Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 648: Finally Got an Inspiration

Chapter 648: Chapter 648: Finally Got an Inspiration

"Qian Qing, oh Qian Qing, how on earth did you discover that island? Please, dream about it and give some hints to Lin Xi." Gu Fan was feeling utterly brain-drained, begging with clasped hands.

Just then, Lin Xi came in, overhearing him, "If Qian Qing really could send a dream to me, he would have done it already. And why should he dream about it with me? What if I misinterpret it all? It’s better if he sends the dream to you."

Gu Fan quickly shook his head, "No, no, I’m not that close with Qian Qing. Better he dreams with you."

"Stop pestering!" Lin Xi gave Gu Fan a punch and then saw the photos of two stone inscriptions and Gu Fan’s papers smeared in adjustments and alterations. It was clear to her that Gu Fan really had strived to solve the riddle.

After all the reconstructions, they could only piece together two shapes—one resembling a boat, the other an island. The rest were without any clues. It felt like they had hit a dead end.

The first inscription had a hundred symbols, whereas the second had more than a hundred. They didn’t correspond to each other one-to-one. Gu Fan was beginning to doubt his previous assumption—that the inscriptions should be pieced together.

"If we don’t make any progress, let’s just fight Lisa again. If we win, we’ll force her to confess. That would be a lot easier." Gu Fan didn’t want to bother thinking anymore. He felt like he was on the verge of losing the last of his brain power.

The inscriptions couldn’t be deciphered, nor the maps. The feeling of ending up nowhere left Gu Fan uninterested.

Lin Xi took a look at the map, then sighed, "This map was sketched so crudely. Not to mention how terribly drawn the islands are. Why did they have to add unnecessary details, like the direction of ocean currents? Even if they had to draw lines signifying the currents, there shouldn’t be so many messily scrawled here and there, flowing in this direction and that. It’s all intertwined and chaotic now."

"Yeah, who could understand this mess." Gu Fan forced a smile, then couldn’t help but add, "If only they’d drawn currents in a single direction, it would be clear and straightforward. I don’t understand why even the most simple-minded shouldn’t draw in the same way."

Wait a second! Gu Fan frowned, then took over the drawing. He focused his eyes intently on the lines on the parchment denoting the direction of the ocean currents.

Seeing Gu Fan so engrossed, Lin Xi couldn’t help but ask, "What’s up? Did you find something?"

Gu Fan uttered, "Lin Xi, look, these lines denoting the direction of the currents may appear random and disordered, but the length of each one differs. They’re not simply haphazard scribbles."

"Oh, why didn’t I notice that?" Lin Xi looked carefully a few more times, still confused, "But what’s the significance of such a scribble? We still can’t understand it."

"Drawing so many lines in reality was just to camouflage the main one—that is, the route of the island’s movement." Gu Fan’s words left Lin Xi utterly stunned.

This was still only a conjecture on Gu Fan’s part, but it seemed quite plausible. However, the problem was even if Gu Fan guessed correctly, then which one was the main route?

Gu Fan was also distressed. If the length of every line on the path was the same, he could have, based on the location where the island was found, speculated which one it was, and thereby figured out all the routes. Then they’d be successful.

Just then Gu Ling came hopping in, obviously thrilled, ready to take the credit, "Big brother, praise me! Because I’ve pieced together another symbol." Having said that, she presented the assembled symbol.

Gu Fan and Lin Xi examined it carefully, finding it peculiar. It resembled neither a star nor a moon. With two lines intersecting each other’, they really couldn’t understand what it was supposed to represent.

Feeling dissatisfied, Gu Ling protested, "Really, after all my hard work to piece together a symbol, you two gave me such disappointing looks."

In order not to anger Gu Ling or dampen her enthusiasm, all that Gu Fan could do was to pacify her, "Xiaoling, I’m grateful for your keen help, but to be honest, this symbol is really hard to understand, particularly the two intersecting lines which are quite discordant..." Gu Fan was halfway through the sentence when he froze, as if something had startled him.

Lin Xi also seemed to have realized something. Being the quick-witted one, she picked up a calculator and began to do some calculations.

Gu Ling found this a bit unusual, then asked, "What’s with you two? You both have a weird look on you."

"Xiaoling, do you know how grateful I am to you? You’re aptly named, Gu Ling. Your arrival indeed has given me inspiration." Gu Fan ended, picking up the picture of the inscription and examined each symbol carefully.

Yes, both inscriptions combined contained over two hundred symbols. Each symbol contained a line, which blended well with the symbol, not appearing redundant at all.

Gu Fan’s conjecture was that if each line in the symbols corresponded to a line on the map, by finding these lines, they could uncover the movement route of the island.

Lin Xi, with her sharp memory, remembered the dimensions of the inscription. She then compared it with the dimensions of the image in her hand, thereby calculating a corresponding ratio.

"Alright, at this critical juncture, I need to think. I appreciate your help, Xiaoling. Now you can go and chill." Having said that, Gu Fan gave Xiaoling a gentle shove out the door and locked it.

"What’s this? He was just thanking me and crediting me with the inspiration moments ago and now he’s going back on his words." Gu Ling, dissatisfied, huffed and stormed off.

Not long after Gu Ling left, Leng Le emerged from her hiding spot in the corner. Having seen the situation, she dialed the boss and reported everything that had happened.

"Very good, continue monitoring him." The boss replied, with a smirk slipping onto his face, full of malicious intent, "Gu Fan, oh Gu Fan, I knew you would not disappoint me. I really didn’t regret betting all my assets on you. And don’t even think about trying to outdo me with some tricks. Otherwise, you can’t bear the consequences."

Then, Lu Yi intentionally greeted, "Hey, boss! We’re bored to death here. Fancy a game of mahjong? We’re short of one player. You in?"

"Yeah, I’m on my way." The boss gave a light-hearted chuckle, then really came over and began to play mahjong with everyone with great joy—something that completely amazed everyone.

In the impression of Hai and others, the boss was someone who could not be confronted. Except for Gu Fan, all those who had dared to confront him were wiped out. Now, to see Lu Yi getting along with the boss was startling.

All the while playing mahjong, the boss said, "Lu Yi, you’ve been with us for days. Have we treated you well? I hope you, in all fairness, would pass onto Gu Fan that we are sincere about this partnership. I rarely show this much sincerity. If anyone dares disrupt this partnership, it would make me fume. Do you understand?"

"I get it, of course, I get it." Understandably cautious, Lu Yi knew exactly what the proverb ’proximity to a prince is like living with a tiger’ meant. He didn’t want to anger the boss, but he just couldn’t help making a win at the game.