Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 189: Strange Reaction

Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Strange Reaction

Based on the location Lu Yi sent, Gu Fan found the abandoned construction site. He sighed quietly, admitting that this place was hard to find. It was so off-the-beaten-path with no villages or stores nearby; no wonder its construction had stalled.

When Gu Fan finally found Lu Yi, he noticed Lu Yi looked extremely shaken. He decided to get the full story.

During their phone call, Lu Yi had only given him a rough overview. Now, he was explaining in complete detail, causing Gu Fan to furrow his brows in concern. This didn’t feel good, the situation was getting complicated, and he didn’t want to be involved in it.

"Are you serious? That is brutal - not only beat and killed the victim, but they also did the same to the escort team. Those people are certainly audacious." Gu Fan said with a feeling of dread. Shaking his head, he added: "I think we should mind our own business. We should concentrate on our roles as ambitious college students while they haven’t noticed us yet."

Lu Yi could only force a bitter laugh. "Bro, I wish I could live a peaceful life too. But fate has put me here. This secret force threw Old Xing into the sea, and I happened to be passing by. Coincidentally, I was also nearby when they attacked the escort vehicle. Now, what do you call this kind of situation?"

"It indeed seems like destiny." Gu Fan tapped his forehead, dreading why he was pulled into all of these matters.

Lu Yi showed Gu Fan the video he had taken with his smartphone. It showed a group of men wearing black masks running amok. While their faces were hidden, one of them was tall and muscular, strikingly similar to a formidable adversary they encountered in Qianye Country, an opponent not even Su Hui could defeat.

"So, it really is them. But there aren’t more clues from this video." Gu Fan said with a sigh. If he was doomed to be wrapped up in this, he should at least identify the culprits, that way he could seize the initiative.

Lu Yi nodded, "Earlier, I almost saved someone. He told me something... something about a cold woman, something frosty."

"Is that all?" Gu Fan looked disappointed. It didn’t provide any useful clues.

At Lu Yi’s suggestion, Gu Fan joined him to see Old Xing. The man they found was dirty, with disheveled hair, scant, and haggard, huddled in a corner.

"Old Xing, I came to see you. I even brought something for you to eat." Lu Yi said as he placed the food in front of Old Xing. Unexpectedly, when Old Xing noticed Gu Fan beside him, he began screaming, "Bad guy! Bad guy!"

"What’s wrong, Old Xing?" Lu Yi was shocked to see him so agitated, as if possessed.

Old Xing looked terrified of Gu Fan, scrambling to get away from him even when he fell in his panic, leaving both Gu Fan and Lu Yi puzzled.

"What’s going on?" Gu Fan was perplexed. In fact, he didn’t even recognize that this was the same Old Xing who had previously caused trouble for Leng Le at the amusement park; he looked completely different.

"I have no idea. He wasn’t like this before. Is he scared of strangers?" Lu Yi immediately pursued Old Xing. He couldn’t let their only lead get lost. What if Old Xing ran into something dangerous again?

After a long search in the abandoned construction site, they could not find Old Xing. As it was getting late, they had to give up, hoping Old Xing would return to his original spot.

After thinking it over, Gu Fan suggested, "If this mysterious force is really behind Old Xing’s ordeal, we should inform Sister Su and let her handle it. We are not equipped to deal with all of this."

Lu Yi’s face fell, "I wish we could, but Sister Su is now working an office job and can’t handle cases anymore. Besides, are you sure you want to drag her into this again? She was fine, then we complicated her life and got her transferred, and now we want to bother her again?"

Hearing this, Gu Fan agreed. They couldn’t keep troubling Su Hui. But if only he and Lu Yi had to deal with all of this, it would be like trying to quench a cart-load of burning hay with a cupful of water.

After much consideration, Gu Fan decided not to involve Su Hui for now. He wondered what they could achieve without Su Hui’s help and if they could find Old Xing at all.

Lu Yi suggested, "Should we ask for Jie’s help? An extra pair of hands wouldn’t harm."

"If things go wrong, do we all want to go down together?" Gu Fan shook his head. The idea of him, Lu Yi, and Jie standing against this mysterious power was a joke. It would be better if fewer people were involved.

"Alright, let’s wait until we find Old Xing." Having said this, Lu Yi gave Gu Fan an inquisitive look, which confused Gu Fan. "Bro, why are you looking at me like that? You don’t think it’s my fault, do you?"

Lu Yi wore a puzzled expression. "Why did Old Xing go crazy as soon as he saw you, and why did he keep calling you a ’bad guy’?"

"How should I know? I’ve never met him before." Gu Fan was at a loss. This was the first time he’d ever been called a ’bad guy’.

