The Inescapable Celibate Heir Chapter 27: Lost?

Ella didn't need to participate in the "Mountain Treasure Hunt," nor did she want to see Victoria win a place.

Even though she hated to admit it, Victoria had been killing it these past few days and was a top contender. Since Victoria got booted from the Scott family, she was probably strapped for cash, so this prize money meant a lot to her. The more it mattered to Victoria, the more Ella couldn't let her win!

Ella quickly hatched a plan. While everyone else was getting ready, she was dead set on making sure Victoria came in last!

Victoria took a quick look at the treasure map, confirming it was the same as in her past life. This gave her a solid shot at winning; the only thing that would change was the rankings.

Sunrise Peak had a bunch of connected peaks with tricky terrain, and the treasure map Dean gave them was super basic. So even with a map, finding the treasure wouldn't be a walk in the park.

But in her past life, Victoria was broke. After hearing about the big rewards for the training assessment, she studied the Sunrise Peak terrain like crazy and knew the routes like the back of her hand.

"I'll hold onto the map and lead the team. Anyone got a problem with that?" Victoria said straight up.

Mira and Clio chimed in together, "Nope, no objections!"

Mira suddenly noticed, "Hey, where's Daisy?"

Clio looked around but couldn't spot her either. "No clue, she was just right next to me."

Victoria said, "Let's wait for her."

Just as Dean announced the start, Daisy came running over from the restroom.

She had a stiff smile, looking a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, I suddenly had a stomachache."

Victoria glanced at her, and Daisy avoided eye contact, fiddling with her straps.

Mira said, "Victoria's leading the team, and we all agreed. You cool with that?"

Daisy nodded quickly, "Yeah, Victoria should lead."

As soon as they entered the mountain, even though it was afternoon, the forest was already pretty dim.

Daisy moved closer to Victoria and asked nervously, "It's so dark in here, what if we get lost?"

Victoria used her hiking stick to push aside some thorns and said confidently, "No worries, we have a map."

Mira was also confident, "Don't stress, just follow Victoria. She's awesome."

Clio stepped over some bushes with big strides, "I live in the mountains, so I'm not scared."

Victoria glanced at Clio. She was taller and stronger than most girls, probably over six feet, with broad shoulders, long arms, and a healthy tan.

Daisy nodded but looked even more nervous.

After walking a bit, a lot of people went to find the first treasure point, and they had already split from the main group.

At this point, many people couldn't tell directions anymore. The mountains were full of plants that looked the same, but Victoria always seemed sure of where she was going.

Clio was reminded of her childhood by the mountain scenery, "I live in the mountains. When I was a kid, I had to walk two hours to town for school. We got up before dawn, but it never felt hard."

Victoria and Mira were both a bit moved. Despite her tough conditions, she still loved learning and got into Nexus College.

Mira couldn't help but say, "Clio, you must be really smart and hardworking. What's your major?"

Clio replied, "I'm in civil engineering. I heard it's easy to find a job in this field. I want to go back to my hometown and build spacious houses for everyone!"

Victoria didn't say anything but thought to herself that even though she didn't need the prize money as badly as in her previous life, she still had to work hard to lead her team to win it! At least, Clio really needed it.

"Victoria, thanks for picking me for the team. If we win this prize money, I'll be set for half a year, and I can send some money home."

Victoria gave a faint smile, "To win the prize, we need to work hard together."

Clio clenched her fist, her voice full of determination, "Let's go, charge!"

Daisy had been quiet the whole time, seemingly lost in thought. Suddenly, she noticed a fast-flowing stream.

"Victoria, can I ask which treasure point we're heading to?" Daisy suddenly asked.

Clio chimed in, "Yeah, we've been walking for a while, and I'm curious too."

"Sure." Victoria took out the treasure map from her bag, unfolded it, and handed it to them.

Daisy and Clio looked at it together, and Victoria pointed to a treasure point, "I plan to go to this third point. It's not the closest, so fewer people should choose it. We're here now."

Clio looked at Victoria with admiration, "You really have a plan!"

At that moment, Daisy suddenly exclaimed, pulling a large part of the treasure map, causing it to tear with a ripping sound and fall into two pieces.

Clio quickly reached out but couldn't catch her. She hurriedly stuffed the small part of the treasure map into her pocket and went to help Daisy.

Mira was also startled and quickly asked, "Daisy, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

Whether intentionally or not, when Daisy grabbed their hands, she also let go of the treasure map, and the paper fluttered away with the wind.

"Our treasure map!"

At this point, Clio stopped helping Daisy and quickly went to chase the half treasure map.

Seeing this, Daisy also hurriedly got up, looking very anxious as she chased after it, but she and Clio collided, and neither of them caught the treasure map. 

Instead, they watched it float into the stream and quickly drift away with the current. The sound of the water was cheerful.

Clio seemed ready to jump into the water to grab it, muttering, "My ten thousand dollars!" But Daisy held her back firmly, "Are you crazy? The current is so strong, and you still want to jump in."

Clio said unwillingly, "Let go! I almost had it!"

Victoria raised an eyebrow and glanced at Daisy.

Daisy trembled and said, "I didn't do it on purpose. I was also anxious to catch the treasure map, which is why I collided with Clio."

At this point, Mira was also a bit unhappy, "Daisy, you were too careless. First you fell, and now you lost the treasure map."

Victoria stared at them for a few seconds, then stepped forward and extended her hand, "Where's the remaining part of the map?"

Clio took out the small part of the map, "Here." But she held it tightly, and upon closer inspection, "It's useless, only the first third of the route is left, and not a single treasure point."

Daisy also looked regretful, "I'm sorry! What should we do now? Without the map, we'll definitely get lost. How about we wait here for the instructor to find us?"

To ensure safety, Dean had reminded them beforehand that if they got lost, they should wait for rescue in place. They all had GPS devices on them, and if they hadn't arrived by midnight, they would be considered failed and would be rescued together.

Mira was also helpless, "What should we do? I thought we could win a place, but now we can't even get there."

Victoria stared coldly at Daisy, "Daisy, you didn't do this on purpose, did you?"

"How could I?" Daisy took a step back in panic, "I really didn't do it on purpose; you have to believe me!"

Clio had already found her suspicious. She hadn't behaved like this during training.

Therefore, Clio also glared at Daisy, "Daisy, if I find out you did this on purpose, I won't let you off!"

Daisy covered her face, almost crying, "I really didn't. What do I have to do for you to believe me?"

Victoria said, "Promise me you'll give it your all from now on and not hold us back."

Daisy looked at Victoria cautiously, "I can promise! But we don't have a map now, we'll get lost in the mountains. Are you really going to risk your lives to win?"

Victoria smiled, "How could we get lost? The map is all in my head."