Chapter 350
Sophia Sullivan hurried to find shelter from the rain.
Trees attract lightning.
She couldn't hide under one.
A flash of lightning split the night sky.
It illuminated the surroundings for an instant.
Sophia spotted a waist-high rock not far away.
The center of the rock was concave.
It formed a natural small cave.
Though the space was narrow.
It could barely fit one person.
The rain grew heavier.
Bean-sized raindrops pelted her body.
Bringing a slight stinging sensation.
She quickened her pace.
Groping her way toward the rock.
Just as she was about to reach it.
Her foot suddenly slipped.
Sophia lost her balance.
She tumbled forward.
This was恰好 a slope.
Once she fell, she couldn't stop herself from rolling.
She instinctively protected her head and face.
The slope was covered with some type of plant.
The grass-like texture provided some cushioning.
The rain-soaked earth was also soft.
After a dizzying tumble.
Sophia finally rolled to the bottom of the slope.
Her whole body ached.
Her vision went black.
It took her a good while to regain consciousness.
She was already completely drenched.
Everything was pitch black around her.
In her dazed state, she didn't know where she was.
She forced herself to calm down.
Clenched her teeth.
Used the nearby weeds and a tree trunk to push herself up.
As soon as she stood.
A sharp pain shot through her ankle.
She squatted down to check.
Using her phone's weak light.
She saw her ankle was swollen like a steamed bun.
Fortunately, it wasn't bleeding.
She tried to move it.
It hurt but she could still move it.
It probably wasn't broken.
Just a sprain.
Sophia breathed a slight sigh of relief.
She checked the seeds in her backpack.
The backpack was covered in wet mud.
The items inside were all damaged.
But the seeds were intact.
Dragging her injured foot.
She moved to shelter between two nearby rocks.
This rainstorm came suddenly.
It left just as quickly.
After about twenty minutes, the rain stopped.
Sophia leaned against the rock.
Soaked to the bone.
Her body felt alternately hot and cold.
The wet clothes were heavy and cold.
Taking them off would make her cold.
Not taking them off made her even colder.
Her phone was completely dead.
It had shut off automatically.
…
Hannah Morse and Marcus Lawrence were frantic with worry.
They waited and waited at the agreed meeting spot.
The sky gradually darkened.
Until it was completely black.
Still, Sophia hadn't arrived.
A rainstorm was imminent.
They kept calling Sophia's phone.
It remained unreachable.
A sense of foreboding settled over them.
"We can't just wait here." Marcus decided firmly. "Something must have happened. We have to find the lead instructor."
Hannah nodded hurriedly. "Finding the lead instructor will let us contact the garden administration. They can locate Sophia's position through surveillance or technical means. Then we can mount a rescue... What's the lead instructor's number?"
Marcus froze.
"Wasn't it in the group chat?"
Hannah sighed helplessly. "Our first-year grad students don't have a group."
Too few first-year grad students had chosen this course.
Only the three of them, Shane Holloway, Ashley Lowell, and a few others.
They had long since become enemies.
They didn't get along.
No group had been created.
The lead instructor hadn't been invited to join any group either.
Marcus was panicking internally.
But he forced himself to stay calm. "The school sent three lead instructors. It's just gotten dark. Many groups haven't found their basic specimens yet. Let's go to the nearest major zone first. See if we can run into them. Or maybe we'll find some senior students. Ask them for help contacting the instructors. Whatever happens, let's just go."
"Okay!"
The two set off immediately.
Sprinting toward the nearest Zone A.
They ran into Shane Holloway and his group on the way.
Shane saw their hurried, anxious expressions.
He guessed they were in a bind.
Old and new grudges surged in his heart.
He deliberately blocked their path. "In such a hurry. Where are you off to? Tell me about it?"
Hannah saw his cocky, troublemaking demeanor.
She knew he was up to no good.
Normally, she would have traded barbs.
But right now, her mind was filled with worry for Sophia's safety.
She had no time to waste.
Suddenly, she remembered Shane was smooth-talking and good at哄 people.
On the way here, he had been chatting with the lead instructor the whole time.
He might have the contact information.
"Shane, do you know the lead instructor's phone number? WeChat is fine too! We need to find him urgently. It's an emergency."
Shane raised an eyebrow.
His eyes shifted.
An emergency, huh...
"Well, well. You know what? I actually do have it!"
Hannah's eyes lit up. "Could you send it to me?"
"Sure. Wait a moment, let me find it..." He took out his phone. Pretended to search.
Hannah thought he had turned over a new leaf.
She waited and waited.
Her patience wore thin.
Shane still hadn't found it.
"Really sorry. Seems like I don't have it either." He smirked, his eyes full of mockery.
"You did that on purpose—! If you don't have it, you don't have it. Is messing with us fun?!"
Shane shrugged. "Pretty fun. Don't you think?"
Hannah was furious. "Has anyone ever told you you're really despicable? Especially when you're acting like a petty villain."
"You bitch, say that again?!"
"I just said it—despicable, despicable, despicable! So damn despicable!"
Shane sneered. "Might as well be honest with you. I not only have the lead instructor's contact info, I even know where he is. But I'm just not telling you. What are you going to do about it?"
Marcus's tone dropped sharply. "Sophia Sullivan is missing. Only by finding the lead instructor can we contact the garden administration. Organize a search and rescue. I'm telling you this not for you to gloat, but to inform you the situation is critical. A life is at stake! You can choose not to provide the contact information. But you need to understand the consequences. If something really happens, your behavior right now is refusing to save a life in danger."
"Ha!" Shane scoffed. "Is that a threat? Don't try to scare me! What could possibly happen to a living person like Sophia Sullivan?"
"Stop wasting time. Let's go quickly." Amelia Roscente couldn't help but urge.
Shane was a guy, after all.
Why did he gossip more than a woman?
As for Sophia being missing...
What did it have to do with her?
Not just missing.
She didn't care if she lived or died.
Fiona Valentine did show some concern. "I feel like it's about to storm heavily. If someone gets lost in the garden, it could be very dangerous."
Hannah seemed to grasp at a lifeline.
She looked at her with hopeful eyes. "So do you know where the lead instructor is? Or just give me the contact information! Please!"
Fiona looked embarrassed. "Sorry. I just came back from Zone C. Didn't see any lead instructors along the way. Don't have their contact info either. Sorry, can't help you."
Jude Granger became genuinely worried. "How could she be missing? When? Where did she disappear? I... I'll go directly to the garden staff to report the situation!"