On the mountainside above the cliff was a sizable flat area. Though covered in vegetation, the gaps between the plants were wider than in the dense jungle.

After flying for nearly twenty meters with Hua Mu on her back, Luna was forced to land there. Hua Mu tumbled ungracefully from the unicorn’s back. The massive waves had brought a “downpour,” and by the time Hua Mu hit the ground, she was soaked to the bone. The awkward landing sent a sharp pain through her calf, and the supplies in the basket fell on top of her, making her see stars.

Ignoring it all, Hua Mu dragged her injured leg to the edge of the cliff and screamed down below, “Bai Zhen, Bai Zhen!”

But the only reply was the roar of the waves, the splintering of the jungle, and the commotion of countless animals. The area below the mountain had become a vast ocean, with only the crowns of the tallest trees visible. The water was so murky that it was impossible to see what lay beneath. Hua Mu clung desperately to the cliff’s edge, calling Bai Zhen’s name over and over.

Luna drew close to her side, letting out soft whinnies, seemingly worried for Bai Zhen and the ice wolf.

“Bai Zhen, sob, sob, Bai Zhen!”

Hua Mu’s vision blurred with tears as she cried herself hoarse.

Time ticked by. The giant waves continued to batter the island relentlessly. A massive amount of seawater surged inland, unable to recede, and the water level kept rising.

“Bai Zhen…”

Hua Mu was on the verge of despair, wrapping her arms around Luna’s neck and sobbing her heart out.

“You liar, you liar, Bai Zhen!”

Luna showed a hint of sorrow, nuzzling and licking her cheek in a low murmur, as if to comfort her.

Suddenly!

As if sensing something, the unicorn’s ears shot straight up, and she let out a happy cry toward the base of the cliff.

Hua Mu instinctively looked down to see the murky water begin to bubble as if it were boiling.

“Bai Zhen?!”

Her voice naturally couldn’t travel far under the circumstances, but as if hearing the call, the Sentinel finally broke the surface. She was clinging to a huge block of floating ice. The moment she emerged, she leaped high into the air and threw a grappling hook attached to the end of her military knife toward the cliff face.

Bai Zhen’s movements were fluid and seamless as she deftly secured herself to the cliff.

“Bai Zhen, Bai Zhen!”

Hua Mu was ecstatic, leaning so far over the edge that half her body was in the air.

Bai Zhen climbed rapidly. Although she was submerged by waves several times along the way, she ultimately made it to the mountainside.

“Bai Zhen!”

The Sentinel was soaked and disheveled, her shoulder-length black hair tangled together, and her exposed skin was covered in dark bruises.

Hua Mu threw her arms around her in excitement.

“Bai Zhen, Bai Zhen!”

Bai Zhen’s body temperature was very low, and she was shivering uncontrollably.

“Bai Zhen, are you okay?” Hua Mu frantically ran her hands over her body, trying to check for injuries.

Bai Zhen exhaled a frosty breath. “I’m fine, Miss. Let’s find a place first…”

She had expended a great deal of mental energy this time, and her body temperature had dropped too low. There was no telling how long the tsunami would last; they had to find shelter quickly.

Seeing that Bai Zhen was safe, Hua Mu breathed a sigh of relief. But with that relief came a much deeper awareness of the pain in her calf.

“W-wait, my left leg really hurts.”

Bai Zhen quickly examined her left leg. Her once fair and slender calf was now red and swollen, an ominous sign.

The more Hua Mu focused on her leg, the more it hurt. When she saw the state of her injury, she grew terrified.

“Is my leg broken? It hurts so much!”

An injury like this meant she clearly couldn’t ride Luna again. Besides, every exertion from Luna would also increase Hua Mu’s own burden.

Bai Zhen applied a quick cold compress to Hua Mu’s leg, then steeled herself and lifted her into her arms.

“Miss, I’ll examine you properly later.”

“Sob… I-I know. Let’s go…”

Hua Mu nestled against the Sentinel’s chest, gritting her teeth against the pain.

Bai Zhen suddenly remembered something and said to her, “Please reach into my underwear…”

The Sentinel was only wearing a set of undergarments, and only now did Hua Mu notice that her chest seemed fuller than usual.

Did Bai Zhen suddenly have a revelation?

But even if she had, now wasn’t the time for that sort of thing. She was in so much pain and so tired; she didn’t have the energy for it right now.

“Wh-wh-what did you say?”

“Miss, I found a little thing in the water. I don’t know how it is. Can you help me take it out and check on it?”

As if to confirm Bai Zhen’s words, the fabric covering her full chest stirred, and a small, furry, soaking-wet head poked out from the soft gap.

It was a tiny kitten with grayish-brown fur and black stripes. Its round, yellow-green eyes made it incredibly cute, but it didn’t look to be in good condition at the moment.

In the midst of her escape, the Sentinel had managed to save a rusty-spotted cat. The little creature had obediently hidden in her underwear, only now poking its head out.

At such a perilous time, the sight of such a small, fragile life was both a surprise and a deeply moving sight for Hua Mu.

“You saved a kitten?”

Animals were fleeing the great disaster in droves; even now, small creatures were constantly scurrying past them.

