Chapter 17 Section VIII

At dawn, I got up immediately, and my mother seemed to be sleeping soundly.I changed and went downstairs and started sneezing again.Even though it is summer, the temperature in the mountains is very low, and it feels like being soaked in water. Although I was exhausted, I couldn't calm down; even so, I didn't have the courage to call again.I really didn't dare, and it was hard to breathe even walking up to the phone. So, I decided to take a look outside. I put on my sneakers and sprint down the stairs.It seems that some people are used to getting up early, and the windows of some villas are already open.Lanterns in the rising sun look like missed fruit, hanging dejectedly from them.

I walked slowly through the villa.Remnants of last night's party are still there, paper cups, wine corks dropped at feet.The reason why it is not disappointing is because this is a resort. Halfway through, a large SUV passed me slowly, with two men sitting on it, one of them greeted me and said "morning", and I greeted him too. The two of them were wearing fishing vests. Did they go fishing in Lake Suwa? Greetings from strangers made me feel better. A little further down, it's next to the gate we passed through last night.I reached out and pushed, but it wouldn't move.Next to the gate is a lighted box with a keyhole.The person who drove by just now probably has the key, but my method is simpler, so I just skipped it.

There were all kinds of birds calling high above my head, I looked up at the sky, waved my hands, and let my mind go blank. I walked down step by step, and after turning a gentle curve, I heard the sound of an engine, and it turned out that a car was parked on the ramp.It was a silver-gray sports car, and there seemed to be no one in the driver's seat. The car stopped facing the uphill direction.I circled around from the back and came to the driver's seat and found that the door was not closed properly and the key was in the keyhole. How careless... As I was thinking, I craned my neck to look, and saw a cardboard box on the seat next to the driver's seat.Although I'm not usually a very curious person, this one aroused my interest a bit.Because I guessed what was in that box.

I gently opened the lid, and there were things about the size of lipstick neatly lined up inside.That's right, I guessed it right. They were shotgun shells, white paper cases filled with tiny lead pellets.I had heard a lot about shotguns from my dad's boss, Director Miyake, so I recognized it right away. The gun was probably in the trunk of the car.But is there a hunting ground around here?The hunting season should be even colder, that is, there is a shooting range.Yes, the two guys in the SUV who chased me just now probably left early in the morning for practice.The kind of vest with stuffed bombs in the breast pocket, very similar to the fisherman's.

I looked around and there was no sign of the driver of this car returning.I hesitated a bit, but in the end I couldn't match my curiosity, so I stretched out my hand and gently picked up a shotgun. I've heard that shotgun casings are almost always made of plastic these days, but the ones here are made of paper.This, then, is "hand-stuffed".I heard that some very particular people will adjust the amount of gunpowder and the number of shotguns by themselves to make bullets they like. Even leaving this kind of thing in the car, this person is careless.Fortunately, I met a kind-hearted young man like me. How dangerous it would be to be seen by bad guys.I'm serious.

Or, did something happen to him? At this time, there was a clicking sound from the gate, and someone was opening the gate.I hurried to put the shotgun back in place. But haste makes waste, I didn't step on my feet well, and I fell backwards.There is the end of the road, behind is a gentle cliff, about five or six meters high.I quickly swallowed the yelling and rolled down on my buttocks, shotgun in my hands. It's dangerous if the filler bomb falls to the ground!I held on to the shotgun desperately to keep it from falling.Fortunately, the place where I rolled was covered with soft weeds, and there were no big rocks or thick trees to smash my head into.I plunged into a bush that was not a weed, but a weed bush and stopped.

Immediately there was the sound of a car passing by the road above, and someone went out again.When the sound was far enough away, I slowly got up, raised my head and pulled my feet out of the weeds.Just as I was about to stand up, there was the sound of footsteps approaching this time, and someone quickly approached here.I quickly lowered my head, trying to hide in the shadow of the grass again.Turns out it was empty.Shotgun slipped out of my hand! That moment was like slow motion, and I could see it clearly.The shotgun left my palm and fell in a smooth arc, towards the weeds on the ground—quick, towards the weeds...but it flew towards a small protruding stone...

My brain seemed to stop working.It contained gunpowder.Director Miyake told me that the detonator would explode just by hitting it hard.If it falls on a rock... Boom! I don't care what happens, just lie down! A moment later there was the sound of a car door closing from the road above, and then the sound of an engine starting. I looked up and saw that sports car backed up just now and was making a U-turn.I looked up from the bottom of the gently sloping cliff, and I could only see the roof of the car.No idea who was driving. The car backed a long distance, turned around, and the whole car disappeared from my field of vision, leaving behind a burst of pleasant engine roar, and then went away.

I climbed up carefully.This time the shot was not let go.There was no explosion just now, I can only count my luck. But what about this thing? I can't carry such a dangerous thing with me and throw it away.If someone who doesn't know anything finds out and throws it away as trash, it will be terrible.Lead shotguns fly around, but they can cause unexpected damage. It is all because of curiosity that it becomes like this.Anyway, I looked around as I climbed up to the road.If there is a pond or pond, it can be thrown into the water... A little further down, a crooked tree grew on the edge of the cliff.The trunk was not very thick, but it was knotted here and there, and there was a hole in it.

