Just as Du Heng finished making arrangements, Gong Daoyang also sprang into action.

The First Brigade of firefighters followed the tracks Du Heng and his group had just made, while another unit took the branching path up the mountain.

Du Heng could have returned with the ambulance. However, he was worried about Yu Haiting and the others near the water house, and also concerned about the missing person. So, he followed the firefighters up the branching path.

Where on earth did that person go? This was the biggest question in his mind.

Are they still alive? This was his greatest worry.

Just as he was about to set off, a black sedan pulled up beside him.

Turning around, he saw Dong Yuezhang get out of the car, his face etched with anxiety.

The two men exchanged a look, and Du Heng spoke first, "Four dead, one lightly injured, and one still missing."

"I’m already aware of the situation. Our Secretary and a Deputy Mayor are at the water house now." Dong Yuezhang glanced at the ambulance that had just departed from the Health Clinic and asked quietly, "What about the four deceased?"

"Three have just been loaded onto the ambulance and taken away; one is still at the water house," Du Heng said. He glanced at the increasingly heavy snowfall, a worried look appearing on his face. "The road is too slippery now; the car can’t get up. We’ll probably have to carry them down."

Dong Yuezhang was burning with anxiety but felt helpless. He looked at the branching path, which sloped at roughly a thirty-degree angle, and sighed. "Alright, let’s go up and see."

It took three minutes for the main group to reach the accident site.

Du Heng glanced at the spot where the tricycle had slid off the road—it was just over ten meters from the water house.

Du Heng passed this spot daily, but he wasn’t truly familiar with it, especially the area below the road. In that regard, he was no different from a blind man.

With the arrival of the firefighters, they took over the search and rescue operation.

Yu Haiting was also questioned in detail, and even Dong Yuezhang joined the discussion.

Du Heng, however, didn’t go over. Upon arrival, he had immediately spotted a covered stretcher nearby.

He didn’t know what came over him, but instead of joining the discussion about the search, Du Heng slowly walked to the stretcher. As if moved by an unseen force, he lifted the covering sheet again.

Thankfully, the sight wasn’t as horrifying as what he’d seen at the bottom of the ditch. This time, there was only the mottling of blue and purple.

Du Heng gently lowered the sheet, covering the body completely. He then called over the doctor and nurses from the Health Clinic who were standing nearby. "You two men, please help carry this stretcher down. I’ll have an ambulance wait for you at the bottom. The ladies can head back afterward, and you two men can return here to help."

The four of them nodded and began to lift the stretcher.

Gong Daoyang and his team quickly concluded their discussion, and the personnel fanned out to resume the search.

Du Heng and Yu Haiting didn’t join the search effort, not wanting to cause a disruption. Instead, they stood at the edge of the crowd, ready to provide first aid once the missing person was found. Meanwhile, Dong Yuezhang pulled his contingent from the Township Government aside for a separate briefing.

Du Heng, feeling anxious and helpless, said to Yu, "Yu, let’s go check below the water house."

Yu Haiting glanced at the water house’s position, then looked down the slope. "Alright," he said. "We can try looking from the opposite side towards here. We might spot something. We’ve already searched this side three times; there shouldn’t be any oversights."

The firefighters were numerous and highly professional. They conducted a meticulous top-down search, combing the area. Team members at the periphery even peered down the cliff face to their right, truly ensuring no detail, however small, was overlooked.

Du Heng and Yu Haiting took a wide detour, circling around to the slope opposite where the tricycle had slid down. They scanned the area as they walked but still found no sign of the missing person.

As the snowfall became heavier, many traces were slowly covered by the snow, gradually disappearing from view.

While Yu Haiting quietly muttered to himself that they couldn’t have missed anything, Du Heng meticulously scanned the terrain on the opposite slope.

Suddenly, Du Heng halted. He backed up a couple of steps, then tilted his head, peering intently at the opposite side.

"Yu, Yu, come look at this."

"What is it?" Yu Haiting hurried back, his gaze following Du Heng’s.

Du Heng pointed across. "Look there. See that section? Doesn’t it look like it slopes inward?"

Yu Haiting stared intently. Not only was there an incline, but it was also canted inwards. Crucially, at its base, there was a fissure—a downward opening.

"There’s an opening! There’s an opening!" Yu Haiting grew excited and started shouting.

He recalled being on that side—the accident site—just moments ago, looking down from the edge. Because the base of that area sloped inward, the fissure had been completely hidden from his view from above.

Yu Haiting hurried back to the other side. Following Du Heng’s directions from across the way, he positioned himself directly above the suspected fissure. However, when he peered down, he still couldn’t see it.

He shifted his position forward and back, but the opening remained hidden from his vantage point.

Gong Daoyang saw their movements and came over to ask, "What did you find?"

"Director Gong," Yu Haiting said quickly, "there’s an opening down there! From the other side, it looks like a person could fall right into it!"

Gong Daoyang’s excitement flared as well, but when he leaned over to look, he saw nothing.

"Director Gong, it’s an inwardly slanted opening at the bottom; you can’t see it from up here."

A flicker of doubt crossed Gong Daoyang’s face. "But that doesn’t make sense. If it slopes inward, how could someone fall into it from above?"