After deciding to give up, he started to gain popularity

It seems that the so-called right of independent choice is actually a very useful thing. It can perfectly help you eliminate the possibility of being randomly matched with weak teammates and give you a chance to make your own decisions.

This is clearly a great opportunity to curry favor with someone! As long as you find a brave and courageous person and reach an agreement with him, you can ensure your chances of winning the prize!

The only drawback is -

Huh? No one would really participate in such an event just for the rewards of clearing the game, right?

Wouldn't it be nice to invite the girl you like over, and watch her pull your sleeves tightly because of fear, and hide in your arms and tremble after being frightened?

Even if the other party can't stand it and chooses to give up, you can choose to comfort her in a gentle voice, go backstage with her to rest for a while, warm each other's heart in the sound of communication between each other, and draw closer to each other...

Isn't this better than teaming up with some muscular or big guy to go on an adventure?

This isn't some dungeon crawler, at least give me some atmosphere!

----

"President, I seemed to see... two boys walking by holding hands just now?" Shinomiya Kaguya said hesitantly.

After entering the forest, the surrounding light sources basically disappeared. At this moment, they only had a prop flashlight that emitted a faint warm light in their hands, and there was nothing else that could provide lighting.

"...I saw it too." Xiachuan Zou nodded with a complicated expression.

Despite the limited brightness and narrow field of vision, Xiachuan Zou still recognized the two broad backs and the crew cut that looked like they were carved out of the same mold.

"They seem to be from the weightlifting club. I have some impression of their hairstyle..."

"..."

So the two of them stopped talking.

They just held each other's hands a little tighter, and in their hearts they were thinking how great it was that the person next to them was Kaguya (President)!

……

As the two of them went deeper, the noisy sounds from the venue had completely disappeared, and the surroundings were terribly quiet. Only the cries of crows coming from nowhere added a hint of life to this quiet forest...

This is certainly not terrible. What is terrible is that they have been walking on this road for nearly 5 or 6 minutes.

I didn't see anyone the whole time, nor could I hear any sound other than them. There was only a rugged path and a sign that appeared only once or twice - Go this way quickly, don't let them catch up with you...

The claustrophobic environment, the unknown road ahead, the crisis events whose outlook is hard to predict, the things that humans fear the most, are now all stuffed in and integrated into one, and all presented before their eyes.

I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what happened, I can only keep walking along this seemingly endless path...

"Kaguya, are you okay?" Xiachuan Kanade turned around and looked at the girl who was following him closely, and asked with some concern.

"Well, I'm fine..." Shinomiya Kaguya shook her head, and her face didn't seem to be that bad.

But she really hated this kind of environment, because it reminded her of every time she was put in solitary confinement -

When she was younger, whenever she failed to complete her assigned study tasks, her master would lock her up in a room without explanation, not allowing anyone to communicate with her. Even the people who provided her with three meals on time were not allowed to say a word to her...

So later she learned how to "study" and became what others called an "all-round genius"...

That's why she didn't want the president to see her, didn't want him to know how she felt right now...

"Okay, I'm glad you're okay..." Xia Chuan Zou nodded, feeling a little relieved.

"The journey ahead may still be the same. If you feel uncomfortable, just tell me. Don't be stubborn. I'm always here." Xia Chuan Zou reminded.

In fact, he had made all kinds of preparations along the way, such as being suddenly frightened or being "chased" by staff, etc., but the actual experience was a more soul-deep intimidation, which caught him off guard.

Fortunately, after a period of adaptation, he was not as uneasy as he was at the beginning. What's more, the girl behind him continued to give him strength, so as a boy, he should naturally take the right action.

"...Yeah." Shinomiya Kaguya nodded slightly and responded in an inaudible voice.

The president is really good at showing off. He had been holding her hands tightly until just now, as if he was afraid that she would suddenly disappear. But now he can turn around and say such cool words to her. Could it be that he wants to rescue her from the closed room? ...

It's really cute, stupid president...

Miss Sha Diao's mood suddenly became much more relaxed, her steps became lighter, and her body involuntarily moved closer, and her pace changed from following closely to lagging behind by only a shoulder.

Just like usual, she followed the respected president, patrolling every corner of the campus, and she only had eyes for him because he was excellent and reliable...

"..."

I don't know how long it took, the rugged path became narrower and narrower, and the signboard indicating the direction had not appeared for a long time. Just when Xiachuan Zou thought he had taken the wrong road, an extremely conspicuous light suddenly appeared in front of him.

It flickers on and off, as if attracting passers-by.

"We should have reached the checkpoint. Let's go over and take a look." Xia Chuanzou said.

He turned around and was about to check on his female companion, but found that she had already come close to him without him noticing.

So close.

So close that he only needed to turn his head slightly to smell her breath, the fragrance of her hair, and her in the darkness, saying frivolously with her crystal clear lips:

"President, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"..."

149. I don’t know anyone with that name…

My heart is beating so fast.

It was as if he was trying to muster up enough strength to break through the shackles of his body.

Is it the suspension bridge effect? ​​Natsukawa Kanade thought.

Because he had been in a state of high tension all the way, the instant relaxation after seeing the light made his tense body relax...

Of course he couldn't misunderstand it and think that he was attracted to Kaguya.

So he took a step back before answering the other party:

"Nothing, I just wanted to see how you were doing..." Xiachuan Kanade shook his head and explained to her softly.

"I don't know who designed this level, but it's of quite a high standard..." Xiachuan Zou continued, with an expression of approval on his face.

"In fact, I was always worried that someone might suddenly jump out and scare us along the way, but when we got to the checkpoint, there was not even a single person... But I have to say that walking this route really put a lot of pressure on me..."

