Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 1318: Pincer Attack from Front and Rear

Chapter 1318: Chapter 1318: Pincer Attack from Front and Rear

Over twenty people gathered together, exerting all their strength to resist and uphold the Protective Barrier, but against the torrential onslaught of mosquitoes, this small group of people was quickly overwhelmed.

"No good!" Lin Xi was the one deploying the Protective Barrier, and she knew full well the strength of the dense swarm of mosquitoes.

Everyone knew they couldn’t hold on, but no one retreated, because they all understood that if one person faltered, the defense line would collapse in an instant, and if a large number of mosquitoes surged in, then nobody would be able to escape.

Everyone clenched their teeth and desperately held on when Lu Yi arrived with more than ten people. Seeing the scene, he immediately called for his group to help out.

The situation was temporarily stabilized with the reinforcement of some additional strength.

The combined strength of nearly forty people was strong, but the problem was, on the other side of the Protective Barrier, the momentum of the thousands of mosquitoes’ impacts only increased, while the strength of Gu Fan and his companions was ebbing away bit by bit; the situation was growing bleak.

In just three minutes, everyone felt weak in their limbs, the forty people gradually moving backward step by step, with anxious expressions appearing on their faces.

"What a joke, are we really going to be overrun by a bunch of mosquitoes?" Lu Yi struggled to keep up the defense, his high fighting spirit notwithstanding.

At that critical moment, a giant scythe pressed up against the Protective Barrier, the addition of its massive force immediately solidifying the defense line.

Everyone turned in shock to see that the large mantis had come to their aid; it was its intervention that turned the tide from danger to safety.

Gu Fan paused for a moment, then couldn’t help but smile, "Looks like you’re afraid of these mosquitoes too. So, it seems we share a common enemy."

The large mantis was silent, giving no indication that it understood what Gu Fan meant.

Lu Yi grew excited, "What’s going on? Just because we’re facing a common threat, we’re friends now?"

"That must be it. Any creature with a bit of intelligence knows what’s best for itself," Irina guessed, glancing at the large mantis and then at the mosquitoes frantically assaulting the other side of the Protective Barrier. She felt relieved that this enemy wasn’t entirely foolish.

Lu Yi took a good look at the large mantis and lamented, "You don’t look so bad; why not hang out with us? I’ll take you as a pet."

Hearing this, everyone gave Lu Yi astonished looks, inwardly thinking that this guy’s idea was quite bold; who would dare to keep such a large pet?

The large mantis glanced at Lu Yi and then, to everyone’s disbelief, made a spitting gesture at him, as if expressing contempt with a disdainful ’Pah’.

Lu Yi immediately felt displeased, "What’s that mean? If you don’t want to be my pet, that’s fine, but is such an overreaction necessary?"

"Please, can you take things seriously at this moment?" Irina had just finished speaking when the artificial intelligence Xiaolan jumped out, "I really didn’t expect you to hold out until now. It’s a miracle."

Seeing this annoying artificial intelligence Xiaolan, everyone really wore unwelcoming expressions.

Xiaolan looked aggrieved, "Could you not treat me this way? Thanks to me, your adventure is fraught with peril, constantly undergoing trials and tests. Without some hardship, how could it be called an adventure, right?"

Everyone was first startled by the remark, then showed bitter smiles; what kind of twisted logic was that?

Lu Yi protested, "If your presence is only for mockery, then it’s entirely unnecessary because you’re bound to be disappointed. We’ve already defended this place, unless these mosquitoes are clever enough to take a detour."

"Congratulations, you guessed correctly. I specifically came over just to inform you of this," Xiaolan feigned an overjoyed expression and continued, "These mosquitoes have already poured in from other passageways. Nearly all the tunnels here are interconnected, so I won’t say more. You get it."

The complexions of all darkened; at this moment, they didn’t know whether to punch Lu Yi, the doomsayer, or to curse at the artificial intelligence that wasn’t helping at all.

Suddenly, cries of anguish filled with despair and pain came from the other end of the tunnel.

Everyone involuntarily swallowed, sensing that the situation was very bad; they were likely to be caught in a pincer attack by the mosquitoes.

The large mantis seemed to sense something and immediately ran away.

Without the support of the large mantis, the Protective Barrier weakened, and everyone fell into difficulty; as they inwardly complained, they also felt the danger approaching.

Gu Fan shook his head, then shouted, "Everyone, slowly retreat and just maintain the Protective Barrier." After speaking, Gu Fan led the retreat, holding a flashlight to illuminate the path behind them.

No one blamed Gu Fan for being lazy; rather, they knew he was taking on an even greater responsibility, protecting everyone’s retreat.

Irina kept thirty people helping Lin Xi maintain the Protective Barrier as they stepped back, their hearts pounding with nervousness.

Gu Fan had previously been against retreating out of concern that once the group reached a crossroads, it would be difficult to fall back; being in the middle of a crossroads would mean gaps in the Protective Barrier, allowing mosquitoes to swarm through from either side.

Now that mosquitoes were flooding in through other passageways, the place was swarming with these mosquitoes, making it meaningless to hold out in one direction.

"We need to move faster," Gu Fan said without needing to see to know Lin Xi’s complexion was likely awful. Sustaining the Protective Barrier for so long was a great burden on her supernatural power.

Suddenly, a mosquito broke through and flew straight at Gu Fan but struck his Vajra Body Protection. The blood-sucking proboscis couldn’t pierce him and instead, the mosquito was smashed against the wall with a punch.

There was no time to cheer for Gu Fan’s punch as the buzzing of many wings set everyone’s nerves on edge.

With flashlight in hand, Gu Fan bravely led the way; any danger that arose, he would face first.

Two more mosquitoes attacked, one was squished by Gu Fan’s hand, the other he smashed to the ground with his flashlight and then crushed underfoot, neat and tidy.

Seeing Gu Fan’s ferocious performance, the others couldn’t help but see hope, believing that like before, as long as they followed Gu Fan, he would always be able to lead them out of despair to a path of survival.

However, as dozens of mosquitoes noticed them and charged over excitedly, faces went pale with terror, and not a single thought of resistance could be mustered as everyone tried to dodge.

Without a word, Gu Fan charged; he would draw as much fire as he could, bear as much as he could. In short, he was all in.