恶霸鲁尼 奖学金

[ At Caceres Hill… ]

Axel\'s team arrived at Caceres Hill. He confirmed that Nathan\'s car was there. Chantha accompanied him when she heard about the emergency situation.

They didn\'t know what exactly happened to Nathan and Abigail. They only received an urgent call from Axel, mobilizing them to do a search and rescue operation.

Axel\'s team began to search the area. They divided the team into four groups. Each group was composed of ten members. Spider and Joker led the two groups while Axel and Chantha headed the other groups.

Axel went to the view deck to search for Nathan and Abigail. But he saw no one. Only the picnic set and basket were left behind. There was no sign of the couple.

He immediately called the other teams to report using his handheld radio.

"Negative. The Supreme Leader is not here. Find him in the nearby forests." Axel dispatched the other teams to the surrounding forests.

Axel kneeled on the ground, checking the items that were left behind in the view deck. He heaved a frustrated sigh upon seeing Nathan\'s bag and Abigail\'s pouch. They both left their phones before doing the paragliding.

"Damn it! We can\'t locate them using their GPS." Axel massaged his temples.

\'Master… where are you? What happened to you and Miss Abi?\' Axel started to feel anxious.

Joker\'s team used two helicopters to find them. Chantha\'s team and Spider\'s team were roaming around the nearby forests. They also brought Bloodhound and Labrador retriever to help them with their search.

A few minutes later, Stephen also arrived at Caceres Hill together with the police force. They joined the search.

"Did you find them?" Stephen asked Axel as soon as they met at the view deck.

Axel shook his head feeling dejected. "Their phones and belongings are here. But no sign of them."

"Have you informed Uncle Xu?" Stephen asked Axel. "We need to tell him about this."

"I understand," Axel promptly responded.

The two immediately contacted Old Man Xu.

Old Man Xu was hanging out in his study room together with Ethan when he received a call from Axel.

"Hello?" Old Man Xu\'s puzzled voice was heard from the other line.

"Chairman Xu… something came up. We are currently searching for your son. We received a tip that he and Abigail were in danger." Axel informed the old man.

Old Man Xu\'s eyes widened in shock. "What?!"

But Old Man Xu stopped at the realization that Ethan was sitting with him. He didn\'t want his grandson to worry. For the time being, he wanted to keep this from him.

"Grandpa? Are you okay? Is there something wrong?" Ethan asked his grandpa with his innocent eyes. He looked at him expectantly, waiting for his reply.

"Oh. Nothing. Grandson… may you excuse me for a while?" Old Man Xu stood up. 

Ethan just bobbed his head, clueless about the danger his father and Abigail were facing.

Old Man Xu ruffled Ethan\'s hair and smiled at him, concealing his negative emotions. But the moment he stepped out of his study room, Old Man Xu\'s expression darkened and became serious.

He made sure to go out so that Ethan wouldn\'t overhear his conversation with Axel.

"What happened to my son and Abigail?" Old Man Xu was worried for both of them.

"I\'m sorry, Chairman… but I can\'t give you an answer for now. We are still trying to find out the situation," Axel politely responded.

"Find them! If something bad happens to them, I don\'t know how I will face my grandson and explain this to him. Find my son and Abigail. ASAP!" Old Man Xu talked with authority.

"We are doing our best, Chairman Xu. I will update you as soon as we get progress with our search."

Little did Old Man Xu know, Ethan followed him. He overheard the conversation.

\'Something… happened to my Mom and Dad? Are they missing?\' Little Ethan felt like his world crumbled at that certain moment.

*****

[ At Stephen\'s place… ]

Cherry was still confused by Jane\'s last remarks.

[ "I saw them with my own eyes. My soul… " ]

Cherry just smiled awkwardly. She thought  Phantomflake could see the illusion as an aftereffect of her coma condition. She might feel disoriented about reality and imagination.

Cherry decided not to ask Jane some questions. Maybe this was not the right time to do that. In the end, she didn\'t comment further. She just stepped out of the room to get some food for Jane.

Cherry had just left the room when Bam-Bam showed up in front of Phantomflake.

"Masterrrr!!!! Congratulations! You are back to your original body!" Bam-Bam flew toward her.

Jane squinted her eyes as soon as she saw Bam-Bam. She immediately grabbed his two wings, holding Bam-Bam in place.

"M-Master?" Bam-Bam stuttered when he noticed the sharp glare Jane was giving him. "Are you mad? Aren\'t you happy that you\'ve returned to your body?"

"Yes. I have no reason to be happy. Nathan and Abigail are in danger! You should help me, Bam-Bam! Find them! Save them! They might be injured!" Jane said pleadingly.

"Master… I can\'t intervene… but I can help you find them. That\'s the only thing I can offer. If they are injured, healing them is out of my ability. But if you want… I can transfer Nathan\'s soul to someone\'s else body if ever he is about to die– Ouch!"

Bam-Bam groaned when Jane smacked his forehead. Jane didn\'t like Bam-Bam\'s suggestion of transferring Nathan\'s soul.

"Master! I\'m just kidding. I won\'t transfer Nathan\'s soul. We still have an unfinished mission! I mean… You…" Bam-Bam took his words so that Jane wouldn\'t twist and snap his wings.

"Let\'s talk about that later! Just go and find them. We have to tell Stephen about their exact location. I don\'t have any idea if they are severely injured or not." Jane was worried-sick for both Nathan and Abigail.

"Okay, Master! Let go of my wings. I\'m going to find them!" Bam-Bam gave Jane a reassuring smile.

Jane immediately let go of Bam-Bam. In just a blink of an eye, the magical creature disappeared from her sight.

Jane pursed her lips while putting her hands together. \'Go Bam-Bam. Please find them as soon as possible. I can\'t let them die… Nathan and Abigail shouldn\'t die….\'