"Nineteen minutes."
A cold, dull voice rang out beside her ear again.
"Hmph..."
The girl let out a soft snort and lightly gritted her teeth. After a flicker of stubbornness crossed her face, she slowly drew her hands in, swept them over the uneven ground, and gradually pushed herself up.
As she raised herself, her hands slowly began to feel around.
"Eighteen minutes."
Watching the girl prop herself up, kneel on the ground, and bend over to grope for something, Hyuga Soji's eye twitched slightly. The scar on his grim face seemed to quiver as well. After dropping those icy words, he turned and walked away, stopping only ten meters behind and to the side of the girl. He stood there with an indifferent expression, as though none of this concerned him.
Upon hearing those cold words, the girl's eyes remained vacant and hollow, but the stubbornness on her face only grew stronger.
She continued feeling around. Her slender, fair hands brushed over the uneven, dust-covered ground, and the grime slowly stained them gray.
From time to time, she frowned. Waves of pain flickered across her stubborn face.
Before long, the stones scattered across the dusty path had scratched her hands with uneven red marks, some of them even bleeding.
"Pop!"
Just then, her fingers suddenly touched something, and a familiar sensation rose in her heart.
Found it! She could not help but feel a surge of joy.
At that moment, her hand had already reached the bamboo pole that had rolled off to one side. A trace of delight flashed across her face.
With that joy, she instinctively reached out with both hands, about to grasp the bamboo pole.
"Smack!"
However, just as she picked it up and it was about to roll into her palm, the bamboo pole