Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 126: Changing Direction

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Changing Direction

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Gu Fan voiced his thoughts. He first spread out the ancient map, pointing to it, "What we currently know is that there’s a lake to the east of Qianye, which is also the oasis we passed earlier. Let’s make a presumption. If Qianye is far from water sources, it implies that they must have tapped into groundwater. In other words, there is groundwater beneath Qianye. Furthermore, the oasis exists because of the underground water. Nobody would disagree with this, I presume?"

Everyone concurred. Scratching his head, Lu Yi said, "We can’t help it. We are not geology experts. Even if we wanted to object, we can’t. Moreover, what you said makes sense."

"Thank you for your support, my dear Lu Yi." Gu Fan paused a brief moment before continuing, "There’s groundwater underneath Qianye and the oasis. What if there’s an underground river connecting the oasis and Qianye?"

Upon hearing this, Professor Luo had a moment of realization, "Gu Fan, you mean to search for Qianye via the underground river?"

Gu Fan nodded and replied, "Precisely!"

"The idea is not implausible. However, the likelihood of failure is high. But we currently don’t have a better solution, so it’s worth a shot." Even Ouyang Jin gave his consent, winning everyone’s agreement.

Thinking of their previous experience in the oasis, Lu Yi felt the need to remind everyone. Even if there was an underground river, how would they bypass the monstrous fish?

Immediately, Du Jun added, "The chance of success is low, and the risk is high. I wouldn’t recommend it."

Gu Fan, instead of being annoyed, grinned, "I don’t recommend it either. Searching for the underground river from the oasis is indeed overly risky."

Hearing this, Jie was baffled, "What are you talking about mate? You oppose your own plan? Who does that?"

Gu Fan chuckled, "I simply mean I don’t intend to search for the river entrance from the oasis. I want to try another direction."

"Another direction?" Everyone was puzzled; only Ouyang Jin seemed to catch onto something. He pointed at the map, "A river lies to the south of Qianye. Whether it still exists is unknown. Earlier, we found a well to the south of Qianye. Gu Fan, you suspect there might be another underground river to the south."

"Exactly. That’s my hypothesis. The ancients dug wells out in their search for underground rivers. So, I speculate that one underground river flows through the oasis in the east, Qianye in the middle, and the river in the south." Even if Gu Fan said it was merely a guess, he sounded highly confident.

Professor Luo pondered for a while, "So far, we know for sure there’s an underground river beneath the oasis and groundwater under Qianye. But whether the two are connected remains uncertain."

"Heading south?" After a moment of contemplation, Ouyang Jin backed Gu Fan’s idea, thinking it was worth trying. Or else their only option left was to keep digging in the sand.

The final decision rested with Professor Luo. He thought for a long while. Seeing everyone’s hopeful gaze on him and their evidently thinner figures, he recalled the toiling days of digging sand.

"Alright, let’s bet on it. We’ll head south. Regardless of our findings, I won’t hold it against you, Gu Fan." With Professor Luo’s words, everyone made up their mind.

At this moment, Lu Yi chimed in, "Whatever the plan may be, I accept it. I can’t stand the digging any longer. I haven’t shoveled through so much sand in my whole life."

Upon hearing these words, everyone couldn’t help but laugh. After the laughter subsided, they decided to rest for the night and head south the next day.

Gu Fan was thrilled to receive everyone’s support. During his night watch, he took the opportunity to express his gratitude to Ouyang Jin. Tight from the start, if Ouyang Jin hadn’t presided over the discussion, he doubted Professor Luo would agree to such a risky plan.

Ouyang Jin waved him off humbly since he, too, felt there weren’t better alternatives at the moment. He found Gu Fan’s bold conjecture intriguing: a single underground river running through the oasis to the east, Qianye in the center, and the southern river.

However, Gu Fan still wanted to scrutinize the notes left by Ouyang Jin’s father. Admittedly, the content was scarce. After following the notes, which documented Ouyang Jin’s father leading the team to some ruins, they continued their quest for Qianye without any incidents until the arrival of a sandstorm, which almost wiped them out.

The word "sandstorm" left Gu Fan deeply concerned. If anything posed the most significant threat in a desert, it unquestionably was a sandstorm.

But Ouyang Jin reassured him that he could predict the arrival of a sandstorm based on the celestial changes. Gu Fan was delighted at this and asked, "Bro, I definitely chose the right person. Once we detect a sandstorm, it’s all on you."

Ouyang Jin shook his head, showing a helpless expression, "I can only say I’ll detect the sandstorm in advance and do our best to prepare or find a safe place to hide. But this doesn’t mean we can come out unscathed. So don’t get too excited just yet."

