shielded himself from the thick smoke—enough to move through the burning forest.

Wang Yun jumped down from the branch.

“What are their names?” he asked, his voice low and urgent.

Li Long, along with the livestream viewers, could barely see anything. Through the hazy screen, they felt the oppressive heat and suffocating smoke.

“The caller’s name is Xiao Qiao,” Li Long replied quickly. He was already coordinating rescue efforts—firefighters had reached the foot of the mountain and were carrying equipment uphill. A helicopter was en route.

“Xiao Qiao!” Wang Yun shouted at the top of his lungs.

But after only a few steps—

A sharp, splitting noise rang out above him.

A massive, flaming tree branch crashed from the sky, slamming down, blocking his path.

The sudden crash of the burning branch forced Wang Yun to stumble back two steps. But behind him—whoosh!—a shower of fiery leaves rained down, cutting off his retreat.

Surrounded by flames, he frowned. Staying here too long was not an option. He had to find them—fast.

Through the smoke, he navigated step by step, using the shifting shades of gray to guide him.

Even with his special skateboard shoes, he felt the heat searing through the soles. The rocky ground was scorching. If this had been a forest floor covered in dry leaves, everything would already be a sea of fire.

***

Meanwhile, six people huddled together at a small mountain stream, crouching in the middle of the shallow water.

The so-called stream was barely more than a ditch, the water reaching only their waists.

Around them, the forest burned fiercely, flames encircling them from all sides. Even the lone escape route—a boulder near the bank—glowed red-hot from the heat.

“What do we do, honey? Are we really going to die here?”

A short-haired woman’s voice trembled with fear, her makeup long smeared by tears streaming down her face.

Beside her, a man stood equally terrified.

“We called for help! Why aren’t they here yet?”

“Call them again!”

The woman—Xiao Qiao—clutched his arm tightly, her other hand gripping a phone. But her arm, flushed pink from the blistering heat, shook with exhaustion.

The searing air had scorched her skin, and the water around them was warming rapidly.

“I’ve got no signal!” she shouted, panic rising.

The others checked their phones in desperation.

“Mine’s dead! It got soaked when I jumped into the water!” someone replied, voice cracking with despair.