The Queen of Masks

Chapter 23: Skills Begin to Surface

Fortunately, the child was wearing a padded jacket and was relatively light, so he didn't sink completely. However, being battered by the huge waves made it difficult for him to stay afloat. Nancy Gu quickly swam towards the child. When she reached out to grab the collar of his clothing, he seemed to still have some awareness; his small hands suddenly reached out and tightly hugged her neck.

Nancy's heart sank. This was one of the situations rescuers dreaded most—when those being rescued instinctively clung to their savior as if they were their only lifeline, making it impossible for the rescuer to escape without succumbing to exhaustion and drowning alongside them. There were countless examples of this happening.

Nancy tried several times to pry away the boy's arms, but his grip felt like it was weighed down with lead; no matter how hard she pulled, he wouldn't budge. The icy river water caused her body temperature to plummet, and she began feeling numb all over.

Helplessly, she could only hold onto the child with one arm while using all her strength with her legs to paddle towards the surface. However, just as she was about to break through the water's surface, a massive wave crashed down from behind and sent them both back under.

Nancy refused to give up and summoned her willpower once more to swim upwards when suddenly her legs cramped painfully, causing her pale face to contort in agony. In her past life, saving this child would have been easy given her skills. But now Nancy was weak due to long-term malnutrition and lacked sufficient spiritual energy to support herself physically.

Just then, a pair of hands unexpectedly wrapped around her waist from behind. Nancy turned in surprise and saw a strikingly handsome profile—it was Mason Fu! He had jumped in too!

Mason glanced at her; his cold eyes held a hint of warmth as if trying to reassure her silently. Soon enough, all three managed to reach shore.

After getting onto land, Nancy coughed up a large mouthful of water and looked at the little boy lying on the ground. His face had turned an alarming shade of blue-purple; he had lost consciousness due to being submerged for too long.

Mason unzipped his padded jacket and began performing chest compressions for resuscitation. But after pressing for quite some time without success, he proceeded with artificial respiration but still saw no signs of revival from the boy.

"It seems hopeless," Mason said solemnly.

"How tragic! Such a lovely child… just gone like that," someone lamented nearby.

"I wonder whose child this is; how could they let such a small kid wander off?" another voice chimed in.

The surrounding tourists started discussing amongst themselves while Nancy’s pale face showed clear displeasure. She despised crowded places at any time but especially felt irritated by all the chattering voices when she was utterly exhausted.

Despite Mason's efforts at CPR, the boy’s complexion remained frighteningly blue-purple. Luke Bai rushed into the crowd upon seeing that both Mason and Nancy were alive—he almost burst into tears from relief.

His gaze fell on the boy who was being resuscitated: "I called emergency services ahead of time; an ambulance is on its way."

Mason's expression darkened: "This child's condition isn't good—the heartbeat is very weak now; cardiac resuscitation isn't working effectively; we need him transported immediately."

If they waited any longer, it might be too late. Luke quickly took out his phone: "I'll call again for updates."

"I'll try as well," Nancy added urgently.