This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 328 - 240. Rain Hall (8000-word goal achieved!)

Even so, Beichuan Si and his group had gradually arrived at the camping site.

After all, such unexpected heavy rains usually wouldn’t last too long.

Moreover, the camping site was equipped with shelters and stoves specifically for heavy rain, and on one side, dry firewood and charcoal could be purchased.

Therefore, there was no immediate need to cancel the camping activities.

But—

Where were Shen Gu Mirai and Beichuan Huili?

Beichuan Si set down the things he had bought and scanned the area, and after confirming that Shen Gu Mirai and Beichuan Huili weren’t there, he finally asked, "Has anyone seen Mirai and Hui Li? They should have been among the first to get here."

"When we arrived, we didn’t see Senior Sister Shen Gu or Hui Li. We thought that they had seen the heavy rain and gone back to meet up with you, Brother Temple. How come they’re not with you either?" Otomoto Ai asked curiously.

"..." Beichuan Si.

He lifted his head, looking at the sudden downpour, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.

Just now, Beichuan Si had called Shen Gu Mirai, but the phone indicated that the called party was out of the service area.

"But this whole area is within Tokyo; how could it be out of the service area?"

It would be understandable if Shenzhu Village were out of the service area, given its secluded location.

But this was near Tokyo.

Could it be because of the heavy rain?

Even if that were the case...

Beichuan Si pondered.

Surely nothing untoward had happened to Beichuan Huili and Shen Gu Mirai?

Unable to resist, Beichuan Si took out his mobile phone, just about to make another call to Beichuan Huili and Shen Gu Mirai, when the phone suddenly rang.

It was a call from Beichuan Huili.

Beichuan Si’s heart stirred, he answered and switched to speakerphone, immediately asking, "Is that you, Hui Li? Where are you and Mirai?"

No sound came from the phone.

This made Beichuan Si pull the phone away.

He indeed was in a call with Beichuan Huili.

"Hello? Hui Li? Can you hear me? I can’t hear you," Beichuan Si again held the phone close and asked.

"..." Beichuan Huili still did not speak.

Beichuan Si’s gaze flickered, his voice becoming urgent:

"If you and Mirai are in a situation where you can’t speak, then cough once. Or make some other noise. If you can’t make even the slightest sound—"

Before Beichuan Si could finish, Beichuan Huili on the other end had already hung up.

The dead tone of the phone began to sound eerily.

Beichuan Huili hadn’t said a word from beginning to end.

The dead tone, accompanied by the sound of falling raindrops, carried an indescribable eeriness.

Beichuan Huili would not play a wicked joke like this, knowing full well Beichuan Si’s temper.

Besides, if Beichuan Huili had thought of such a prank, Shen Gu Mirai by her side would have stopped her.

But now, under these circumstances...

Everyone listening to the dead tone was involuntarily trembling.

It was unclear whether it was the chill of early spring, or due to the strange call just now from Beichuan Huili.

"What in the world is going on, Brother Temple...? What about Hui Li just now?" Sakurai Saki came to Beichuan Si’s side, worrying as she spoke.

Beichuan Si looked at his phone, thought for a while, and then said, "It seems Hui Li and Mirai are in a situation where they can’t talk."

"Can’t talk? If they can’t talk, how can they use a phone? And we tried calling several times, but it said they were out of the service area," Sakurai Saki said, her face anxious.

"Not being able to talk doesn’t mean they can’t use their mouths to speak. It means that she can hear us talking, but we can’t hear them, and the reason for being out of the service area might also be because of this... This call was a hint from Mirai."

There were several possibilities for the current situation.

One, Beichuan Huili and Shen Gu Mirai had encountered some kind of abduction and thus couldn’t speak, only able to make a call.

Two, Beichuan Si was speaking, Beichuan Huili was speaking too, but neither could hear the other speak.

The former would mean an abduction or a similar human-caused incident, hence Beichuan Huili and Shen Gu Mirai could not talk and could only make a call.

The latter would be an encounter with a supernatural event, Beichuan Huili and Shen Gu Mirai having encountered something bizarre.

The reason they couldn’t convey their words was that they were in a space not the same as this one.

Not that they couldn’t speak, but rather that the spoken words couldn’t be transmitted to the present world.

Since Shen Gu Mirai was with Beichuan Huili, Beichuan Si thought it was very unlikely that an abduction would happen to that quirky young girl.

Moreover, there were the silent calls that went through and the subsequent indication that the calls were out of the service area...

"The information network in Tokyo... shouldn’t be so easily disrupted by a heavy rain."

Beichuan Si lifted his head, already having a notion in his mind.

Let’s suppose this scenario.

Shen Gu Mirai and Beichuan Huili were on their way to the camp, but had to seek shelter due to the heavy rain.

And during that search, they had encountered some kind of supernatural event, therefore unable to send a message to Beichuan Si immediately.

"But it’s also possible that it’s indeed the heavy rain blocking communication... They might just be trapped somewhere."

Beichuan Si’s eyes flickered.

If it were the latter case, then it would be easily resolved.

But if it were the former, it would likely take some effort to resolve.

Either way, it wasn’t a situation where they could afford to stay idle here.