The sudden shout from the skinny monkey made Zhou Qiqi's heart, which had just settled down, jump into her throat again, and a cold sweat broke out on her back.

Oh no!

She was so focused on passing messages and leaving clues that she completely forgot she should have reminded her aunt to hide the bicycle that had just fallen over.

That old bicycle was lying on its side by the dead bushes. It was such a big target. If it were spotted by that sharp-eyed skinny monkey, everything would be over!

Zhou Qiqi's mind went blank for a moment, and countless terrifying thoughts flashed through her mind:

If the aunt is discovered, what will these desperate criminals do? Kill her to silence her?

How should she explain? Pretend she doesn't know her?

Will her aunt be able to react in time and cooperate with her? Will she just stand by and watch her aunt be in danger?

At this critical moment—

"Woof! Woof woof woof!"

A loud, urgent barking suddenly came from the other side of the woods!

Zhou Qiqi's heart pounded, and she quickly and laboriously twisted her neck to look out through the crack in the car door.

Suddenly, a large black dog appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of Zhou Shuhua's fallen bicycle, baring its teeth and barking incessantly in the direction of the van.

Its sturdy body blocked the bicycle that had fallen behind it. From this angle, all you could see was a fierce big dog; the bicycle was completely invisible.

"Damn! You scared the hell out of me! Turns out it was just some stray dog ​​that popped out of nowhere! What a rotten bastard!"

The skinny monkey was clearly startled by the sudden barking, muttered a curse under his breath, and withdrew his head.

He seemed a little afraid of dogs, frowning as he glanced at the black dog with disdain, seemingly too lazy to investigate further.

With a stomp on the gas, the beat-up van lurched forward, wobbling and speeding away from the woods.

Zhou Qiqi's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down, and she felt almost completely exhausted.

She strained to peer through the gaps in the car and saw the large dog still standing there, barking incessantly in the direction the van had gone, until it completely disappeared at the end of the dirt road.

After the car disappeared, the black dog's barking gradually subsided.

At that moment, a slightly trembling hand reached out from behind the dog and gently stroked the black dog's head.

Zhou Shuhua's figure slowly emerged from behind the bushes. She was pale, one hand supporting her aching back, the other comforting the black dog.

With the support of the large dog, she managed to stand up, her face pale and still shaken as she stared in the direction the car had disappeared.

This dog looks fierce, but it is actually extremely gentle and affectionate. When Zhou Shuhua touched it, it immediately wagged its tail comfortably.

He even adjusted his posture to better support Zhou Shuhua's swaying body.

Despite the excruciating pain in her ankles and knees, she limped back to where the van had been parked, supported by the big dog.

He bent down, picked up the orange button from the dirt, and held it tightly in his palm.

The situation was critical just now, and she couldn't see clearly from behind the tree. She only knew that Qiqi seemed to have thrown something out of her mouth, but she didn't understand what that small button meant.

But this didn't stop her from understanding one thing: this must be an important clue left by Qiqi!

In this family, there is one person who can best understand Qiqi's thoughts and is most likely to glean key information from this small button!

With that thought in mind, Zhou Shuhua no longer hesitated.

She glanced longingly at the fork in the road where the van had disappeared, clenched her fists tightly, and turned to limp toward her bicycle lying on the ground.

She gritted her teeth and tried to lift the bicycle.

But the fall was really hard, and I couldn't use my arms and waist to brace myself. I tried several times but failed.

In the end, he had to use his body to push the car upright to barely manage to straighten it.

She tried to lift her leg to get onto the seat, but her injured leg wouldn't obey her commands. A sharp pain shot through her, and she swayed, almost falling again.

"Waaah..."

The big black dog immediately stepped forward and used its sturdy body to firmly block her.

It bit Zhou Shuhua's trouser leg with its mouth, making worried whimpering sounds in its throat, and looked at her with wet eyes, as if advising her not to force herself.

The dog had suddenly run out of the woods. In her haste, Zhou Shuhua tossed the dog the last piece of snack she had in her pocket, which she had prepared for herself.

She had intended to distract the kidnappers, but she hadn't expected the dog to be so intelligent and understanding. Not only had it helped her, but it was now showing her such concern.

Zhou Shuhua's heart softened. Despite the pain, she reached out and stroked the big dog's fluffy head, saying:

"No, I have to leave. I need to find someone to save my niece, to save Qiqi..."

The big dog seemed to understand, looked up at her, stopped tugging at her trouser leg, and lowered its tail.

Zhou Shuhua was moved and looked around.

It was already early winter, and the outskirts were desolate with no obvious landmarks.

She crouched down, looked the big dog straight in the eyes, and spoke in a pleading tone:

"Good dog, if you really understand, please do your aunt a favor. Be a good boy and stay here, watch over this place for us, okay? I'll bring people back to find you soon! I promise I'll come back!"

She had been chasing after the van with great anxiety, only to have it turn into this unfamiliar woodland.

She was also a little disoriented at this moment, and since the scene at this intersection was pretty much the same everywhere, she really wasn't 100% sure she could find this place again accurately.

The big dog sat there, its dark eyes staring at her. She didn't know if it truly understood her instructions, but she had to seize every opportunity.

She forced herself to calm down, carefully looked around, and tried to remember a few distinctive crooked trees and a strangely shaped large rock by the roadside as landmarks.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!