Without delay, Jiang Chan closed the hatch again and started the engine.

The giant steel bird roared into the sky once more, and under the stunned gazes of the crowd on the opposite cliff, it flew back like a divine chariot, landing steadily on the previously cleared ground.

The hatch opened.

"Next batch! Three come up!" Jiang Chan's voice was mechanical.

The crowd on this side of the cliff watched the "iron bird" return, listening to its deep roar, as if they were looking at the entrance to hell. No one dared to move! Everyone knelt on the ground, trembling like leaves.

"You! And you two!" Jiang Chan called out directly, pointing at the relatively calm old woodcutter and the two younger men, "Come up here!"

The three people whose names were called were pale and trembling. They were practically shoved and pushed by those around them as they staggered towards the plane. Under Jiang Chan's icy gaze, they crawled into the cabin, collapsed into their seats, closed their eyes tightly, and muttered, "May God protect us... May God protect us..."

With the engines roaring, the plane took off again.

One trip, two trips, three trips... Jiang Chan, like an emotionless ferryman, piloted this steel behemoth ahead of its time, shuttling back and forth between the two sides of the cliff.

Each takeoff and landing was accompanied by a new round of terrified screams and numb kneeling from the crowd on the cliff edge, as well as the pale-faced fear and bewildered sense of relief among the passengers inside the cabin.

When the last group of people were safely delivered to the other side, Jiang Chan landed on the other side for the last time, turned off the engine, and opened the hatch.

Everyone slumped to the ground, their eyes vacant and their expressions blank, as if their souls had been sucked away by the journey through the clouds.

Only Chen Yan managed to maintain a sliver of clarity, his gaze filled with complex emotions as he looked at the cold, massive object lying silently on the ground, then at Jiang Chan.

Everyone was safe. Jiang Chan looked down at the endless mountain ranges stretching as far as the eye could see. The detector estimated that if they took a plane, it would take at most half an hour to fly out of this damned forest!

However! The plane's enormous engine noise and conspicuous design... once it flies out of the mountains and into areas where people might live... the consequences would be unimaginable! It would definitely attract unimaginable trouble and spying!

It can't fly! She walked to the plane and, under the bewildered yet awe-inspiring gazes of the crowd, reached out and gently pressed her hand against the cold fuselage.

*Whoosh!* An invisible wave appeared again! The enormous steel bird, which had just carried everyone, vanished without a trace, as if swallowed by an invisible maw! Only the trampled grass and the faint smell of engine oil remained in the air!

"ah--!"

"God...the gods have taken the iron bird back!"

"A miracle! It really is a miracle!"

The crowd erupted in suppressed gasps once again! But this time, the horror seemed to have reached its peak, turning into a numb, utter, almost hollow awe.

Many people just stared blankly at the spot where the plane disappeared, forgetting even to kneel down, or rather, losing the strength and the thought to kneel down.

The immense mental shock completely shut down their brains. Chen Yan's pupils contracted to their maximum size! He watched as Jiang Chan casually pressed down, watching the enormous object vanish in an instant…

His attempts to understand and explore were utterly crushed! Only boundless bewilderment and a profound sense of powerlessness remained. This was no longer a world he could comprehend.

As dusk fell.

"Rest where you are, start a fire and cook." Jiang Chan's voice broke the silence, as calmly as if nothing had happened. She walked to an open space and, as usual, reached into her tattered bundle.

dig.

A bag of glistening white rice.

Take it out again.

A large piece of fresh pork with alternating layers of fat and lean meat.

Keep digging.

Pots, pans, bowls...

The movements were fluid and graceful.

This time, there were no gasps or murmurs from the crowd. Everyone watched in silence, their eyes vacant and their expressions numb. It was as if watching the fairy take rice, meat, pots and pans out of her bundle was the most natural thing in the world.

Some people even mechanically got up and silently went to find firewood. The campfire was soon lit. The rice and water in the pot began to boil, chunks of meat were cut and put in, and a rich aroma of meat filled the air.

But the entire camp was shrouded in an eerie silence. No one spoke. No one talked. The only sounds were the crackling of the burning firewood, the bubbling of the pots, and the soft chewing and swallowing as people silently ate their allotted food.

Chen Yan chewed his meat silently, finding it tasteless. Zhou Shi leaned against him, her eyes still somewhat unfocused. Xiao Tao quietly sipped her meat porridge. Everyone just kept their heads down, eating mechanically.

Their gazes sometimes swept blankly over Jiang Chan, sometimes stared emptyly at the spot where the plane had disappeared, and sometimes glanced fearfully into the deep, dark forest that seemed to hold countless unknowns. Awe, fear, bewilderment, and the numbness of surviving a catastrophe…

A mix of emotions coalesced, ultimately settling into a stagnant silence. They didn't know where they were, how much longer they had to walk, or what the future held.

All they knew was that following the "fairy" who could summon and recall iron birds, and conjure rice and meat out of thin air, was the only straw they could grasp—a illusory yet real path to "living." The meal was eaten in complete silence, like a last supper.

The wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys looked particularly eerie in the deathly silent mountain forest...