If you put the bullet in the hole, the gunpowder will be wet in a short time, and you don't have to worry about being found by others.After I carefully explored the tree hole with my hand, I gently put the bullet in. well!I'm exhausted. I brush off the dirt and blades of grass and head back to the log cabin.As soon as you walk up the door steps and open the door, you can smell the aroma of coffee.Ms. Imasato is already up. "Wow, you got up so early." She said to me with a smile. "Sleepy or not? I see, you must be hungry, right?" After I washed my face, I drank the coffee milk that Ms. Lingli made for me.

"Is there a place to shoot around here?" "Oh, you know even this." Ms. Imazato showed admiration. "There is a similar place near the lake. It seems to be called... Clay Range." "really." I told her about the SUV I passed by, but I didn't mention the other sports car because I was a little guilty. "Oh, that SUV must be the person who passed by the fourth villa from here, that is, the one with a windshield on the roof. The owner of the house seems to be the president of some place. His hobby is shooting and he will go abroad. Shooting. I heard that even if he comes here, he will run to the shooting range every three days." While chatting, the other teachers got up too, and the kitchen and living room became lively. It was almost half past seven when Mom got up. "Good morning. Ya Nan, you got up so early." "He just came back from a walk." Ms. Imasato said as she poured her coffee. "You were the last to wake up." Mom looked around: "Is Mr. Nitta up too?" "Yes, I met him. He got up very early, maybe earlier than Ya Nan. And he has changed his clothes and put on his glasses. Did he not close his eyes all night? The sense of responsibility is too heavy gone." "It's really hard to think about it." Mom smiled. Ms. Imasato asked the young male teacher who shared the same room with Mr. Nitta: "Did that gentleman rest well?" The young teacher scratched his head: "Well, I fell asleep on the bed as soon as I got back..." "Where did he go?" said Ma, looking around. "Let's go for a walk. Ya Nan, haven't you met him?" I replied that I didn't see it. "It's okay, I'll be back later." However, he did not come back.I didn't come back at eight o'clock, and I didn't come back after half past eight. Of course, he wasn't in the room either.Not to mention the room, Ms. Imasato, who went outside and came back, frowned and said uncomfortably, "The car is not there either." Ma and I went upstairs and into the room where he spent the night.The camp bed seems to have been lying down a little.But…… "Ya Nan, I didn't see the luggage." That's right, I didn't see the small travel bag Mr. Nitta mentioned yesterday. "Could he have gone to the other side? To the log house. He's been so nervous. Did he report first?" Hearing what Ms. Imasato said, I remembered that before the sports car left this morning, there was another car that drove away first.It may be Mr. Nitta. "When did that happen?" "I don't know too well...at most a little over six o'clock?" "If that's Mr. Nitta, he should be here by now." Mom wanted to call the log cabin to ask, but...: "Oh, man, I don't have a phone number." All the contacts yesterday were arranged by Mr. Nitta. As a result, we waited until the management company went to work at nine o'clock before calling and asking. They immediately gave us the phone number of the log house and confirmed that lawyer Maekawa had indeed rented the place. After the children had a lively breakfast, they were ready to go out for a picnic.Mom was on the phone with her back to the joyous noise, and I followed. "Hello? Excuse me, is this lawyer Maekawa?" The call got through, and we breathed a sigh of relief. "Ah, are you the son of a lawyer? I'm so sorry, I'm Satoko Ogata, thank you this time...huh?" Mom's expression suddenly changed.I thought she was going to smile, but she frowned tightly and burst out laughing like she heard some low-level joke. "What? What did you say?" The voice of the other party was so loud that even I could hear them next to me. They were almost talking to each other. "Ya Nan? He's right here. Ya Nan and I are fine...huh?" I couldn't help it, so I took the receiver: "Hello? I'm Ya Nan." "Are you Ya Nan? Are you okay? How are you doing?" The other party yelled loudly, and you could tell that he was extremely emotional just by hearing it. "Yes, I'm fine. What happened?" "What happened... I just want to know what's going on!" The voice of lawyer Qianchuan's son seemed to be howling. "Did you call back to Tokyo?" "No. Because..." "You just hit it first, hit it right away! I also have to notify the police immediately." "Policemen?" This unexpected word made all the people around prick up their ears.I seemed to be yelling too loudly, and even the kids who were lined up in the living room looked at me in surprise. Rie is among them.Maybe I was being sentimental, but she looked worried.I also felt Ayako's scolding gaze. see.You are indeed cursed by the pen fairy. Mom held my hand tightly and put our ears on the receiver with me. "Listen to me carefully." Mr. Maekawa's son said with trembling voice. "Yesterday evening, you and your mother were kidnapped. The criminals demanded a ransom from your father. Tokyo has been in trouble all night!" At this time, if I have special powers, I will definitely be able to clearly hear the sound of the last fate dice rolling.Actually, though, my head was just buzzing. It will be a long, long time before the dice stop and show points.