I Received Messages From Future Self!
Chapter 428 - Chapter 428 Chapter 424 Still Alive

Chapter 428: Chapter 424 Still Alive! Chapter 428: Chapter 424 Still Alive! Everything returned to calmness, but the underground vault laboriously constructed by the Pawnshop, after dozens of Sprite Ball Bombs exploded, had collapsed extensively. The ancient city ruins above ground had not been spared either, all overturning and leaving a vast pit, the remaining subterranean structures now perilous houses on the verge of falling beneath the sand…

Rustle, rustle–

After an unknown amount of time, a pile of burgeoning rubble suddenly began to heave incessantly.

“Roar!”

“Get out of my way!”

A roar emanated from beneath the debris.

Immediately thereafter, the stones rolled away.

Rustle, rustle–

A man covered in dust, heaved several hundred pounds of fragmented rubble aside and emerged from the earth.

Due to excessive exertion, the man’s muscles stood out in sharp relief, and wounds on his back, carved by the rocks, were bleeding profusely.

“Cough, cough…”

The man coughed up a mouthful of blood.

He swayed, looking like he might topple any moment.

“Princess Your Highness…”

This man was none other than Taotie, who had been buried alive.

Taotie bent down to lift the unconscious Fang Xiaocao, staggering across the ruins toward an open area.

Now that the collapse had ceased, the once ideal refuge had become hazardous. The walls on both sides that hadn’t fallen were unstable and looked as if they would crumble at any moment.

Taotie couldn’t survive being buried alive again.

He wasn’t sure if he had the strength to heave off the heavy rubble once more.

Reaching right above where the vault was, Taotie lacked the energy to go further. Holding Fang Xiaocao, he sat down on the ground, gasping for air.

“Cough, cough…”

Taotie coughed up blood again.

He looked at Fang Xiaocao, whose eyes remained tightly shut.

“Princess Your Highness…”

He tried waking Fang Xiaocao.

Fang Xiaocao showed no reaction to Taotie’s shouting, not moving at all. If it weren’t for the slight rise and fall of her chest, Taotie would have thought his Princess Your Highness was dead.

“Maybe I should try slapping her a couple of times?”

Taotie murmured to himself.

Taotie was a man of action.

Believing that action spoke louder than words, he raised his hand high, preparing to deliver a slap to Fang Xiaocao comparable to the shock of a defibrillator.

Just then, Fang Xiaocao’s eyelids suddenly twitched, her eyeballs moved beneath them, and she abruptly opened her eyes.

“What are you trying to do?”

Fang Xiaocao stared at Taotie’s raised hand and asked pointedly, word by word.

With an embarrassed “heh heh” laugh, Taotie lowered his hand, “Nothing, just… my shoulder hurts, just stretching it out…”

Taotie made an excuse that even he didn’t believe.

Fang Xiaocao squinted her eyes, fixing her gaze on Taotie.

Taotie’s eyes darted around guiltily, avoiding Fang Xiaocao’s stare.

Seeing how sheepish Taotie was, Fang Xiaocao knew very well that this simpleton had wanted to hit her.

Too lazy to argue with the simpleton, Fang Xiaocao struggled to get up and surveyed her surroundings.

What met her eyes was a desolate expanse of ruins.

Fang Xiaocao’s heart went cold.

However, she could still feel the psychic bond with Tom, which slightly soothed her anxious heart.

Fang Xiaocao knew, as long as the psychic bond remained, whether Tom was injured or not, at the very least he was alive, and being alive meant there was hope for a reunion.

Not only was Tom’s psychic bond present, but so was the bond with Brainless.

This meant Brainless, too, was still alive.

He hadn’t been crushed to death by the collapse of the vault.

“How badly are you hurt?”

Having confirmed that Tom and Brainless were alive, Fang Xiaocao looked towards Taotie and asked softly.

Taotie, sitting on the ground, shook his head and stretched a smile, “It’s nothing serious, just some internal injuries.”

Watching Taotie wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Fang Xiaocao’s eyes lowered, knowing Taotie was more hurt than he let on.

“Don’t push yourself, rest for a while.”

“Xinyan’s reinforcements should arrive soon.”

“Before Tom came, he had Xinyan rent a helicopter for immediate support and mobility; by my calculations, it should be flying over here soon.”

Fang Xiaocao whispered.

“It’s always Old Tom who thinks everything through.”

Taotie grinned as he spoke.

Mentioning Tom, Taotie’s gaze shifted to the ruins, a flicker of sadness passing through his eyes.

Taotie didn’t know hypnotism, so unlike Xiaocao, he couldn’t establish a psychic bond to sense Tom’s safety.

In Taotie’s heart, even if Tom hadn’t been killed by the explosion, the chances were slim for him to survive being buried in the ruins.

Let alone such a massive explosion…

Could Tom really have made it out unscathed?

Taotie shook his head.

In his mind, it was impossible.

Unless…

Suddenly, Taotie’s eyes lit up, and he looked toward the vault he was sitting on.

Unless… before the explosion, Tom had already figured out the secret of the vault door and hid inside the vault during the blast!

“Is it possible?”

Taotie asked himself.

“Anything is possible!”

He answered his own question.

With this thought, Taotie couldn’t contain his urge to verify his speculation.

Ignoring the pain in his body, he sprawled over the vault, pounding on it with his fists.

Bang bang bang–

The vault thundered under Taotie’s pounding.

“Old Tom, are you in there?”

Taotie shouted as he hammered away.

After a few hits, Taotie would press his ear against the vault, straining to hear any response from Tom.

Seeing Taotie’s actions, Fang Xiaocao was stunned, then her face lit up with realization.

“How could I not have thought of that!”

Xiaocao exclaimed in surprise.

Xiaocao had never imagined that her mind would be slower than that of Taotie, this simpleton.

Xiaocao immediately laid down on the vault as well, picked up a stone, and began hammering hard.

Seeing Xiaocao’s actions, Taotie shook his bloody hand and silently picked up a stone.

After knocking for a while, Xiaocao and Taotie would stop to listen.

If they heard no response, they would continue knocking. They weren’t just hitting the vault; they were tapping for Tom’s comfort. These knocking sounds were an expression of their deep concern for Tom.

Xiaocao didn’t know how long they had been knocking, her hands felt sore, and the stone in her hand was so heavy.

Thud–

Just then, a loud noise came from the vault beneath them.

Xiaocao and Taotie both froze.

Thud–

The vault sounded again.

Xiaocao and Taotie exchanged glances, both revealing ecstatic expressions.

“Princess Your Highness, it’s Old Tom, it must be Old Tom, he’s still alive…”

Taotie cheered jubilantly.

Xiaocao nodded, tears of joy streaming down her face.

Tom was indeed alright.

At first, she feared that though Tom might be alive, being buried under the rubble, he might have been severely injured, and she wasn’t sure if they could still rescue him alive. A secondary collapse could have doomed Tom completely.

Now, knowing that Tom was inside the vault, Xiaocao felt relieved.

At the very least, they didn’t have to worry about a secondary collapse causing more harm to Tom.

As long as they could open the vault before the oxygen inside was depleted, Tom would be safe.

Xiaocao wiped her tears, took a deep breath, and forced herself to calm down: “Taotie, use Morse code to ask Tom how he is, if he’s injured, and how long the oxygen will last.”