Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared-Chapter 142 Only Means Available

"I’m sorry that you had to suffer," Gu Fan quickly picked up his shield, continuing to block the entrance, muttering a thousand prayers in his heart. If they could somehow survive this, he pledged to buy a lottery ticket as soon as they made it home.

"It’s lit, it’s lit!" Xu Haowen was ecstatic. Thanks to his relentless effort, the manual dynamo had finally worked. The makeshift phone charged up again, its light illuminating the path ahead, which was clear of obstructions and ogres.

"Du Jun, lead the way. I’ll cover the rear. Xu Haowen, don’t stop," Gu Fan immediately shouted out the plan.

"I know, even if you told me to stop, I wouldn’t," Xu Haowen felt exhausted from relentlessly powering the generator, but he bit the bullet and continued. The light was their only hope.

"Hurry up. My stun baton needs charging too," Du Jun added.

"When it matters most, none of you brought a spare power source. I’m amazed," Lu Yi finally managed to get up, glancing at Gu Fan dismissively, not bothering to question why he had attacked an ally previously.

Guiltily, Gu Fan shrank back and returned the shield to Lu Yi, who now had the responsibility of covering the rear. Then, Gu Fan took the manual generator from Xu Haowen, charging it with all his might while Xu Haowen merely had to hold the phone for lighting.

The four of them slowly moved forward within the tunnel. Unhindered by any ogres, they eventually strolled out of the tunnel into a residential building.

"As I expected, Queen Qianye must have taken control of the subterranean water source, manipulating the public. The citizens must have dug these tunnels to get water in secret," Gu fan speculated while pacing through the residence. The environment was pitch black, frequently infiltrated by sand leaking in.

If the place was completely covered in sand, they would be blocked off from the outside world. That would mean this way out was no longer an option, and they would need to return to their previous location, possibly running into more ogres.

"I really don’t want to go back, at least not until we’ve fully charged," Lu Yi remarked, sitting down to power the generator.

Honestly, Gu Fan didn’t want to go back either. One phone could hardly ensure their safety and they needed more power for the stun baton. Haphazardly turning back would be far too dangerous.

So, after deliberation, the team decided to rest a bit, focusing on ensuring that the makeshift phone and stun baton had sufficient charge, as well as taking care of their own physical well-being.

Gu Fan had also tried to switch his phone back on, but to no avail as it had already been waterlogged. His heart raced with anxiety and worry over Su Hui and Lin Xi’s wellbeing and whether they’d encountered any trouble.

"We rest for an hour, then we have to go and join Professor Luo and the others," suggested Xu Haowen, echoing the sentiments of the group. Lu Yi, however, shook his head, stating, "Our human-powered generator is really slow, it will take at least three hours to fully charge the phone, plus the stun baton, we need at least five hours."

Lu Yi stated a fact, and Xu Haowen stated another: "What are we going to do? The longer our separation from Professor Luo and the others, the less likely a reunion becomes."

"Two hours, we rest for two hours, first, we charge the phone for half an hour to ensure light, then the stun baton for an hour to ensure a functioning weapon, then the phone again for a half-hour, after which we walk and charge the phone at the same time," Gu Fan proposed a reasonable plan, which Lu Yi and Xu Haowen agreed without any argument.

So, the four of them took turns powering the generator, striving to charge their devices as quickly and as much as possible.

At the tail end, an exhausted Lu Yi couldn’t help but question, "Didn’t any of us bring torches?"

In response, Xu Haowen shook his head, "Everyone had a torch to begin with, but when we fell, the torches were either lost, broken or water-damaged."

"Don’t we have any spare ones?" As soon as Lu Yi finished his sentence, Gu Fan suddenly remembered something. He immediately started rummaging through his backpack, pulling out a waterproof bag.

Hoping that Gu Fan’s actions will yield results, the others stared at him with anticipation. Their hopes were not dashed as Gu Fan took a small torch from the bag.

"How could I forget this?" Gu Fan sighed in relief, holding up the tiny torch like a lifeline.

This torch was unique as it had a handle that could be pressed to generate power without any external source. Because of its weaker light, it was always a backup in Gu Fan’s mind, not to mention the myriad of other things he had carried. Hence, he had overlooked this vital tool.

With both the phone and the tiny torch for illumination, they now had two sources of light. This effectively bolstered their hope.

However, when Gu Fan switched on the torch, disappointment washed over them again, as the light it emitted was incredibly weak. Would it be able to deter any ogres?

"Don’t look so disappointed. Having something is better than nothing, right?" After finishing his sentence, Gu Fan began to crank the flashlight continuously to ensure it had enough power.

