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But there was no way to smile bitterly. Today's sudden heavy snow had already made them extremely anxious. In response to their requests for help, they could only express their condolences in silence.
"The situation is too dangerous and the resort staff cannot help. We can only pray that the two students will have good luck."
Although their resort also has rescue personnel, the situations in which they are dispatched are all within the controllable range. In situations like this where life is potentially in danger, even if an order is given, there is a high chance that it will be rejected.
"Is there really no way we can go out? They should be near the snow trail." Shizuka Hiratsuka coughed and kept trying. If her body would not allow it, she might have taken her equipment and gone to look for her students.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, we are going to slide there in the dark. Do you know how dangerous this is?"
"Besides, it's snowing so heavily that helicopters can't be deployed. They violated the warning and trespassed into the unopened area..."
Shiina Mahiru, who had been silent and talking on the phone, responded to the person on the other end a few times and then handed the phone to the person in charge of the resort.
"Teacher, believe in them." Shiina Mahiru comforted Hiratsuka Shizuka, and the man with a sword-fighting attitude before nodded and bowed to the person on the other end of the phone, and his attitude became humble after putting down the phone.
"I will go find the right rescue personnel right now. Please wait a moment, Ms. Shiina."
Chapter 189 There is always a way out
Although she had long known that the identities of her students were not simple, Shizuka Hiratsuka felt as if she was still living in the past when she saw that a single phone call could lead to such a drastic change in the other party's attitude.
Her family is relatively wealthy, but faced with a resort where she is unfamiliar with the place, she can only beg for help. However, according to the information on her admissions materials, Shiina's father is a local councilor. How could he be in charge of something so far away?
"Shiina-san?"
As the rescue team was making intensive preparations, Shizuka Hiratsuka watched her putting on her equipment and had a bad feeling in her heart.
She wouldn't want to go along, would she?
Don't let the two students fail to be rescued and this intact one be sacrificed.
"That's the number my father left me." Shiina Mahiru misunderstood the teacher's meaning, thinking that she was curious about the phone number: "Whenever I need help in any difficulty, I will call that number. They will do everything they can to help me."
Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't bother to sigh about the gap between people. She grabbed Shiina Mahiru's hand and said firmly, "You can't go. It's so dark. What if you get hurt? Even if Natsume Rin knew, he would never let you go."
She had already planned to put on her equipment and follow the rescue team, and she didn't want to put her students at risk.
Shiina Mahiru rubbed her hair in distress, not knowing how to respond to the teacher's attitude.
In her heart, she definitely wanted to go find Natsume Rin in person, and her skiing skills could help her avoid most of the dangers even at night.
But what the teacher said did make sense, and Natsume Rin didn't want her to go out in danger.
"Teacher." Shiina Mahiru took a deep breath and looked at her calmly.
"You should go back to the dormitory and rest now. We will definitely take care of Natsume Rin and the others, ahem."
Hiratsuka Shizuka, who was trying to teach her a lesson, started coughing violently, but the cold did not go away because of her kindness.
Seeing her like this, the hesitant Shiina Mahiru immediately made up her mind. When she saw that the rescue team was ready, she waved her hand and commanded them to set off.
"Teacher, don't worry. I will take good care of myself and bring them all back."
"Hey!"
The rescue team listens to the person in charge, and the person in charge listens to Shiina Mahiru, so the teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka has no say here and can only watch them leave.
Time passed slowly, and relying on the light from the helicopter that barely took off, they followed the path that Natsume Rin had taken in the afternoon to reach the forest. Because they couldn't brake in time at night, several people crashed into the trees.
The team's morale was greatly reduced due to the loss of members before the search even began. The team, which was maintained by bonuses and vacations, slowly entered the forest under the persistence of Shiina Mahiru.
There was such a big commotion here that even a helicopter took off, which caused a lot of discussion among the students on vacation. When they saw Mr. Hiratsuka walking back with a sullen face, several people surrounded him to inquire about the news.
"It's okay." Hiratsuka Shizuka smiled reluctantly, but she couldn't spread panic among the students. "It's just daily work at the resort. It snowed heavily last night. You should go to bed early. We have to rush back to Tokyo tomorrow."
Upon hearing the news that they would be returning to Tokyo tomorrow, the students who had not had enough fun began to sigh.
Totsuka Ayaka and the squad leader looked at each other and both noticed something was wrong.
"Where's Natsume?"
"I sent him a message but he didn't reply."
"Isn't it because he's in trouble?"
The two looked at each other worriedly, but there was really nothing they could do to help.
They all thought that the one who had the problem was Natsume Rin. After trying to contact the three people to no avail, the senior student fell into panic, especially after hearing the sound of a helicopter taking off outside the house, her expression was even more frightening.
"Kasumigaoka?" Eriri, who was with her, looked at her face carefully and said, "Don't hang around in front of me."
"No." Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice suddenly became louder, "Can you contact Shiina-chan?"
"There was no reply to the message I sent, and there are only two of us left in the group chat, you know that." Ying Lili pouted.
Kasumigaoka Utaha pulled her hair in distress. It was precisely because she knew this that she wanted to get some good news from her.
"Natsume and the others...are they stuck on the snowy trail?"
Ying Lili guessed that she had heard them discussing the newly discovered ski trails during dinner, and she didn't think much of it when she noticed it snowing in the afternoon, but suddenly came to her senses at this moment.
If the snow gets heavier while you're skiing, there's a real chance you'll get stuck there.
"No, I believe in Natsume."
Kasumigaoka Utaha shook her head stubbornly, which made Eriri sigh inwardly.
A woman in unrequited love is really scary.
