The little star from the Gobi Desert, handed over to the state, is hailed as a national treasure.

Xiaoyu's expression suddenly changed!

For the first time, a crack appeared on that cold face. She grabbed Tian Tian's wrist and pulled her forward with all her might.

The sound of falling gravel behind us was like a thousand horses galloping, crashing to the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.

The mountain wind howled, the earth shook, and the two small figures were as insignificant as ants in the face of the power of nature.

"Heh...heh..."

A hoarse roar came from Xiaoyu's throat. She wanted to tell Tiantian to run, but the breath stuck in her throat and could only produce a futile sound.

Sweetie, on the other hand, was so nervous that her legs felt like lead, and she ran slower and slower.

What sent a chill down Xiaoyu's spine was that there was a force pulling her backward in her hand. In the midst of her busyness, Xiaoyu turned around and found that Tiantian was looking back!

Run!!

She made that hoarse sound again, almost using brute force to drag Tian Tian.

But Sweetie stopped moving.

Amidst the crackling lightning, Tian Tian turned around, her small body facing the swirling sand, gazing at the collapsing mountain in the distance. Her large, dark eyes pierced through the flying dust, fixed on a gap in the hillside carved out by rolling rocks.

There, shrouded in moonlight and dust, something was glowing.

Sparkling like a diamond, bright as a star, it exudes a warm pulse that only she can see.

"The stone..." Sweetie murmured, her voice barely audible amidst the thunder, yet carrying a resolute strength, "That stone, it's awakened..."

Xiaoyu's eyes reddened with anxiety. She had absolutely no idea what this four-year-old girl was babbling about. In this life-or-death situation, the first priority wasn't escape, so why worry about stones?

"Hmph!" Xiaoyu was both anxious and angry, and angrily tried to pull Tiantian's arm!

There's no time to lose! If they don't run now, the mountain will collapse and they'll both be buried alive in this pile of rubble!

However, at this moment, Tian Tian was no longer the obedient and docile baby she used to be. Her eyes shone brightly in the darkness, like two tiny lamps that had been lit in an instant.

The fear vanished completely from that little face. In its place was an expression Xiaoyu had never seen before.

That is focus, that is desire, that is the unwavering determination that makes everything else unimportant, and only that goal exists.

Sweetie suddenly broke free from Xiaoyu's hand, and like a fish swimming upstream, she turned around and rushed headlong into the landslide area that was swallowing everything.

Meanwhile, after handing Tiantian over to Mao Zhan, Liang Zhe rushed to Xu Qiang's dormitory. But when he arrived, he was met with a completely different scene.

The previous heated argument had long since subsided. A figure, like a javelin, stood silently before Xu Qiang. Although he didn't utter a word, the chilling and murderous aura emanating from him silenced Fu Dashi and all the opportunistic busybodies.

He Lin.

He had an aluminum lunchbox tucked under his arm; he must have heard the commotion on his way to the cafeteria and come over ahead. He was a strange person; although not very old, he looked exceptionally weathered and mature. He rarely spoke, and his weathered, expressionless face alone gave off a chilling aura that kept people at a distance.

Fu Dashi looked at him, his brows furrowed deeply: "Captain He, what do you mean?"

He Lin remained silent.

"I'm reporting work-related issues to Dean Xu, not throwing a tantrum. Can you please stop interfering?"

He Lin remained silent.

"you……"

"go back."

He Lin finally spoke, uttering two words in a low voice.

"What?" Fu Dashi's forehead veins bulged. Had this usually taciturn drilling team leader taken the wrong medicine today?

"Captain He, it's not your turn to lower the drill bit yet. This is me exercising my right. Please step aside." Fu Dashi suppressed his anger.

"I've seen your place," He Lin said in a flat tone, almost devoid of emotion. "Dean Xu is right, the conditions aren't right."

Fu Dashi was so angry he laughed.

He pointed at himself: "He Lin, you're in drilling, not geology! Do you think I know better than you where there are mines and where there aren't?"

"Go back," He Lin said curtly. "Get your materials in detail, then come back to talk to Dean Xu."

"I... how could I not explain in detail..." Fu Dashi argued, but when he glanced around, he found that several old workers had already understood the situation.

Mining is no small matter; it requires meticulous calculations. In his exploration task design document, several key data points were filled in vaguely. This might fool laymen, but for someone like He Lin, who had to use the operation manual and conduct real mining operations, it was impossible to hide it from him.

With just a few words, He Lin made most of the miners understand the essence of the dispute—Xu Qiang's disagreement with Fu Dashi's plan was not about favoring a newcomer, but rather that Fu Dashi's report itself was untenable.

He gritted his teeth, wanting to try and stir up the emotions of the onlookers again, when suddenly he heard hurried footsteps behind him. Feng Dapao, accompanied by several security guards, arrived angrily.

"Aren't you all going to eat?! What are you doing here causing trouble?!"

This shout was so powerful it was earth-shattering, causing everyone in the crowd to instinctively shrink back.

Despite being missing two fingers, Feng Dapao's murderous aura, forged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, was enough to crush everyone present.

What's more, when he really gets angry, he really will grab a belt and beat people up.

Seeing this, Fu Dashi knew that all the noise he had made today was completely useless. He took a deep breath, forced a smile, and said to Xu Qiang, "Dean Xu, please don't misunderstand. I have no personal issues with you. Today's disagreement was purely about work."

He glanced again at Feng Dapao, whose face was gloomy, and Liang Zhe, who was jogging over not far away, and shrugged: "I'll say it again, mining is an official matter, and I'm doing this for the public good. If, after three days, Expert Liang, you still can't find any decent mineral deposits, I'm afraid you'll have to reconsider my proposal."

With that, he nodded to Xu Qiang, turned around, and walked away without looking back.

As he left, the others couldn't help but whisper among themselves. Feng Dapao roared, "Look! Still fucking looking! All of you, get back to your places! If there's really nothing else, turn the machines back on and go back to the cave to dig rocks!"

After being yelled at, the crowd left in twos and threes, each with their own ulterior motives, though their eyes still lingered on Xu Qiang, He Lin, and the arriving Liang Zhe.

Liang Zhe rushed to Xu Qiang's side, looked at his face with concern, and asked, "Dean Xu, are you alright?"

Xu Qiang waved his hand, but his gaze remained fixed on He Lin's departing figure. From beginning to end, He Lin never turned around to look at them.

"Captain He?" he tried calling out.

He Lin seemed not to hear the greeting, and with the lunchbox tucked under his arm, he stepped into the night and disappeared instantly.

"Hey! That kid!" Feng Dapao muttered unhappily as he watched He Lin's retreating figure.

Behind him, Zhou Xiaobing, Qin Yan, and others gathered around. Zhou Xiaobing was especially angry and wanted to stand up for his teacher, wanting to argue with Fu Dashi.

"It's nothing," Xu Qiang said calmly. He was a man who had weathered many storms; he had experienced the flames of war in China during his youth and the smoke of World War II while studying abroad. No matter how harsh the conditions or how treacherous the people, he had always persevered. Now, he truly didn't take the dissatisfaction of one or two people to heart.

However, more than just work-related disagreements, he increasingly felt that the string of "reason" in Fu Dashi's heart was about to break.

"Xiaobing, you all go ahead with your work. I need to speak with Secretary Feng for a few minutes."

Zhou Xiaobing hesitated for a moment and nodded. He then repeatedly offered to help deliver meals to the teacher. After receiving Xu Qiang's permission, he left with Qin Yan and the others.

Soon, only Liang Zhe, Feng Dapao, and Xu Qiang remained.