Chapter 45

At around seven or eight in the morning, Lei Xuan was already at the door of the dormitory, not panting, but rather, calling people to wake up.

"Everyone, gather up, we're getting ready to move out," Lei Xuan called out in a commanding tone, urging the others to get up.

"Boss, we still have a month, why are you so anxious?" Wang Shibao, hugging his quilt, lay on the ground, eyes closed, complaining and being stubborn.

Last night, the others had tossed and turned, too scared to sleep because of Sadako. They only managed to fall asleep when the sky began to turn pink with the dawn. Now, they were deeply asleep, and except for Jia Tengying, no one wanted to get up.

"Hmph! Not anxious? With your wimpy state, Sadako will come and kill you!" Lei Xuan kicked Wang Shibao out of frustration, feeling like he was dealing with a hopeless case. There were other cycle travelers in the adjacent room, and it was embarrassing to look so weak in front of them.

"Get your ass up now!" Lei Xuan shouted, then rubbed his cheeks, trying to force a smile. He knocked on the door with a curled finger, "Chuci, are you awake? We're about to leave."

"......"

"Chuci? Are you in there?"

"......"

Lei Xuan immediately became highly alert. He snapped his fingers behind his back, and the next second, the Lei Wu Shield appeared on his hand. At the same time, Wang Shibao instantly woke up, looking energetic as if he had changed into a different person. He rolled over, kneeled on one knee, and drew two enchanted pistols, aiming them at the small space where Chuci was, looking extremely professional. Unfortunately, the dark circles under his eyes betrayed him.

Jia Tengying didn't react, continuing to look for his towel and toothbrush, "Oh, who moved my spatial backpack? I can't find it."

Lei Xuan glanced at Jia Tengying. From the expression of this sly guy, he realized he might have made a mistake.

Swish~~

The door suddenly opened, and Chuci stood in front of Lei Xuan, looking refreshed with no dark circles under his eyes, "Hey, good morning, Captain Lei. Uh? What's up with this guy?"

From his angle, Chuci didn't see the shield behind Lei Xuan. Wang Shibao, holding two pistols, looked ready for a fight, but the dark circles under his eyes betrayed him.

Lei Xuan flipped his hand, and the Lei Wu Shield disappeared. He looked around, as if only Wang Shibao was making a fuss, and smiled, "Ignore him, he has sleepwalking."

"Oh, oh!" Chuci nodded, seeming to believe it.

Wang Shibao, on the verge of tears, let the barrels of his pistols droop.

"Right, I came to tell you to get ready..." Lei Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, about to get to the point, but his pupils dilated. He reached out with a large hand, grabbed Chuci's neck, and pulled him back, while the Lei Wu Shield reappeared, protecting them both.

"What's going on? Is there a problem?" Wang Shibao became alert again.

Jia Tengying sneered, walking past them in a tank top and shorts, holding a stainless steel basin, a towel, and a toothbrush. It seemed he had found them.

Inside Chuci's room, the white quilt was slightly moving, as if hiding a terrifying monster. It was this subtle anomaly that made Lei Xuan take a defensive stance.

It appeared!

Black hair!

A head emerged from the quilt. Before Lei Xuan could react, another mysterious bulge appeared, and then another small head with golden, shining hair emerged.

Huh? Lei Xuan was stunned. What was going on? How could there be two heads? Did Sadako evolve into a two-headed Sadako? And one of them even dyed her hair to follow the trend?

Only Chuci might know the answer, but unfortunately, Chuci was being choked by Lei Xuan and couldn't breathe, rolling his eyes and pounding on Lei Xuan's shield.

"Let me go, damn it!" Chuci managed to gasp out.

Before Lei Xuan could let go, the two magical dolls, who had been sleeping, woke up. Seeing their master being choked, they immediately jumped out of the quilt, shouting in unison, "Let... let the master go!" Even their pauses were identical.

Chuci: "......" If I were really kidnapped, would anyone listen to you?

Fortunately, Lei Xuan wasn't a bad guy, so he obediently let go of Chuci, pointing at the two disheveled little girls, his voice trembling, "Chuci, these... these two are..."

Chuci felt Lei Xuan and Wang Shibao's gazes becoming increasingly strange, filled with disdain and contempt.

"My summoned magical dolls, for combat," Chuci quickly explained, afraid of being labeled as a pedophile.

"Master, you hugged me so tightly last night, my clothes are all wrinkled," Zhenhong added.

Lei Xuan glanced at Chuci, sighed, shook his head, and walked out the door, looking utterly disappointed. Wang Shibao, on the other hand, looked at Chuci with pure admiration, filled with envy for a life winner.

Chuci: "......" Can I say that I was scared last night, so I hugged the dolls for comfort?

Chuci felt they wouldn't believe him.

"Get back in here!" Chuci opened his arms, letting Zhenhong and Shin'aka return to their doll forms.

...

On the way to Izu by rental car, Chuci was openly excluded, more so than when they first met the night before.

The only one who might have had a good impression of Chuci, Wang Shibao, was in the car behind. So, except for Lei Xuan, who was driving, the other three female cycle travelers kept their distance from Chuci, occasionally huddling together to chatter and looking at him with disdain.

Chuci felt extremely bored and took out a laptop to continue improving Shin'aka's logic library, hoping to upgrade her intelligence.

The journey passed in a dull and uninteresting atmosphere. At three in the afternoon, the group of nine arrived at the Izu resort. Chuci witnessed what it meant to be a rich person. The female cycle traveler named Xiqiu, with a haughty attitude, threw a stack of crisp 10,000 yen bills, making the resort manager grovel and reserve the entire resort for a month.

The manager, holding the money, left with a happy smile, and the resort was now completely free of outsiders.

Lei Xuan searched the management office but, as expected, found no videotape.

"If it were that simple, this cycle world wouldn't be rated as high difficulty," Lei Xuan said, undeterred. He issued orders, "We'll split up as usual. Chuci, you're with me. Search for the videotape. If you find it, don't touch it; just send a message to gather everyone."

The others left one by one, each going their separate ways, while Chuci followed Lei Xuan, watching him search every nook and cranny with the professionalism of an experienced cycle traveler.

They searched until it was dark, finding nothing except a hidden well in B4 cabin.

"Jia, what do you think?" Lei Xuan, knowing that Chuci was also quite intelligent, still habitually sought the opinion of his strategist first.

"Think? I think we should prepare dinner and get ready for a long-term battle," Jia Tengying said, rubbing his stomach in protest.

"What about you, Chuci?" Lei Xuan asked for Chuci's opinion.

"Oh, I saw a restaurant over there. We don't need to cook," Chuci pointed to the west side of the resort, where a beautiful hillside restaurant was located.