Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 145 Separation of Actions

Chapter 145: Chapter 145 Separation of Actions

Just as one wave flattened, another roared. Jie had just escaped one disaster when a giant iron ball rolled towards him, frightening him to the point of going pale. Stumbling backward, he inwardly cursed his luck.

The whole room was shaking, making it impossible to stand still, let alone dodge in time. Jie was driven back against the wall and escape routes were running out. Seeing the massive iron ball about to roll over him, he quickly dropped to the ground and tightly closed his eyes.

But then, an unexpected thing occurred. After crashing into the wall, the iron ball rolled to the other side while Jie, lying on the ground, was completely unhurt. He couldn’t believe that he had just survived.

Su Hui witnessed this incident. After touching the wall and taking a quick observation, she realized the trick; the wall wasn’t straight but inclined. So when the iron ball hit the wall, it left a gap at the bottom, providing enough space for a person to hide.

Realizing this, Su Hui quickly informed everyone, advising them not to run, but instead to lie down at the base of the wall. This way, they wouldn’t worry about the rolling iron ball, and Jie was a perfect example.

Many people were skeptical, but seeing Su Hui lying down and the menacing iron ball approaching, they quickly followed suit. Fortunately, it worked.

No matter how the room shook or the ball rolled, as long as they hit the inclined wall, a gap was left at the bottom. Everyone, except perhaps the overweight, would be safe.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief from this life-saving trick, fortune on Jie for tripping into it and a stroke of insight from Su Hui. If not, they all would have been doomed.

As for the ogres, the ones that could escape did, with the remainder squashed by the iron ball. The room was littered with crushed bodies, making it quite sickening to look at.

After a while, the room stopped shaking and the iron ball halted. Leng Le and Hai quickly lowered ropes and rushed to leave, taking the remaining survivors with them. They had already lost many in this incident, so it wasn’t a time for further bold moves.

With the chaos under control, Su Hui was the first one to stand up and Jie was the second. They quickly looked for their companions. The chaos was too intense, and no one had time to check on others.

After a quick count, Su Hui, Jie, Ouyang Jin, and Teacher Liu were still around. However, Professor Luo and Lin Xi were missing which increased the unease amongst the surviving group. They all thought that maybe the pair were crushed by the iron ball...

"Don’t jump to conclusions," Su Hui said, though her heart was filled with dread. She pointed her flashlight around, praying she wouldn’t see anything devastating.

Teacher Liu and Qin Jia also searched around, feeling worried about Professor Luo. Given his age and lesser agility, the chances of meeting his demise were higher.

Jie desperately hoped that he wouldn’t find Lin Xi on the ground. If he did, there would be no way to face Gu Fan.

Everyone searched around and found no sign of them. "They are not here. Where did they go?"

Su Hui furrowed her brows, "It seems they caught Lin Xi and Professor Luo during the chaos."

"Damn them!" raged Jie, feeling helpless. He had no idea where Lin Xi and Professor Luo had been taken.

Ouyang Jin affirmed, "We should be grateful we survived that chaos. As long as they’re alive, we can figure out a way to rescue them."

"That’s true. Survival is what matters the most," Su Hui agreed, deep in thought. After examining her surroundings, she started to laugh, "The person who designed this trap clearly wanted to kill people, yet also left a way out. Seems like they too were left with no choice."

Jie chimed in, "It seems like Queen Qianye forced a lot of people to do her dirty work. She made this place deadly dangerous. Was she protecting her mausoleum? Wasn’t she supposed to be immortal?"

Shaking her head, Su Hui replied, "If Queen Qianye was truly immortal, she would have continued her reign instead of letting Qianye Country vanish overnight. Earlier, Professor Luo and I speculated that Qianye might have anticipated a disaster, which is why she designed her palace like a mausoleum."

Ouyang Jin looked puzzled, "But it doesn’t make sense. If she had the power of immortality, she wouldn’t need a mausoleum."

"Yes, there are too many discrepancies," Su Hui added, falling deep into thought. She felt like they were missing some crucial information that would help dictate their next move.

Teacher Liu suggested, "Maybe Queen Qianye did possess the power of immortality, but this power made her fall asleep for a really long time. So, to ensure safety during this prolonged sleep, this place was transformed into a mausoleum. To wake her up, a second sacrifice is needed, which requires twelve offerings."

