Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 1303 - 1330: Arena of Beasts

Chapter 1303: Chapter 1330: Arena of Beasts

Everyone had finally become united again and continued to push forward, but that didn’t mean nothing had happened. After all, following several gunfights, everyone had seen companions fall to the enemies’ guns.

Although Gu Fan had repeatedly emphasized that what’s past is past and what mattered most now was unity, the group’s determination to leave this place together.

The group arrived at a spacious area covered by a semi-circular transparent glass dome, with many seats irregularly arranged at different heights around them, giving the impression that they had entered a sports arena.

The ground in many places was uneven with signs of damage, and the surrounding walls bore claw marks and even some bloodstains.

Lu Yi made a discovery, pointing upwards: "Look at that, there’s a gap in the glass dome above, as if something broke it."

"Really?" Everyone looked and indeed noticed a small hole. It was unclear what had caused the damage. What had happened here before?

Ouyang Jin interpreted it as such: "Maybe it was vampires that entered here, using their power to break through and escape."

"That’s possible, but..." Gu Fan observed the area carefully. If this was a sports arena, then why would there be a need for a glass dome separating the spectator seats from the outside?

Gu Fan considered that there must be something very dangerous occurring in the arena, necessitating a special glass dome both to protect the spectators and allow them to see what was happening inside.

After a long search, the group found several passageways on the walls, leading to unknown destinations, but the gloomy atmosphere made them somewhat fearful.

With no other paths to choose from, Gu Fan picked one of the passageways and led the rest in, step by step.

There were even more claw marks on the walls of this passage, and some were so large they seemed to have been made by something enormous, definitely not the work of vampires.

As they walked, the group came across a huge, deep footprint that was certainly not human.

"There can’t be monsters here, right? Let’s hurry up and move," several mercenaries said in fear.

To this, Gu Fan shook his head: "Since we’ve made it this far, I believe there’s no turning back now. Even if we encounter any monsters, we’ll have to fight our way through."

Although this made sense, everyone couldn’t help but feel afraid, knowing what might lie ahead. They had no choice but to grit their teeth and follow Gu Fan.

After walking for a while, they arrived in a room resembling an exhibit hall, where large glass containers filled with green fluid lined the space. Inside the containers were bizarre and enormous beasts.

At first, everyone was startled by these creatures, but after multiple confirmations, they realized the beasts appeared to be in a deep slumber, which slightly eased their tension.

Upon seeing the beasts, everyone’s scalps tingled. Lu Yi couldn’t help but utter, "This challenge can’t seriously be fighting these behemoths, right?"

"Congratulations, you’re correct!" Xiaolan, the artificial intelligence, appeared at this moment, greeting everyone with an ostentatiously charming smile.

Lu Yi was immediately annoyed, but he dared not speak loudly for fear of waking the sleeping behemoths. He lowered his voice: "Don’t go overboard. Can you set a reasonable challenge by a normal standard?"

Xiaolan furrowed her brows, as she could hardly make out what Lu Yi was saying: "Can you speak up? The beasts are asleep, and as long as I don’t wake them, they won’t be roused."

"Is that so? You should have said that earlier." Lu Yi breathed a sigh of relief and then flipped off the sleeping beasts.

Gu Fan commented calmly, "If this challenge involves killing all these monsters, then that’s asking too much of us."

"Of course not. There’s a way out, but only one person can escape at a time. Finding it will take some time, but the good news is I’m giving you ten minutes. After ten minutes, I will wake the beasts and they will chase you down. Can you escape?" Xiaolan said with a faint smile.

Gu Fan frowned. The greatest test of this challenge wasn’t avoiding the monsters’ pursuit, but the fact that the escape route could only be taken by one person at a time. When the time came, nearly a hundred people would scramble to flee, and they might even fight each other for that lone opportunity.

"You really know how to fuel the conflict within our team, don’t you? Trying to amplify our disagreements and incite us to fight amongst ourselves again," Gu Fan bluntly pointed out the cunning of the AI.

Xiaolan appeared unconcerned: "Do you think by exposing my intentions in front of everyone and making people wary, they won’t fight each other for that one way out?"

There was a psychological battle against psychological warfare, and it made everyone very tense.

At that moment, Lu Yi looked at a creature in one of the containers, its head somewhat reminiscent of a snake, or perhaps a large lizard, with a long tail full of sharp spikes.

Seeing the beast in slumber, Lu Yi couldn’t resist pondering whether the fluid in the container might be the key to the creature’s life. If the container were suddenly broken and the fluid drained away, would these creatures expire?

"Alright, let the game begin," Xiaolan stated matter-of-factly as the fluid in one container slowly drained. "This liquid is key to keeping the beasts asleep. Once it’s completely gone, the creatures will awaken. You have exactly ten minutes, so hurry."

Gu Fan’s face darkened: "Let’s find the way out, quickly!"

With those words, everyone sprang into action, except for Gu Fan who remained motionless, still facing Xiaolan.

Xiaolan was now intrigued: "Why aren’t you searching? Surely you’re not so noble as to stay behind and fight these creatures, to buy more time for everyone else to escape?"

Gu Fan shook his head with a wry smile: "Sorry, I’m not as grand as you imagine. I want to know what this place is, and what’s the deal with these monsters."

Xiaolan replied, "As I’ve said before, this is a secret research facility. We have tested many potions and naturally needed many subjects for the experiments, such as dinosaurs, for example."

"So the dinosaurs drank your potions and then mutated," Gu Fan said, looking fearfully at the creatures in the glass containers, feeling a chill.

Xiaolan nodded: "Exactly, these beasts can be considered failures. Originally slated for disposal, we made this beast-fighting arena instead, to kill some boring time and let everyone appreciate what ’violent aesthetics’ are like."

"You really are capable of anything," Gu Fan said, with a corner of his mouth turned up in an undeterred expression.