After deciding to give up, I became popular

“Summer River, the one who disappeared... is Yukinoshita.”

“……”

179. Yukinoshita's Disappearance

Upon learning the news of Yukinoshita's disappearance, Xia Chuanzou was stunned for a moment, followed by disbelief.

Yukinoshita Yukino, disappeared. Logically speaking, these two words should never be put together, but the person who told him the news was Katō Megumi, so Xia Chuanzou had to believe it.

But just in case, he still asked, "Yukinoshita... do you mean Yukinoshita Yukino?"

“Yes.”

He received such a reply.

“……”

Come to think of it, where else in Xiuzhiyuan is there a second "Yukinoshita"?

So Xia Chuanzou panicked a little and subconsciously grabbed Katō Megumi's wrist.

People are always like this. The impact of unfortunate things happening to people who are not related to you is naturally different from those happening to people around you.

Indeed, he and Yukinoshita Yukino may not even be considered friends now, but after hearing the news, he couldn't help but worry about her.

“When did it happen?” Xia Chuanzou's tone inevitably became a little anxious.

“About 20 minutes ago, on the road from the second level to the third level.” Feeling the force coming from her wrist, Katō Megumi frowned slightly, but didn't say anything, just put her other hand on it to try to convey strength.

Xia Chuanzou had been tense all the time. Feeling the other party's movements, he immediately reacted and let go of his hand.

“Sorry, I'm a little anxious……”

Katō Megumi just shook her head, indicating that she was fine.

“Did she say anything before she disappeared? Or did she do anything?” Xia Chuanzou continued to ask, he had to know all the details.

“No.” Katō Megumi shook her head, but immediately added softly, “After we completed the second challenge, we went to... the restroom, and after I came out, Yukinoshita asked me to go ahead and wait for her, but I waited for a long time and didn't see her coming.”

“Then I went back to look for her, but I couldn't find her.”

“……” Xia Chuanzou frowned.

He could roughly guess what Yukinoshita Yukino was thinking. She definitely didn't like participating in this kind of activity, especially the kind where she had to team up with others, but that's why she couldn't choose to give up, otherwise it might harm others—this guy always hated causing trouble to others.

So in order to end this kind of activity as soon as possible, this guy must desperately solve the puzzles, striving to clear the level as quickly as possible to end the battle, so she asked Katō to go to the next level to wait for her in advance, probably just to save some time.

But why did she disappear? Although that guy does have hidden idiot attributes, she just needs to follow the paved stone road, right? Especially since there are many direction signs along the way, it's impossible for her to get lost in the forest, right?

Xia Chuanzou had an increasing headache.

But there's no time to think too much now. Now that he has asked clearly about the situation, he must take immediate measures.

So he opened his mouth to the student council handyman who had been waiting aside: “Have you arranged for someone to search?”

“Yes.” The man nodded and said, “The vice president arranged it. She also asked me to find the president to explain this matter.”

“Okay, I understand, thank you for your hard work.” Xia Chuanzou nodded and thanked him.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Kaguya had made arrangements, but after thinking about it carefully, he was still not at ease, worrying that the few people on standby in the student council would not be enough.

“Like this, please work harder and find the disciplinary committee to allocate half of their manpower. Not only should you search the surrounding area of the missing student, but also the areas along the middle of other levels.”

“Ah? But the patrolmen like this……”

“What patrol? Is discipline more important than human life? Go and spread the word, hurry up.” Xia Chuanzou glared at him fiercely, and the latter nodded quickly and ran away.

Xia Chuanzou looked around again and found that there were still two students responsible for checking in, so he simply said to the two of them: "Don't just stand there, find some flashlights and come with me to find someone."

He couldn't tell whether the other party was a volunteer or a member of the student council, but he couldn't care so much at this time, and decisively took out the majesty of the student council president to requisition the two of them.

Seeing that they obediently followed, Xia Chuanzou turned his head and said to Katō Megumi, who was beside him: “Katō, I'll leave the work here to you. If someone comes over to check in, please work hard. If other people ask about the people on duty here, tell them that the student council president has requisitioned them.”

“Yes, I understand.” Katō Megumi nodded slightly and agreed.

Xia Chuanzou's brows relaxed a little. He was still very relieved about Katō and believed that she could handle this job.

Not long after, the previous two returned, with three flashlights in their hands.

Xia Chuanzou took it and was about to set off with the two of them, but he heard a voice coming from behind.

