Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 128: Strength in Numbers

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Strength in Numbers

Gu Fan never saw himself as a righteous hero or a goody-two-shoes. Initially, he started his search for his missing classmates in order to find the culprit behind the disappearances to ensure more students did not go missing, and thereby protecting Lin Xi.

In his quest to find the person orchestrating everything behind the scenes, Gu Fan rallied everyone together to maintain a united front, provide mutual assistance to one another, and search for their missing classmates together. His ultimate goal was to harness everyone’s strength to protect Lin Xi.

Frankly speaking, Gu Fan’s original intention in doing all these was to protect Lin Xi, who was his girlfriend, and so, he did have his own selfish motives.

However, after all twelve students ended up missing, Lin Xi was essentially safe. Yet, Gu Fan didn’t give up. He constantly asked himself: when everyone was in a bind, he had rallied them to search for the missing students together as if he was a beacon of justice. Now that Lin Xi was safe, could he let himself off the hook? Could he give up the search entirely?

No, absolutely not. Gu Fan may not want to become a hero or a goody-two-shoes, but he couldn’t be a deserter or a person without a sense of responsibility. Since he had initially rallied everyone together and had received everyone’s support and response, it was everyone’s responsibility to find the missing classmates.

Especially after Zhou Yu and Xia Yue went missing, Gu Fan bore undeniable responsibility. He couldn’t bring himself to just give up. He hoped to keep persevering for just a little longer.

After much thought, Gu Fan felt uneasy and conflicted as he thought to himself: "Everyone, during this expedition to the foreign lands, we’ve encountered many dangers. We genuinely want to find all of you. We’re doing our utmost, but..."

Due to his heavy mood, Gu Fan took a long while to fall asleep. He hoped that everything would come to an end once they returned.

In fact, not only Gu Fan but also Lu Yi and Jie shared the same feelings. Initially, they had vowed to march forward together, but now that their classmates started to disappear one by one, each felt guilty for their inaction.

Daybreak came, signifying the first day of their return trip. Xu Haowen was the first to get up. He steps out of the tent, closing his eyes as he lets out a yawn. When he opens his eyes, he was so astonished that he forgets to close his yawning mouth.

"Everyone, wake up, wake up!" At Xu Haowen’s panicked cries, the others scramble to their feet, one by one leaving their tents, each exhibiting the same shocked expression.

Gu Fan looked around, his expression drastically changing. Their camp was surrounded by hundreds of people wearing various colored sun-protective clothing, and their dark eyes were filled with the same cold indifference.

"What on earth is happening here? Who are you people?" Professor Luo steps forward to negotiate, but there’s no response from the other side.

At this point, Jie noticed something: "My God, look over there! Aren’t those the people we met at the oasis last time?"

Hearing this comment, everyone was stunned. They could indeed see those people among the crowd, confirming Gu Fan’s previous suspicion that the encounters with other teams over this period weren’t accidental. Someone had been following them the whole time.

But it was already too late now. They had all been surrounded. With hundreds of people from the other side closing in around their camp, even Su Hui was barely able to fight her way out.

Then a man in his sixties steps forward and indifferently says, "Do not resist, or we won’t be showing you any mercy." Once he was done speaking, the man signals with his eyes as more than twenty of their group advanced towards Gu Fan and the others with ropes in hands.

Upon seeing this situation, it was clear to Gu Fan and the others that they were about to be bound. They initially resisted, attempting to fend off their captors, but that cold voice rang out again: "I told you, do not resist, or your lives will be in danger."

Upon hearing those threatening words, everyone felt a choke in their throats. Seeing as the hundreds from the other side slowly narrowed the containment circle, they wore an expression of severe consequences should they resist.

Left with no choice and faced with such circumstances, they had no choice but to surrender. One by one, their hands and feet were bound, filling their hearts with both anger and disdain. Weren’t they being bullied out of sheer outnumbering?

Sister Su had resisted fiercely, fending off several people with her punches and kicks. She refused to be tied up so easily, but soon she was surrounded by more than thirty people from the other side, and the number was still increasing.

"Sister Su!" Gu Fan sighed helplessly as he shook his head, indicating his surrender. Sister Su understood and reluctantly raised her hands in surrender, allowing herself to be bound as well.

However, they kept their word. After tying up Gu Fan and his group, they did not make any outrageous moves. Their attention was focused on the mountain as they sent many of their group to search for something.

Professor Luo looked on with a perplexed expression: "Who are these people? Where did they come from? How did we even run into them?"

