Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 283: Anomaly in the Blizzard

Chapter 283: Chapter 283: Anomaly in the Blizzard

While Gu Fan was indulging in his thoughts, he faintly heard some strange noises. On such a silent night, these sounds were particular eerie, and Gu Fan made a gesture for silence.

Hu Bo, too, seemed to realize something; his brows furrowed. A seasoned hunter, he sat still, his eyes scanning the vicinity, his ears attuned to every sound. He, too, detected the uncanny disturbance.

Gu Fan signaled to retreat, and Hu Bo agreed. With a nod of mutual understanding, they hustled back inside the house.

The first thing they did was to shut the door. Gu Fan drew the tattered curtain shut, peeking through a crack to assess the situation outside.

At this moment, Su Hui awoke. Seeing Gu Fan’s vigilant expression, she instantly understood and quickly dressed up. Then she asked, "What’s going on? Did you notice something unusual?"

Gu Fan nodded. "I heard some strange noises. It’s probably just some small animals. Nothing as bad as I thought. There’s no need to alarm everyone."

"Oh good, I’m going back to sleep then. Goodnight." With that, Su Hui quickly crawled back into her sleeping bag. "Ugh, I’m freezing."

Gu Fan found her comment amusing. He knocked on the wooden walls of the house, finding it sturdy. Presumably, no wild animal could break in.

The next day dawned clear and bright. Everyone woke up one after another, stretching in the crisp morning air. Meanwhile, Gu Fan and Hu Bo had already done a round outside and made a troubling discovery.

There were wolf tracks in the snow. The strange noises they had heard the night before were not due to mere paranoia; they were indeed being watched by wolves.

Everyone quickly learned of the situation. Their faces filled with tension as they nervously surveyed their surroundings. Although nothing could be seen, they all felt the sense of imminent danger.

Lu Yi was a bit worried. "Not wolves again. I hope there aren’t too many of them. They would be really hard to handle."

Jie also chimed in, "Don’t worry, we’ve faced wolves before. We managed then, and we’ll manage now."

At this, Hu Bo chuckled, "We’ve come hunting here more than once, and we’ve encountered wolves more than once. But we never let our guard down. Once there was a hunting party of more than ten people. They thought numbers and experience were on their side and went deep into the woods. They ran into a large pack of wolves. Few of them made it back alive."

"Really? Sounds scary." Everyone grew apprehensive at the prospect of the journey ahead. They glanced back at old man Tian and Ouyang Jin, who seemed unperturbed.

Gu Fan pondered the situation. The last time they were lucky -- they had encountered just a few wolves in the wilderness and had managed to escape. If they were to encounter a pack of wolves this time, their group might genuinely be in trouble.

Despite the worries, they had to press on. This time, the group had to split up, meaning Gu Fan’s team would lose the protection of five hunting rifles.

"Good luck. But remember, it’s not too late to turn back," Hu Bo called out before turning to leave with Ning Qi.

Watching their retreating figures, Lu Yi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Do you think we’ve used up all our luck? We encountered so many dangers on our last trip and survived each time. This time might be different."

Lu Yi’s comment earned an immediate scolding from the group. Taking the hint, he quickly covered his mouth and held his tongue.

"Let’s hit the road," old man Tian said, and everyone began packing up for the day’s journey.

Along the way, their eyes darted around nervously, expecting a wolf to leap out from nowhere. Their fear was indeed getting the better of them.

However, watching old man Tian calmly leading the way did a lot to instill confidence. Gu Fan thought it likely that old man Tian had a plan for dealing with any danger, comforting himself with this optimistic perspective.

Suddenly, the falling snow intensified, and the wind became stronger. As they struggled against the snowstorm, Gu Fan felt as if walking into a barrage of icy knives.

The blizzard began without warning, the vicious intensity leaving them struggling to carry on. Gu Fan tried to shout a warning, but the moment he opened his mouth, he swallowed a mouthful of snow.

Ouyang Jin shouted a warning, "Everyone, keep up with the group! Don’t fall behind."

In the brutal force of the storm, everyone could barely keep their eyes open, much less move fast. With old man Tian leading the way and Ouyang Jin bringing up the rear, all they could do was to keep moving as best they could.

Lu Yi groaned, "I knew it was too smooth sailing. It had to go wrong at some point."

To which Gu Fan retorted, "Are you unable to remain quiet?"

Lu Yi quickly defended himself, "This has nothing to do with me jinxing things. This is how it goes. You can’t blame this on me."

Xu Haowen was the slowest in the group. He lagged way behind and had to be helped along by Ouyang Jin. Ouyang Jin then relayed the message to old man Tian to slow the pace as there was someone struggling to keep up.

Barring the unrelenting winds, the sturdy trio of Gu Fan, Zhuo Hang, and Su Hui continued ahead with steady determination. Their respect for old man Tian deepened as they watched him leading the group with his strength and unwavering resolve under the severe weather conditions.

"People from the north are indeed rugged," said an impressed Gu Fan. He managed to catch up with old man Tian, who agreed to slow the pace of the party.

The intense storm severely hampered visibility, limiting sight to up to just twenty paces. Gu Fan worried about the dangers they might face trying to proceed under such conditions, especially given the possible presence of wolves nearby.

"Everyone, ready your weapons," Su Hui shouted over the roaring winds. Even though the storm drowned her words, her actions of pulling out the crossbow spoke for her.

At this point, Lu Yi spoke up, "If I were a wolf, I’d use the blizzard to launch a surprise attack, and I’d target the group with the least members."

Hearing this, Ouyang Jin snapped, "Can’t you stop being a doomsayer in a situation like this? I swear, I really want to sew your mouth shut!"

Gu Fan unsheathed his cudgel, deeply concerned that Lu Yi’s prediction might come true. Running into a wolf pack under such harsh conditions would definitely not be a good thing.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, jarring everyone’s nerves and drawing their immediate attention. Their faces turned pale – if they had not guessed wrong, Ning Qi’s team was in trouble.