He just kept talking, occasionally making a comment or two, and the female companion beside him did not disturb him, but just watched him express his thoughts with a smile on her face.

"Uh... so sweating and such... is also a normal reaction..."

"..."

"Sorry, I think it would be better if we don't hold your hand all the time..."

"That won't work." Kaguya Shinomiya shook her head.

"..."

"The rules require us to hold hands the whole time. You can't give up halfway, President," Miss Sha Diao reminded.

"Hmm..." Xia Chuanzou opened his mouth. He wanted to remind the other party that it would be okay as long as no one saw it.

But when the words came to my lips, they turned into this:

"As long as you don't mind having sweaty hands..."

"It doesn't matter……"

It doesn’t matter if it’s the president’s words, Kaguya Shinomiya thought.

It would be better to say that this situation is just right.

Her hands would be filled with the president's scent, and in this way, even if she accidentally sweated a little, the president would not notice it.

But more importantly, it is rare to see such a lovely side of the president, and she must use her own eyes to preserve such a scene.

"Anyway...anyway, let's go over and punch in first." Xiachuan Zou suggested.

"Ah."

So the two of them walked towards the direction of the light.

The journey was not very far and they arrived in just a few steps. However, what surprised them was that there was no one here. There were only wooden tables and chairs placed on the roadside and a flashlight lying alone on the table.

"Where are the people here?" Xia Chuan Zuo frowned, "Could it be that he went to the toilet?"

There are three urgent things to do when someone needs help, and there really is nothing we can do about it, but considering the normal progress of the event, there should be a second person to fill in no matter what, right?

But the two of them had no other good options but to wait patiently. However, no matter how long they waited, no one came back. Instead, they heard a few barely audible sobs.

"Did you hear that?" Natsukawa Kanade turned around and whispered to Shinomiya Kaguya.

"Yeah, it came from over there." Shinomiya Kaguya pointed in a direction and also lowered her voice.

"Let's go over there and see what's going on. If it's just a game, it's fine. If it's something else... you should go back and call for help." Xia Chuanzou instructed, his eyes becoming serious.

This really left him no room for thought.

Although I know that this is still a test of courage event, but what if?

In the jungle late at night, at the deserted checkpoint, low sobbing sounds could be heard from time to time... If the scene he saw was of ghosts or monsters, Xia Chuan Zou's mood would not have fluctuated at all, because at least he was sure that this was just part of the play.

But what if he encountered a man-made crisis? As the student council president, he must stand up and never abandon the safety of other students.

After making the decision, the two of them lowered their footsteps and slowly moved towards the source of the sound.

The originally low sobbing sound became louder and louder, until the two people who came closer confirmed that the source of the sound was behind the row of bushes in front of them.

"I'll go over and take a look first. If anything goes wrong, turn around and run away." Xia Chuan Zou gestured and handed the flashlight in his hand to the other party.

Then, under Kaguya's silent gaze, he stood up, crossed the bushes, and came to the other side. The next moment, he thought to himself that something was wrong.

Several students wearing Xiuzhi Academy uniforms had their hands tied behind their backs and sat on the ground leaning against a big tree.

Kidnapped? Or were they tied up because they saw something they shouldn't have seen?

But no matter what, what happened here was beyond his expectations, and he was also sure that this was not part of a game at all, but a real sudden crisis.

After carefully looking around and finding no trace of the criminal, Natsukawa Kanade went forward to untie the men. Unexpectedly, he suddenly heard Kaguya's voice behind him.

"President!" The girl's voice sounded a little hurried.

Natsukawa Kanade looked back subconsciously, only to find that Shinomiya Kaguya had been controlled by someone at some point.

Several big guys wearing strange masks surrounded a slender figure, which slowly appeared from behind Kaguya Shinomiya.

"..." Xiachuan Zou was a little annoyed. If he had brought Kaguya with him just now, at least she would not be caught by the other party.

"Who are you? What are you going to do by kidnapping students from our academy?"

Xiachuan Zou was still thinking about trying to negotiate. After all, the other party had only tied up a few of them and didn't seem to be abusing them or anything, so he must have some ulterior motive.

Considering the background of their academy, this group of people might have planned this long ago, perhaps with the purpose of obtaining a huge ransom.

He originally thought so, until the slender figure leading the group spoke up.

"Hehe, you don't need to care who we are, just know that we want to kidnap you!"

"..."

"Of course the purpose is for the ransom! There are two of you here, so just pick one person to stay, and the rest will go back to report... Okay, I've finished talking, you decide for yourselves!"

"I understand..." Natsukawa Kanade nodded expressionlessly, and said to Shinomiya Kaguya beside him.

"Kaguya, do you understand the situation?"

"Well...it's okay, President, you can go back. They won't hurt us before we get the ransom." Shinomiya Kaguya pursed her lips.

Compared to hearing the president apologize to her, she would rather stay and sacrifice herself. This is not only because she is a member of the Shinomiya family, which makes it more valuable for her to stay, but also because this way she can keep her fantasy in her heart -

Maybe the president was also prepared to sacrifice himself to stay? It was just that she took the initiative to say that she wanted to stay first...

"Ah? What nonsense are you talking about?" Xia Chuan Zou asked in confusion, but he realized the next second that the other party was probably acting.

Although Kaguya looked very interested, he couldn't help himself and said to the slender leader opposite him:

"I think it's about time. Let Kaguya go quickly." Natsukawa Kanade pointed at his female companion.

"Oh? So your choice is to stay and be a hostage? I didn't expect you to be so courageous." The other party first praised him, and then waved his hand to let his men release the hostage.