Urban Soldier Young Master

Chapter 845 - 844: Rescuing Mu Xiaoting

Since Mu Xiaoting couldn't be relied upon, he could only depend on himself.Although the helmeted man had tied his hands and feet very tightly with ropes, and his technique was quite professional, any blind struggle would only make the ropes tighter. However, if Chu Ge were here himself, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to remove the ropes and safely return to the surface.

But considering Mu Xiaoting probably couldn't hold on for long, time became especially precious at this moment. He had to adopt a more time-efficient method.

The most time-efficient method was bone-shrinking, a skill that could minimize the gaps between bones to make the body's structure more compact and thus smaller.

Even though Chu Ge wasn't particularly skilled at this, he wasn't completely confident, and the chances of success in such a dire underwater environment were even slimmer, even optimistically no more than thirty percent.

First attempt, Chu Ge failed; second attempt, he failed again. Even so, Chu Ge continued to calm himself, maintaining enough composure, because at this point, he no longer had the luxury of multiple failures.

Thankfully, even though Chu Ge had no time to adjust his body's state, perseverance paid off. After several attempts, one hand finally began to loosen. Twenty more seconds passed, and his right hand finally regained freedom.

With a hand free, the next steps became much easier. Thirty-five seconds later, Chu Ge finally escaped that large stone, regaining freedom in both hands and feet, but now he faced new troubles.

In those crucial seconds when he focused on breaking free from the ropes, Mu Xiaoting had already left his side. With the current visibility, Chu Ge couldn't see any trace of Mu Xiaoting.

"Damn, can this silly girl give me a break? Now Li Zheming's men are definitely searching nearby. If she surfaces and gets spotted, it's a certain death!"

Shaking his head helplessly, Chu Ge concentrated all his attention, carefully feeling the flow of the water. After three to four seconds, he determined a direction and quickly swam towards it.

Moments later, Chu Ge vaguely saw Mu Xiaoting's figure, finally calming his anxious heart. Fortunately, this silly girl was evidently exhausted, swimming slowly, and hadn't rashly surfaced yet.

Of course, Chu Ge couldn't let Mu Xiaoting surface just like that. If she did, all his efforts so far would be in vain, and waiting for Mu Xiaoting might be death.

With his gaze fixed on Mu Xiaoting's direction, Chu Ge quickly swam to her side, intercepting her just before she was about to surface.

Mu Xiaoting's attention had obviously been focused on the river's surface. It wasn't until Chu Ge was in front of her that she noticed him, her body shuddered, and her pained expression became very complicated.

Chu Ge raised his right hand, pointing upwards, then made a waving and nose-rubbing gesture to signal danger to Mu Xiaoting.

Mu Xiaoting's expression became even more pained and complex. She also raised her hand, pointing to her mouth and nose, then waved, indicating to Chu Ge she couldn't take it anymore and needed oxygen, and then continued to swim upwards despite his reaction.

Holding her breath for so long, Mu Xiaoting was nearly at her limit. All she wanted now was to breathe.

However, just as Mu Xiaoting's head was only dozens of centimeters from the surface, her eyes exuding extreme longing, she suddenly felt a strong pair of hands grabbing her, pulling her down forcefully.

This sudden pull made Mu Xiaoting's pupils contract, prompting her to instinctively open her mouth. Immediately, she felt lips pressing against hers, delivering the precious air she yearned for.

Mu Xiaoting froze for a moment, her muddled consciousness clearing slightly, and she almost greedily accepted. For her at this moment, nothing was more important than oxygen.

At the same time, a motorcycle's roar suddenly resounded from the surface, accompanied by some muffled complaints in Korean.

Mu Xiaoting's heart skipped a beat; she realized how dangerous her earlier actions were. In this silent night, the sudden motorcycle noise was likely from those pursuing them.

If Chu Ge hadn't stopped her, as soon as she surfaced, she may have been spotted by those ruthless individuals, and… possibly been met with a deadly flying knife.

Their lips parted, and Mu Xiaoting was still in fear. Suddenly, she felt her clothes being tugged off, her eyes widening as she looked in shock at the blurred face in the water.

