Reborn in the 80s, Get Rich by Eating Melons
Chapter 564: Encounter Danger 1

Chapter 564: Chapter 564: Encounter Danger 1

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After soaking in the water for a full day, their clothes were damp. Fortunately, after a few hours on the wooden plank, their clothes had warmed and dried. However, at night the temperature sharply dropped, and the three of them, Tong Yao, huddled together shivering in the cold.

Guo Jinnian took the first half of the night as watch, while Tong Yao and Han Enzhen slept first. Despite the cold, they were too fatigued from the day’s events and soon fell into a deep sleep.

The surrounding darkness was eerily quiet, and Guo Jinnian began to regret watching so many horror films the night before. Now she couldn’t help but feel that monsters would appear from the night sky at any moment to tear her apart.

As she started to doze off to the sound of Tong Yao and Han Enzhen’s even breathing, she was suddenly dragged off the wooden plank and into the water before she could react. Her hands and feet were restrained, her arm was excruciatingly painful as if it had been twisted off, and her head was forced underwater.

This was a life-threatening situation, and Guo Jinnian’s mind filled with despair. Tong Yao and Han Enzhen didn’t know martial arts. Facing an attacker this ruthless without her protection, how would they escape?

After swallowing a considerable amount of dirty water, Guo Jinnian quickly passed out, blood presumably coming out from her neck area.

Tong Yao, who was in a deep sleep, felt something was amiss and reached out, only to touch nothing. Instantly awake, she found herself engulfed by darkness.

Instinctively, Tong Yao grabbed the wooden stick lying next to her. In the dim light, she made out a figure standing beside the wooden plank. The figure was neither petite nor Guo Jinnian. Fear struck her heart, and she swung the stick hard at the figure.

Knowing the figure meant them harm, she didn’t hold back. She struck the man with the stick, stunning him momentarily. Before he had time to react, she hit him again with the stick. This time, he blocked her attack with his arm and proceeded to grab for her stick.

His arm felt as hard as stone, numbing her hand. He only grunted in pain but seemed otherwise unharmed. Seeing Guo Jinnian being pulled underwater, her heart sank. Even as she fought with the man, she shouted out.

"Han Enzhen, wake up!"

Han Enzhen was awoken by the noise and was shocked by Tong Yao’s cries. Before she could understand the situation, she heard Tong Yao shout again: "Quick, get Jinnian out of the water!"

Tong Yao’s only hope at that moment was that Guo Jinnian might have merely fainted - if they could get her out of the water and perform artificial respiration, they might be able to revive her.

Han Enzhen was stunned, took a quick look around, and saw Tong Yao flailing her stick at a man. She didn’t understand what was happening and couldn’t find Guo Jinnian.

Seeing Han Enzhen still not moving, Tong Yao shouted, "She’s in the water - get her out, quickly!"

"Oh!"

Han Enzhen finally understood and quickly dove into the water. With one person missing on the wooden board, it started to tilt. Tong Yao instinctively moved to the center, but the man took advantage of the moment and managed to grab the stick. He jerked it, which caused Tong Yao to fall on the wooden board. She instinctively protected her stomach and felt a sharp pain in her scalp as the man grabbed her hair and lifted her up.

Just as Han Enzhen had managed to pull Guo Jinnian from the water, she noticed that Tong Yao was under the man’s control. She quickly placed Guo Jinnian on the wooden board and jumped on the man’s back, grabbing at his hair. The man loosened his grip on Tong Yao and reached out for Han Enzhen.

Tong Yao, seizing her chance, kicked the man between the legs. The man crouched over from the pain, enabling Tong Yao to attempt another blow. However, she heard the man calling for his companions in English.

They could barely hold their own against one man, let alone several. Tong Yao kicked at the man again, and once he fell back into the water and started struggling, she hurriedly yelled to Han Enzhen, "Run!"

Without waiting for a response, she shoved Guo Jinnian onto the wooden board and they fled. Han Enzhen, who had been momentarily stunned, rushed after Tong Yao as she left her line of sight.

The two of them did not dare to stop, and they kept pushing Guo Jinnian forward. After a while, they could hear the sound of men shouting for each other. Tong Yao was grateful for the cover of darkness that gave them the chance to escape.

Since they could no longer see the men, presumably they couldn’t see her and Han Enzhen either. While they were walking, they encountered a rapidly flowing body of water. The plank they had was almost swept away, so she grabbed Guo Jinnian and let the plank be carried away by the current into the basement.

Han Enzhen couldn’t understand Tong Yao’s move. "Why did you throw away the plank?"

Tong Yao whispered, "The plank’s too conspicuous - it could give away our position."

Han Enzhen stared in admiration, "Yaoyao, you’re so smart."

Tong Yao didn’t reply as she was preoccupied with the search for a place to check Guo Jinnian’s condition.

Luckily, dragging someone through the water wasn’t too physically taxing. The man was strong and muscular, and they could potentially catch up very quickly. If they had torches, there would be nowhere for the three of them to hide.

With this in mind, Tong Yao guided Han Enzhen to a nearby building, "See if this door will open."

Han Enzhen tried it out and shook her head, "It won’t."

So the two of them continued hauling Guo Jinnian, testing multiple doors until they finally found one they could open. In the darkness, they managed to carry Guo Jinnian up to a second-floor platform.

Tong Yao gently patted Guo Jinnian’s face, "Jinnian, Jinnian...."

Han Enzhen could sense the unease in Tong Yao’s voice and whispered in reassurance, "She should be okay. She isn’t stiff at all; she’s still soft..."

As her words hung in the air, the atmosphere in the room grew tense. Quickly realizing her mistake, she explained, "I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. I just wanted to comfort you."

Tong Yao silently ordered, "Go keep watch at the window."

"Oh!" Han Enzhen agreed. She went up to the window and looked out. Immediately she reported back anxiously, "I see a flashlight. It’s about a hundred meters away."

While Tong Yao performed CPR on Guo Jinnian, she looked up at Han Enzhen and whispered, "Don’t let them see you and don’t move unless they approach this building."

"Okay."

Han Enzhen quietly monitored the flashlight’s movements from the window.