"Niannian!"
Dai Xiaomei shrieked, turning to see Zhou Niannian smiling at her.
Behind Zhou Niannian stood Jiang Fan, carrying a bird's nest-like object on his back, hands casually in his pockets, looking incredibly dapper.
The sun shone from behind Jiang Fan and Zhou Niannian, casting a halo around them.
They looked as sacred as saints adorned with halos.
"Wuwuwu! Niannian!"
"Wait, wait, is this a hallucination? I need to touch you to be sure."
Dai Xiaomei pounced, tackling Zhou Niannian to the ground and patting her all over.
"Wow, it's really Niannian, not a hallucination!"
"No, no, this Niannian is fake. The Niannian I know is a D-cup."
"Fake, your head! I've never been a D-cup."
Zhou Niannian kicked Dai Xiaomei away and stepped on her face.
"Are you crazy from being roasted by three suns? I need to wake you up."
Dai Xiaomei's face was flattened by the pressure, but she laughed heartily.
"Haha, it's real Niannian, it's real!"
Zhou Niannian was just teasing, and quickly removed her foot.
Dai Xiaomei sprung up like a carp, and immediately threw herself at Zhou Niannian.
"Haha, that's great, you're alive, it's really great!"
Over there, Yao also excitedly rushed towards Jiang Fan, the two men clasping hands firmly.
No need for many words between men; their excited eyes conveyed more than a thousand.
Then, Jiang Fan and Yao embraced tightly.
In the livestream, there was silence. The viewers seemed to be still processing what had happened.
They watched Zhou Niannian and Jiang Fan suddenly appear on screen, their lips moving, but no words coming out.
After a long moment, the livestream erupted into wild cheers.
"Hahaha! That's great, Jiang Fan and Sister Zhou are fine!"
"All four of them are fine, a perfect happy ending!"
"Almighty gods, I thank you."
"Oh no, I just traded the rest of my lifespan for Jiang Shen and Sister Zhou's safety."
"Forget it, your lifespan is worthless. Jiang Shen and Sister Zhou ensured their own safety through their skills."
In the dormitory, Zhou Ye, who had been listless, suddenly jolted upright.
He looked at Jiang Fan and Zhou Niannian on the screen, and his hand trembled as he reached out to touch the screen.
His movements were so careful, as if the figures on the screen would vanish at the slightest touch.
After rubbing the screen with his hands multiple times, he shouted at Lin Yang,
"They're fine! My sister and Jiang Fan are fine!"
"Haha, Jiang Fan, though I hate to say it, I really thank you this time!"
Zhou Ye knew that it was impossible for Zhou Niannian to have escaped on her own; Jiang Fan must have played a crucial role.
"Roar! I told you, Jiang Shen and Sister Zhou would never die!"
Lin Yang, usually composed, couldn't help but roar.
The two men high-fived each other with immense force!
"Hoo!"
"Ha!"
"JoJo pose!"
They struck a cool JoJo pose in front of the computer screen.
After hours of anxious waiting, the hearts of Zhou Ye and Lin Yang, which had been in their throats, finally relaxed.
Jiang Fan's team was complete. Even under the scorching sun, their passion seemed to outshine the heat.
Around Jiang Fan and the others, lizards, snakes, and strange frogs stood up on their hind legs and applauded.
"Hiss hiss hiss."
"Croak croak croak."
"Quack quack quack!"
These animals made all sorts of strange noises.
"These animals are so weird!"
Dai Xiaomei pouted.
Speaking of animals, Dai Xiaomei suddenly remembered!
"Where's the panda?"
Everyone looked at each other. They had been so caught up in their own relief that they had forgotten about the panda.
"Don't worry, the panda came out of the secret realm. It knows the secret realm better than we do."
"Besides, it's the panda of the God of War Chiyou."
"I really don't think a mere avalanche could do anything to the panda."
Honestly, Jiang Fan had great confidence in the panda. It had remained unfazed even when facing a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
He was sure the panda would rejoin them soon.
Zhou Niannian nodded, also having great faith in the panda's survival skills.
The viewers in the livestream shared the same sentiment.
"The panda of the God of War Chiyou has lived for thousands of years, it's practically a spirit!"
"You can't say that. Didn't you see Bei Pai Si Shu's diary? A cloned panda was eaten by a Tyrannosaurus Rex."
"That was a clone, our little panda is a real panda."
"Exactly, you'll see plots like 'Panda Descends the Mountain,' 'Panda's Return,' 'Panda Cultivates Immortality in the Secret Realm' soon."
"And 'Panda as the Son-in-Law,' get lost, get lost."
The group sat down, and the strange reptiles brought them woven, fibrous materials to use as cushions.
"That's weird, why are these reptiles being so nice to us?"
"We haven't given them anything."
Zhou Niannian murmured.
"Could they be like the panda, divine beasts with spirits? Are they the lizards, frogs, and snakes that Chiyou rode back then?"
"Seeing us as majestic as gods, they worship us."
Dai Xiaomei's imagination ran wild.
"I don't think so. Their eyes don't look friendly, more like fawning."
Jiang Fan's eyesight was sharp. The reptiles' eyes were like those of ancient treacherous officials looking at a foolish emperor.
Treacherous officials would only show such eyes if they had ulterior motives.
"I suspect they're waiting for us to die so they can eat our corpses. Maybe they haven't had meat in a long time."
"Seeing that we've increased in number, they're genuinely happy because there's more corpse meat to eat."
"When they heard about the panda coming, their mouths must have split into grins because of the panda's meat."
Jiang Fan analyzed carefully, then glanced at Yao.
Yao nodded slowly. His beastly intuition allowed him to guess the animals' thoughts.
The snakes, lizards, and frogs' eyes were wide open.
As if to say, who is this divine being who can guess the minds of us reptiles?
"Alright, you scoundrels, so you have ill intentions and want to eat our flesh!"
"We won't die, so don't dream about it!"
With that, Dai Xiaomei jumped up and kicked up a cloud of yellow sand, which scattered into the reptiles' eyes. The reptiles all let out howls.
Then Dai Xiaomei delivered a few more kicks, sending several golden lizards flying.
After kicking the reptiles, she swaggered over and sat on the cushions they had offered.
The reptiles were dejected and scattered far away, likely thinking humans were heartless.
They had offered cushions, and yet they were kicked. Where was their conscience?
"Right, how did you all escape?"
Zhou Niannian asked Dai Xiaomei with concern.