Just as the rescue team was searching the forest non-stop, Natsume Rin finally brought Yukino to the cave she mentioned. He didn't rush to rest, but checked inside first. Only after he made sure that it was not the nest of some wild beast did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"If it really is a bear's cave, we'll become a takeaway delivered to your door."
He still had the leisure to joke, as Yukino had already found some dead branches left behind in the cave. However, the reflection of the snow revealed traces of water on them, which ruined Yukino's plan to use drilling wood to make a fire to raise the temperature.
"It seems that bad luck is not about a certain event, but that everything goes wrong during that period of time."
She gave up struggling with a bitter smile and sat down against the cold cave.
The fact that two extremely smart people had fallen to such a state could no longer be described as coincidence. It felt like God was playing a joke on them.
"Minister, don't fall asleep."
Natsume Rin, who was squatting on the ground studying the branches, was still optimistic. Seeing Yukino close her eyes, she threatened: "If I find you sleeping, I will definitely take revenge on you for slapping me."
In this situation, you cannot just fall asleep casually, otherwise the low temperature and the loss of physical strength will cause you to be seriously injured after getting up, even if it is not so extreme that you will not wake up forever.
Yukino is already extremely weak in this aspect, and if she gets hurt again, it will cause great harm to her body and may even affect her future lifespan.
"Then what should we do now? Just sit there in a daze?" Yukinoshita Yukino opened her eyes, looking like she had nothing to do.
"Tell stories, talk about ideals, or if that doesn't work, we can compete in memorizing. Don't you think it's romantic for a man and a woman to be alone in a cave in the wilderness? It would be a waste to fall asleep at this time."
After rubbing his palms until they bled, Natsume Rin finally confirmed that if this thing was used to drill wood to make fire, primitive people would not have discovered fire yet.
"Romantic? You really know how to describe it."
Although she was mocking, she finally cheered up and chatted with Natsume Rin.
Natsume looked at the time floating in front of him and prayed silently in his heart.
Don't have such bad luck!
Chapter 190: Just a Little Bit Short
The system will refresh a batch of props every month, and there will be a time reminder in the last few hours. Today is the last day of December, and Natsume Rin now relies on this thing to understand the time.
Seeing that there were still two hours until midnight, Natsume Rin ran to the cave entrance without giving up, but the darkness outside forced him back.
If nothing unexpected happens, they will most likely have to survive the night to have a chance of being rescued.
He prayed in his heart that useful props would appear, and then cheered Yukino up with words. Even in such a dangerous situation, Lord Natsume was still so busy. When he thought of this, he couldn't help but sigh that he was a person who could not rest.
"Xiaoxue, if you don't sleep until tomorrow, your breasts might get bigger."
Yukino, who had been resting with her eyes closed, opened them and stared at him. She was a little speechless about such nonsense, but she also understood that he just wanted to cheer herself up.
"It's impossible to stay up all night."
She told the helpless truth.
Although she was not sure about the exact time, it was probably only seven o'clock in the evening when she found out. Even if she had dawdled until now, it would definitely not be the next day yet. Now she felt tired, and it was absolutely impossible for her to hold on until dawn.
"If we wait a few more hours, maybe there will be a turn for the better."
Natsume Rin also knew that the request was not very realistic, but he still hoped that she could hold on long enough, at least until he could find the props for making fire from the mall refreshed by the system, so that sleeping at night would not be so harmful to the body.
When he said this, Yukino didn't refuse, but she looked at Natsume Rin with her big eyes in confusion, not knowing what exactly he meant by a turning point.
Did he mark the forest before he left? Would the rescuers be able to find them if they were dispatched?
"Did you leave a mark?"
"Well, I did have this idea, but the marks made by the snow would have been buried long ago." Natsume Rin shrugged, sat next to Yukino, and took the initiative to reach out and hold her hand.
At this point it is no longer an action with any other thoughts, it is simply a technique to bring two people close together and warm each other up.
Yukinoshita Yukino sniffed, no longer resisted and snuggled into his arms, listening to him continue to talk nonsense, then closed her eyes peacefully and prepared to take a rest.
At this time, Natsume Rin did not object. She told her a story and waited silently for twelve o'clock in the evening.
The rescue team outside was also searching with all their might. After midnight, not only would their level of danger increase greatly, but even the chances of survival of the two missing students would drop to zero.
At that time, even if there is a generous reward, they will not stay in the woods any longer.
"Is there any over there?"
"No, the snow covered their footsteps and they couldn't find the way to the back mountain at all."
Shiina Mahiru followed them with a pale face, and the lamp in her hand dispelled the darkness nearby, but it was still pitch black in the distance.
It is simply a dream to want to search the entire forest with their manpower. Their goal is to search as much as possible in the limited time, hoping to run into Natsume Rin and the others.
Following the resort's map, they finally found the exit to the back mountain at night. Looking at the traces of trees being squeezed apart, some people squeezed out to check the situation.
He retreated in less than ten minutes, with snowflakes hanging on his eyebrows. Even though he was fully equipped, his legs were shaking unconsciously.
"They must be in the woods. If they were outside, they wouldn't be able to send me a message given their protective conditions."
Shiina Mahiru still held on to a glimmer of hope. Since the employer who paid the money had not given up, everyone quietly picked up their equipment and started looking again.
However, in the process, they were more looking for the road between the two entrances and exits. After all, the idea of staying overnight in the woods was too strange. A normal person would definitely look for an opportunity to return to the resort as soon as possible to escape from danger.
After everyone reported the time and confirmed that the day was over, Shiina Mahiru lowered her head and didn't want to talk, cold tears running down her cheeks.