Lu Yi added, "Previously, Old Xing kept saying things about bad women, bad men, and bad cops wanting to harm him. Now he’s calling you a bad guy. Are you sure you haven’t done something inappropriate in the past?"

Hearing this, Gu Fan couldn’t help but roll his eyes: "Who hasn’t done something shady? Even if I did, I wouldn’t harm anyone."

"Well said, I believe you’re innocent." Lu Yi had barely finished his sentence when he received another eye roll from Gu Fan, along with a challenging statement: "If you believe me, why are you asking?"

All Lu Yi could do was spread his hands: "It’s necessary to have some reasonable doubts."

Gu Fan was left speechless. He quickly redirected the conversation: "Looking at the situation, even if we find Old Xing, his unstable mental state won’t allow us to get any useful information from him. It would be better if we could determine his identity. Other than his name being Old Xing, do we have any other clues?"

Lu Yi shook his head: "I’ve asked him every time I’ve come here, but all I get is a blank look from him. I can’t get anything."

"If we can’t get it, we’ll find another way." Gu Fan thought for a while, a light seemingly shining in his eyes as he seemed to think of something important. He quickly turned around and rushed back, speaking as he walked: "I have a way, I have a way to know Old Xing’s identity."

"Wow, you are so smart, hurry up and tell me." Lu Yi was very curious about what Gu Fan had thought of to confirm Old Xing’s identity.

As Gu Fan walked, he answered: "Fingerprints. Old Xing must have left fingerprints. We’ll take those things with Old Xing’s fingerprints back, let Sister Su check, and Old Xing’s identity will be clear. Once we know his identity, a lot of the following investigations will be easier."

"Right, how come I didn’t think of that." Lu Yi also brightened up, and quickly, he and Gu Fan returned to the abandoned building and picked up an empty mineral water bottle, carefully holding it, certain that Old Xing’s fingerprints must be on it.

Just as Lu Yi and Gu Fan were about to leave the unfinished building, Lu Yi suddenly saw a black figure flash by in the corner. Judging by the figure, it had to be Old Xing, so he immediately gave chase.

Old Xing ran around wildly in the unfinished building, not caring about the situation.

"Wait a minute, Old Xing, see who it is, it’s me, Lu Yi, who always brings you food." Lu Yi kept up the chase, while Gu Fan, who didn’t have a good feeling about this, followed closely, hoping nothing would happen tonight.

Unwittingly, Old Xing tripped over something and fell to the ground, only to be caught by the arriving Lu Yi. Bearing the stench, Lu Yi tried to calm Old Xing down.

But Old Xing struggled desperately: "You’re in league with the bad guys. You all want to hurt me..."

"Oh my god, if I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn’t bring you food regularly." Lu Yi gripped Old Xing’s arms to prevent him from flailing.

Gu Fan also caught up but stayed hidden in the corner without showing himself. Hearing Old Xing’s shouting, he knew it was better not to show himself to avoid further agitating Old Xing. He also wondered how he ended up being the bad guy in Old Xing’s mind.

It took a lot of effort for Lu Yi to soothe Old Xing, escorting him back to the unfinished building, and giving him food and drink, advising him to look after himself and not wander around unnecessarily.

Old Xing nodded, seeming to trust Lu Yi again.

With this part settled, retrieving Old Xing was definitely a good thing. Lu Yi felt a weight off his shoulders and left with Gu Fan. The next step was to determine Old Xing’s identity. Hopefully, the fingerprints on the empty mineral water bottle could provide useful clues.

Gu Fan could feel that he and Lu Yi were closing in on the truth. He was a little scared, recognizing that the closer they got to the truth, the more dangerous it became. What if they stirred up something big?

Should they back down and let Old Xing fend for himself? Gu Fan thought about the people harassing Old Xing and Luo Jingrong, and attacking the transport vehicles. The incidents scared him; maybe they could still call off the investigation now.

At the same time, Leng Le noticed that Gu Fan was in a remote area this late, near an abandoned building. She wondered what Gu Fan was up to. Why would he go to this kind of place this late? There had to be something fishy.

Leng Le didn’t ponder too much, in her eyes, the biggest threat from Gu Fan was his habit of knocking over her plans. As long as Gu Fan didn’t meddle, she didn’t care where he went or what he did.

Now Leng Le was focusing on Lin Xi’s movements, as well as the reactions of Zhuo Hang and Su Hui to tonight’s events.

"Wait a second, an attack on a transport vehicle happened tonight, and Gu Fan went to an unfinished building? Do these events seem linked?" Leng Le suspected there might be more to this than a coincidence.

So, Leng Le checked the map for the attack site and the unfinished building, noticing they weren’t too far apart. This made Leng Le uneasy, but then she remembered that she was chatting with Gu Fan when Hai launched the attack. Surely it was just a coincidence?