Why did the system take my request to take photos with a cosplayer seriously?

She never imagined that her long trip back home would lead to such an unfortunate event.

People on both sides of the main street began to look in their direction.

In similar remote places, riding a horse into town is not uncommon, but Baima and Dingheng's appearances were still too conspicuous, and it was easy to tell at a glance that they were not locals.

Baima dismounted, her calves trembling. She had been jostled on the horse for several hours, and the inside of her thighs were chafed and sore.

She gritted her teeth and took two steps forward. A Tibetan girl ran out of the ruins and came towards her. Her dark green Tibetan robe was covered with a layer of dust, and there were still tear stains on her cheeks.

"Pema...Pema Yangjin!?"

The Tibetan girl tried calling out.

"You are……"

"I am Danzhu."

Danzhu exclaimed in surprise, "I recognized you as soon as I saw you! Don't you recognize me?"

"Danzhu?"

Baima suddenly realized.

Danzhu is two years older than her. When they were little, their tents were next to each other. They herded sheep together, squatted by the stream to wash clothes, and squatted on the hillside to eat frozen tsampa.

Later, Qu Zhen took her to Chengdu, and that was the end of her story...

Danzhu rushed over, grabbed Baima's shoulder, and looked him up and down several times, incredulous.

"Bai Ma, is that really you? What happened to you? I almost didn't recognize you..."

She took Baima's hand and looked at it from the inside out.

Baima's hands were fair and clean, with slender fingers, completely unlike the hands that Danzhu remembered as being quick and efficient at work.

Danzhu turned her hand over again.

His rough skin was covered with cracks, his knuckles were large, and dirt was stuck between his fingers.

She pulled her hand back, hiding it in her sleeve, a fleeting look of embarrassment crossing her face.

Then she smiled, but the awkwardness in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Baima had no time to worry about that now, and asked urgently, "Sister Danzhu, how's town?"

"Eh..."

Danzhu sighed, "The earthquake struck in the middle of the night last night, and many people didn't even have time to react. A lot have been rescued and are being treated at the health center. The government said the relief teams are on their way, and we should focus on helping ourselves first..."

Baima's gaze swept across the entire street, and he spotted several familiar faces, but he couldn't recall their names.

"Pema, come here!"

Hearing the shouts, Baima turned around and looked at Ding Heng.

Ding Heng was standing in front of some ruins, trying to communicate with an old man without understanding what was going on.

Baima quickly ran over to act as a translator.

The old man looked anxious and gestured as he spoke, indicating that his grandson's accident had occurred at the very back of the house. They had been digging from the outside in, but the roof beams were weighed down by large stones that several people couldn't move.

Without saying a word, Ding Heng walked to the roof beam, bent down, grabbed the edge of the stone with both hands, and moved it with force.

The boulder was moved aside, and a muffled response could be faintly heard from inside.

"It's still there! It's still there!"

The old man was so excited that he was incoherent, and he clasped his hands together and bowed to Ding Heng.

Ding Heng waved his hand, squatted down again, glanced into the cave entrance, and continued clearing away the rubble with nimble movements.

Baima squatted down beside him: "Brother, let me help you pick it up."

Ding Heng did not respond and continued.

Baima didn't say anything more. She squatted down beside the ruins and carried the rubble that Ding Heng had cleared out, piece by piece, to the roadside.

She couldn't offer much help, but she could at least help the man with some small tasks that didn't require much physical effort.

As the sun rose higher, the autumn sunlight felt surprisingly scorching on my skin.

Communication has not been restored yet, and we don't know when it will be restored or when rescue from outside will arrive.

However, the subsequent rescue work gradually moved from chaos to order.

Although the county town is remote, it is still the center of the county. The government's response was not slow. People from the streets, police stations, and health centers were all mobilized, and herdsmen on horseback came from various pastures to help.

Around 9 o'clock, the fire department and the military arrived, which completely reassured everyone.