Hua Mu carefully took the rusty-spotted cat from Bai Zhen’s chest and cradled it in her arms, gently warming it.

Like the Sentinel, the little one’s body temperature was a bit low. It was sneezing and shivering.

Seeing that the kitten was unharmed, Bai Zhen relaxed slightly and ran toward the jungle, carrying Hua Mu. The situation below had worsened, but thankfully, the two of them were temporarily safe.

There was a fairly large, flat area on the mountainside. After walking only a short distance, Bai Zhen discovered something quite strange and out of place.

The jungle on the mountainside was much sparser than the one below, to an almost abnormal degree—just like the coconut grove. And right in the middle of this jungle stood a dilapidated, abandoned wooden cabin, half-collapsed and overrun with all sorts of plants. Although its original appearance was almost unrecognizable, it was undoubtedly a man-made structure.

The place had clearly been deserted for a long time and was certainly not suitable as a temporary shelter. Behind the cabin was a rock wall, and hidden among the lush green vines, the opening of a cave was faintly visible.

At some point, it had started to rain again. The raindrops mixed with the sea spray from the tsunami, carrying a salty, fishy smell.

“What is this?”

The cold compress and the comforting presence of the rusty-spotted cat had temporarily distracted Hua Mu from the pain in her leg, and the appearance of the cabin came as a great shock.

Bai Zhen was not without curiosity, but she knew when to indulge it, and now was clearly not the time for investigation.

They urgently needed a place to shelter from the rain. The rainwater was not good for her, with her persistently low body temperature, nor for the injured Hua Mu.

“Let’s take shelter in the cave first.”

A cave in a tropical rainforest was by no means synonymous with safety, so Bai Zhen was especially cautious. She knelt on one knee, setting Hua Mu down on her thigh. Then she took off the basket on her back and pulled out a stick with its tip wrapped in dried grass and resin.

Firewood was often damp and difficult to light in the rain, so Bai Zhen had specially prepared this torch to deal with such a situation. The large amount of resin would act as a better accelerant, allowing it to be lit easily even in a light drizzle.

Hua Mu sat carefully on the Sentinel’s leg, holding the kitten with one hand and wrapping the other around her neck as she watched her light the torch.

“Should we go take a look?”

Bai Zhen took the kitten, now warmed by Hua Mu’s body heat, and placed it on her own shoulder before handing the torch to Hua Mu.

“Miss, I’ll carry you on my back. Could you please hold the torch?”

Enduring the sharp pain in her leg, Hua Mu shifted onto Bai Zhen’s back, protecting the still-weak rusty-spotted cat with one hand and holding the torch with the other.

Bai Zhen slowly approached the cave. After listening for a moment and determining there were no large creatures inside, she took out her dagger and cut away some of the vines. There was a faint smell of sulfur in the cave, but otherwise, the air didn’t seem stale. The mouth of the cave was slightly higher than the ground, which would serve well to keep water out.

Bai Zhen carefully examined the cave walls and noticed what looked like signs of artificial excavation. The cave might not have been carved out by hand, but it had certainly been modified.

Hua Mu swallowed nervously, tightening her grip on Bai Zhen’s neck and carefully sandwiching the rusty-spotted cat between them.

The cave seemed very deep; the torchlight couldn’t reach the end. In the dim light, Bai Zhen could see something piled up in the back.

The ground and cave walls were covered in moss and lichen. The air was a bit cold and damp, but not to an uncomfortable degree. Under normal circumstances, it would be an excellent place to escape the heat.

“Bai Zhen, what’s in there?”

Hua Mu didn’t have the Sentinel’s sharp vision and couldn’t see the situation inside the cave clearly at all.

“This might be a storage room.” Perhaps thanks to the smell of sulfur, the cave was clean, with no signs of long-term animal habitation.

Bai Zhen walked a little further in, and the torchlight gradually illuminated the scene inside.

It was indeed a storage room. Under several collapsed shelves were scattered numerous containers—iron boxes, wooden crates, and earthenware jars. The shelves weren’t completely destroyed; the wooden planks seemed to have undergone some kind of treatment and hadn’t fully rotted away.

Now was not the time for exploring. Bai Zhen used her bare hands to pull off a few of the already loose wooden planks and carried them back near the entrance to use as a mat against the damp ground. She then spread a canvas from the basket over them.

Both of them were utterly exhausted and desperately needed to rest and recover their strength.

Bai Zhen’s body still hadn’t warmed up, and the overexertion made her ache all over. But Hua Mu’s injury was her greater concern. Ignoring her own condition, she gently placed Hua Mu down on the canvas.

“Miss, let me see your injury.”

The pain had made Hua Mu somewhat numb; she felt as if her entire lower leg had lost all sensation. Not daring to look at her own leg, she cradled the rusty-spotted cat and asked in a tearful voice, “Is my leg… is it going to be ruined?”

Hua Mu’s calf was swollen to an alarming degree. Bai Zhen’s expression grew grave as she carefully felt her shinbone.

“Ah!!!”

The moment her hand made contact, Hua Mu let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Bai Zhen’s heart sank.

“Bai Zhen, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!!”

Without a doubt, her tibia was fractured.