Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 138: City full of Mechanisms

Chapter 138: Chapter 138: City full of Mechanisms

At this moment, Lin Xi was growing impatient. She had already sprung the mechanism, and the floor had opened, but as they peered into the seemingly bottomless black hole and called out several times, there was no response.

Panic started to set in for Lin Xi: "What should we do? Could Gu Fan and the others be in danger?"

Everyone shook their heads, not knowing the situation below. They speculated that the prospects of Gu Fan, Du Jun, Lu Yi, and Xu Haowen surviving were slim.

Ouyang Jin took a rope out of her bag, borrowed a few more ropes from others, tied them together, and flung it into the hole, hoping Gu Fan and his company would see it and climb up.

However, after a long period of silence, there was still no response. Was the tunnel simply too deep, or had Gu Fan and the others not noticed? Or had something worse happened?

"Why don’t you tie the rope around me and lower me down?" suggested Jie. He was deeply concerned for his two friends, and his proposal was approved by everyone, as this seemed to be the only option.

There was no time to spare. One end of the rope was tied to a sturdy pillar, the other around Jie. They agreed that if they perceived any danger, they would pull the rope and everyone would join forces to pull Jie back up.

Since Professor Luo was elderly and less strong, he was excused from this task, while Su Hui kept watch. Xu Haowen, Teacher Liu, Qin Jia, and Lin Xi took charge of holding onto the rope, allowing Jie to be slowly lowered.

"How could this happen!" muttered Professor Luo. He was greatly worried about his student, Xu Haowen, worried about how he would explain the situation to Xu Haowen’s parents. His mind was reeling when he accidentally stepped on something, seemingly triggering another mechanism.

A click echoed, and the sound of gears turning made everyone tense. Their hearts pounded in fear of the danger that could be looming.

An arrow shot out from the wall, but maybe because the mechanism had aged, it didn’t function well. The arrow lost momentum mid-flight and dropped, posing no threat. Its direction, remarkably, had been aimed at Professor Luo.

Fortunately, Professor Luo had had a close shave, but it left him drenched in cold sweat, thanking his lucky stars that the mechanism had not been fully operational, or it would have been disastrous.

With the threat averted, everyone let out a sigh of relief and resumed slowly lowering the rope. Professor Luo didn’t dare to move recklessly anymore, fearing another dangerous trap would be triggered. He dreaded that he might not be as fortunate the next time.

On the other hand, Su Hui voiced her doubts: "If this is indeed the Qianye Palace, why would it have so many intricate traps? I’ve never heard of a royal palace being so dangerous. Usually, there are guards to ensure the emperor’s safety."

"That’s a good point; it’s something I’ve been wondering about as well." Professor Luo brooded over this, his brow furrowed, then proposed, "Unless this palace not only served as Queen Qianye’s residence but also her burial site."

Su Hui was taken aback: "Really, who would make their palace their tomb? I’ve never heard of such a thing."

Professor Luo solemnly said, "Historically, royal tombs were situated in geomantically auspicious locations, as were palaces. It’s possible that Queen Qianye transformed her palace into a tomb and enforced many protective traps during her final years."

"That would essentially reveal the location of Queen Qianye’s tomb to everyone, wouldn’t it?" Su Hui paused, her complexion changing dramatically as the implication sank in, "Indeed, setting up traps and claiming it is for cybersecurity is plausible. It wouldn’t have to mean that the palace was being repurposed as a royal tomb. Moreover, according to historical records, Qianye Kingdom disappeared overnight. This means after Queen Qianye transformed her palace into a tomb, she made the palace and the entire kingdom vanish in the blink of an eye, making her tomb impossible to locate."

"Yes, and since the kingdom disappeared overnight, no one has been able to find the capital city of Qianye, let alone her tomb." Professor Luo sighed. If his deductions were accurate, it implied extreme danger in this place.

Su Hui added another possibility: "It seems the so-called overnight disappearance of Qianye might well have been due to a large sandstorm burying the city. This suggests that Queen Qianye foresaw such a sandstorm before transforming her palace into her tomb. Could it be that Queen Qianye had prophetic abilities, or could she actually summon big sandstorms to bury any place according to her will?"

"Let’s play with a bold conjecture for once. If immortality truly exists, the possibility of summoning a sandstorm to bury a city might also be possible." Professor Luo was originally a rigorous archaeologist, never dabbling in supernatural phenomena. But these current occurrences had started to change his beliefs. At times, you do need to make bold assumptions.

Whatever Queen Qianye had done was left for later contemplation. The most important task at hand was to find Gu Fan, Du Jun, and their team. As such, Su Hui and Professor Luo ceased their baseless speculation and focused on Jie.

