Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 1279: Surrounded by Mountains

Chapter 1279: Chapter 1279: Surrounded by Mountains

Holding onto a sliver of hope for survival, everyone mustered their energy and struggled to keep their exhausted bodies moving, step by step.

The team of less than two hundred people had stretched out quite long due to differences in physical stamina, causing some to lag behind.

Gu Fan, seeing everyone’s lethargic state, knew this forced march was not a solution. After discussing with General Horton, they quickly reached a consensus—to rest on the spot.

"Oh my god, I’m dead tired, I need to rest." Lu Yi really couldn’t take another step and plopped down on the ground to rest.

Everyone started to set up camp and pitch tents. Where there were people working, there were also people slacking off; where there were slackers, there were complainers.

Ouyang Jin, while working, kicked at Lu Yi who sat unmoving on the ground and scolded, "You lazybones, don’t even think about staying in my tent after I set it up."

Lu Yi managed to squeeze out a smile, "Buddy, we’ve been through life and death together so many times, sharing a tent isn’t something new. I’ve gotten used to sleeping with you in my arms, how come you’re still not used to it?"

"Get lost!" Ouyang Jin took advantage of the fact that Lu Yi was too weak to fight back to quickly tackle him, and they tussled together.

They were the only ones still in the mood to horse around. This made Irina, the Hunter’s Guild, and the mercenaries curiously wonder what these people had been through to be able to face such dire straits.

Gu Fan came over and simply said, "Everyone rest well tonight, there’s no need to worry about being attacked. Since the vampires have all failed in this forbidden place, I believe there aren’t any bloodthirsty creatures surviving nearby."

That made sense to everyone. Earlier, at the lake, there were only stone statues of people, no animals, suggesting the animals knew this place was dangerous and kept away.

Still, Irina was a bit worried, "Even if there aren’t vampires or bloodthirsty creatures attacking us at night, this place is after all a forbidden land where they can’t survive. We should still be cautious."

Gu Fan believed that "If we’ve come to a place fraught with danger, then after some time, we’re bound to encounter something hazardous. But we’ve been camped here for a while without a stir, clearly showing our current location is safe."

The logic was sound, suggesting that not many needed to stay up on watch tonight, allowing more people to sleep well.

And so, as night fell, apart from the ten necessary individuals remaining on guard, everyone else drifted into slumber.

Gu Fan was alone in his tent and woke up in the middle of the night. With too much on his mind, he tossed and turned restlessly. So, he went outside to have a good look around.

The camp was very quiet. Occasionally, he could hear the watchmen talking. Gu Fan walked while keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings, fearful something might suddenly appear.

Gu Fan hadn’t mentioned before, fearing it would scare everyone, but if this forbidden land was avoided by vampires and bloodthirsty creatures, there might be something even more horrifying here.

But he felt the likelihood was small. Organization X had sent several teams, which all never returned. If the vampires truly encountered some more terrifying creature, they might not be able to win, but they should have managed to escape.

Gu Fan pondered what had happened to the vampires that stopped them from escaping. Even a surprise attack couldn’t guarantee that all vampires were annihilated at once.

"Could it be a very enclosed space where vampires had no escape, only to be killed off one by one?" He thought hard and felt that guessing wildly wasn’t helpful and only made himself more anxious.

Gu Fan looked at the night sky, the stars were very beautiful, and he felt uplifted. Lightly tapping his foot, he used Qinggong to leap onto the treetops.

Feeling the wind and the breath of the forest, looking at the world shrouded in darkness and the stars, Gu Fan spread his arms, slowly closed his eyes, and let his body and mind relax.

After a while, Gu Fan took a deep breath, and a sense of relief surged through him as if his body and mind had been cleansed.

"If this were just a normal trip, how nice that would be." Gu Fan had seen this starry night before—Outerlands Desert, Yuxueyun Mountain, Triangle Sea Area—but each time, he was fighting for his life and never really had the chance to enjoy the scenery.

Longing for a peaceful life, with a sigh, Gu Fan folded his arms and looked at the silhouette of the mountain ridge in the darkness, thinking they might soon reach the edge of Dark Primitive Mountain Forest.

"Wait a second, we came from this direction." Gu Fan was shocked. He looked to the left and then to the right, feeling his heart sink.

He immediately leapt down from the treetops and bellowed, "Wake up, everyone wake up!"

Hearing the urgent shout, everyone was jolted awake, scrambling to get dressed and rushing out of their tents in a panic. The sight was somewhat comical, yet no one could laugh.

General Horton immediately asked, "What’s wrong, Gu Fan, what happened?"

Gu Fan didn’t answer but instead took a telescope from someone and jumped back up to the treetop to survey the surroundings.

Su Hui, Lin Xi, and Zhuo Hang also followed him up. They stood at a high point and looked into the distance. It didn’t take long for their faces to turn pale.

That’s right, now at a 1,000-meter radius with the camp as the center, they were entirely surrounded by mountains.

"How is this possible, where did these mountains come from?" Everyone had looks of disbelief.

Gu Fan’s expression became grave, "It looks like I’ve underestimated this forbidden land. Its true danger seems to have already emerged."

Just as Gu Fan, Su Hui, Lin Xi, and Zhuo Hang wanted to observe further, they suddenly heard a commotion below. It seemed like everyone was agitated.

"Alright, let’s go down and calm everyone down," Gu Fan said, and leapt down.

*****

Meanwhile, Xue Wang, Lord Xiong, Mo Yun, and their followers were blocked by a high mountain in their path, which caused them great frustration. They had observed before that the path was clear. How could a mountain appear out of nowhere?

Xue Wang questioned, "Did we all see things? There’s a mountain here, and not one of us noticed it?"

Hearing this, Mo Yun was also astonished, "Right, we were certain that Gu Fan and his group headed in this direction. They couldn’t possibly have missed it either."

"Is there something strange?" Lord Xiong furrowed his brows.

Xue Wang immediately ordered his subordinates to follow the edge of the mountain to look for other paths that might lead through and, most importantly, to determine where Gu Fan and his team had gone.