Chapter <b>43</b>


    “Thank you, but it’s okay. I can handle it myself. I grew up in the countryside, so this mountain is just a small hill to me. Thank you anyway.” Melody sincerely thanked him, thinking that even the driver knew better about taking care of people than Ken did.


    “But…” The driver wanted to insist but was once again rejected by Melody.


    She remembered where the herbs were, and as long as no one followed her, she could head straight there. If the driver followed<b>, </b>she couldn’t go directly to that ce, which would only dy her time.


    Helpless, the driver nodded and agreed, “Okay then, if you need anything, just call me. I’lle up the mountain immediately.”


    With that, the driver exchanged contact with her and then returned to the car.


    However, what Melody didn’t know was that as soon as the driver got in the car, he turned to report to Ken, “Miss Melody said she doesn’t need my help.”


    In fact, it was Ken who sent him to


    sent him to apany Melody to prevent any idents.


    Upon hearing this, Ken’s expression darkened, and he said icily, “Then don’t bother about her life or death.”


    “But…” The driver hesitated to speak, but seeing Ken’s cold <b>and </b>stern expression, he didn’t <b>dare </b>say much more. He shrunk his neck and sat back in the driver’s seat, adjusting the temperature inside the car to afortable level.


    On the other side, Melody entered the mountain and headed straight to her destination–the habitat of Sandalwood Chimonanthus, About half an hourter, she finally arrived, sweating all over, at the <b>ce </b>where she had seen the herb in her previous life.


    However, when she arrived, she found that there was no Sandalwood Chimonanthus at all.


    Instead, there were only weeds and a few poisonous wild mushrooms on the ground.


    How could this be… Melody refused to believe it and searched around, but still couldn’t find any trace of Sandalwood Chimonanthus.


    However, she quickly realized that in her previous life, she had onlye after confirming her romantic rtionship with Ulric, which meant that Sandalwood Chimonanthus would take over two years to grow there.


    Two years… It was a long time.


    Feeling anxious and sweating on her forehead<b>, </b>Melody quickly calmed down.


    Since this ce would have Sandalwood Chimonanthus in two years, other parts of this mountain must also have them. Sandalwood Chimonanthus was very rare and difficult to cultivate artificially, so its appearance there in two years must not be idental.


    Thinking of this, Melody sent a message to the driver, intending to tell him that she might be a littleteing down the mountain.


    But when the message was edited and ready to be sent, a red circle appeared.


    Melody then realized that there <b>was </b><b>no </b>signal on her phone in the mountains, let alone sending messages


    Forget it, she could only speed up.


    Gritting her teeth, Melody continued up the mountain, looking for a ce with a simr environment to this one.


    20:02 Thunul


    Chapter 43


    But the higher she went, the moreplex and difficult the terrain became.


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    When viewed from the bottom of the mountain, she thought this mountain was just a small hill. After all, in Silveke, where every inch ofnd was precious, how big could a mountain be?


    But now Melody realized that her idea was too naive. Nature’s craftsmanship had already turned this mountain into a quiteplex terrain, with not only century–old trees but also various nt rocks,


    Just then, Melody noticed a few dark red flowers growing on a small cliff not far away. They looked very much like azaleas.


    If it were an ordinary person, they would definitely think they were azaleas, but Melody recognized at a nce that they were Sandalwood Chimonanthus flowers<b>!</b>


    it


    Judging by the estimate, if she crawled to the top of the cliff, she should be able to reach them with her hand.


    Melody’s heart suddenly lifted, and she quickened her pace towards the small clift


    At the same time, at the foot of the mountain.


    Ken sent the newly improved design to the R&D department and had a short video meeting with them regarding the new product.


    Everyone showed great enthusiasm for the new product and discussed it intensely


    Once this new product was developed and sessfullyunched, The Swanson Group would be a dark horse entering the ranks of the top international groups. And that day would soone.


    People in Silveke all thought that Ken was just basking in the glory of the Swanson family and using underhanded means to harm his brother, trying to seize the family’s property and inheritance. But few knew that it was all orchestrated by Astrid and Ulric.


