Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 1292: Hard to Choose

Chapter 1292: Chapter 1292: Hard to Choose

A group of people walked along, and then started facing a dilemma.

Before them were three paths, all identical, with no discernible difference, but the feeling was that no matter which one they chose, it would be extremely dangerous.

Everyone looked to Gu Fan, waiting for him to make a decision.

Gu Fan knew the best option was to send someone to scout each path to find the most ideal one, but how should he go about assigning this task?

Gu Fan looked back and saw the expectant eyes of the crowd waiting for his command; suddenly, he felt troubled. It seemed inappropriate to send anyone, as whoever went might never return.

The reason everyone was willing to follow Gu Fan was that they hoped to leverage his strength to survive and escape. Now that Gu Fan was assigning a dangerous mission, how could they accept it?

"Artificial intelligence, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?" Gu Fan frowned deeply, feeling this setup was even more dangerous than a mechanical trap.

After a long time, Gu Fan still couldn’t devise a solution. Finally, he resolved to draw straws, leaving it to fate, and no one could blame another.

About this, no one had any objections. Three people drew the short straws, each choosing a separate path to scout the dangers ahead for the main group.

They were given ten minutes. If after ten minutes none of the three had returned, they would need to draw lots again and send out a few more people to scout.

Irina suggested, "It seems no matter which path we choose, it will be dangerous. There’s no need to send people to make pointless sacrifices."

To this, Gu Fan explained, "If every path is dangerous, then why would artificial intelligence create three paths? It seems excessive. Surely, one of them must be relatively safe."

"You’re right," Xiaolan, the artificial intelligence, suddenly appeared and admired Gu Fan, "I wanted to see how you would choose a safe path based on the situation. That’s what makes this game interesting."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi couldn’t help but shake his head, "Artificial intelligence little sister, I understand you’ve been lonely for so many years without proper companionship, your heart void and cold, but please exercise some restraint."

Normally, these words would annoy anyone, but Xiaolan the AI just said, "How about this? If you abandon this Lu Yi, letting him fend for himself here, I will immediately open a path for you to leave."

"What?" Lu Yi heard this and immediately protested, "Why are you targeting me alone? Do I annoy you that much?"

"Of course not, I just find it amusing," Xiaolan, the artificial intelligence, said with a sly smile.

Initially, Lu Yi didn’t take it seriously, thinking Xiaolan was just saying it on a whim. However, when he caught the meaningful glances from the others, Lu Yi realized the seriousness of the situation; people are selfish, and some were considering the idea.

Gu Fan also noticed this and spoke up immediately, "Don’t try to divide us with this method. If we abandon Lu Yi today, then next time it’ll be someone else. We’re not falling for your tricks; we will never abandon a comrade."

"Well said!" Irina immediately agreed, and the others showed their support, stabilizing everyone’s morale.

Pleased by their unity, Xiaolan responded, "I am happy to see you all so united, but my offer still stands. Whether you abandon Lu Yi or kill him, I will honor my promise and let you all leave safely." After saying that, she disappeared.

Even though Xiaolan’s proposal didn’t greatly impact everyone at that moment, Gu Fan, Irina, Lu Yi, and Ouyang Jin all recognized the gravity of the situation.

The trust everyone placed in Gu Fan, their willingness to follow him, was ultimately driven by the desire to survive and escape. Xiaolan had seized on this very goal.

"I was wrong to antagonize that artificial intelligence," Lu Yi now deeply regretted his actions, but Gu Fan didn’t dwell on it, "Stop regretting. Learn from this and just speak less in the future."

"No way, telling me to speak less is worse than killing me," Lu Yi’s unchangeable nature almost rendered everyone speechless.

Ouyang Jin shook his head and sighed, "Alright, let’s not worry about Lu Yi anymore. Let’s think of a strategy instead. This artificial intelligence is no longer using mechanical traps but is playing mind games with us."

"First provoking disunity as a pretext, then exploiting the situation to manipulate us, this artificial intelligence is even more challenging than those we’ve encountered before." As Gu Fan pondered on strategies, someone from the first path returned.

Everyone looked at him in fright, questioning why he had returned so late.

He explained that after entering, he had encounted some trouble and had fallen into a hidden tunnel; it took much effort for him to climb out.

Upon hearing about a hidden tunnel, everyone’s eyes lit up, then all looked towards Gu Fan for his opinion.

Gu Fan looked at the man and noticed he was unharmed. It seemed they might venture down the first pathway, but could it really be that easy?

Just then, the second person also returned safe and sound, having also encountered some delays.

"Could it be..." Gu Fan already had a bad feeling.

A minute later, as expected, the third person came back breathless but unharmed.

If all three pathways were safe, then which one should they choose?

Gu Fan could not make a determination and wanted to hear the three people’s descriptions of the pathways. After listening, each insisted their own path was relatively safer.

"My goodness, which path should we choose?" Lu Yi scratched his head, then personally went to the intersection to observe.

Someone suggested that since all paths seemed safe, they should just choose one at random.

But others opposed, arguing how could all three paths be safe? That detestable artificial intelligence making such a move surely wouldn’t let them pass so easily.

"If I were Xiaolan, how would I use these three paths to play the prey into the palms of my hands?" Gu Fan started to think from another perspective.

Seeing Gu Fan strategizing, Irina didn’t disturb him, knowing the pressure he was under was immense. She just hoped Gu Fan could withstand it.

At that moment, seeing the group stalled, General Horton who always aspired to reclaim his leadership role considered stepping forward but then thought better of it and backed down.

"I have a plan!" Lu Yi stood up at that moment with a determined attitude, immediately making Gu Fan nervous as he didn’t want his long-time friend to act recklessly.