Chapter 965: The Only Victim

Chen Ling had seen a lizard shed its tail, but he had never seen anyone endure such pain to crawl forward while pierced by rebar. Even with his [Blood Garment], he found it hard to imagine.

The distance wasn't long, only about a palm’s width, but the agony of the rebar slicing through lungs and flesh was something no ordinary person could endure… Chen Ling didn't know what was sustaining the man—was it the newly acquired Shaman Path? Or perhaps, the power of a father, hidden in the deepest part of his body.

He witnessed the man grab the mask and then frantically pour the blood flowing from his wrist onto the inside of the mask.

The faint purple light that had just merged into his body also mixed with the blood, seeping bit by bit into the mask.

The first stage of any divine path is weak and fragile, and the Shaman Path is no exception… Chen Ling didn't know what path the man had taken or what skills he possessed, but unless it was the [Blood Garment] or [Iron Garment] of the Soldier God Path, no other skill could allow the man to repair his wounds, move the rubble and boulders, and save Shen Nan.

Chen Ling watched as the man poured all his blood into the mask, even injecting a trace of his soul. The aura of the Shaman Path that had just permeated his body almost completely vanished, transferring from his flesh to the Nuo mask.

“Both his soul and the divine path were transferred… is this his divine path skill?” Chen Ling muttered to himself, watching the Nuo mask gradually take on a mysterious luster.

After doing all this, the man’s life force had almost vanished. He lay pale on the ground, his gaze seemingly piercing through the gaps in the stones and debris to see the dying Shen Nan below.

He tremblingly shoved the Nuo mask into the gap, his heavy eyelids slowly closing…

“Live.”

His cracked lips parted, but no sound came out. As his fingers lost their strength, the Nuo mask fell downward…

Plop—

The mask hit a slanted wall, fell to the other side, struck a hanging piece of rebar, spun half a circle in the air, and then hit the edge of a stone…

The trajectory of the mask was unpredictable, but it seemed favored by "God." After colliding several times, it actually returned to a position above Shen Nan, landing lightly on his pale face.

The man’s blood flowed along the inside of the mask onto Shen Nan’s cheek, and the aura of the Theater God Path within his body seemed to be transferred by the Shaman Path skill, slowly being swallowed into the mask.

“Theater” and “Shaman” intertwined within the mask, and an indescribable aura began to permeate Shen Nan’s body!

……

“Save me… someone save me…”

“……”

“I’m pinned down… my legs hurt so much!!”

“……”

“Mom!! Mom!! Where are you? Don’t leave me alone!!”

“……”

“Am I going to die… I’m only twenty… if I had known, I should have been bolder and confessed to her last night… I don’t want to die!!”

“……”

“God, please, save my child… I’ll pay any price if only she can live…”

“……”

“Heaven bless us, heaven bless us… let nothing happen to our family, we must hold on until the rescue team arrives…”

“……”

Countless prayers sounded like a tide, ringing constantly in Shen Nan’s ears.

Some were loud, as if whispered right against his ear; others were faint, as if from the ends of the earth… Beneath the mask, Shen Nan’s eyelashes trembled, as if he were trapped in a chaotic nightmare.

The aura emanating from the Nuo mask made Shen Nan seem like a different person. His breathing gradually steadied, his broken body slowly repaired itself, and even the tumor growing inside him began to dissolve…

At the same time, some force seemed to spread in all directions from the void, responding to those prayers, both large and small.

He lay quietly among the ruins, like a sleeping "God."

The bright red theater robe stood like a ghost in the void, looking down at everything. Although Chen Ling couldn't tell what was happening, he could feel that some mysterious change had occurred within Shen Nan…

Time accelerated around Chen Ling.

I don't know how much time passed, but a rescue team hurried over from the distance.

“Quick!! Spread out and search!!” The middle-aged man leading them had bloodshot eyes, as if he hadn't slept for days, and he roared his orders hoarsely.

“Captain, it’s been over 72 hours since the earthquake; the golden rescue window has passed… I’m afraid now…”

“Don’t talk nonsense!! If they’re alive, I want to see them; if they’re dead, I want to see their bodies! Don’t talk about 72 hours, even if it’s been 7 days! We cannot give up any hope!! Keep digging!”

The rescue team quickly dispersed and began moving and digging through the debris. After so many days of fighting, their faces were filled with exhaustion.

When the disaster first struck, they had started the rescue immediately. Within 24 hours, many survivors were pulled out, and they had witnessed moving miracles of survival. But as time passed, there were fewer survivors and more bodies… After 72 hours, their spirits had become numb, even desperate.

In the gloomy atmosphere, everyone stubbornly dug downward, until someone shouted:

“There’s a survivor down here!!”

Everyone’s eyes lit up!

There were still survivors; their persistence and effort hadn't been in vain!

Immediately after, another voice rang out:

“I have one here too!!”

“Me too, a family of three, they’re all still breathing!!”

“I have a wounded person here… God, his ribs are poking out of his chest, how did he survive?!?”

“Alive! The family here is alive too!! Come give me a hand!!”

“……”

Excited voices rang out one after another. The rescue team felt as if they were dreaming; so far, they hadn't found a single corpse. Everyone, no matter how badly injured, was still alive!

“A miracle…” The rescue captain trembled uncontrollably as he saw this, “This is a miracle…”

“I have… a body here.”

A voice broke the joy of the group.

With the efforts of several people, a body was slowly moved out of the ruins. It was a middle-aged man with graying temples, a piece of rebar stuck in his body, his internal organs and flesh torn apart. Even the rescue workers, who had seen too much carnage, were moved by this tragic sight.

All his blood had drained away, and his pale skin was covered in lividity, yet a smile remained frozen on his lips… as if he had fulfilled some wish, feeling relieved and complete.

“He…” several rescue workers looked at this scene, speechless.

“There’s a child below! Wearing a mask! He…”

“What about him? Is he still alive???”

“He… he’s completely unharmed?”