The cadres continued to lead everyone in clearing the rubble in shifts.

Ding Heng didn't stand out much. He didn't give orders or force anyone; he just went wherever help was needed.

He moved a few stones, transported a few supplies, and occasionally lent a hand to those around him, his True Sight Eyes half-open and half-closed.

Instead of large-scale perspective analysis, we scan for details that are not easily noticed by others.

Which wall is at risk of collapsing again? Which wall might be trapping someone underneath?

His reminders were often subtle and understated, but gradually, people began to pay attention to him, their eyes filled with respect and a touch of curiosity.

Ding Heng didn't care and focused on his work.

Baima always stayed by his side, helping him hand over tools, clear away rubble, and follow Ding Heng's instructions, almost never asking why.

The busy work continued into the afternoon. Ding Heng rescued three trapped yaks from a collapsed cowshed and was squatting against the wall to catch his breath.

Baima handed him a half-full bottle of water, and Ding Heng unscrewed the cap and tilted his head back to gulp it down.

"Brother."

"Ok?"

“My mother called and said the supplies are on their way and the first batch will arrive tomorrow morning.”

"Has communication been restored?"

"The base stations in the earlier batches have been reconnected to backup generators. Although the satellite signal is intermittent, it is at least usable."

Why didn't you say so earlier!

Ding Heng quickly took out his phone and turned it on.

Countless messages flooded in simultaneously, making a continuous "ding-dong" sound.

Ding Heng opened the pinned group chat.

The last message was from Lin Man, sent five minutes ago: "[Boss, reply to this message. Everyone's waiting.]"

He didn't scroll up, but directly pressed the voice call button.

"boss?!"

Lin Man spoke much faster than usual.

"Are you alright?! What's the situation over there? Are you hurt? Where's Baima? Is Baima alright?"

"It's alright, Baima is fine too, don't worry."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a long exhale, as if the person was expelling all the air from their lungs.

"That's fine, that's fine..."

Lin Man's voice softened, as if she had been relieved.

"Where are Yan hope and the others?"

"Everyone's here, everyone's here. Wait a minute, I'll put it on speakerphone."

After a rustling sound, Zhao Yanxi's voice rang out.

“Brother Ding Heng!!! You scared us to death, you know! We hadn’t heard from you all morning, didn’t reply to our messages, and couldn’t get through on the phone. We were worried that you…”

"Yan hope".

Lin Man's voice interrupted, reminding her not to say anything unlucky.

Zhao Yanxi's voice was heavy with sobs: "Anyway... I'm just glad you're alright."

Then came Hua Qing's caring greeting, completely unlike her usual cold demeanor.

Finally, Wenjing's voice was hoarse, as if she had just secretly cried.

Ding Heng didn't give them time to process it and spoke directly.

"Lin Man".

"Yes, boss, please tell me."

On the other end of the phone, Lin Man's tone returned to a serious work-related state.

"Use Hengbai Capital's name to arrange supplies and donations. You go and purchase tents, quilts, military overcoats, instant noodles, bottled water, medicine, and so on."

"Boss, I have no experience with this, how do I coordinate?"

"Contact Aunt Quzhen, she knows everything, just hand it over to her! But you must follow the proper procedures, including receipts, agreements, and a list of supplies... nothing can be missing, all documents must be on file, and everything must be done through official channels."

Although it was a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, the entire county only has 2 people, so the casualties were not significant and it didn't generate much news coverage.

But for Ding Heng, building social "favorability" is also essential.

No matter how much money you have, you still need to find a place to spend it...

Without further ado, Lin Man immediately responded.

"Understood, I'll contact them right away."

"besides,"

Ding Heng emphasized, "The altitude here is close to 5,000 meters. None of you are allowed to come over, especially you!"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Lin Man's voice rang out again, and she, who had remained calm throughout, finally began to sob.

"Waaah... I understand... Boss... Waaah... You scared me to death... Waaah..."