Samson cast one final, grim gaze at the bottom of the cliff before letting out a silent sigh and turning away. He took Meghan's hand, and they walked back. Everything that transpired was written in Evangeline's fate. Despite her sharp instincts and formidable combat skills, Meghan pushed Evangeline off the cliff. Fate, it seemed, had its own script, sealing Evangeline's destiny.

Twelve feet below, a cave carved into the rock awaited. Sitting at its entrance, Evangeline listened to their footsteps fade. A cold chuckle escaped her lips. "Wanted me dead? Too bad for them," she mused. "Death was never in my cards. I don't go down that easily!"

Evangeline was not oblivious to Meghan's threat. She had anticipated it, and allowing Meghan to push her was a deliberate, strategic move—an escape plan. Seated at the cliff's edge long before their arrival, she had meticulously assessed the surroundings. Even without the cave, the dense foliage promised to break her fall. The sounds reaching Samson and Meghan were the echoes of stones she had tossed down. Giving Meghan the opportunity to push her was a calculated plan to expose Meghan's true nature to the naive Samson. To Evangeline's surprise, Samson proved pathetically naive and easily swayed.

Evangeline had severed ties with the Gallagher family, grateful to be rid of such a gullible brother. Otherwise, she would have been embarrassed by his foolishness. Regaining her composure, she ventured into the cave. Bored and with time on her hands, she saw this as an adventure.

Night settled over the forest. Jolene, Kendrick, and Travis waited anxiously, but Evangeline showed no sign of returning. Jolene kept her eyes fixed on the deep forest. "Evangeline is never this late," she worried. "Why hasn't she returned yet? She always comes back right after sunset. It's almost dark now. Could something have happened to her?"

Travis said, "She's a good fighter. Even the monkeys recognize her as their leader. She'll be fine."

Kendrick added, "Maybe she found an interesting spot and lost track of time. Let's just give her a bit more time."

Meanwhile, nearby, Meghan and Samson listened. Meghan couldn't hide a contemptuous smile. They can wait all they want, but Evangeline's never coming back! she sneered inwardly. She took out the myrtle berries they had collected and shared them with Samson. Looking at Jolene and the others, she smirked. "Without Evangeline, you all must be starving. I've got plenty here. Apologize for last night, and maybe I'll share some with you." Jolene and the others glanced at her, then turned away, refusing to apologize.

Meghan snorted coldly. "Humph. We'll see how long you can keep up that attitude." With Evangeline out of the picture, Meghan figured it was only a matter of time before they came begging for her help. She was in no hurry.

Meanwhile, online discussions erupted about Evangeline's absence.

A commenter wrote: "[Where is Evangeline? She wasn't seen since she walked out of the shooting area this morning. Where did she go?]"

A netizen added: "[Samson and Meghan left with Evangeline earlier. They came back, but not Evangeline. What's going on!]"

Another speculated: "[Could Meghan and Samson have killed Evangeline?]"

A netizen quickly dismissed that: "[That's impossible. Meghan and Samson are no match for Evangeline. There's no way they can beat her. Even with ten or more people, she's still no threat!]"

Another asked: "[What exactly happened to Evangeline! Did she encounter wild animals? Was she eaten by them!]"

The production team hadn't expected anyone to venture so deep into the forest. There were no hidden cameras installed that far out, so no one knew where Evangeline had gone or saw Meghan push her off the cliff. Dallas had been initially impressed by the celebrities venturing so far, and as a precaution, cameras were strategically placed near the mountains behind the forest. However, Evangeline surpassed all expectations. Had Dallas known she would roam so far, he would have installed cameras in more distant locations. With Evangeline beyond the filming location, today's livestream saw a significant drop in viewership, from tens of millions to just hundreds of thousands. Jolene and the others offered nothing interesting to watch. The remaining viewers kept asking about Evangeline's return. They eagerly awaited her reappearance.

Impatient viewers took to Twitter, creating trending topics urging those at the filming locations to notify Dallas immediately if Evangeline appeared. Seeing Meghan and Samson return without Evangeline, Dallas immediately contacted the crew in the forest.

"You guys, go and find Evangeline," Dallas instructed. "It's been almost ten hours since she was last seen on camera. Find out where she went." He was careful not to mention anything that might jinx her. "Huh?" Dallas muttered, spotting a familiar figure on a camera feed.