Jie broke out in a cold sweat, "You mean those sacrifices from the ancient town kidnapped our classmates for that purpose? To wake up the sleeping Queen Qianye? So, ultimately, we’re going to face this witch queen?"

"That’s highly likely. So, we need to do all we can to prevent that from happening, starting from rescuing our people; Professor Luo and Lin Xi," Su Hui said determinedly as she assessed the two doors in front of them. "They were either taken by the residents of the ancient town or by another group. We need to split up to save them."

Jie felt puzzled and objected, "So we’re dividing our forces again? We are already short on people as we got separated from Gu Fan’s group then Lin Xi’s. Now we’re splitting up again, it doesn’t seem right."

Everyone felt the shortage of manpower and agreed that they shouldn’t separate further. Su Hui straightforwardly suggested that she would go alone, tracking the other group, while the rest would go in another direction, towards the ancient town.

Seeing Su Hui being bold and skillful, wanting to go alone, left Jie and the others speechless. All they could do was nod in agreement. Meaning, the original group of eleven was now split into four.

Before Jie, Ouyang Jin, and Teacher Liu could react, Su Hui took off, carrying her crossbow, wielding a stick in one hand and a flashlight in the other, leaving decisively.

Seeing Su Hui’s heroic departure, Jie forced a smile, "Alright, we three grown men can’t lose to a woman; we need to work harder."

Ouyang Jin quickly corrected him, "Not just any woman - a policewoman, one who could beat all of us combined."

"Right, I almost forgot that." Now that things had come to this point, Jie and the others had no choice but to press on. Nonetheless, they were concerned: if they encounter an enemy, and they are outnumbered, how would they manage to rescue Professor Luo and his group?

Just then, some soil fell from overhead, sending Jie and the others into a panic. Thinking ogres might be returning, they retreated hastily, shining their flashlights upwards.

Jie then heard someone say, "Look! There’s light over there!"

"There is light, but it looks like it’s falling. No idea how high it is, what do we do if it falls?"

"Let’s not worry about it, let’s find another way."

"Wait, those voices!" Jie exclaimed with joy. He quickly shouted upward, "Gu Fan, Lu Yi, is that you?"

There was no response - as if Gu Fan and his group had gone too far. This sent panic through Jie; after so much difficulty, they had finally regrouped, only to miss each other again.

Reluctantly, Jie shouted again several times. But still, there was no response; it seemed Gu Fan and his group had already gone far.

Seeing Jie’s plight, Ouyang Jin tried to console him, "At least now we know they’re alive. That’s good news."

Teacher Liu seemed puzzled, "I clearly remember them falling into a trap, how did they end up above? And it looks like they’re in the passage dug by the ogres."

"Yeah, what could they have gone through?" Jie wanted to know, too, but with everyone scattered, the only thing they could do was hope for good luck.

Then Ouyang Jin asked, "Wasn’t Du Jun’s voice just heard?"

Jie sighed, "Yes, I vaguely heard Du Jun’s voice. Your sponsor is still alive."

But then, Ouyang Jin immediately pretended to be innocent, "Am I that type of person? I am just concerned about every companion of ours. Please, stop looking at me like that."

"Sorry, I misunderstood you. I’ll apologize to you. Can we start now?" Although Jie was apologizing, he didn’t show any regret on his face. He looked as if he had seen through Ouyang Jin’s real nature, which left Ouyang Jin speechless.

At this time, Teacher Liu began to urge them on, "We need to get going, too. If we lag behind those from the ancient town, we may not be able to catch up. How are we going to rescue Professor Luo and Lin Xi then?"

"Alright, let’s get going. This time, the people from the ancient town have lost their forces and have to carry Professor Luo and Lin Xi with them. I believe they won’t be able to travel fast. We are very likely to catch up with them and then we’ll give them a good beating." Jie gripped his baseball bat, leading the group to set off ahead.

Teacher Liu was the most anxious, as Professor Luo was part of his group.

As for Ouyang Jin, although he was most concerned about his sponsor Du Jun, according to the agreement, he could only get the hundred thousand if every single person was brought back safely. Hence, Ouyang Jin prayed fervently once again, hoping nothing would happen to anyone.

Yet, none of them knew the catastrophic danger had just started. Something even more horrifying was lying in wait; Queen Qianye was determined that anyone who dared enter her domain would never return.