Under Qin Shen’s guidance, everyone quickly put on their parachutes and life vests.

Jiang Si started the engine, taxied out of the hangar, and pulled the collective. The rotor blades spun rapidly, and the helicopter quickly ascended.

After ascending several hundred meters, Jiang Si finally had a moment to speak. "There are oxygen masks in the cabin. Help each other put them on so you don’t have to keep holding the oxygen tanks."

Qin Shen reached up and hit a release, and the oxygen masks dropped down from above their seats.

Everyone put on their masks. Jiang Si piloted the helicopter north and flew for over two hours before they reached an area that Pandora had not yet occupied.

Jiang Si had just taken off her oxygen mask when Qin Shen suddenly shouted, "Watch out!"

"BANG—"

The fuselage shuddered violently, and Niu Niu’s terrified scream suddenly rang out. Jiang Si whipped her head around to see a massive Vulture’s sharp talons tearing right through the helicopter’s metal skin.

If Qin Shen hadn’t yanked Shen Baoying and Zhang Qingfang from their seats, the Vulture’s claws would have killed them.

In the post-apocalyptic world, Vultures were the most common aerial predators. They were extremely dangerous and would proactively attack any flying object.

Jiang Si had gotten careless in her relief, failing to pay attention to her surroundings.

"Everyone, hold on tight—"

Jiang Si maneuvered the helicopter into a sharp turn, diving below the clouds. The Vulture followed close behind, relentlessly pursuing them.

It was incredibly fast. Its cone-sharp talons hooked onto the wing, and it hung upside down, frantically pecking at the cabin.

The fuel tank warning light flashed repeatedly. Jiang Si cursed under her breath, ’Damn it!’

She sent the helicopter into a spiral, shaking the Vulture loose. Qin Shen raised his gun and aimed precisely at its eye.

"BANG—"

The shot rang out. The Vulture let out a sharp shriek, lost its balance, and plummeted downward.

Just as everyone was breathing a sigh of relief, still reeling from the shock, they heard Jiang Si shout, "The fuel tank is ruptured! There’s nowhere to make an emergency landing nearby! Everyone, prepare to jump!"

Except for Qin Shen and Jiang Si, it was everyone’s first time in a helicopter. Some were still feeling airsick. Now, they were immediately faced with a parachute jump without any one-on-one instruction. It was a daunting challenge for them all.

Jiang Si desperately wanted to teach them how to jump safely, but just keeping the failing helicopter under control was taking all her effort.

Her only hope was Qin Shen. "You know how, right? Please, teach them. I can hold it for another ten minutes."

Everyone’s hearts seized. If they jumped, what would happen to Jiang Si?

Would she have time to jump, too?

Qin Shen was decisive. Upon getting Jiang Si’s instruction, he immediately said to the others, "We can do tandem jumps. First, strap yourselves together like this."

The idea of tandem jumps made everyone’s eyes light up. They would have a partner to help them on the ground. Lu Zhifeng was especially thrilled that he wouldn’t have to be separated from Niu Niu.

Qin Shen first strapped Lu Zhifeng and Niu Niu together. For the rest, Jiang Linhai and Shen Baoying formed one team, and Jiang Chengwu and Zhang Qingfang formed another.

After everyone was strapped in, Qin Shen quickly explained the key to parachuting. His instructions were simple, clear, and highly professional. If Jiang Si hadn’t known he was a former surgeon, she would have almost mistaken him for a fellow pilot.

Although they understood how to open the parachute mid-air, jumping from such a high altitude still required immense courage.

Niu Niu’s face was pale with fear. Lu Zhifeng squeezed her hand and comforted her, "Don’t be afraid. Trust Dad."

Niu Niu nodded obediently. The helicopter was shaking more violently now, and Jiang Si could no longer spare them any attention.

Qin Shen urged them not to waste time. "Jump."

Lu Zhifeng took a deep breath, glanced down, and then leaped out with Niu Niu.

The wind howled in his ears. Lu Zhifeng pulled the ripcord, and his wind-proof goggles allowed him to see the ground below.

Niu Niu squeezed her eyes shut. The intense feeling of weightlessness made her feel like she and her dad were about to be smashed to pieces.

’At least I’ll die with Dad,’ she thought to herself.

Lu Zhifeng’s successful parachute deployment motivated Jiang Chengwu and the others.

Zhang Qingfang looked at the ground, then shouted toward Jiang Si, "Sisi, you have to make it out safely!"

Jiang Si heard her and shouted back, "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely come find you all!"

’I’m experienced with parachuting,’ she thought. ’Besides, I can always hide in my space.’

Hearing Jiang Si’s response, everyone felt a little more at ease.

The moment Jiang Chengwu jumped with Zhang Qingfang, disaster struck. Another Vulture came circling in at high speed, its target being the pair who had just opened their parachute.

Jiang Si had no choice but to turn the helicopter, shouting at Qin Shen, "Shoot it!"

At that moment, she was struck by just how important Qin Shen was to this team.

Unflustered, Qin Shen raised his gun at the shaking window and took aim. "BANG—"

Just as the Vulture’s talons were about to grab Jiang Chengwu and Zhang Qingfang, Qin Shen shot it in the head.

It didn’t even let out a cry before it plummeted to the ground.

Two minutes had been wasted, making time even tighter. Jiang Si urged anxiously, "Mom, Dad, jump now!"

There was no time left.

Thick black smoke was already billowing from the fuselage, which looked like it could explode at any moment.

Jiang Linhai wasted no more time and leaped out with Shen Baoying.

Seeing them successfully deploy their parachute, Jiang Si breathed a long sigh of relief and said to Qin Shen, "You should jump now, too!"

Without hesitation, Qin Shen leaped out and opened a large parachute.

Only then could Jiang Si worry about herself. She opened the cabin door and jumped right after him.

She pulled her ripcord. After a few minutes of descent, Jiang Si was shocked to see that the ground she was about to land on was covered in cacti.

’If I land like this, I’ll be turned into a pincushion.’

In a flash, Jiang Si entered her space. After removing the parachute harness, she ate something, drank a cup of coffee to recover some energy, and then quickly changed into a blast suit, put on a helmet, and grabbed a weapon.

When Jiang Si emerged from her space, she was only two meters from the ground.

She tucked into a roll and landed safely.

As expected, she was covered in cactus spines.

She took out a watermelon knife to hack at the cacti, but she could barely move a few meters.

Seeing no one around, Jiang Si simply materialized a bulldozer. She climbed into the driver’s cab, took out a locator, and began searching for the others.

Following the signal, Jiang Si quickly found Qin Shen’s location.

The bulldozer crushed the cacti into pulp, allowing her to move much faster.

Just as she was getting closer to Qin Shen’s position, night fell, and a sudden rustling sound came from all around her.

Jiang Si flipped on the lights and saw a tide of venomous scorpions swarming toward her. She immediately broke into a cold sweat for the others.

Jiang Si sealed the windows shut and plowed through them, hoping the others had managed to light torches before the scorpions found them.

But as she scanned the horizon, she couldn’t see any sign of fire, especially not from Qin Shen’s location. Her heart skipped a beat.

’Qin Shen is so capable... surely he hasn’t been stung by a scorpion, has he?’

After driving for about ten minutes, Jiang Si’s locator showed she had reached Qin Shen’s position.

She looked around in confusion. Other than the scorpions crushed into pulp, there was no sign of Qin Shen. She grabbed a torch, jumped out of the cab, and picked up a shattered locator from the ground. "Qin Shen—! Qin Shen—!"

There was no response.

’Logically, even if he were poisoned, he shouldn’t have been able to get this far.’