Led by the Nose by KP

The little girl looked about six or seven years old. She wore her hair in twin ponytails, a dress, and carried a small bag printed with cartoon characters.

Liu Xing had a feeling that this little girl would be the key to triggering the Main Quest of this module.

Of course, although Liu Xing had not yet forgotten the psychological trauma Isabella had caused him, he was not someone who avoided treatment out of fear of illness.

So Liu Xing walked over, crouched in front of the little girl, and gave her a kind smile. "Little sister, why are you crying here all by yourself? Did you get separated from your family?"

The little girl looked at Liu Xing, nodded, and said softly, "Yes, I got separated from my mom."

As soon as the little girl finished speaking, kpcao impatiently said, "All right, congratulations to Player Old Chinese Doctor for triggering the first-stage mission of this Advancement Game. All Players must help the little girl find her mother and complete the mission within thirty minutes. If you exceed the time limit, you will enter the Eliminated ending. As for what that means, I can tell you now: the little girl will cry because she cannot find her mother, the passersby around you will take you for bad guys, and in the end, you will be forced to leave the Harvest Festival grounds."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. He had not expected this Advancement Game's mission to have a time limit, let alone be a multi-stage mission.

With time pressing, Tina immediately walked over and smiled at the little girl. "Little girl, what's your name? How did you get separated from your mom?"

The little girl looked at Liu Xing, then at Tina, before saying to Tina, "My name is Minami Kotori. The Reader Group's total party kill engine has gone online. I got separated from my mom while we were watching a performance together, and now I don't know where she is..."

Liu Xing suddenly felt as if he had just had a battle of appearances with Tina—and lost...

This really was a world ruled by looks...

At that moment, Ming Shi Xiang and the others also came over. After learning about the little girl's situation, Li Ming offered his suggestion. "For a public event of this scale, the organizers should have set up a Children's Lost and Found Center. How about we take Kotori there first? There are so many people attending the Harvest Festival today that there's no way we can find Kotori's mother in such a short time with just the few of us. We can only rely on the organizers to help locate her mother."

Liu Xing nodded and said, "Li Ming is right. I remember that when Alger got injured, a medical team immediately came and took him to the hospital. So there must be a Children's Lost and Found Center at this Harvest Festival venue. Kotori's mother might even be heading there right now."

As soon as Liu Xing finished speaking, kpcao said with a smile, "As expected of Players capable of participating in an Advancement Game. Your reasoning is clear, and you found the best solution so quickly. I won't make things difficult for you, then. Let's just assume you know that the Children's Lost and Found Center for this Harvest Festival is located beside the Great Hall."

After receiving kpcao's hint, everyone knew there was no time to waste. Tina took Minami Kotori's hand, and the group headed toward the Great Hall.

But there was still the same problem: Li Ming's injured leg inevitably slowed everyone down. Li Ming sighed helplessly and said, "How about you leave me behind and take Kotori to find her mother first? I'll make my way over slowly and meet up with you later."

Ming Shi Xiang nodded, but she still said worriedly, "Li Ming, in your current condition, climbing up to Immortal Crane Temple alone to meet us might be troublesome. If you slip up and fall down the mountain from halfway up, your life could be in danger. After all, we have Alger's example right in front of us!"

When everyone heard Ming Shi Xiang say that, they all nodded in unison. After all, kpcao really might do something like that...

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't just slander this KP with such malicious assumptions! Am I really that bad-tempered a KP?" Kpcao said indignantly.

At that moment, Tian Dao spoke up. "Then let's do this. I'll be responsible for escorting Li Ming. That should prevent any accidents."

Liu Xing nodded. That was indeed a good idea.

Thus, Tian Dao stayed behind to accompany Li Ming at a slow pace, while Liu Xing and the others continued toward the Great Hall with Kotori.

Not long afterward, Liu Xing's group arrived outside the Great Hall of Immortal Crane Temple. Beside it stood a small canopy with a sign hanging from it—Children's Lost and Found Center.

However, Liu Xing felt that something was off. The first-stage mission seemed to be going far too smoothly. They had barely made any checks, yet they were already about to complete it.

Moreover, kpcao's behavior was strange. Logically, he should not have provided information directly. At the very least, they should have made an Inspiration check or asked a passerby. Yet kpcao had directly told them about the Children's Lost and Found Center. It was almost as if... kpcao had deliberately guided them here!

Liu Xing frowned. He had not expected kpcao to have led them into a trap this time. The Harvest Festival grounds were not very large; at a normal pace, they could walk through the entire place in fifteen minutes. So while thirty minutes sounded tight, it was actually more than enough.

Therefore, Liu Xing felt that within half an hour, they could have first gone to the Commercial District on the left. Under the pretext of looking for Minami Kotori's mother, they could have found an opportunity to get the grapes. Then, while climbing the mountain, they could have sent one person into the bamboo grove to dig up a bamboo shoot. Finally, upon reaching the Children's Lost and Found Center beside the Great Hall, they could have found a way to pick peaches behind the Great Hall. Wouldn't that have given them all the items needed to clear the game?

All in all, Liu Xing felt that kpcao had set their pace. Although kpcao had provided correct information, he had constrained their thinking and led them down the easiest path—a path with zero reward. They might even have missed quite a few clues.

But it was pointless to say any of this now. They had already arrived at the Children's Lost and Found Center. They could not exactly say, "Let's go back down and keep looking for Minami Kotori's mother. If we can't find her, we'll come back up again," could they?

At that moment, Liu Xing finally believed something Wu Lei had once told him—Never completely trust what a KP says!