Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 601: The Endless Pursuit

Chapter 601: Chapter 601: The Endless Pursuit

Lin Xi was very curious about how Qian Qing ended up on this island and what she had done to gain the reverence of these primitive people. Lin Xi was eager to approach the statue and perhaps even touch its face.

Gu Fan speculated, "Perhaps Qian Qing used her magic, amazing these primitive people to the point where they treat her like a deity. If you performed some feats to awe their hearts, maybe you’d receive the same reception."

"Get lost." Lin Xi responded irritably. Even at this moment, Gu Fan was still joking around.

After a long wait, the primitive people finally finished their ceremony and left the cave. They carried their comrades, who perished in the sea of flames, away as well.

Gu Fan worried that if these primitive people returned to find their guards missing, they might get suspicious.

Lin Xi concurred, and hoped that the primitives would not be too overly concerned and continue with their journey.

After another while, it appeared that the primitive people did not return, which meant they didn’t observe anything out of the ordinary.

Once they determined it was safe, Lin Xi, Gu Fan, Su Hui and others emerged from hiding. The torches were still lit, which meant they could make out their surroundings.

Lin Xi approached the statue with her torch and confirmed that it indeed bore the face of Qian Qing. She reached out and touched it, only to be immediately disappointed; There were no distinct markings on the statue.

Then Lin Xi noticed a slab of stone behind the statue, composed of the same unique, metallic rock as the one they had seen outside, etched with strange symbols.

"Not this again?" Gu Fan grumbled, a hint of frustration in his voice. If they couldn’t interpret it, finding it served no purpose at all.

Su Hui also glanced it over and frowned, "It’s strange. How could Qian Qing discern the Triangle Sea Area based solely on a single map, let alone find that specific island?"

This was also Lin Xi’s question. She doubted Qian Qing was capable of such a feat relying on a map alone. It was highly likely she uncovered other clues elsewhere, perhaps from those steles on this island.

Gu Fan pulled out the family heirloom map for comparison with the symbols on the stele, only to draw a blank. He had no idea of their significance.

"Instead of perceiving these as written characters, aren’t they more like symbols? Could the ancient Super Civilization be hinting at something with these glyphs?" Su Hui suggested.

"Symbols?" guessed Gu Fan as he scratched his chin, deep in thought.

Suddenly, Jie discovered something and urgently beckoned the others.

Gu Fan, Su Hui, and Lin Xi rushed over to see what he was pointing at on the wall: "Look, what’s this on the rock wall?"

The rock wall was adorned with symbols identical to those on the stele, albeit in a different sequence. It seemed like someone had worked on this stone wall in an attempt to decipher the meaning of the symbols.

Su Hui speculated that Qian Qing might have done this - perhaps she deciphered the enigma of the symbols on the two stone slabs before she left the island.

Gu Fan hypothesized that Qian Qing deciphered the significance of the symbols here and found a useful clue. Afterward, she was able to locate the target - the Destiny Stone.

Everyone agreed on the possibility, but they were left baffled by the indecipherable symbols. How could they unlock their meaning?

Jie commented, "If we can’t understand these, then Qian Qing probably couldn’t either. But how did she decipher them?"

Gu Fan pondered - it would be incredibly difficult to learn a completely unfamiliar language without any guidance, unless... A possibility came into his mind as he furrowed his eyebrows.

Gu Fan started to examine the symbols intently, with an air of intense concentration.

Seeing Gu Fan’s serious manner and apparent understanding, Jie couldn’t resist asking: "What exactly did you find, Gu Fan? Share it with us."

Gu Fan nodded, "Firstly, I was thinking, what if the meaning of these symbols is not encoded in characters but the symbols themselves?"

The others found this idea too abstract and asked Gu Fan to simplify his explanation. Taking their confusion in stride, Gu Fan provided an example: "If there’s a skull drawn on a bottle, what does it symbolize?"

"That it’s poisonous, right?" Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly understood his point.

Everyone began examining the symbols on the stele based on Gu Fan’s example, offering a myriad of different interpretations. For instance, a symbol that appeared to resemble a crown was speculated to symbolize power.

After interpreting a handful of symbols, they had just as many theories. By the end, everyone had their own unique interpretations, and chaos ensued.

Gu Fan’s approach was far simpler. He compiled everyone’s interpretations, encompassing theories such as excrement, power, flame, luxury, and so forth. When he assembled the interpretations together, he found them to be completely incoherent.

Left with no choice, Gu Fan instructed everyone to take a break and conserve their energy, admitting defeat to their wild imaginations.

Lin Xi also felt that something was missing. Perhaps the meaning behind the symbols was not as simple as it appeared to be.

"Indeed, this is really difficult." Gu Fan rubbed his temples in frustration, feeling completely clueless. Moreover, this was not their base, and they couldn’t afford to stay for too long. If the primitive people returned, they’d be hunted down even more relentlessly.

With no other option, they prepared to retreat. Gu Fan took a photo of the second stele, wondering what it possibly could mean. Why were people so keen on being mysterious? Why couldn’t they make things easy to understand?

At that point, Jie sighed, "Why are they doing this? They have so much space. They could’ve written everything on a single slab. Why use two? It’s such a waste. What if one were to break? It would mean the end of the trail, wouldn’t it?"

Hearing Jie’s words, Gu Fan had a sudden realization. He hurriedly pulled out the picture he took of the first stele and compared it to the second. Imagining the first symbol from each stele combined in his mind, he realized that together, they formed the shape of a ship.

"My goodness! It seems they’re supposed to be put together for interpretation!" Upon revealing his findings, the group became exceedingly hopeful. It seemed plausible.

Jie blurted out, "Damn, the ancient Super Civilization...Why do they have to make things so complicated?"

However, they were pressed for time. They could not linger here much longer. Just as Gu Fan and the others were about to leave, they heard strange noises from outside. By the sound of it, they knew something was amiss. The primitive people had discovered something and were charging at them.