Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 306: The Frozen Man

Chapter 306: Chapter 306: The Frozen Man

Getting closer and closer, these people didn’t move, just like statues, which compelled Gu Fan and his group to be very cautious.

Lu Yi shouted, "Can the folks up ahead hear me?"

The shout was loud enough to elicit some reaction, but there was none. They could not see their faces due to the distance and didn’t know what was wrong with them.

"Everyone, be careful." Gu Fan immediately told everyone to stop because the situation seemed very unusual. He decided they should observe from a distance for a while before moving closer.

There were seven people in total. Some were standing, some were half-kneeling, some were laying and one had a reaching gesture as if trying to grab onto a lifeline.

Something was definitely wrong. Gu Fan tried calling out once more, but still no response.

"I’ll go check it out, you all stay back." Old man Tian was the first one to step forward. His demeanor inspired trust, but Gu Fan was unable to resist his curiosity and followed him.

"I’ll also go, the rest stay and get ready to provide cover." Said Su Hui without minding Zhuo Hang’s reaction.

Old man Tian, Gu Fan, and Su Hui moved together as a group, but they spread out their formation in case of sudden outbreaks, they also had the advantage of being able to cover each other.

Getting closer, almost reaching the group, Gu Fan took a deep breath, prepared himself mentally, but he was still horrified by the sight before his eyes.

All seven of them had frozen stiff in place. Their expressions were set in despair, and their faces were as white as sheets. You could even see the desperation in their eyes.

"My god, what on earth happened to these people?" Gu Fan could hardly believe his eyes. Then he gave a signal indicating no apparent danger and beckoned for everyone to come over.

When Lu Yi and others arrived, they were all shocked by the scene. "These poor people," Lu Yi couldn’t help saying, "Frozen stiff in this icy wilderness. What on earth happened?"

Ning Qi glanced at their hunting rifles, "Seems like they were here hunting, just like us."

One of the supervisors also said, "I see my colleague. His duty, like mine, was to supervise them as they hunted. I didn’t expect to find them all frozen to death here."

Ouyang Jin interjected, "It can get extremely cold at night in these snowy woodlands. If they were stuck outside, especially at night, they could indeed freeze to death. They must have got lost or delayed on their way, and didn’t reach the cabin in time."

"Seems like the weather is the greatest danger here," Su Hui concluded. Then she began searching through the pockets of the deceased. If they had come hunting, there might be spare ammunition, which was a scarcity for their own group.

Hu Bo was also searching for supplies left by the deceased, but despite his efforts, he didn’t find any ammunition. They had probably used up all of it.

"They’ve used up all their ammo and got frozen here," Gu Fan didn’t see any correlation, but their desperate frozen expressions didn’t seem to match the idea of them having been killed by a storm or freezing cold climate. Rather, it seemed like they had encountered something terrifying.

Gu Fan took a good look at them. They were all dressed warmly enough to withstand severe cold. Also, people usually huddle up when freezing to death. Yet, the postures of these people were all different.

"This person...." Gu Fan carefully examined a person sprawling on the ground, stretching one hand out as though in a desperate bid to flee from something terrifying.

If Gu Fan could notice it, naturally Su Hui and Zhuo Hang could too. The experienced old man Tian also found it unusual, but they kept silent because they didn’t want to cause a panic.

"Take a note of this location. We’ll report it when we get back and let professionals handle it." The supervisor said, causing Gu Fan to wonder why they had to wait until they got back. They could just make a call now.

Gu Fan took out his phone, ready to make a call, but the supervisor was not happy. "Gu Fan, don’t worry about this. It’s my responsibility. I’ll make the call. And I know who to call for this area. Do you? Mind your own business."

"Alright, alright, I won’t interfere. You handle it." This was the first time Gu Fan had seen the supervisor in a such fluster. This further confirmed his guess that Ning Qi and others didn’t want too many people getting involved particularly when they had reached the place Ning Qi wanted to go to.

At this time, old man Tian said, "If none of you want to end up like them, frozen stiff here, then we should hurry to the next cabin."

Hearing this, everyone picked up the pace, giving it all to march forward, even the physically weakest Kang Rong didn’t want to end up like that.

Gu Fan intentionally lagged behind, giving Su Hui a meaningful look. Getting the hint, she also intentionally fell behind to have a quiet word with Gu Fan.

"Su Hui, haven’t you noticed? It doesn’t seem as if these people merely froze to death." Gu Fan’s words had Su Hui’s agreement, but she gestured for him to keep quiet.

"To freeze to death, you would need to be in extremely cold weather, and your body parts would naturally curl up together in an attempt to retain warmth. That’s not the case for these people. Their necks are all stretched out. It’s as though they froze in place instantly." After she finished, Su Hui frowned and added, "Unless there was a sudden dramatic drop in temperature which took them by surprise and froze them on the spot. But the chances of such extreme weather are very low."

"I hope it was such an extreme weather event because it’s unlikely to happen again in such a short time." Gu Fan’s face had lost its color, and he had begun to worry about their current situation.

Su Hui understood his implication, "If it’s not extreme weather, then we might be dealing with something beyond our understanding. That’s what I’m scared of."

Gu Fan looked around cautiously before whispering to Su Hui, "Sister Su, do you know why you didn’t find any bullets on these people? I found several empty shells in the snow nearby. Do you know what that means?"

On hearing this, Su Hui was shocked, "Impossible. They fired all their bullets before they froze. But what were they shooting at?"

"I’m not sure what it was, but I believe they definitely encountered something. That’s why they have such expressions of despair in their frozen state." Gu Fan’s speculations had Su Hui worried. She suddenly felt a cold shiver run down her spine, as if danger was looming.