“Xia Chuanzou.”

He turned his head and looked at Katō Megumi, who had just spoken, with a slightly puzzled expression, but saw the other party's red lips slightly open: “Please, you must find Yukinoshita.”

“……” Xia Chuanzou was startled, but then he reacted and responded to her with a smile, “Don't worry, leave it to me.”

He didn't expect that Katō would become friends with Yukinoshita.

Because he was in a hurry to find someone, Xia Chuanzou didn't spend much effort and took the two "volunteers" to the destination - the place where Yukinoshita disappeared.

Then he ordered the two to set off one after another, looking for people along the stone road, and if necessary, they could go a little deeper on both sides, but they must not cross the fence.

He himself went to look for the surrounding wooden houses first - there were temporary toilets built there.

According to Katō's testimony, Yukinoshita disappeared here, so he wanted to investigate the surrounding situation first.

Such facilities are built between each level to provide convenience for people with emergencies, and it is completely okay to change clothes or something.

Of course, Xia Chuanzou didn't have to open every door and flip through it, he just searched a little, and after confirming that there was no one in the house, he searched around.

Of course, he didn't have a dog's nose, so he couldn't find people by smell, he just wanted to check the footprints around to see if he could find any clues.

Fortunately, his luck worked today, and he actually found a clue - towards the depths of the dense forest, there was a neat footprint that was obviously left by someone, the size and shape were exactly the same, obviously left by the same person.

Xia Chuanzou frowned, subconsciously feeling that it shouldn't be Yukinoshita's footprint, she shouldn't be the kind of person who would break the rules - she had clearly issued a notice not to go to places that haven't been developed.

But he couldn't ignore this clue at this moment.

After thinking about it for a while, he decided to search along this footprint, even if the person he found wasn't Yukinoshita, he might be able to find something.

Because of his previous experience with wild cats, he was very careful in this exploration, constantly looking around, until he came to the border - a place sealed with a fence.

Just when he was hesitating whether to go back and gather people, he found an object flashing with faint light on the grass next to a fence. He walked over and picked it up, and his eyes immediately became serious - a panda doll pendant.

It was what he once gave to Yukinoshita.

180. The Toughest Mouth (3.5K)

It is now early May, and the climate has gradually warmed up, but at this moment, Xia Chuanzou only feels cold in his heart.

Maybe a lost pendant can't explain too much, but combined with Yukinoshita's disappearance, it's clearly something she left behind, otherwise things would be too coincidental, right?

According to the footprints, she was not kidnapped, she came here of her own will, but she is not a person who likes to break the rules, and her curiosity is not so strong that she would want to start a "solo adventure".

It is precisely because he understands her personality that Xia Chuanzou can't understand what happened. It's impossible for her to be really attracted by something and climb over the fence, right?

But as things stand, it is meaningless to analyze the route by exploring her motives. It is better to simply take action directly, so that the probability of searching for her will be greater, of course, the most important thing is another thing - worrying about her encountering wild animals.

Like the fierce wild cat before, it is already very threatening, let alone creatures like poisonous snakes. Even if Yukinoshita is good at Aikido, she can't deal with this kind of creature that doesn't have a human shape, right?

Thinking of this, Xia Chuanzou simply took action.

After putting the panda pendant he picked up into his pocket, Xia Chuanzou climbed over the fence and continued searching.

He wanted to follow the footprints to find people again, but he didn't expect that after walking a few steps, the entire footprint became chaotic, not only facing all directions, but also mixed together to form an "X" shape.

Xia Chuanzou was even more puzzled, but he was more certain about the guess that Yukinoshita might be lost.

After thinking carefully, Xia Chuanzou looked around and soon found a stone pile of moderate height, so he walked over, turned on the flashlight mode of his mobile phone and turned the volume to the maximum, while looping the recording he had recorded and fixed it on the top of the stone pier with the back facing up.

After that, he felt it was not safe enough, so he found two smaller stones and placed them on both sides of the flashlight to clamp it in place.

After doing all this, he picked up the flashlight again, turned the brightness to the maximum, and continued searching according to his footsteps.

These footprints are too chaotic, it is too difficult to simulate the other party's actions, so he decided to use the exhaustive method, taking the footsteps he came from as the center, and searching one by one in all directions. If he is lucky, he should be able to find the other party in 10 minutes.

