Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 1281: No Escape

Chapter 1281: Chapter 1281: No Escape

Lin Xi was fine; her breathing was even, and her heartbeat was strong. She had simply suffered some impact that left her unconscious, which relieved everyone.

Gu Fan stared coldly at the sky. The loud noise just now definitely wasn’t Lin Xi colliding with an airplane or anything like that.

Su Hui noticed something amiss and pointed at the sky, "Quick, look at that part of the starry sky, right where Lin Xi hit. It seems like there’s a piece missing."

After hearing this, everyone was surprised and stared at the sky. But other than stars and darkness, nothing seemed amiss, no matter how long they looked.

Irina commented, "I remember there were several stars in that position, one of which was very bright, but now there’s only one left, and its light is dim."

"Really?" While everyone was puzzled by the situation, Lin Xi woke up and, rubbing her head, showed a pained expression.

Seeing Lin Xi wake, everyone gathered around. Lu Yi spoke first, "Miss Lin, you’re tough as nails, falling from such a height and still being okay. I admire you. It’s just that your landing posture was quite ungraceful, face-first into the ground."

"What, is there something wrong with my face?" Lin Xi immediately took out a mirror to check and, seeing her beautiful face intact, she finally felt at ease.

Irina grew frustrated, "Can you all focus and talk seriously?"

"Oh, right, the serious matter." The others remembered and, looking apologetic, turned their attention back, easing Irina’s irritation.

Lin Xi then described her experience. She kept flying higher and higher, aiming for the brightest star in the night sky. Normally, stars would remain far away and small in appearance.

But the stars in that night sky seemed to come closer and grow larger. Eventually, she was shocked to see a star about to appear before her, and that’s when she realized it was a fake sky. Her head felt like it had hit a wall.

Lin Xi’s conclusion was that it was a screen; a large portion of the night sky everyone saw, including the overcast sky, might just be a display on a screen.

"Just as we suspected, this is a fake nature," Gu Fan observed his surroundings thoroughly. He was still uncertain if everything around them, aside from the sky, was artificial.

Lu Yi expressed her doubts, "Could it be that all these mountains that have appeared around us are just images on a screen and not real?"

"Let’s find out." Under Gu Fan’s suggestion, everyone split into four groups and set out. The main task was to understand the situation around them, to see which mountains were real and which were not.

When the task was concluded, and all four groups safely returned to the meeting point, the results were unexpected. After inspection, all mountains proved real to the touch, with the feel of rock.

This was quite puzzling. How had these real mountains been moved here?

As Gu Fan pondered, someone ran up in a panic, shouting, "It’s not good, the water from that small lake nearby is rising!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was alarmed and rushed to the spot only to see the lake’s water expanding in all directions, engulfing more and more land at an alarming rate.

Unaware of the mystery or the danger, the group could only desperately retreat further and further back.

"This makes no sense, it’s not scientific! You’re not the sea; how can you just start rising like a tide?" Lu Yi’s question echoed everyone’s thoughts, having never seen a lake tide as fierce as this.

The lake water quickly reached their feet, and they were forced to retreat further back.

Before long, they found themselves against a rock face, with nowhere left to retreat, and as they turned around, the fast-approaching water filled them with disbelief.

Given the oddity of their situation and with no other options, they had no choice but to climb trees.

However, the towering ancient trees were rather thick, making them time-consuming and difficult to climb. Even those who were good at climbing took one look and sensed the challenge.

"Climbing trees, that’s my weakest skill, I..." Before Lu Yi could finish her sentence, Gu Fan grabbed her arm and whisked her up the tree. In no time, they reached the treetop.

At this point, the water had risen to their ankles, and the speed of the rise was terrifying. Regardless of their climbing skills, everyone was forced to give their all and climb as quickly as possible.

Nearly two hundred people each chose a tree and started to ascend. Those who climbed quickly soon grabbed onto the higher branches and continued their ascent to greater heights.

For those climbing slowly, the water had already reached their legs. The feeling of being chased spurred them to summon all their strength in a frantic attempt to grasp at life.

Standing atop the treetops, Gu Fan looked down to hear panicked cries, "Get a rope down here, quick, pull me up!"

"Save me, please save me, I don’t want to get hurt!"

"Wait for me, don’t leave me behind!"

"Why, why is the water still rising, why?"

The water rose faster than some climbed, quickly reaching their waists, then their chests, and soon it threatened to submerge their shoulders.

While the slower climbers were in a state of panic, they still desperately fought for survival, clumsily reaching for anything above them, hoping that just a little higher could mean salvation.

Listening to the cries for help from those ten or so people, everyone felt a heart-wrenching helplessness but was powerless to intervene. They closed their eyes in sorrow until the rising water silenced the cries.

If those people had managed to climb close to the branches, Gu Fan would have had the strength to grab them and pull them up. The problem was, they were just too slow.

"Alright, no more resting, we need to keep climbing, quickly, the danger isn’t over yet." Gu Fan noticed that the water was still rising and had no idea where so much water could be coming from.

This time, the climbers could use the strength of the branches, allowing them to ascend faster and with less effort as they continued toward the highest parts of the ancient trees.

Just as Gu Fan was anxious about whether the water would keep rising, Lu Yi tapped him on the shoulder, nearly giving Gu Fan a fright.

"What’s wrong, buddy?" As soon as Gu Fan finished his question, he saw Lu Yi’s terrified expression and heard him say, "Mate, confirm something for me, are my eyes deceiving me, or does that mountain seem a lot taller?"