Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared-Chapter 1701: Finding a Way Out

Although it was daytime, with the sun shining brightly, walking through this deserted town still gave an unsettling feeling, as if a chill lingered invisibly around you.

The other classmates followed the fugitives closely, not daring to fall behind, entirely dependent on these desperados for protection.

Gu Fan didn’t see these fugitives as bodyguards, merely hoping that in critical moments, they wouldn’t betray them—but unfortunately, Gu Fan knew they surely would.

This deserted town wasn’t particularly big or small, surrounded by mountains on all sides. If one were to circle around, it would probably take the whole day.

Later, as everyone got tired from walking, they sat down to rest, drinking some water and catching their breath.

Gu Fan started thinking about another problem: the limited water and food supply. The longer they were trapped here, the worse the situation would become. If he were one of the fugitives, he would likely force everyone to hand over whatever little was left of their water and food.

Only fifteen minutes passed before the boss spoke up: "Alright, you’ve rested enough. You’re all young, get up quickly. We don’t have time to waste."

Upon hearing this, though everyone was still worn out, they straightened their backs and reluctantly continued forward.

Gu Fan stepped forward and said, "Nobody slept well last night, and now we’re exhausting ourselves during the day. Couldn’t we maybe..."

"What are you thinking? Do we have that luxury of time?" Old Three scolded. If they didn’t seize the daylight hours, nighttime would be even more dangerous.

Gu Fan persisted, "If we don’t take some time to rest during the day, by nighttime, we’ll be too tired and tense to even react to danger."

Old Three grew irritable: "Ha, are you daring to argue with me?" Saying this, he pulled out his gun, his ferocious expression clearly asserting his authority.

"Alright, stop fighting." The boss glanced at Gu Fan and then asked, "What’s your suggestion?"

Gu Fan hurriedly said, "No one got much sleep last night. If we don’t rest a little during the day, come the next night, we definitely won’t hold out. We should split into two groups—one sleeps in the morning, the other in the afternoon—to recover some energy."

The boss stroked his chin, thinking it was reasonable, but the issue was how to organize it.

Indeed, it was a tough problem. There weren’t enough people to rest, stand guard, and scout around at the same time.

Gu Fan thought for a moment and offered another suggestion: gather everyone a few hours before sunset and collectively sleep then.

The boss agreed, realizing that if they really didn’t sleep, they wouldn’t last through the second night.

So, everyone continued exploring the town, scouring all paths that seemed like they might lead out—but most ended in dead ends.

By the afternoon, they came across a lake at the end of one path. It seemed this route was also a dead end.

Several classmates, exhausted and mentally drained, collapsed onto the ground and fell into a deep sleep instantly.

The boss, seeing everyone’s severe fatigue, knew it wouldn’t help to force them to keep going, so he ordered everyone to rest here.

Since it was an open area, anything suspicious could be noticed immediately, so only two people were needed to stand guard.

Gu Fan and the boss forced themselves to stay alert, watching over everyone’s safety. Seeing their companions sleeping soundly made them feel both envious and weary.

"Forget it," Gu Fan muttered, deciding not to envy anyone and focusing on the surrounding sounds and movements.

The area was quiet, with only sporadic breezes whispering through, carrying a sense of desolation. As Gu Fan patrolled, he kept a vigilant eye while stealthily glancing at the boss. frёeωebɳovel.com

Although everyone was on the same side for now, they weren’t truly allies. Gu Fan couldn’t help but think: If it weren’t for *that thing*, what would the boss do with everyone here? If it weren’t for *that thing*, would Old Seven have already made a move against him and Li Shi?

Gu Fan didn’t want to think the worst of people, but he couldn’t deny that these fugitives were not good news.

"The gun!" Gu Fan gazed at the weapon tightly gripped in Old Three’s hand, and an idea began to form.

At that moment, the boss caught Gu Fan’s glance and let out a cold snort: "Kid, don’t do anything stupid. You don’t know how to use this thing and will only bring yourself trouble. You’re just a student, so stay in your lane."

Gu Fan was startled and quickly nodded, signaling he understood.

"Damn it!" Gu Fan turned his back to the boss, trying to steady his rapid breathing and nervousness.

To divert his thoughts, he began scanning the area, wondering why a deserted town would be built here, why this path led to a lake—was it for easy water access?

"Wait a second, this road?" Gu Fan noticed the well-maintained condition of the path. It was certainly constructed by the town’s inhabitants—but why?

Gu Fan recalled seeing faucets in the deserted town, which indicated the presence of a water treatment plant. That meant the residents didn’t need to fetch water from the lake—could it have been built for recreational swimming?

Historically, settlement locations always prioritized proximity to water sources. After searching part of the town, they found only this lake, and since there wasn’t a treatment plant around the lake, there had to be a larger water source nearby.

But what puzzled him more was how this abandoned lake hadn’t dried up over the years. In fact, the lake didn’t even seem polluted—what was going on?

Gu Fan shifted his focus completely onto the lake. Noticing this, the boss asked him, "What are you thinking about?"

Gu Fan shared his thoughts, astonishing the boss with his keen observational skills. The boss hadn’t expected Gu Fan to notice such overlooked details.

The boss explained that during his initial exploration of the deserted town, he had found a water treatment plant. However, there was no water source nearby—the water likely came from underground rivers.

"Ah, so that’s it!" Gu Fan speculated aloud. Perhaps the reason people settled here in the past was due to this lake, which was likely fed by underground water, keeping it from drying out.

The boss agreed it was possible, though he didn’t see how understanding the town’s water source would be of any use to them.

However, to Gu Fan, if they were trapped here for long, knowing they had access to water was at least one problem solved. What remained was the lack of food and figuring out how to survive.

Gu Fan studied the lake carefully once more. Since the water wasn’t clear, he couldn’t confirm whether it was connected to groundwater.

Meanwhile, the boss started paying closer attention to Gu Fan, realizing this kid was different. While everyone else was consumed by fear, Gu Fan, though frightened, was actively thinking about how to escape and noticing details others had overlooked.

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