A significant amount of time had passed, and Jie was still being lowered. It seemed as though there was no bottom, which left everyone on edge over the possible dangers he could face.

Just then, a sudden scream sounded from somewhere, frightening everyone to the core. As they all held their breath, straining to listen, a second, even more bloodcurdling scream sounded. Instantly, everyone felt their hair standing on end.

Scream after scream grew louder and closer, driving Su Hui to urgency. Realizing they couldn’t continue like this, she took a moment to think before decisively issuing orders, "Bring Jie back immediately. We’re leaving this place now."

"Wait, if we bring Jie back, what about Gu Fan and his group?" Lin Xi looked worried. She didn’t want to just abandon Gu Fan.

But Su Hui responded, "If they’re in trouble, there’s nothing we can do. If they’re okay, they can wait a little longer. Right now, I need to ensure everyone’s safety." No sooner had she spoken than more screams rang out, closer... much closer.

With no other options, everyone followed Su Hui’s orders and together, they pulled on the rope, hauling Jie back.

When they had lowered him down, they had done so slowly, but now they pulled him back up as quickly as they could. When Jie finally made it back, his face was one of utter confusion. But when he heard the distant screams, his expression quickly darkened. He asked no further questions.

Everyone picked up their bags, gathered their things, and started to flee the area. While they didn’t know exactly what was happening, they knew it must be terrible. They all felt danger closing in.

Su Hui took the lead. She had the best skills and quickest reflexes, so if danger presented itself, she would pave the way for the others.

Jie stayed at the back of the group with a baseball bat in hand. He was their rearguard, especially fearful of anything attacking from behind. His palms were sweaty, and he was worried about whether Su Hui could handle whatever lay ahead.

Ouyang Jin stayed just behind Su Hui, carrying a shovel and leading the way. He also silently prayed for their benefactor, Du Jun. After all, Du Jun had agreed to increase the price to a hundred thousand, something the others hadn’t.

"Everyone, keep up! Jie, make sure no one gets left behind!" Although Su Hui had completed many dangerous missions before, this was by far the most soul-shaking moment she had ever encountered. They were not dealing with stark-raving criminals this time. Now, they had no idea just how horrifying the crisis was.

Although Ouyang Jin had noted this location, their map of the palace was incomplete. All they could do was run aimlessly. After some twisting and turning, they took a bend and Su Hui was horrified to see a figure blocking their path.

"Who’s there!" Su Hui barked, crossbow aimed at the figure ahead. The people behind shone their flashlights, revealing a figure with their back to them, dressed in tattered clothing, as though they’d been through some kind of hellish ordeal.

When the figure turned around, everyone gasped in horror. The face looked like it was being dissolved away. There was barely any flesh left, the features were horribly disfigured, and the mouth could barely produce a sound. The figure was like a lump of mud, barely able to take a step, yet the will to live was still evident as it stumbled forward towards Su Hui and the others for help.

Unsure of what had happened to this person, they all stepped back, keeping their distance.

Just then, a drop of water fell from above, landing on Ouyang Jin’s shoulder. It quickly ate through his clothes, burning a hole in them and searing his skin, sending a sharp pain through his shoulder.

"This isn’t good. That’s strong acid falling from above. Somebody must have triggered a trap." Professor Luo’s warning sent a chill through everyone. They were dealing with a deadly booby trap.

Especially when they heard the pitter-patter of more droplets coming closer and closer. They knew they had to run as fast as they could.

"My god, this is no fun at all," Lu Yi, who had been bringing up the rear, now took the lead. They retraced their steps, picking up speed, hoping to outrun the droplets of acid raining down.

Su Hui ran at the back. She slipped her crossbow into her waistband, unbuttoned her coat, and held it stretched out in both hands, hoping it could offer some kind of temporary shield against the acid rain.

As Jie ran, he said, "Perhaps Gu Fan and his group are safe after their fall, and we’re actually in more danger than they are."

"Is there such a possibility? I mean, I play thrillers all the time and have never... " Ouyang Jin wanted to bring up the idea of a price increase, but after a moment’s thought, gave up on it. First, the timing was inappropriate. Second, Du Jun wasn’t there. And third, they’d agreed on a fixed price with no room for an increase.

In the midst of the chaos, Qin Jia tripped and fell. Thankfully, Lin Xi and Su Hui were quick to help her stand back up, or else she might have been left behind. If the acid rain had rained heavily on her, even if they managed to rescue her, she would have been unrecognizable, just like the figure they had encountered earlier. No one wanted to end up like that.