Under these circumstances, Chu Ge had no time to explain anything to Mu Xiaoting. After removing her shirt, he simply gestured to her, then pulled her to dive slightly deeper.

In the distance, flickering shadows and faint dialogue were heard from above the water, followed by the motorcycle noise gradually fading away.

Hearing this sound, Mu Xiaoting secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Those damn guys had finally left, and she could finally float to the surface to breathe in fresh air.

However, just as she was about to swim upwards, Chu Ge pressed her down and shook his head at her.

Mu Xiaoting panicked, her mind was once again spinning with a strong sense of vertigo, and her chest felt like it would explode at any moment. She really didn't understand, since the others had left, why wouldn't Chu Ge let her go up?

Just as Mu Xiaoting's consciousness began to blur and she wanted to rush to the surface against all odds, Chu Ge's lips sealed hers again, delivering air that kept her barely conscious.

When their lips parted once more, the roar of motorcycles suddenly erupted above the water, terrifyingly loud in Mu Xiaoting's ears.

This time, without Chu Ge holding her down, she did not recklessly swim upward. Instead, she mustered all her strength with her limp hands to hold onto Chu Ge as tightly as possible.

Time ticked by second by second, and for Mu Xiaoting, every second felt as long as a century. In her entire life, she had never encountered anything so terrifying. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and could scarcely bear it any longer.

Having been in the water for so long, Mu Xiaoting had always been struggling with all her might to keep her eyes open. After all, for someone not used to being underwater, even opening their eyes in a clear swimming pool is a challenge.

Moreover, she was now in this far-from-clean river water, which felt unbearably awful and irritating.

Unfortunately, for Mu Xiaoting, being able to last this long was almost a miracle, far beyond her limits. She finally couldn't hold on any longer; her eyelids and body grew heavier, and her consciousness started to blur once more.

Before completely losing consciousness, Mu Xiaoting received another breath of air from Chu Ge.

After alleviating her breathing problem slightly, Mu Xiaoting finally passed out.

Sighing silently to himself, Chu Ge began dragging Mu Xiaoting toward the river surface. Although he felt it wasn't the ideal time, he had no choice but to act to prevent her from drowning.

Fortunately, when Chu Ge surfaced as quietly as possible, there were no enemies in sight.

Chu Ge finally let out a long breath of relief, but before he could fully catch it, he hurriedly dragged the unconscious Mu Xiaoting to the riverbank and into a small grove.

Reaching the depths of the forest, Chu Ge no longer heard any movement at the forest's edge, so he laid her down on a patch of ground slightly thicker with dead leaves, and checked her breathing with fingers to her nose—it was there, but very weak—not a very encouraging situation.

"You're really good at torturing people, aren't you..."

Chu Ge let out a wry smile, showing a helpless expression, and then extended his hands, undoing Mu Xiaoting's waistband with one hand and lifting her upper body with the other.

Supporting Mu Xiaoting, Chu Ge tossed her belt aside, pried open her mouth, and carefully observed the inside before letting out a sigh of relief.

Luckily, there was no mud or weeds in Mu Xiaoting's mouth.

To be safe, Chu Ge slightly tapped her back with some force and then laid her flat on the ground, using his hand to feel the left side of her chest to check her heartbeat.

Weak, just like her breathing, very weak.

Without a moment's hesitation, Chu Ge immediately straddled Mu Xiaoting's thigh and abdomen area, interlocking his hands and pressing sharply yet gently on her sternum, then quickly released, and repeated the same action after a brief pause.

Once, twice, three times...seven, eight times.

Having completed this set of chest compressions, Chu Ge immediately bent over, pinched Mu Xiaoting's nose with one hand, took a deep breath, and sealed her mouth with his, exhaling air from his lungs into hers, performing artificial respiration.

When he finished the breath, he released his lips and hand on her nose, interlocked his hands once again, and placed them on Mu Xiaoting's chest, pressing with moderate, consistent force.

Completing a set of eight chest compressions, Chu Ge continued performing artificial respiration, closely observing her reactions, feeling her heartbeat and breathing, and repeatedly cycling through these steps.