Under these circumstances, everyone decided to put their electricity into Du Jun’s Electro-Stick. They hoped it would allow them to use it several times more.

Although Du Jun had fully charged the Electro-Stick before entering the underground, they had a battle in the underground river where Du Jun used too much power. Then, they encountered an ogre, and there wasn’t enough energy left. Furthermore, human-powered electricity charged too slowly, which left Du Jun regretting having wasted so much power earlier.

Time passed slowly, everyone was desperately generating electricity for two hours, but progress was unsatisfactory. However, they had no time to worry anymore and had to set off as quickly as possible.

This residence was quite rudimentary, consisting of a dining area, a bedroom, and a kitchen. Gu Fan searched for a while and couldn’t find anything of value. He really didn’t know who used to live here, who dared to violate Queen Qianye’s decree by digging a tunnel to secretly draw water from the underground river.

The exit of the tunnel was under their bed. They had struggled to climb out. If they had to go back, they would need to crawl under the bed once again.

Finally, Lu Yi couldn’t bear it and said, "Please, since they dug one tunnel, couldn’t they dig another?" As soon as Lu Yi finished the sentence, his foot suddenly shot out from under him, and he shouted in panic, plummeting downwards.

"You have got to be kidding!" The others were also frightened. Clearly, the plank Lu Yi had just stepped on wasn’t sturdy and could not sustain his weight. Underneath the plank was another tunnel.

Gu Fan quickly asked, "How are you doing, Lu Yi? Are you okay? How’s the situation down there?"

"I’m fine, just my butt hurts from the fall. Why does stuff like this always happen to me? It’s not fair." Lu Yi’s words made everyone stifle their laughter, and then they each started climbing down one by one, wondering where the freshly discovered tunnel would lead.

As they continued along as before, with Du Jun wielding the Electro-Stick to open the way, Lu Yi shielding the rear with his shield, Gu Fan lighting the path with his flashlight, and Xu Haowen was responsible for charging the only functioning knock-off phone. Everyone had a clear role, progressing in an orderly fashion.

As they went along, Lu Yi began to wonder, "You know these residents are bold enough to dig a tunnel to draw underground water in defiance of the Queen’s decree. But why would they dig another one?"

"Indeed, I can’t figure it out either. The first tunnel entrance, under the bed, was well hidden. But the other one in the corridor was just covered with a plank of wood. That could be exposed so easily." Gu Fan pondered over it and felt something was amiss. There really was no point for them to dig a second tunnel, let alone one that appeared narrower and different from the first.

"Wait, which way are we supposed to go?" Du Jun halted for he now faced a four-way intersection, leaving everyone else stunned as well.

Gu Fan didn’t understand, why did the people who dug these tunnels create so many divergent routes? Could it be that they intended to hide underground during emergencies?

For the moment, they decided to randomly choose one direction and press on. Irrespective of what they might encounter. This was a collective decision, with no one being held responsible.

Thus, with his resolution firmed, Du Jun pressed on. However, after walking a distance, they discovered something amiss. There seemed to be something obstructing the path ahead.

Gu Fan directed his flashlight ahead, trying to expand its beam as much as possible. To their shock, a person lay ahead, covered in wounds, with clothes torn and flesh bitten off.

Judging from the appearance, it seemed to be a resident of the ancient town and appeared to have had an encounter with the ogre. But how did he end up here? Perhaps he was brought here by the ogre...

Gu Fan couldn’t help but grow cautious. This discovery made two things clear: firstly, this narrow tunnel was most likely not dug by humans but the ogre, which meant they had entered its territory and faced immediate danger.

Secondly, the person from the ancient town must have been from the palace. Now that he appeared here, it implied that he met the ogre in the palace and was brought here. More precisely, this tunnel could lead to the palace and they could reunite with the others.

While they did face promising scenarios, they also encountered dangerous ones. What might happen depended solely on luck. Gu Fan directed Du Jun to speed up while instructing Lu Yi to be cautious at the back. They lacked experience in fighting in such narrow confines. They were unsure how to combat the ogre if they encountered it.

"Please let everyone, Su Hui, and Lin Xi be safe." Gu Fan silently prayed. Even though his situation was not optimistic, and he barely had enough time for himself, he was sincerely worried about the safety of the others.

Lu Yi began to comfort him, "Don’t worry. Heaven won’t be so cruel. It will certainly let you and Lin Xi return safely. After all, you two are yet to spend a night together."

Upon hearing these words, Gu Fan sighed: "If we do return safely, I will definitely thank God. I will cherish Lin Xi more and spend every possible night with her."

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