Evangeline, missing for almost ten hours, seemed to have returned unharmed. Excitement trembled in Dallas' voice. "Stop the search! Evangeline has appeared! She's back!"

"I told you so! With her skills, even monkeys would be no match! Even a tiger would become a kitten around her!" someone exclaimed.

"You guys continue to patrol and protect the guests secretly," Dallas instructed. "Don't reveal yourselves unless it's absolutely necessary!"

Dallas switched the livestream to the scene where Evangeline appeared. She was retracing her path, eventually stopping at the base of the mountain where the monkeys had claimed their territory. It was too late to navigate through the forest, so she chose to spend the night there. The base of the mountain was blanketed with expansive turf, offering a remarkable view. The air was refreshingly cool.

Setting down her backpack, Evangeline called out, "Kingka, are you there?" A rustling noise preceded the monkey king's roar: "Howl!" Soon, the monkeys descended and surrounded her. Evangeline noticed several were missing or injured. The monkey king's left elbow and forelimb hung at an odd angle, its hand clearly dislocated.

"What happened? Why are you all in this state?" Evangeline asked, upset by the sight of the monkey king's injury. The monkeys chattered, their faces filled with fury. "Were you attacked by other animals?" she wondered, contemplating the wilderness as the only plausible explanation. Samson's people were no match for the monkeys. The monkey king nodded vigorously.

Evangeline said, "It's too late to deal with that today. Take me to them tomorrow. Come here. Let me see if I can treat your injuries." The monkey king's eyes lit up.

As Evangeline sat, the monkey king approached. She turned on a flashlight (held by another monkey), illuminating the injured hand. She probed it, causing the monkey king to cry out in pain. After examining it, she made a swift motion.

Crack!

With a sharp snap, the monkey king's voice cut off, a puzzled expression appearing on its face. Glancing down, it realized its hand was back to normal. It tried to move its forelimb; it hurt, but it was functioning again.

Ecstatic, the monkey king howled joyously, circling Evangeline in gratitude. The other monkeys joined in, their eyes filled with admiration.

"Just a dislocation," Evangeline explained. "But take it easy for a while. No swinging from tree to tree, okay? Be cautious not to dislocate it again. Once it fully recovers, you can go back to doing whatever you want."

Whether or not it understood, the monkey king continued to howl. Evangeline turned to the others. "Line up, injured ones. Let me take a look."

The monkey king summoned the injured monkeys, who lined up orderly. There were ten, each with varying degrees of injury. Some had minor bites; others had severe injuries—a piece of skin bitten off, half a tail missing, deep bite wounds. These larger wounds were slow to heal and prone to infection. One monkey's internal organs were exposed. Evangeline's expression turned serious. "Injured ones, stay put. Kingka, bring some of them to me." She stood, armed with her flashlight, searching for herbs.

Soon, she picked some. She handed them to the monkey king, saying, "Find more of this for me!" The monkey king sniffed and tasted the herb. The other monkeys did the same and scattered to search.

After about ten minutes, Evangeline and the monkeys returned with the herbs. The monkeys laid them before Evangeline, who examined them carefully. She gave them a thumbs up. "You're quite the clever bunch, huh! It didn't take you much time to learn!"

11:45 AM

"Remember, if you get injured in the future, you can find these herbs," Evangeline instructed. "Just crush and apply them to your wound. It prevents infection. Even if infected, it can still work if not too severe." She took down a pot from her backpack, put the herbs in it, and crushed them into a paste with a stone. After mashing the herbs, she applied them to the injured monkeys except for the one with the abdominal injury.

From her backpack, she pulled out a medical kit and a suturing needle. When she walked over to the monkey with the abdominal wound, the little monkey shivered with fear. Evangeline looked at the monkey king. "Find two strong monkeys to hold it down. Don't let it move."

"Make it four," she added. "One on each limb."

The monkey king swiftly assigned monkeys to restrain the injured one. Evangeline disinfected its wound with iodine. Then, she took a needle and thread and began to stitch the wound. She could only proceed without anesthesia. The monkey howled in pain, but the other monkeys forcefully pinned it down. Evangeline quickly stitched over twenty sutures. Then, she sterilized the wound and applied medicine.

"Don't move until the wound heals, or it will tear open again," she cautioned.

As Evangeline packed up, she told the monkey king, "Send some to pick some fruits and fetch them to me. I don't feel like making dinner tonight."