Hao Yun’s words essentially exposed the rescue worker’s intention to turn hostile, immediately creating a tense atmosphere. However, when the others saw Hao Yun unceremoniously use a single palm to push back the clown-dressed tiger rescue worker, who stood at 1.93 meters tall and weighed at least 250 pounds, causing him to stumble several steps before falling due to an unstable center of gravity, the remaining two rescue workers also showed not only anger but considerable surprise. Clearly, Hao Yun’s easy handling of the rescue worker demonstrated his formidable strength.

“You, you actually dared to push me?! I see you're itching for a fight!” The rescue worker, equally surprised to be knocked down by someone much smaller, was further incensed and immediately got up, ready to fight Hao Yun.

“Enough! Stop messing around! Do you know what time it is? Why are you adding to the chaos?” At this moment, the third rescue worker suddenly shouted sternly.

Upon hearing the severe rebuke, the rescue worker rushing towards Hao Yun abruptly halted, his body trembling. He fearfully glanced at the rescue worker who had shouted, then turned and gave Hao Yun a vicious glare before reluctantly lowering his fist and returning to the other two rescue workers.

(At this point, the author rubbed their temples and said: “Alright, dear readers. To avoid confusion about these three rescue workers, I'll give them each a name!” “Uh— everyone pay attention, since the rescue worker who shouted is a white tiger, we’ll call him ‘White Tiger.’ The one examining the tiger brother, we’ll call ‘Doctor.’ And the hot-tempered one, we’ll simply call ‘Hot Temper.’” The author wrote with satisfaction at the names chosen.

“Hey? You’re finally appearing? Where have you been all this time?” Hao Yun asked curiously upon hearing the author’s off-screen voice.

“Hey! I’m talking to you, why aren't you answering? Hey? Where are you?” Seeing the author not respond as before, Hao Yun, inexplicably dissatisfied, continued to question.

“I’m just helping readers distinguish between the three rescue workers for better understanding of this confusing mess of a story. I don’t know anything else,” the author muttered, then vanished again.

“What the heck? Being all mysterious.” Hearing the author’s nonsensical remarks, Hao Yun pouted and turned his attention back to the matter at hand.)

At this moment, after reprimanding Hot Temper, White Tiger approached and checked the tiger brother’s corpse, then turned to Hao Yun and Dream Jia with a respectful smile and slightly bowed to apologize: “Friends, please calm down. Hot Temper is just a quick-tempered guy who often offends people, so please don’t take it to heart. If he offended you, I, White Tiger, apologize on his behalf.”

Seeing someone step in to mediate, Hao Yun felt a bit relieved. He knew that with his own strength significantly suppressed, getting into a fight would only complicate things. Thus, maintaining harmony to ensure the mission's success was crucial. He waved dismissively at White Tiger, indicating he wouldn’t hold a grudge.

Meanwhile, Hao Yun privately messaged in the system channel: “It seems they’re quite hostile towards us, which probably means their purpose isn’t as simple as the village chief said.”

“Indeed. It looks like a confrontation with them is inevitable. We must be extra cautious with these three,” Dream Jia agreed, also feigning a casual smile at White Tiger, indicating acceptance of the apology.

“Ho ho ho! It was all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! This hot-tempered brother must have been emotional seeing an old comrade fall. We can understand such feelings, so White Tiger, there’s no need for an apology. We’re all here to rescue and help the village chief find herbs, with no competition between us. Clearing up the misunderstanding is enough!” Dao Lao, a master of mediation and diplomacy, also spoke up with a broad smile to avoid the atmosphere turning cold again.

Apparently the highest-ranking among the rescue workers, White Tiger nodded in agreement and exchanged friendly banter with Dao Lao, thus resolving the minor conflict. With both sides stepping back, they turned their attention back to the deceased tiger brother.

Hao Yun composed himself and took the lead in asking: “Little Tiger, did your uncle say anything before he died about how they encountered danger? Did he mention where others might be?”

Hiding behind Dream Jia, Little Tiger fearfully shook his head and replied: “No. When I saw my uncle, he was already dying. He didn’t even recognize me, just shouted for someone to go up the mountain and save people as soon as he saw someone enter the tent. Then he just... started crying.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Recalling the scene of his uncle’s death, Little Tiger began to sob again.

Dao Lao silently approached the tiger brother’s corpse and, using the remaining function of the Mei Ling Energy Tracking System, performed a basic autopsy. The system’s detection showed the injuries on the tiger brother were indeed caused by immense external force, and his heart had indeed stopped just before the group arrived.

Simple reasoning suggested that the tiger brother had suffered severe injuries from a sudden calamity in the forest, enduring the excruciating pain of multiple fractures to escape to the tent for help. Unfortunately, his life, already severely drained, did not last until the seven arrived to hear his account of the danger.

