Courtyard House: I fish in the heavens, a professional bird abuser.

Although Unit 3 didn't explode, it crashed quite hard.

After He Yuanchao pulled the last trapped survivor out of the deformed cabin, the entire helicopter emitted an extremely ominous metallic groan—the sound of a large mechanical structure about to collapse under extreme stress.

"Get away from the plane! Everyone back off!"

He yelled.

The seven people who had just been rescued stumbled and ran outside.

The man with the sprained ankle was being carried by two companions, while the woman with the dislocated shoulder gritted her teeth and charged forward.

He Yuanchao was the last to evacuate.

The moment he jumped out of the cabin, he heard a series of rapid cracking sounds behind him—the helicopter's main support truss finally gave way, and the entire fuselage collapsed to the left like a flattened soda can.

The wreckage of the left engine detached from its mounting bracket and crashed heavily to the ground, splashing up pebbles and mud.

A plume of black smoke billowed from the engine wreckage.

There was no fire.

The fuel had already been mostly used up in the previous leak.

He Yuanchao stood twenty meters away, looked back at the pile of smoking metal debris, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he turned around and faced the thirty-one people on the riverbank.

These people looked like they had just crawled out of their graves.

Some people sat slumped on the pebbles, staring motionless at the sky. Others huddled together, hugging their knees, trembling. The baby was still crying, but the cries were much weaker than before—the young mother's milk was probably almost gone.

Angela squatted by the river and scooped up some water with her hands, taking two sips.

Jill stood beside her, one hand on Angela's shoulder, the other still gripping the gun. Her gaze swept back and forth through the surrounding woods, maintaining the vigilance she never lost, even in her exhaustion.

Payton sat on a large rock, his legs dangling, looking a little better than on the plane—the secondary inhibitor had indeed worked. But he still lacked energy, and his voice was a little unsteady.

Alice stood next to He Yuanchao, holding the military knife in her hand, her gaze calmly sweeping over the surroundings.

Riverbank.

The hillsides on both sides are covered with dense forest.

The river flows from the northwest, with a small volume and a depth of about knee-deep. The riverbed consists of pebbles and gravel, and the water appears to be fairly clear.

He Yuanchao quickly assessed his current situation in his mind.

Location: Eastern edge of the Allegheny Mountains. At least 60 kilometers from the nearest known settlement.

Personnel: Thirty-one people. No more than ten of them are capable of fighting. Five are wounded. One is an infant, a little girl, and an elderly pastor over seventy years old.

Supplies: Limited resources can be salvaged from the wreckage of the three helicopters. The two intact helicopters contain ammunition boxes and military rations, but in small quantities. Most of the equipment in the third, crashed helicopter was damaged in the impact.

"Let's take stock of the supplies first," He Yuanchao said to Jill and Alice.

The three people split up and acted separately.

He Yuanchao went to the rear cabin of the first helicopter to search.

Military rations – six boxes. Twelve portions per box. Enough to feed thirty-one people for about two and a half days.

Ammunition – 300 rounds of 5.56mm rifle ammunition, 150 rounds of 9mm pistol ammunition, and two boxes of 12-gauge shotgun shells.

First aid kit – three. Inside are bandages, alcohol swabs, painkillers, and several morphine syringes.

Tents—two. Standard military four-person tents.

Blanket - zero.

Water – zero. But there's a river right next door, so it's not a big problem.

Alice found similar items in the second helicopter, in roughly the same quantity.

The two planes together provide enough rations for about five days. Ammunition is barely sufficient. There are only four tents, not enough to fit all thirty-one people.

He Yuanchao gathered all the supplies on a flat area in the middle of the riverbank and arranged them in categories.

He stood in front of the pile of things and looked at it for two seconds.

Then a decision was made.

He quietly took out a few things from the system space—not many, but they were all crucial.

A roll of 50-meter-long nylon climbing rope.

Two folding saws.

A box of waterproof matches.

A small water purifier (the casing is disguised as a military water bottle).

When he "found" these things, the official explanation was that they were "dug out of the wreckage of Unit 3." Anyway, the wreckage had already turned into a lump of iron, and no one would bother to verify what was originally inside.

"Alright."

He Yuanchao stood in front of everyone.

"I know you're tired. I'm tired too. But now is not the time to rest."

"It's getting dark. The temperature in the mountains drops very low at night. We need to start a fire, build a shelter, and set up sentry posts."

He pointed to the grove of trees beside the riverbank.

"Those who know how to use a knife, come out and cut branches to build a makeshift shelter. Those who don't know how to use a knife, gather firewood. The water in the river is drinkable, but it must be boiled before drinking."

He paused for a moment.

"Rations will be distributed tonight according to the number of people. Each person will receive one military ration pack. No more, no less, without exception. I will also have one."

When He Yuanchao said this, he deliberately looked around at everyone present.

The convenience store owners looked at each other but didn't say anything.

The two high school students had already stood up and dusted off their pants.

The bald firefighter picked up his fire axe, which he had somehow acquired, and headed towards the woods.

The old pastor also stood up, his back was hunched over, but his hands were very steady.

"I'll start the fire," the old man said. "Before becoming a pastor, I was a Boy Scout."

He Yuanchao's lips twitched slightly.

The people are still usable.

Just give them a direction.