Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 1432: The Punishment Has Arrived

Chapter 1432: Chapter 1432: The Punishment Has Arrived

Gu Fan didn’t know how to explain anymore when he saw Lin Xi’s interrogative demeanor, as if Lin Xi would tear Gu Fan apart if he didn’t give a satisfying explanation today.

"Come on, what’s your plan to rescue your dear high school classmate? I’ll definitely help you succeed," Lin Xi said gently, but with a powerful look in her phoenix eyes, a murderous aura concealed within.

Gu Fan quickly clarified his position, "We must rescue them, but I can’t be in two places at once, and I can only save one person at a time. I’ve decided to rescue Jie and leave the rescue of Li Shi to others. I think Lu Yi would be a good fit."

Lin Xi nodded reluctantly, accepting this answer, and then added, "Don’t worry, I’m not that unreasonable. You save Jie, and I’ll help you rescue your high school classmate."

Hearing this, Gu Fan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that she would’ve been more open-minded not to pressure him like that a moment ago.

At that moment, Gu Fan received a message on his phone. It was from Catherine, calling for survivors of the recent operation to urgently report back on the situation.

Li was very nervous, "Report the situation? Can’t the returning Xue Clan members do it? Why do we need to make a special trip for this? It doesn’t make any sense."

"Fearing punishment," Gu Fan knew very well how important the Blood Dragon was to the Western nobles. Losing Xue Long must have infuriated them.

Gu Fan and Li were aware that this trip probably wouldn’t end well, but defiance would mean Organization X could sweep this place away in an instant.

"Let’s go; maybe things aren’t as bad as we imagine," was the only consolation Gu Fan could offer now.

Xue Xue was very worried, clutching Li’s hand and refusing to let go. Although Li was weaker than her, she truly didn’t know how she’d survive here without him.

"Don’t worry, they’ll take good care of you," Li trusted people like Lin Xi and Su Hui to look after Xue Xue.

Gu Fan added, "We are likely to face severe punishment this time and may not be able to return for a while; the rest of you will have to rely on yourselves, especially you, Sister Su, to bear the brunt."

Su Hui nodded, "Rest assured, I’ll manage to maintain the status quo until you return, then we can act together."

With Su Hui there to take care of things, Gu Fan was more at ease.

Li also told Xue Xue not to worry too much, for he was known as ’Lucky Li,’ believing his luck wouldn’t be too bad this time.

Gu Fan and Li set off together, and upon exchanging glances, felt that having someone beside them on this journey made things not so frightening.

After a while, Gu Fan and Li arrived at the nightclub where the place had already been cleared for the day and was no longer open for business.

There were still some people inside, along with some vampires, all of whom were survivors of the previous operation, all with faces filled with panic and fear, worried about how the Western nobles would punish them.

As everyone anxiously awaited, Catherine arrived, looking severely grim, her mood foul.

Seeing Catherine’s attitude set on punishment, everyone hung their heads in genuine fear and dread, none daring to meet the angered gaze of Catherine.

"Xue Long is dead, and you still have the face to come back," Catherine’s accusatory voice was like a knife at everyone’s throat, sending chills down their spines and trembling some of them with fear.

With anger still pressed down, Catherine asked, "Do you understand what kind of punishment you’ll face for failing to protect the Xue Clan?"

Everyone was silent, feeling doomed.

Gu Fan, trying to be brave, said, "At that time, there were four Xue Clan members retreating, we had to protect them, so..."

"So that’s your excuse for running away," Catherine said angrily and, approaching Gu Fan, slapped him across the face.

Gu Fan felt a hot sting on his cheek, inwardly sighing at how this woman, earlier so willing to throw herself at him, now turned hostile with such a heavy hand.

Suddenly, Gu Fan realized something; with that slap given, future interactions with Catherine would now be strained, meaning she would no longer attempt such intimate approaches.

My God, Gu Fan thought, though the slap was humiliating, getting free from Catherine’s clutches was a good thing; overall, the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

Catherine said sharply, "You should have escorted the remaining four Xue Clan members back and then returned to the fight, not scurry back like cowards."

Gu Fan really wanted to ask, when it came to cowardly surviving, what about Xue Niu, Xue Sha, Xue Zhan, and Xue Yun who also ran away?

Regarding your punishment, Organization X has already issued instructions," said Catherine with a cold tone that felt like sentencing.

Everyone was frightened, truly because it wasn’t that they hadn’t tried their best, but because they were simply outmatched.

Gu Fan hoped that Organization X wouldn’t be so unrighteous as to send them off to fight the big bosses and the Hunter’s Guild. That would be a nice change of heart.

So Gu Fan immediately proposed, "We acknowledge our faults and wish to repay Organization X’s grace with our lives. Please give us another chance, approve of us going out for a final stand against our enemies, to avenge Xue Long."

Catherine looked at Gu Fan’s righteous indignation and felt he was ready to go all in, in contrast to the others who lacked any spirit.

Catherine truly admired Gu Fan and her anger subsided greatly, her voice softening, "Actually, it’s not that severe. Organization X doesn’t intend for you to go to your deaths. There’s just a mission for you."

"What mission?" Everyone felt uneasy, fearing it might be a dangerous task even more terrifying than battling the Hunter’s Guild.

With a slight upturn of her mouth, Catherine looked amused, "Go clean up trash at the bottom of the Tower of Darkness. Those who return alive will be pardoned."

Hearing this, everyone’s faces showed alarm, but Gu Fan was confused, thinking, isn’t it just cleaning up trash? How could it be so frightening?

Then a group of vampire warriors arrived, their expressions bone-chilling, ready to forcibly escort them to the Tower of Darkness.

"From here on, you’re on your own, don’t blame me for being heartless," Catherine said before turning back for one more look at Gu Fan, whom she regarded highly, feeling that if anyone could make it back alive, it would be Gu Fan.

At that moment, Gu Fan forced an expression of alarm to blend in with the others, secretly thrilled to enter the Tower of Darkness in this manner, though he wondered about the difficulty of this "trash cleanup" that had frightened Li and the others, even flustering the vampires.