CHAPTER 382: CHAPTER 382 TEMPORARY REMEDIAL MEASURES

Sometimes, when you’re worried about someone, you can still manage to maintain some rationality as long as you haven’t seen them or heard their voice.

But the moment you see them, hear their voice, and realize they’re in a dangerous situation, most people tend to lose all reason.

That’s exactly what Wei Lejun was experiencing now. Even before Lian Qi appeared in front of her, just hearing his panicked cries for help completely threw her off, causing her to step forward and—right in front of everyone—stick one foot into the freezing river water.

Huang Chengzi hurriedly stepped forward to grab Wei Lejun: "Are you insane? This river is so cold! What if you catch a cold?"

Sometimes, only during an emergency, can people truly pinpoint their own unsettled emotions.

At this moment, Wei Lejun was very certain: she was worried about Lian Qi, but she didn’t want anyone else to catch on to what she was thinking. She shook off Huang Chengzi’s hand and snarled, "Stop blocking me! I need to see if it’s that bastard Lian Qi. He just tricked me out of my boat, and I have to settle the score with him!"

Sang Ning snapped her fingers at Wei Lejun: "Settle the score by jumping into the water? That’s a first for me. Don’t tell me you’re planning to go in to rescue Lian Qi or something!"

"Don’t talk nonsense! I just want revenge!" Wei Lejun retorted excitedly.

Meanwhile, the distressed cries were getting closer by the second. Soon, a figure appeared on the river—it was Lian Qi, piloting his foam boat back!

"I’m about to crash into someone! Move aside! Make room! Make room! Hurry and clear the way!"

"Wei Lejun, why are you standing there like a log? Move aside now! Do you want me to crash into you or what?"

Lian Qi’s foam board boat was speeding toward the shore where Sang Ning and the others stood, as if it had been fitted with a booster engine.

The river was narrow; if Wei Lejun didn’t move quickly, Lian Qi’s boat would collide with her in seconds.

But since it was just a foam board boat, Wei Lejun wasn’t the least bit scared.

Upon seeing Lian Qi alive and well, without any signs of danger, Wei Lejun finally felt a bit relieved. But she immediately remembered her beef with him.

So, she spread her arms wide, waded further into the river, and tried to block and flip over Lian Qi’s boat.

Huang Chengzi covered her head with both hands and turned to Sang Ning, her expression growing increasingly dazed: "They’ve gone crazy. Sang Ning, have they all lost their minds?"

"Wei Lejun! You and I are sworn enemies!" cried Lian Qi, his voice escalating into a screech as the foam board boat collided with Wei Lejun.

Foam boards are light and relatively harmless; nothing happened to Wei Lejun, but Lian Qi was sent tumbling into the water.

His entire body plunged straight into the river, and by the time he crawled out from the freezing water, he was drenched from head to toe, water dripping non-stop from his short hair.

The foam board boat didn’t flip so easily; instead, it spun around wildly, circling behind Lian Qi in erratic loops!

The image of the foam board boat spinning uncontrollably in the water, coupled with the two drenched and miserable individuals staring daggers at each other, was utterly pitiful.

Lian Qi considered himself far from fragile, but the bone-chilling cold that seeped into his very core made him want to burst into tears.

This water is fucking freezing!

Cold enough to make Lian Qi’s teeth chatter and his eyes rimmed red from the frost, giving him the appearance of someone on the verge of crying.

Wei Lejun had initially planned to slap Lian Qi across the face, but seeing him in this pathetic state made her hesitate.

But that moment of compassion lasted for only a second, as Lian Qi suddenly latched onto her.

Clinging to her like a koala, he practically hung onto her entire body: "I’m freezing! I’m going to freeze to death! Can we hug each other for warmth?"

Wei Lejun clenched her fists and gave Lian Qi’s back a solid thump, threatening him: "Let go of me, or I swear I’m going to kill you!"

Despite trembling from the cold, Lian Qi couldn’t help teasing Wei Lejun: "I don’t believe you have the heart. You didn’t even fight me over the supply boat, and now you want to kill me?"

"I’ll kill you right now!" Furious, Wei Lejun was truly at her wit’s end. Did she even have a chance to fight for the supplies?

When Lian Qi escaped earlier, he moved with the speed of a monkey—impossible to catch!

"Lian Qi, can you please carry her to shore? If you make her catch a cold, someone’s going to come after you!" Sang Ning finally couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up.

Who in their right mind flirts in water this icy?

"Fine, I’ll give Sang Ning some face and won’t argue with you!" Lian Qi reluctantly took the cue, scooping up Wei Lejun and carrying her to shore.

But it didn’t end there. Once Lian Qi was back on land, Sang Ning pointed toward the foam board boat that was still spinning on the water and ordered Lian Qi, "Since you’re already wet, you might as well fish out that foam board boat too!"

Of course, Lian Qi wasn’t happy about this. He raised his chin in defiance as he looked at Sang Ning, his expression full of rejection.

Sang Ning narrowed her eyes slightly, issuing a warning: "Don’t make me kick you back into the water!"

And with that, Lian Qi jumped back into the river with a blank expression, swam a few strokes, and grabbed hold of the foam board.

Just then, the foam board suddenly broke into several large chunks. Lian Qi chose the biggest piece and prepared to drag it ashore.

But Sang Ning, standing comfortably on land, issued an unyielding command: "To protect the environment, you need to pick up all the foam pieces!"

Lian Qi’s face darkened. This is absolute bullshit—Sang Ning was treating him like a cleanup crew.

Even though he was displeased, he had no choice but to follow Sang Ning’s instructions and drag the remaining large foam pieces onto the shore.

As Sang Ning had suspected, one of the foam pieces indeed had a booster engine installed. She stepped forward, pressed its switch, and finally silenced the buzzing noise.

"Did the first batch of supplies include something like this?" Sang Ning asked curiously. If she remembered correctly, there wasn’t supposed to be anything like a booster engine in that sack.

"Oh, this? Let me tell you all about it!" Talking about the booster engine seemed to strike a nerve with Lian Qi, whose tone became unusually animated.

He omitted the part about fighting with Wei Lejun over the foam boat, focusing instead on how he had been duped by the program crew.

Apparently, while he was rowing his boat halfway across the river, the drone that had been monitoring him suddenly issued a warning.

It informed him that his homemade boat lacked a crucial adhesive and that the adhesive from the sack wasn’t nearly enough, increasing the risk of the boat dissolving at any moment. For his safety, he was instructed to return to shore immediately.

To ensure he got back quickly, the crew sent a supply drone to deliver the booster engine, allowing Lian Qi to return to shore before the adhesive dissolved.

Sang Ning stared at Lian Qi, her expression complicated: "So, with the booster engine, couldn’t you have skipped turning back and made a beeline for your destination? You might already have landed by now!"