Chapter 289 Bears

In the hallucination, the cold wind blew through the six people stranded on the top of the mountain like a knife, and everyone was blown into a mess by the strong wind.

An Zhaoyan silently zipped up her snow suit and wrapped herself tighter.

She calmly surveyed the chaos. The newly developed ski resort's emergency facilities were indeed riddled with loopholes.

The road down the mountain was covered with thick snow and was fraught with danger. Staying and waiting was the only rational option.

"This crappy place is new. Apart from a few nice ski slopes, there's nothing else you could ask for."

"The snow on the way down the mountain is so thick it could bury a person. It's not regularly maintained, there are no lights or railings, and walking down in the dark is like walking to your death!"

......

A group of people could only huddle in the platform that was leaking air from all sides, cursing and hoping that the cable car would be repaired quickly.

She leaned aside, not joining in other people's complaints, but just quietly watched the cable car with the indicator light off, her eyes under the goggles as calm as water.

However, accidents happened one after another.

First, the mobile phone signal disappeared completely, and then the strong wind suddenly intensified, making a deafening roar!

The roof of the cable car room was blown off!

Ice and snow came crashing down on us, and the temperature dropped sharply.

An Zhaoyan quickly lowered her head to avoid it. The cold snow foam stuck to her eyelashes. She frowned slightly, but remained calm.

"We can't wait any longer! We will freeze to death if we stay here all night!" someone shouted, and panic spread quickly.

At this moment, a scream tore through the wind and snow: "Bear! There's a bear over there!"

The crowd exploded instantly and instinctively fled down the mountain.

An Zhaoyan was also caught up in the crowd, and she quickly glanced back.

On the snowy mountaintop, a huge black shadow was vaguely visible.

Her heart sank as she immediately assessed the situation. Staying behind would likely lead to encountering wild animals, while blindly descending the mountain would be equally dangerous. However, for now, she had no choice but to follow the group.

An Zhaoyan suppressed the tension in his heart, steadied his breathing, turned decisively, and swiftly followed the fleeing team.

......

The hallucination scene switched instantly.

Frost formed on An Zhaoyan's goggles, blurring her vision. She gasped heavily and ran wildly. Behind her, the terrifying sound of footsteps, crushing dead branches and as dull as drums, was rapidly approaching!

She turned her head suddenly, and her pupils under the goggles suddenly contracted.

A brown bear as big as a hill was lowering its head, digging the snow violently with its strong limbs. Its eyes flashed with bloodthirsty ferocity, and it locked its eyes on her, the lone prey.

Hot white air gushed out in streams from its flared nostrils.

Without any hesitation, An Zhaoyan clenched his teeth, veins on his forehead appeared, and pressed all his strength onto the ski poles.

The skis shot forward, plowing a chaotic trail through the knee-deep snow.

The roar of the beast behind him made the snow in the forest fall down!

The next scene in the hallucination made Xia Lili terrified!

An Zhaoyan dragged an almost numb leg, moving in the knee-deep snow with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

Her thick snow suit was torn to shreds, and the blood that seeped out quickly solidified in the extreme cold, turning into a dark red ice shell that covered several hideous claw marks.

Every breath tasted of blood and ice, burning her throat.

It was obvious that An Zhaoyan was scratched by a bear!

Finally, her knees gave way and she fell forward heavily, sinking into the icy snow.

Xia Lili noticed that there was a wound on An Zhaoyan's lower back, which was a little different!

Unlike the tearing wound caused by the bear claws, the wound was more regular and deep, with relatively flat edges, leaving a small and deep hole, surrounded by coagulated dark blood.

The last scene of the hallucination.

On the snowy mountain, the sky was already slightly brightening. A huge roar in the sky came from far away and got closer. A rescue helicopter painted with a red cross broke the silence and landed on the snow. The propeller rolled up snow foam all over the sky.

The rescuers quickly jumped down and ran towards An Zhaoyuan, who was lying motionless in the snow.

After a quick check by the team doctor, the movements gradually slowed down and eventually stopped.

He shook his head silently and whispered to his teammate beside him. His voice was unusually clear in the empty snow. "Excessive blood loss, severe injuries, severe hypothermia... There are no vital signs."

The predicted scene of doom receded like a tide. Xia Lili suddenly opened her eyes. Her rapid breathing had not yet calmed down when her sight eagerly caught sight of the tall figure that was about to go away.

An Zhaoyan was walking towards the cable car platform alone.

Xia Lili's heart tightened, and without time to think, she immediately hurried after him.

"Sister An, wait for me!"

Xia Lili shouted, trying to sound relaxed and excited, "I also want to go to the advanced track to broaden my horizons!"

An Zhaoyan stopped and turned around, a cold look of suspicion and caution in her eyes. "You? But the advanced track is very steep, there's no area suitable for beginners."

"You have no experience, it would be very dangerous to go up there."

Xia Lili had already thought of what to say. A smile of anticipation appeared on her face, and her tone was a little playful: "I'm not going there to skate! I want to watch you masters perform stunts!"

"Anyway, this is my first time skiing today, so it's unlikely I'll have a good time."

"But isn't it more cost-effective to see a master perform for free? It's like watching a live broadcast!"

An Zhaoyan was amused by her twisted logic and raised the corners of her mouth slightly, and the coldness in her eyes melted a little.

She pondered for a moment, her eyes meeting Xia Li's expectant gaze, and she finally nodded: "Okay, follow me closely."

She took Xia Lili with her, introduced her to the "Black Diamond Road" on the top of the mountain, helped her buy cable car tickets, and took care of Xia Lili like an older sister.

As she walked towards the cable car entrance, Xia Lili subconsciously slowed down her pace and took out the small round mirror she carried with her from her pocket.

She glanced quickly at herself in the mirror.

The moment their eyes met, there was no sign of any terrible foreboding. Her tense heartstrings relaxed slightly, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Xia Lili quickly sorted out her thoughts.

She decided to go up the mountain immediately. The cable car broke down after dark.

This means that the cable cars until then were at least safe.

It was only 2:30 PM, and there were still at least three hours until dark. As long as they could find out the situation on the mountaintop before 5 PM and bring An Zhaoyan down before then, they could prevent her from being killed by a bear.

More importantly, she had to go up there herself and carefully check the real situation on the top of the mountain.

Who are the people on that black diamond premium track?

Will there be anyone who would talk to An Zhaoyan or even form a partnership with her?

In Xia Lili's foreseen scene, in addition to the two cable car workers and An Zhaoyan, there were three other people who were trapped and forced to go down the mountain together, a total of six people.

The two staff members in charge of cable car operations] cannot be ruled out as suspects at this time.