Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 1240: Ulterior Motives

Chapter 1240: Chapter 1240: Ulterior Motives

After a while, Irina found Gu Fan and the others in a corner of the camp and went over to greet them.

Su Hui stood in front of Irina with a slight smile, seemingly polite, but with a hint of refusal, and the others also seemed uninterested, each looking indifferent, making Irina feel somewhat embarrassed.

"It seems you don’t welcome me very much." Irina did not know where she had offended these people, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Su Hui replied, "I heard from Gu Fan that you were acting as an intermediary for General Horton, trying to facilitate our cooperation with him."

Irina nodded, "Yes, I think under the current circumstances, the Flame and Lightning Mercenary Corps have suffered heavy casualties, we have no one else to rely on, cooperating with General Horton is the best choice."

Su Hui looked earnestly at Irina and then asked again, "You said your Hunter’s Guild didn’t know about General Horton’s plan before, just happened to come across the Flame Mercenary Corps, and then coincidentally met General Horton."

"Yes, if Gu Fan hadn’t decided to change course, we wouldn’t have encountered the Flame Mercenary Corps or have set out from the River of Survival with them," Irina was puzzled, not knowing why Su Hui would ask this.

Su Hui seemed somewhat convinced and turned back to seek Gu Fan’s opinion.

Gu Fan nodded slightly, as if he had approved of Irina.

Irina pressed further with emphasis, "What do you mean, we’ve been cooperating for so long, don’t you trust us?"

"No, that’s not what we mean, we just want to make sure," Su Hui quickly reassured, then began to explain, "Although according to General Horton, it was the Flame and Lightning Mercenary Corps who, having suffered heavy casualties, had no choice but to seek cooperation with General Horton and inform him of the plan to depart from the River of Survival, we speculate that General Horton was not just informed then but had discussed this plan with the Flame and Lightning Mercenary Corps from the start."

"So you suspect General Horton and the Flame Mercenary Corps are in cahoots?" Irina was somewhat unable to calm down.

"Yes, since the Flame and Lightning Mercenary Corps were on a secret mission, they wouldn’t easily disclose their real intentions to General Horton, leading to General Horton now setting off from the River of Survival with the remaining mercenary corps. Moreover, General Horton should be well aware that the initial actions of the United Army did not involve the Flame and Lightning Mercenary Corps. Now suddenly the Flame Mercenary Corps pops up, suggesting cooperation with General Horton to set out from the River of Survival—don’t you think Horton and the other mercenary corps might be suspicious? Were the Flame Mercenary Corps using them to draw fire to ensure their own safe passage? That’s why if I were the Flame Mercenary Corps, I wouldn’t say a word," Su Hui said before stressing further, "Irina, listen to us; if I were General Horton, I had already reached a cooperation agreement with the Flame Mercenary Corps from the start. I told them to set out from the River of Survival to a place to find something, but the Flame Mercenary Corps said Dark Primitive Mountain was too dangerous to risk. I then reassured the Flame Mercenary Corps, telling them to be confident because someone would attract the fire for them."

Hearing this, Irina furrowed her brows, sensing a conspiratorial undertone.

Su Hui continued, "Then I approached other mercenary groups, telling them there was something valuable in a certain area of Dark Primitive Mountain, and I would lead them to find it, setting off from the Path of Death."

"But what if other mercenary groups said that the nations surrounding the Dark Primitive Mountain wouldn’t allow them to enter? So, I said I’d handle it, and I figured out ways to convince those nations to let the mercenary groups enter Dark Primitive Mountain under the pretense of helping to eliminate those monsters and overthrow Dark City."

"Assume, other mercenary groups don’t know about the existence of Flame Mercenary Corps and don’t know they quietly started from River of Survival. They also aren’t aware that they’re merely there to help the Flame Mercenary Corps attract firepower."

Irina was somewhat shocked, "Wait, this doesn’t make sense, why would you only choose the Flame Mercenary Corps to benefit from this, leaving other mercenary groups as cannon fodder?"

Su Hui revealed a deep smile, "Because there’s only so much bread to go around, and it’s difficult to split it among many. I’d lead other mercenary groups to draw fire, suffer heavy losses, and then return empty-handed. Meanwhile, Flame Mercenary Corps would reap the benefits, and since other mercenary groups wouldn’t know what Flame Mercenary Corps did, the spoils are for us and Flame Mercenary Corps to divide."

Gu Fan nodded, "Exactly, telling other mercenary groups it’s cooperation, but actually using them as cannon fodder. How could I trust and work alongside someone like that, who might betray me anytime?"

Irina agreed with the point of view, "If it weren’t for the Lightning and Flame mercenary groups suffering heavy casualties, beyond General Horton’s expectations, General Horton wouldn’t have decided to bring more mercenaries."

"Either General Horton recognized our capabilities from last night’s battle, or he found out about our deeds from Flame Mercenary Corps, and thereby General Horton wants to use you to forge cooperation with us," Su Hui concluded, narrowing her eyes, "But in the eyes of Flame Mercenary Corps, we are part of the Hunter’s Guild, which means General Horton sought you, Hunter’s Guild, for cooperation, thinking we were also part of the Hunter’s Guild."

Upon hearing this, Irina finally had an epiphany, "That’s right, when General Horton approached me to discuss cooperation, he casually mentioned your exceptional skill. After my explanation, he realized you weren’t part of the Hunter’s Guild, so he wanted to use me as a mediator to facilitate cooperation with you."

"This guy really needs to be careful." Gu Fan glanced at General Horton’s tent and then furrowed his eyebrows, "I have a premonition that such a large operation isn’t driven solely by General Horton; there might be another force behind the scenes."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a sinking feeling, sensing that something was amiss.

Su Hui commented, "On the surface, we might only have Organization X as an enemy, but looking back, there’s another invisible enemy setting up in the shadows."

Irina began to sweat profusely, "With you putting it this way, why is it getting scarier? The visible enemy is already strong, and now there’s an unseen one as well, could you be overthinking it?"

"I also hope I’m overthinking, but currently, it seems we are headed towards Dark City." Gu Fan was tense and worried, but shifting his perspective, if they cooperated with General Horton, they might be able to monitor him and identify the force behind him.

Since he had come this far, Gu Fan smiled slightly, "Irina, go back and tell General Horton you’ve successfully persuaded us to cooperate. As for my earlier attitude, it was just me wanting to elevate my worth in the upcoming cooperation, to have more say."