They couldn't see very clearly, so everyone picked up their flashlights and discovered that there was another road ahead that seemed to have no end. Chang Tingfeng and Ning Yizhan walked in front, with Qiu Hu following behind Ning Yizhan, who was leading the way. The rest of the people walked behind.

After walking nearly two kilometers, they finally saw light—sunlight, exactly what they had been waiting for. Their pace quickened, and with each quicker step, they were getting closer to emerging from the burrow. They also heard a continuous stream of birdsong, which was getting closer and closer to them as well.

Qiu Hu and A Yi recognized the sounds immediately. "What's this?" "The woods?"

Finally, they emerged from the ground, surrounded by trees and the increasingly loud calls of birds.

Chang Tingfeng never expected to end up here. "I never imagined that blind spot would lead directly here."

"How many people know about this tunnel?" Ning Yizhan asked, implying that the person who took Zhao Shi away must be someone familiar with Lake Creek Island.

“My dad definitely knows, but he’s already dead. The only ones left are the people on this island.” He couldn’t help but look towards Qiu Lake.

Unfortunately, Qiu Hu didn't know, "and I didn't know either."

Ayi agreed, "Then we have even less to know!"

"Perhaps only they know," Ning Yizhan thought, that was the only possibility.

But Qiu Hu still understood, "Impossible, how could they be here?"

"Then let's look again!" Ning Yizhan felt that the probability of Qiu Hu believing what he said was not high.

Ayi was the first to call out, "Zhao Shi," but no one responded; however, a few birds were startled and flew away.

"..."

"Let's split up and look around, but don't get separated or lose our way! Keep in touch." Qiu Hu figured that just standing there wouldn't do any good, so they started to split up and search for clues.

"Ah Hu, I'll go with you!" Ning Yizhan saw that Qiu Hu seemed a bit down and was worried about leaving her alone, so he went with her.

The two randomly chose a direction, with Ning Yizhan following behind her. "Ah Hu, don't be nervous, everything will be alright."

"Were there many birds here before? Or did you just not notice them before?" Ning Yizhan looked at the birds flying all over the sky and found them incredibly noisy.

"No, it was only recently discovered that there are so many birds, and their numbers seem to have increased a lot. It's because the trees in the forest have been growing very fast recently. They weren't as lush before, but now it seems like they've entered their period of rapid growth."

"Do you remember what I said, 'man-made'?"

Qiu Hu truly understood what Ning Yizhan meant; he suspected his parents were in the woods. "Why do you think that?"

“Ah Hu, because you haven’t experienced days when it was hard to survive. People can really do things that are beyond their own and others’ expectations just to live.” Ning Yizhan recalled those unforgettable years of his own, and realized that he himself had been the same.

"Are you serious? It'll be like you said? But how can we survive here?" Qiu Hu looked at the trees all around, it was practically impossible!

Looking around, there was no one around, no food or drink, and nothing of importance.

"There's always a way. Maybe they have something important they haven't taken care of!"

"Maybe, let's see if there are any clues!" Qiu Hu continued walking forward.

Suddenly, a bird flew over their heads. After passing over Qiu Hu's head, the next instant, Qiu Hu felt a slight weight on her arm, and it felt warm. She looked down and saw a warm clump of bird droppings on her arm. "Huh, what's this?"

Qiu Hu's expression froze; she felt like she was about to crack open.

Why is she so unlucky? What's going on?

Ning Yizhan only heard her voice, and when he turned around, he saw her astonished face and her arm that dared not move. He couldn't help but laugh, and took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe her clean.

"Clean it up a bit more, huh?" Qiu Hu said with a look of disgust.

Ning Yizhan was finally able to see so many expressions on her face, and replied with a smile, "I know, you won such a hard-to-win prize, that's amazing! What luck!"

"..." Do you want this luck?

At this moment, neither of them noticed the middle-aged woman who had been watching them flirt not far away. Upon seeing them, she hurried back to her place.