Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 120: More Communication

Chapter 120: Chapter 120: More Communication

It was only when they had completely lost sight of the oasis in the darkness that they all felt safe enough to sit down and rest.

"What on earth was that? Can anyone tell me?" No one answered Lu Yi’s question, not even the knowledgeable Professor Luo. After all, each had their own areas of expertise.

Jie chimed in, "This can’t be true. It feels like we’ve been fighting monsters all the way without leveling up. It’s so unfair."

"Unfair, huh? Look over there," Gu Fan pointed to another group, who were also fleeing in a panicked state. "They lost quite a number of members this time, while we didn’t lose a single one."

Everyone fell silent at his words. After the event, Gu Fan and his group were still shaking with the aftermath, but the other group was heard sobbing, it seemed they had lost someone significant.

The following problem was challenging. The desert nights were especially cold, especially for Du Jun and the others, who were shivering after climbing out of the water. They couldn’t go on like this, they had to return to their tents and use their sleeping bags for warmth.

However, the camp was near the lake, making it dangerous to casually return. But they had no better options, so they had to proceed.

"Let’s go." Under Gu Fan’s lead, they advanced slowly on their hands and knees, believing that the monster in the water wouldn’t be able to see people lying on the ground. They were able to approach the lakeside camp smoothly.

Next, it was quite simple to move the tents gradually backwards. As the tents were not heavy, it didn’t require much effort from a few people.

The tent pegs had not yet been spread, so that saved them the trouble of collecting them. The other belongings were not many. The group moved the camp orderly, encouraging the other group to follow their example.

When the camp was moved to a safe location, Du Jun, Lu Yi, Jie, and Xu Haowen didn’t hesitate to crawl in and refused to come out.

As the coldness of the night invaded, everyone hurried into their tents. This left Gu Fan feeling stressed, seeing that Du Jun, Lu Yi, Jie, and Xu Haowen were not going to keep a night watch. This left only Gu Fan and Ouyang Jin.

Just as Gu Fan was planning to split the night watch with Ouyang Jin - one for the first half of the night and the other for the latter half, members of the other group approached them. They were terrified and suggested that the two groups’ camps be placed together for mutual reliance.

Gu Fan didn’t object, and thus, the two camps were set up together. Each group assigned people to watch for the night, believing that with more people, they could peacefully get through the night. They didn’t want any more incidents.

Around midnight, Gu Fan was dressed in thick clothing and chatting idly with a member from the other group, getting to know each other’s names and hometowns and such.

Eventually, the man began to complain. "I rarely go on adventures and didn’t expect this to happen. I really regret coming."

Gu Fan nodded in agreement. "This is also my first adventure too. Now I finally understand why it’s called ’adventure’. We’ve encountered even more terrifying things before." Gu Fan then went on to narrate in detail about the carnivorous ants incident and how they escaped.

Not only the ants, but also the wolf packs, leaving the man in awe. He couldn’t help but say, "Your group’s luck is terrible. You encountered wolves, then carnivorous ants, and now this monster fish. Why did we have no problems on all those days exploring the outskirts, but as soon as we encountered you, we had this disaster?"

Hearing this, Gu Fan was at a loss for words. Yet he couldn’t dispute it. It was strange that wherever his group went, trouble followed, and others too, were drawn into their misfortunes.

In the end, Gu Fan could only explain, "It seems that whenever you venture into the wild, you’re bound to encounter danger sooner or later. It happened to us, and now to you, only your trouble came about when you happened to meet us."

The man looked at Gu Fan with a strange expression, as if suspecting Gu Fan was using this explanation to shirk responsibility.

Gu Fan could only smile awkwardly, continuing the conversation by asking about the people who had met with accidents, but the man was evasive. It seemed he wasn’t close to those who had been affected because their group was assembled online with members coming from various places.

Gu Fan understood. It seemed like a group of like-minded adventure enthusiasts had gathered online through a posting by one of them. Interested individuals saw the post and signed up.

They chatted for a long time, and by around two in the morning, the man thought it was about time to go back and hand over the watch to someone else. Gu Fan also felt that it was time to switch with Ouyang Jin.

