Firefly Journey

Chapter 129 Walking in the Snow (2)

Inside the St. Louis train carriage, Dick shrank back due to the heavy snow.

As long as someone is driving the lead Black Wing Tiger, the others will follow, thus saving effort.

"This damn weather is really something else," Dick muttered, rubbing his hands together, before his gaze fell on Claudia.

This time, there was no lewdness in their gaze, but genuine envy... She's so resistant to the cold!

Claudia said, "Should I drive the car?"

Lin Yuanran said, "You wouldn't be, would you?"

“I can learn.”

"That makes sense, I'll go learn it too!"

Lin Yuanran had worked as a traveling merchant with Piero for a period of time, during which time Piero or the coachman always drove the car, and he never had to do the work himself.

The saying goes, "It's always good to have more skills." Driving is just like getting a driver's license in the original world. It's best to learn it so you won't be caught off guard when you need it.

Before Claudia could move, Lin Yuanran rushed out first. Facing the cold air, he used his scarf as a mask to protect his mouth as well.

Claudia followed closely behind and sat down next to him.

Dick suddenly felt superfluous. "Wait, you two were inside when I was outside. How come you both went out together when I came in?"

Since neither of them had driving experience, they sat outside staring at each other, unsure of how to operate the vehicle.

They dared not move rashly, lest the Blackwing Tiger be startled and rampage wildly.

Dick, the senior student, came in handy, remotely controlling the two of them from inside the warm carriage.

With their senior's guidance, the two of them started operating the machine quite skillfully, and the result was not bad; at least they didn't startle the Blackwing Tiger...

Due to the snow, they didn't travel far in a day. As the sun began to set, it was time to rest.

There are no hotels today, so we have to sleep in the wilderness.

Upon reaching an open area, Victor had Boros stop, and they began to set up camp.

The carriage was insulated and kept warm, serving as a natural tent. After everyone cooked and ate together, they rested separately.

Watching the smoke rising from the cooking fire, Lin Yuanran wondered if the bandits Boros had mentioned would come looking for him. Then he shook his head, thinking that such a coincidence was unlikely and he was overthinking things.

Tonight, it's the turn of the three from St. Louis to keep watch. They discussed it and decided that Claudia, being a girl, would keep watch for the first round, then Lin Yuanran would take over at midnight, and finally Dick would be on duty.

Originally, Lin Yuanran thought Dick was an unreliable person, but she didn't expect him to be fulfilling his duties as a senior student and taking care of the two of them in every way. Only then did Lin Yuanran realize that she had been judging Dick by her own standards.

The first half of the night passed peacefully. Lin Yuanran took a short nap and left the train carriage at 12 o'clock sharp, intending to change shifts.

It was clear that Claudia, who was usually pampered, was already feeling very sleepy.

Lin Yuanran patted her on the shoulder: "Your mission is complete."

When Claudia saw Lin Yuanran arrive, she showed a relieved expression.

"Then I'll trouble you," she said.

Lin Yuanran said, "It's all for the gold coins."

Claudia didn't say anything more. She went back to the carriage, where Dick was fast asleep, soundly and peacefully.

Claudia symbolically took the blanket, covered herself with it, and gradually drifted off to sleep.

Just in case, Lin Yuanran dared not light a fire, fearing that the fire would attract monsters or those vagrants and bandits.

Without a fire, his body had no heat, and Lin Yuanran shivered from the cold. After enduring the cold wind for an hour, Lin Yuanran couldn't take it anymore. He burned some of his magic power to warm his body up a bit.

However, the consumption of burning mana for warmth is much slower than its recovery, so he can only "turn it on" for a while and then "turn it off" again to maintain a balance between income and expenditure.

Half an hour later, Viktor's carriage moved, and he got out.

Lin Yuanran casually asked, "Why are you out so late, Mr. Reporter?"

Victor said, "I need to use the restroom."

Lin Yuanran frowned and said, "You can take care of it in the carriage by yourself. It's too dangerous outside."

Viktor coughed lightly and said, "It's too much. If I were inside, I probably wouldn't be able to eat breakfast tomorrow."

Lin Yuanran immediately understood and didn't say anything more, watching Viktor leave footprints in the snow and disappear from sight.

Lin Yuanran continued to turn his magic on and off repeatedly to maintain his body temperature. It was late at night, and he had never had a similar experience of keeping watch before. His mind was a little hazy, and drowsiness kept creeping over him.

Suddenly, his head slumped down as he lost his support, and the feeling of weightlessness instantly snapped him back to reality. He glanced at his watch and realized that half an hour had passed since Mr. Victor went to the toilet, and he didn't think he had seen him return during the time he was in a daze.

Lin Yuanran felt a chill run down his spine and quickly jogged a short distance to Mr. Victor's carriage.

dong dong!

No one responded.

Lin Yuanran got anxious and knocked on the door hard, but there was still no response.

Left with no other choice, Lin Yuanran took out his "convenience key" and opened the car door.

The carriage was empty, and the heating lights had been off for a long time, leaving no warmth. This indicated that Viktor had not returned after leaving.

In this cold weather, would he really spend half an hour in the toilet?

Obviously not.

Lin Yuanran panicked and quickly searched around the camp, but there was no sign of Viktor.

He realized something was wrong; Viktor might not have gone to the toilet at all, but something had happened!

Lin Yuanran felt somewhat guilty and quickly went to wake everyone up.

Everyone woke up from their sleep, and after hearing Lin Yuanran's description, they were all very surprised.

"You mean he went to the bathroom and never came back?" Boros frowned.

“I know this sounds a bit far-fetched,” Lin Yuanran said urgently. “But it’s the truth. Mr. Victor left without saying goodbye, which is very strange. I’ve experienced a mental control incident with an evil god before, and I know that there are divine oracles that can control people’s minds. I suspect that someone may have used special means to make him leave the camp on his own.”

Boros said, "What you said is possible. In any case, the employer is missing now. Without him, nothing we do matters. We must find him!"

"Do you have any ideas?" Dick asked.

Before Boros could speak, "Shadow Assassin" Julianne said, "Go and get one of the reporter's clothes."

Lin Yuanran obediently returned, only to see Julianne lay the coat flat on the snow, drip a few drops of mysterious red liquid onto it, and then take out a compass.

Holding up the compass, she explained, "This is my magical artifact, called the 'Flavor-Finding Compass.' As long as a person is within ten kilometers of it, I can pinpoint their location using the items they've used, but only the general direction."

Everyone could see clearly that the compass needle had moved slightly, indicating that it was locating the target and that Viktor had not yet left the ten-kilometer effective range.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; there was still a chance.

"Then let's hurry up and go find him!" Lin Yuanran said anxiously.

Claudia, on the other hand, thought about things more comprehensively.

"We don't know his speed, and it would be too slow to chase him with a Blackwing Tiger."