"Such a letdown," Gu Fan sighed. However, he knew what Ouyang Jin was saying was the truth.

"A sandstorm?" Gu Fan gaped at the horizon, still contemplating the content of Ouyang Jin’s father’s notes. Within the sandstorm, black figures leapt about, and what he heard were his teammates’ screams. It was as if there was a demon in the storm.

If he had read this part earlier, Gu Fan might’ve thought Ouyang Jin’s father overreacted. Was he driven mad by the sandstorm? But after encountering the cannibal ants and the strange fish in the lake, Gu Fan began to view the matter seriously.

Gu Fan wasn’t one to back down when faced with difficulty, nor was he one to flee in the face of danger. However, if the danger persisted, he knew he should retreat; recklessly charging in would be foolhardy.

"Just this once, heavens, just once. If we encounter any more danger, we’ll turn back immediately." All Gu Fan could do was silently pray under the starry night sky.

Meanwhile, at another camp, Leng Le stared at her mobile phone screen, looking puzzled. "It’s weird. Gu Fan hasn’t moved for several days. Has something happened to him? Or did he drop his phone?"

Hai looked equally bewildered. "The possibility of him having met with danger is high. It’s also likely that he had dropped his phone. Or they might have found Qianye Ancient Country."

"No way, could they really be that capable? That’s something no archaeologist has been able to discover for generations, including the big boss." Leng Le couldn’t bring herself to believe it, but for some reason, she felt a sense of unease. Gu Fan always seemed to pull off the unexpected.

The mobile signal in this area was very poor. Only after persistent attempts was Hai able to send a message to Jie. It was quite some time before he received a reply, indicating that Jie was safe.

Upon receiving Jie’s message, Hai finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had speculated earlier that if Gu Fan ran into trouble, maybe more than one person was in danger. Now that he knew Jie was safe, a weight was lifted from his heart.

"We have to go check. Maybe they really did discover something..." The more Leng Le thought about it, the more something felt wrong. However, Hai refuted her proposal. First, rushing over might alarm Gu Fan and give away their location. Don’t forget how alert this kid is—with one swift counter-attack last time. If not for the tracking signal that revealed his movements, Leng Le and her team would undoubtedly have been discovered.

Secondly, Hai intended to ask Leng Le whether she planned to be the mantis or the oriole. If she wished to be the oriole, she should hold off.

Hence, Leng Le recalled the few teams she had seen earlier. She knew those people were also tracking Gu Fan. As far as Leng Le was concerned, she would much rather be the oriole and leave the role of the mantis to that team.

On that thought, Leng Le managed to suppress her worries. Yet, the anxiety in her heart grew evermore. She feared their actions would be too slow, missing the best opportunity.

Hai shared the same concerns. If that team made a move on Gu Fan and his team, Jie would inevitably be affected, which was the last thing Hai wanted to see.

"I hope they don’t wipe them all out." This was Hai’s only wish, and the most he could do at the moment. Meanwhile, he decided to send a message per day. If there wasn’t a prompt response, he would take it to mean that Jie ran into trouble that was too difficult to handle. It was highly likely that that team had made a move, thus signaling the time for Leng Le and her team to act.

Leng Le knew that Hai was the one in the most difficult position here. He was aware that his brother was in danger, but all he could do was wait on the sidelines. To some extent, he needed to rely on whether his brother replied to help them determine the right time to act.

"Don’t worry. Good people have their own natural protection." Leng Le could only offer such comfort to Hai.

"I hope so." Hai forced out a bitter smile before excusing himself back to his tent to rest.

Meanwhile, Leng Le kept staring at the red dot on her mobile screen that represented Gu Fan. She felt a complex mix of emotions, "You better not give up so easily kid. You need to fall into my hands. We aren’t finished yet."

The next morning, as soon as Leng Le woke up, her mobile alert rang, signaling Gu Fan’s movements and startling her.

"Everyone, pack your things immediately. We’re leaving." Leng Le issued the order, which caused Hai to rush over and ask, "What’s going on? Why are we hitting the road in such a hurry?"

Leng Le held up her mobile. "See that? The red dot moved. This kid didn’t run into trouble, nor did he lose his phone. He just remained stationary for several days, and now they’re heading south. You know what that means, right?"

Hai pondered for a while. "They were stationary for several days, either due to a teammate being unable to travel and they stayed to care for them. However, judging by their route, they previously headed southeast, and now they’re turning south. It doesn’t seem like they’re continuing forward, nor are they returning the way they came. That means they’ve made a discovery and have a new direction."