Dao Lao shared his thoughts on the injuries found on Tiger Brother's body, to which White Tiger nodded in agreement. Then he asked, "Little Tiger, do you remember the path your family took up the mountain? Since your uncle urged you to go up the mountain to save people before he died, it means there might be other survivors up there. If we can reach the incident site quickly, we might be able to find your parents."

Hearing this, Little Tiger's eyes lit up. He quickly ran out of the tent and pointed to a section of the forest where a large landslide had occurred, saying, "If Little Tiger remembers correctly, my parents were heading up the mountain from there! Let's go quickly!"

As Little Tiger was about to run towards the shining forest, Dream Jia quickly grabbed him and said, "Little Tiger, come back! Don't run around, it's dangerous there!"

"That's right. Little Tiger, don't be in a hurry. We need to first confirm if the road ahead still shows signs of landslides before we can proceed. Otherwise, we'll have to find another way up," Dao Lao said, calming the anxious Little Tiger. He then signaled Hao Yun to scout the area ahead where the landslide occurred.

White Tiger also signaled Hot Temper to accompany Hao Yun and Dao Lao to inspect the landslide site. Meanwhile, Doctor silently carried Tiger Brother's body to an open area not far away and built a stone grave using the rocks fallen from the landslide to bury him.

"The landslide ahead is quite severe. The soil on the mountain surface is very loose and unstable, with a high risk of another slide!" Dao Lao and Hao Yun soon returned with the system's survey data on the mountain and reported their findings to the group. Hot Temper, who had seen the situation for himself, also agreed with their assessment.

"Alas! In that case, we’ll have to find another path up the mountain!" White Tiger said with a sigh, looking at the debris-covered mountain.

Hao Yun frowned slightly and asked, "Aren't you specialized rescue personnel? But it seems like you’ve never been here before?"

White Tiger shrugged and replied, "Alas! The three of us are just temporary workers appointed by the village chief as 'rescue personnel.' Although villagers from Yinmu occasionally encounter accidents while out, such incidents are not very frequent. Severe accidents causing multiple casualties like this one are extremely rare, perhaps once in a century, so the village never established a professional rescue team. In case of an exceptional accident, we just form an ad hoc rescue team."

"Additionally, due to the nature of the Shining Forest, no one except the 'chosen ones' is allowed to enter without the village chief’s permission. So, the three of us have never been here either. That's why we're somewhat at a loss when facing this severely collapsed forest," White Tiger continued, slightly embarrassed.

After hearing White Tiger's explanation, Hao Yun nodded in understanding. Meanwhile, he also confirmed his previous guess that Little Tiger’s family were indeed the 'chosen ones' based on White Tiger’s statement.

"Little Tiger knows another way up the mountain, on the other side of the Shining Forest. My father mentioned that although the ridge there is very steep and dangerous, it's a good place to gather mushrooms. The predecessors who went there to pick mushrooms carved a convenient path up the mountain," Little Tiger suddenly pointed to the other, intact side of the forest and said.

"Oh? Do you know the exact location of that path?" White Tiger asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course, Little Tiger knows. After we arrived here, my father took me to play at the foot of the Shining Forest while setting up camp. Using his knowledge, he found the barely noticeable entrance to that path," Little Tiger said confidently, gesturing towards the direction of the mountain path.

"In that case, for everyone's safety, we'll have to take the more secure route up the mountain. Little Tiger, you’ll lead the way," White Tiger suggested, seeing Little Tiger’s confidence. Hao Yun and the others had no objections.

Thus, with consensus reached, the six of them followed Little Tiger's lead, spending almost a whole day bypassing the debris and fallen wood at the foot of the Shining Forest. After wading through a stretch of icy, bone-chilling stream water, they finally reached the backside of the Shining Forest.

Upon arrival, they were stunned by the sight before them. The backside of the Shining Forest was a sheer cliff seamlessly merging into a steep escarpment. The ground seemed to abruptly stop, creating a neat cross-section forming an almost ninety-degree angle, plunging into an unfathomable abyss. The other side of the cliff was completely obscured by dense fog, making it impossible to see what lay beyond.

"This should be the boundary of this world. Judging by this, the area of this mission map isn’t very large," Hao Yun remarked.

Dao Lao carefully approached the cliff's edge, peered down, then looked at the endless mountain peaks and the deep, unmeasurable ravine on either side. "Interesting. Judging by this, the world we’re in is surrounded by such cliffs. The Countess likely uses this natural barrier to prevent us from escaping."

"So, if we want to leave here, we must find a way to get the boat ticket from the village chief and successfully board Elysium Island," Hao Yun said. Dao Lao and Dream Jia nodded in agreement, sighing heavily as they realized that while it sounded simple, achieving it would be incredibly challenging.