Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 683: This Road is Blocked

Chapter 683: Chapter 683: This Road is Blocked

After a full five days, part of the crew had forgotten how long they’d been in the Triangle Sea Area, but one thing was certain: Gu Fan’s leave of absence had come to an end, and he dreaded explaining the situation to Boss Ding upon returning.

No matter, he thought, as he was performing the work of several people for a single person’s salary. He didn’t care much about it anymore, as his focus was entirely on the island.

As the fog rolled in, the island emerged from the sea. Led by the boss and Qian Feng, a swarm of pirates stormed the island, but rather than venturing into its interior, they amassed on the beach, getting into formation.

Sure enough, after a while, the lizard-like creatures burst out of the sea, only to be met with a hail of gunfire and the boss’s devastating martial prowess, complemented by Qian Feng’s supernatural power bombardment. The lizards could do nothing but fall under the assault.

The majority of the lizards that broke the water’s surface were gunned down. Despite their ferocious charge, they only managed to eliminate a few pirates.

Listening to the lizards’ screams from the ship, Gu Fan sighed in resignation. He hoped that after this battle, it would all be smooth sailing without any more conflicts.

At this point, Lin Xi came over with a cup of coffee, showing the care of a girlfriend. "Don’t overthink it. Don’t stress yourself. The boss and Qian Feng have got it all under control. Just get some rest."

"Thank you!" Gu Fan took the hot coffee and felt a warmth spread in his heart, then said, "I don’t know why, but I keep feeling uneasy. We found the island, but we can’t seem to capture it. This is our third attempt, but I fear we’ll return empty-handed once more."

"Actually, returning empty-handed might be the best outcome, so that everyone can finally unwind." Lin Xi’s words made perfect sense, eliciting a chuckle from Gu Fan.

Two hours later, the boss and Qian Feng returned with their men. Guided by Gu Fan’s clues, they had journeyed through the stone forest to locate the entrance to the hidden base, but the door was sealed shut, their travel was in vain.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi quickly asked, "How did it become like this? We are just going back?"

Hearing this, Leng Le rolled his eyes. "If you want to leave, go ahead. We still have to find another route. I refuse to believe that such a massive secret base would only have one entrance and exit."

Upon hearing this, Gu Fan frowned, then nodded immediately. "That’s right, there is another entrance. Su Hui and I escaped from that one."

"What?" The crew expressed their disbelief, Leng Le pressed further, "Why didn’t you say so earlier? Are you hiding something?"

Gu Fan shrugged nonchalantly. "If I wanted to purposely withhold information, why would I tell you now? The other entrance is quite special and not easily accessible, so I kept tight-lipped about it. I was hoping we could enter through the main door on the island, but I didn’t expect Lisa to pull off such a scheme."

The crew perked up, eager to learn about this alternate entrance that Gu Fan was describing.

Gu Fan recounted his escape from the island, explaining only the top half of the island emerged from the sea, while the lower half remained submerged. The other entrance is located somewhere in the lower half of the island, although he couldn’t remember its exact position.

According to Gu Fan, the bottom half of the island wasn’t made of rocks or soil, but was composed of buildings and statues like a lost city, a fact that astonished everyone who heard it.

Lu Yi felt awed. "The ancient Super Civilization sure knew how to build. Underwater moving cities, underwater floating islands."

The boss finally spoke up. "All right, now that we know there’s another entrance below the island, let’s think about how to get in."

"It looks like diving is an essential part of this process, but our diving equipment is limited." Su Hui’s concern was quickly quelled by Qian Feng’s assurance that there was sufficient diving gear onboard the pirate vessels. Gathered altogether, they could equip fifty individuals. Together with Gu Fan’s and the boss’s existing gear, the number seemed significant.

"All right. Gather all the diving equipment here and assign someone to dive as soon as possible." With that, the boss and Qian Feng immediately set their men to work.

Su Hui worriedly frowned. "I didn’t expect our previous diving training to come into play now. But I’m still worried."

Gu Fan understood Su Hui’s concerns. He nodded, "True, under water is not our home turf; any encountered threats will be difficult to handle."

Ouyang Jin panicked. "What more danger could there be? The sea snakes, giant squid, strange lizards, even the Wandering Sea Ghosts, we’ve nearly wiped them all out!"

"Yeah, Gu Fan, stop being such a doomsayer." Lu Yi was somewhat panicked but held firm. "If you keep this up, Gu Fan, I won’t go."

Hearing this, everyone shot a puzzled look at Lu Yi. In particular, Gu Ling couldn’t help saying, "Lu Yi, what do you mean by that? Just because you’re afraid people might call you a doomsayer, you put the blame on my brother?"

"What? I’m not like that. But this time, I’m no doomsayer. If there are any dangers, like man-eating fish or something, it wouldn’t be strange, right? We’ve dealt with sea snakes, giant squid, and more, after all." Lu Yi finished speaking just to meet everyone’s indignant stare, leaving him confused. "What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? I told you, I’m no doomsayer."

Everyone ordered, "Lu Yi, shut your mouth!" Jie, Xu Haowen, and Ouyang Jin pounced on Lu Yi, pressing him to the ground to silence his ill-omened talk.

Seeing everyone’s horseplay dispelling the tension, Gu Fan was glad. Suddenly, a bout of coughing made him feel uncomfortable.

Lin Xi quickly patted Gu Fan on the back. "How are you feeling? You shouldn’t go with your condition."

"No, I need to go down and see it for myself, or I won’t be at ease." Gu Fan looked a little pale, but he remained adamant.

Lin Xi wanted to say something else, but Su Hui’s look made her hold back. Everyone knew Gu Fan’s temperament. He couldn’t just stand by on the ship while his companions faced danger.

At this point, Gu Ling proposed, "Bro, you left me out last time and nearly couldn’t escape. This time, you have to take me with you, no matter what."

"Ah~" Gu Fan felt conflicted, but Gu Ling put on a sulking face, "Bro, remember that I am here to help, not just for the thrill of it. If you’re going to dive, then I’m going too."

Su Hui and Lin Xi wanted to dissuade him, but Gu Ling was adamant, insisting that her presence would help sense danger ahead of time, and there was no reason she should be left out.