No one could answer his questions. Gu Fan was at a loss. However, what Gu Fan wanted to know was why these people had been following them all this while. Could it be...

Lu Yi seemed a bit disheartened, "It’s odd, everything was all fine a few days ago. Why do they appear just when we are about to head back? What does that mean?"

Gu Fan also found this strange; if the others had been following their group for so long, why hadn’t they shown up earlier? Why did they wait until today to appear? Could it be...

Gu Fan looked at Su Hui as if seeking confirmation. He wanted to know what she was thinking but saw Su Hui replied with a meaningful smile.

Gu Fan’s exchange of glances with Su Hui’s meaningful smile seemed a bit ambiguous. Lin Xi immediately became displeased, glaring at Gu Fan and causing him to shiver with fright. This was a misunderstanding. It wasn’t what Lin Xi thought.

Even Lu Yi couldn’t stand it. "Gu Fan, you and Sister Su, what are you two doing flirting at a time like this? Think about how to escape!"

"What can we do? We’re all tied up tight." As soon as Xu Haowen had finished speaking, Su Hui said, "I have a small knife with me. Cover for me, and I’ll cut the ropes. Then we all fight our way out."

Lu Yi was full of admiration, "No wonder you’re such a valiant woman; we’re all depending on you."

As Su Hui had begun to act, Gu Fan kept his eyes on the hill. The group of individuals seemed busy around the mountain, seemingly looking for something. Could they be...

Teacher Liu was also puzzled, "No way, do these individuals have the same idea as us? Are they planning to find the entrance to the underground river from here, then follow the river to the capital of Qianye Country?"

No one knew the real intentions of these individuals, but looking at the trend, everyone felt that this was the case. The methods that their group had thought of were already considered by others. It seemed that there were many intelligent people in the world.

Professor Luo was in a hurry, "If this is true, then what are these people planning to do? They don’t look like any formal unit."

On this matter, Lu Yi couldn’t help but comment, "Most likely they are tomb raiders. This time, it’s going to be tough for Qianye Country."

"No, we can’t let them destroy our country’s cultural relics. Even if it costs me my life, I can’t allow such a thing to happen." Even though Professor Luo thoroughly detested tomb raiding, this kind of spirit was admirable. But the problem was that they were in immediate danger. How could they fight?

Jie said, "If we had left one day earlier, we probably wouldn’t be stuck in this mess."

Lu Yi immediately added, "Who would’ve thought, after surviving hunters, wolves, carnivorous ants, and monstrous fish, we’d fall into the hands of tomb raiders. Our reputation is ruined."

Gu Fan asked, "Who was on duty in the latter half of the night? How did they let so many people approach without noticing?"

On this matter, Ouyang Jin, Lu Yi, and Du Jun felt apologetic. It had been too cold in the latter part of the night. They couldn’t resist temptation and took turns warming themselves in the tent, thinking nothing would happen so close to dawn."

Du Jun added, "I thought it was almost dawn and figured there wouldn’t be any problems. Besides, they outnumbered us; even if we had noticed them, we wouldn’t have been able to escape."

"Okay, we won’t pursue the matter of responsibility anymore. Moreover, Du Jun is right. They had us surrounded. We couldn’t have escaped with our numbers." Gu Fan frowned. Whether Su Hui can untie the ropes and how far they could run if they managed to escape were all things to consider. If they infuriated the others and got caught, they might not be so fortunate."

Gu Fan wanted to assess their strength before planning their escape. But upon seeing Professor Luo grinding his teeth in rage, ready to fight the tomb thieves, he felt even more nervous. Once the ropes were untied, the Professor might refuse to leave and insist on staying and fighting. Then they would have to expend all their efforts to drag Professor Luo back, thus wasting precious time and increasing the risk of being caught."

If they managed to escape successfully, their pursuers might not chase them with all their forces. They could possibly fight during their escape. But how much hope was there?

"Weapons, damn it; our weapons are in the tent. If we encounter an attack during our escape, we need the weapons. But going back for them means wasting even more time." Gu Fan was extremely nervous. He had never encountered such peril. Any reckless actions taken without thorough consideration might put everyone in danger."

When Su Hui was ready, and Gu Fan felt that the time wasn’t right, they were all surprised to see the group carrying several coffins over. They roughly counted them - exactly twelve in total."

"My God, could it be..." Gu Fan was stunned. Su Hui, Lin Xi, Lu Yi, and Jie were also surprised.