    Even fewer people knew that Ken didn’t care about the Swanson Group, which seemed incredibly attractive to outsiders.N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    In his eyes, real estate would eventually be a bubble, and only technology had unlimited potential.


    The meeting was almost over, Ken nced at the time and said, “Let’s end the meeting here for today. We’ll discuss the details after I return.”


    With that, he closed hisptop, rolled down the car window, and asked the driver who <b>was </b>waiting outside, “Has shee back yet?”


    The driver shook his head. “Not yet. It’s been over an hour, and I can’t reach Miss Melody on messages or phone. I reckon there’s <b>no </b>signal in the mountains”


    As the driver spoke, he hesitated and said<b>, </b>“Should I go up and check? Although this mountain doesn’t seem big, once you go in, who knows what might happen? After all, it’s an undeveloped mountain, and there <b>are </b>many unknown dangers. What if something happens to her?”


    “Okay, Ken said expressionlessly.


    The driver nodded quickly and <b>walked </b>towards the mountain. But he had only taken two steps when he heard the sound of the car door closing.


    Turning his head, he <b>saw </b>Ken following up with an indifferent expression. “Mr. Ken, are you going too?”


    Ken didn’t answer, he just stepped forward with long strides and quickly passed the driver, walking ahead.


    The driver hurriedly jogged to <b>catch </b>upmenting silently that he didn’t have two long legs like Ken, so he had to jog to barely keep up with


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    Chapter 43


    Ken’s <b>pace</b>


    On the mountain, after about twenty minutes, <b>Melody </b>finally reached the top of the small cliff.


    Looking down from below, the cliff didn’t seem high. It was more like a huge rock than a cliff.


    However, when she looked down, she realized that this ce was about 70 feet high from the <b>ground </b>below, and the ground was covered with rubble, not grass. If she fell, she would be severely injured if not killed.


    Fortunately, Melody wasn’t afraid of heights. She had apanied her master to the mountains to collect herbs since she <b>was </b>young Compared to before, this height <b>was </b>nothing to her.


    Without much hesitation, her gaze fell on the Sandalwood Chimonanthus growing <b>on </b>the cliff edge.


    Sandalwood Chimonanthus generally didn’t grow on cliffs. It required a lot of nutrients, but due to the frequent rain in Silveke, the mud and water would flow down. As this area was in the shade, over time, thick sail had umted on the cliff face, providing enough nutrients for the Sandalwood Chimonanthus to grow.


    The part of Sandalwood Chimonanthus used for medicinal purposes was its roots. Melody roughly estimated that pulling it out shouldn’t be too difficult.


    With this in mind, Melody directlyy down on the ground, her feet hooked around a nearby shrub, and her right hand reached down to the cliff face.


    Before long, Melody reached the Sandalwood Chimonanthus flower.


    However, the flower was at the very tip, and she needed to go further down.


    She used her longest finger to hook the flower, then slowly moved downwards <b>until </b>she touched the branch of the Sandalwood Chimonanthus


    However, this part of the branch was too thin. If she pulled directly, it would easily break. She needed to go further down.


    Without hesitation, Melody released her foot from the shrub and continued to move forward. In a moment, almost half of her body was hanging over the cliff


    This should be enough.


    Melody reached down, feeling that the branch <b>was </b>still not thick enough. She moved forward again. At this point, she could only rely on her thighs to exert force to continue hanging on.


    Finally, Melody felt that <b>the </b>position <b>was </b>almost there.


    With one hand supporting the edge of the cliff and the other <b>hand </b>carefully pulling the Sandalwood Chimonanthus, Melody felt the roots loosen slightly. She was delighted and increased her strength.


    However, the next moment-


    “Whoosh


    The ground at the edge of the cliff suddenly began to loosen, and then almost half of the cliff face fell down.


    Melody lost her bnce in an <b>instant</b>, and her whole body slipped downwards. This is bad!”


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