Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 298: Battle in the Snow

Chapter 298: Chapter 298: Battle in the Snow

The situation was critical. However, when Su Hui, Gu Fan, and Lu Yi plunged in, they arrived at a massive, hollow sphere composed of numerous tree branches, blocking the external snow.

Ning Qi had already been wrapped in many branches. Zhuo Hang and Hu Bo had strained and tried to separate the branches, but more kept appearing.

"Help me, save me!" cried out Ning Qi, her face distorted with terror. No matter how much she struggled, it was futile. What terrified her most was that the branches were attempting to worm their way into her mouth and ears.

Su Hui also came to help. She was quick, and with her exceedingly sharp dagger, she managed to cut many of the branches that had bound Ning Qi.

Gu Fan did not intervene but used his flashlight to illuminate their surroundings. Upon closer inspection, the spherical object composed of tree branches also contained a scattering of bones. It seemed that many people had ended up in this strange place.

"Wait a minute, is that Deng Wenming?" Gu Fan pointed toward the sphere wall, where a body had been firmly ensnared by branches, impaling it. The body was pale and devoid of blood. Gu Fan didn’t dare look any further. It was too gruesome.

With Su Hui’s help, Ning Qi finally broke free. Everyone also saw the current state of Deng Wenming, sending chills down their spines. All they thought of was leaving the place immediately.

However, the branches were slowly closing in, attempting to block their previously available exit. Su Hui immediately blasted the branches apart with a gun.

But one shot was not enough. There were simply too many branches. Besides blocking the exit, branches began to surge from all directions--this was not a good sign.

Gu Fan cried out urgently, "Conserve ammunition, concentrate fire on creating an exit. Our primary objective is to leave this place."

At this moment, Su Hui noticed something frightening, "Gu Fan, above your head!"

"What!" Gu Fan looked up, illuminating the area above him with his flashlight. What he saw shocked him--a face with no features rushing down. This terrified Gu Fan, who quickly rolled and crawled to evade it.

"What kind of monster is this?" asked a frightful Gu Fan. Everyone was horrified, having never seen such a thing in their lives.

It resembled a human, but it was not. The upper half was human-like: torso, arms, head, but not human skin; there were no human facial features. Its lower half was composed of tree branches, resembling a snake’s tail. It was also layered with a blanket of snow, giving it the appearance of wearing a white robe.

Gu Fan realized that the creature that had predated Deng Wenli last night must have been something similar to this.

The most unexpected thing was that the creature did not rush over. Instead, it spread its arms and started singing in a high, soothing tone. Gu Fan had heard it before, faintly from the winds.

Ning Qi suddenly lost consciousness and slowly walked towards the creature. Gu Fan quickly held her and pulled her back with great strength. "Hurry, let’s leave this place."

"I have a better idea. Let’s kill it." Su Hui aimed directly at the creature’s head and shot. Even though she shattered a chunk of it, it was surprisingly sturdy.

The creature seemed to have been injured, and it became enraged. It even lunged at Su Hui with the surrounding branches to start an offensive.

"Damn it." Su Hui took another shot. While the damage wasn’t significant, the impact was enough to blow off the attacking creature.

By then, Zhuo Hang and Hu Bo had completely smashed all the branches near the exit. They could escape and urgently yelled, "Su Hui, let’s stop and leave this place now."

"Sure, you guys go ahead; I’ll cover our escape." As she spoke, Su Hui backed away, aiming at the creature with every shot, damaging it significantly, but not critically. Meanwhile, the branches almost completely surrounded Su Hui.

Already, Lu Yi and Gu Fan were dragging a delirious Ning Qi away. Then came Hu Bo. He had a gun and could assist, but he didn’t stay behind like Zhuo Hang.

Su Hui was shooting at the creature while Zhuo Hang targeted the surrounding branches. But they couldn’t fight off an endless amount, and if they continued like this, Su Hui would be cornered.

"Oh god, Su Hui, run!" Zhuo Hang screamed. He had run out of bullets, but he was still unable to prevent the branches from enveloping Su Hui. A sudden feeling of despair and powerlessness has washed over him.

Su Hui also sensed the danger, but she courageously continued to fight back, believing that if they took down the creature, the situation would abate.

At this point, Gu Fan had returned with his crossbow, took aim at the creature, and shot it. The impact nailed the creature to the spherical wall.

"That settles it. I don’t care what you are—if you are made of wood, you must be afraid of fire." muttered Gu Fan, as he pulled out a bottle filled with oil. The oil was originally for fire-starting, but they had no other choice now.

"Cover me!" yelled Gu Fan, lighting the oil bottle, and ran straightforwardly towards the creature, completely disregarding the branches stretched towards him. He was desperate.

Su Hui repeatedly fired her gun to protect Gu Fan, preventing any branches from reaching him. At the same time, her legs were now entwined with branches. They were winding up her leg, and her situation was extremely dangerous. But Su Hui didn’t care. If Gu Fan was desperate, then so was she.

"You two are crazy!" exclaimed Zhuo Hang, his heart pounding, hoping desperately for Gu Fan’s success.

"No matter what you are, you’ll never harm anyone again." Gu Fan roared defiantly, hurling the blazing oil bottle at the creature. The impact ignited the creature in flames.

The creature was enveloped in flames, crying out in agony. The eerie sound was enough to make their hair stand on end.

At this moment, the surrounding branches stopped surrounding them. The branches that had trapped Su Hui no longer constricted. A few struggles were enough for her to break free. Everything indicated that Gu Fan was successful.

The globular construction of branches had been set ablaze. The object being consumed by fire was inevitable. Gu Fan, Su Hui, and Zhuo Hang seized the exit and was quick to escape.

"Oh, my god, we finally saw daylight," said Gu Fan when he saw all the odd trees collapse around them. The branches sagged exhaustedly, and the gruesome patterns on the tree trunks also vanished.

Once outside, the others rush over and asked, "What happened? What did you guys do?" Following that, smoke started billowing out from the hole that Gu Fan and the others had run out of.

"Nothing much, I just burned their homes," said Gu Fan, smiling. But the breath-taking moment was still fresh in his mind—just a little bit more, and he would’ve been the loser.

After making sure that there was no more danger from the surrounding queer trees, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and retreated hastily, fearful of meeting another strange creature.

Gu Fan originally wanted to notify Deng Wenli about his older brother’s fate, but seeing Deng Wenli’s desperation to leave, he decided that it was best to discuss it later after returning safely.