Just then, Gu Fan heard someone say, "Stop rushing me, I never said I wouldn’t trade shifts with you. Why are you in such a hurry?"

That sentence made Gu Fan furrow his brows, and he decided not to trade shifts with Ouyang Jin. Instead, he sat near the fire, pretending to eat, waiting for the shift change. Once another person came over, Gu Fan chatted casually about random things, like asking the person’s name, where they lived, and so on.

The two chatted, occasionally bringing up the people who had an accident. They asked whether the other person knew them or not.

The person said they only knew them a little. Among the victims was a loving couple who came together for this adventure. It’s so unfortunate that it ended this way.

Gu Fan then asked, "How did your team come together?"

The person replied, "I saw a post online about forming a team to go on an adventure, and since I had nothing better to do, I signed up. What about you guys..."

"We’re just a group of classmates who decided to come here as a summer trip. We thought it would be fun to have an adventure here." Gu Fan answered casually. He then asked, "Now that something’s happened, how are you planning to notify their families? It seems like you guys didn’t know them well enough to have their family’s contact details."

The person sighed, "We don’t know either. We’ll report it to the police tomorrow, let them handle it. We’ll leave the rest to the team leader."

"Calling the police is indeed the right thing to do. Why wait till tomorrow? Let’s get them here as soon as possible to deal with the strange fish so that no one else here gets into any trouble." Gu Fan said while pulling out his phone, seemingly about to call the police. However, the other person advised, "Better first thing in the morning. If you call now, it’s so late, and we’re in the middle of nowhere. The police won’t be able to get here. Let the police officers get a full night’s sleep."

"That makes sense." Gu Fan put away his phone and smirked, "You joined this team alone, didn’t you bring any friends or anyone you know?"

The person shook his head, "No, I came alone. Most of the team members did."

"You guys are brave to sign up for something like this alone. Weren’t you afraid that you might join a team of bad guys?" Gu Fan suggested, to which the person acknowledged it. After some thought, he said, "I did think about the safety issues, but...I really love adventuring, so I took the risk."

"Well said, I must toast to that." Gu Fan proposed a toast to him using water, then continued, "How long has your team been formed? We’ve been on this adventure for around 12 or 13 days, what about you guys?"

The person answered, "We have been here for nearly the same amount of time."

Gu Fan let out a sound of understanding, "Looking at your directions, it seems like you are planning to go further into the wilderness rather than leaving after your adventure."

"Yes, the adventure has just begun. But after this accident, I’m afraid none of us feels like continuing." The person sounded down, and Gu Fan expressed his sympathy.

Gu Fan kept up the small talk, "I noticed a few girls in your team. They surely didn’t join a team of strangers alone, did they? That would be too daring; their parents definitely wouldn’t approve."

"They’re a group of friends who joined the team together. It’s different from my case." The person answered Gu Fan’s question with indifference.

Gu Fan asked again, "The person who came to say hello to us the other day is your team leader, right? They seemed reliable and responsible."

"Yes, most of us weren’t initially very confident since we’re all strangers here, but seeing a leader like that, we eased our worries and managed to set off smoothly." The person treated the conversation as a time-killer, not sensing anything unusual.

"Sometimes I’m quite impressed by you. Joining a team of strangers for an adventure, especially when there’s no trust established." Gu Fan expressed admiration, and the person laughed, "It’s hard to find like-minded friends willing to come along. So, I had to join a team with strangers. Actually, I admire you for finding friends who were willing to be part of this."

"Yeah, it’s really hard to find like-minded friends. I’ll drink to that." Gu Fan proposed another toast with water, making it look like a big deal.

"So, are there many groups like yours formed online? How did you choose this team?" Gu Fan was quite curious, leaving the other person hesitant before answering, "There’re many teams formed online, but only a few go into the wilderness. I found a recruitment post and added the team leader’s chat details. After getting to know more about it, I felt it’s a good fit."

"Oh, I see." Gu Fan pretended to take the conversation lightly, then turned around and left, returning to his tent. Meanwhile, he sent a message asking Ouyang Jin to take over the night shift.