Considering that Yukinoshita may also be moving around in a random way, in order to avoid missing it, he left his mobile phone behind. He thought that after hearing the sound, she would definitely understand what he meant. Not only that, if other search team members find this place later, they can also provide some help.

After making all these preparations, Xia Chuanzou turned back to confirm the "center point", then carefully observed it, found a single-threaded trace that looked the clearest from the messy footprints, and he stepped on the footprints one step at a time and followed up.

Next, it's up to fate……

Xia Chuanzou silently prayed in his heart, praying that he could hit the jackpot.

However, luck did not stand on his side at all. He stepped on the footprints all the way, but finally returned to the starting point.

“It shouldn't be like this……” Xia Chuanzou frowned and muttered to himself.

If she was really lost, it would be impossible to walk back so accurately, and even start off in a completely opposite direction.

In his opinion, if a person is lost, even if he is flustered and does not pay attention to the traces of his coming, he cannot walk two completely opposite roads, one on the left and one on the right, even completely in a straight line. This does not look like he is looking for an exit at all, but like he is using the elimination method, searching for something along the way……

Thinking of this, Xia Chuanzou finally had an answer in his heart, so he couldn't help but curse in a low voice.

“This idiot.”

After having an idea in his mind, he simply returned to the previous starting point and observed the footprints in all directions again.

Fortunately, it didn't rain or wind during this period, and these traces were well preserved. He quickly found a footprint that obviously had a smaller distance between steps, and then walked along the footprints without hesitation.

This time he didn't make a mistake, and he didn't even need to shout out. He soon found a petite figure, leaning against a tree and sitting on the grass with his knees in his arms.

“Yukinoshita?” Xia Chuanzou said, then tilted the flashlight slightly, not shining it directly on the other party.

“Xia Chuanzou?” The figure raised his head, as if showing an unbelievable expression.

“I finally found you.” Xia Chuanzou breathed a sigh of relief.

After hearing a familiar cold voice, the stone in his heart finally fell completely.

“Why are you sitting here? Are you injured somewhere?”

After confirming the other party's identity, Xia Chuanzou ran over in a hurry, and then turned the brightness of the flashlight to the lowest, and then squatted down beside her and began to check.

Yukinoshita Yukino's face did have a puzzled expression, but at this moment, after seeing him, she added some other emotions, but she didn't have time to think too much. Seeing Xia Chuanzou squatting down, she subconsciously covered her leg and ankle and retorted, "It's nothing, I'm fine……"

“Why are you still pretending at this time?” Xia Chuanzou glared at her fiercely, and said a little angrily, “If you are really okay, why are you sitting in this kind of place alone? Why don't you just walk back? Is it fun to let others think you are lost and missing?”

"You..." Seeing the other party's unfriendly tone, Yukinoshita's already bad mood worsened, and she retorted, "Anyway, I don't need you to worry, I can walk myself."

Then she placed her hands on the ground, looking like she was about to get up, but with just a slight movement, she suddenly felt a sharp pain.

"Ugh..."

So, Natsukawa Kanade instantly understood that she was being stubborn again.

Then, disregarding her objections, he rolled up her trouser leg to inspect it.

Under the flashlight's beam, her ankle was already swollen quite badly, and even without comparing it to the surrounding fair skin, it was clear that she was in a state of severe sprain.

"Is this what you call being okay?" Natsukawa Kanade glanced at her coldly.

This girl really doesn't know how to take care of her own body. This was clearly caused by overuse of her foot. It's likely that the sprain wasn't this serious when it first happened.

"..." Seeing that she couldn't argue, Yukinoshita simply turned her head away, not saying a word.

"What about other places? Are there any other injuries?" Natsukawa Kanade asked again, still a little worried.

"...No." Yukinoshita shook her head slightly.

"That's good then..." Natsukawa Kanade nodded slightly. Since there were no other injuries, she probably hadn't encountered any wild animals. As for anything else, he was too lazy to ask further. Then, he reached out his hands, wanting to help her up.

"Bear with it a little, I'll go slowly."

"..." Yukinoshita seemed to understand his intentions, and she didn't refuse. Instead, she cooperated extremely well, grabbing his hands and struggling to stand up.

After helping Yukinoshita up completely, Natsukawa Kanade first let her lean against a tree, then squatted down with his back to her.

"Get on, I'll carry you back."

"..." Yukinoshita seemed a little hesitant.

Seeing that there was no movement behind him, Natsukawa Kanade pretended to be angry and said, "Are you still worrying about nonsense at a time like this?"