Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared-Chapter 1702: No Choice

Time passed little by little. Gu Fan began to feel drowsy, the boss yawned repeatedly, and the others slept like dead pigs.

Suddenly, a sound came from the distance. Though faint due to the distance, both Gu Fan and the boss could tell it was a scream.

"Everyone, get up immediately!" the boss shouted urgently, grabbed a gun, and rushed into the town.

The other few desperadoes woke up, saw the boss’s frantic behavior, and immediately got up and sprinted away.

"Wait for me!" Gu Fan, Li Shi, and the other classmates quickly followed.

While running, Li Shi asked casually, "Gu Fan, what exactly happened?"

"I heard someone shouting—it sounds bad." Gu Fan’s words made everyone’s hearts sink. They all understood what it might mean.

When the boss, Gu Fan, Li Shi, and the others finally rushed into the town, they saw several people gathered on the street, looking despairingly at a shop.

The boss walked over immediately to inquire about what was happening.

It turned out that another group of people had been scavenging the abandoned town for supplies, searching one place after another. Suddenly, something darted out from an alley at an incredibly fast speed, grabbed the last person at the rear, and dragged them away.

Those who heard the scream turned back in panic, only catching a glimpse of a tail flicking into the alley. No one could see what the creature was.

Everyone was terrified. Previously, they thought that thing couldn’t move in the daylight—who knew?

Gu Fan furrowed his brow. That thing could snatch an adult away in the blink of an eye while no one was paying attention. Its speed and strength were absolutely horrifying.

At that moment, the group responsible for repairing the signal base station returned. Everyone immediately rushed forward to ask about their progress.

Though everyone had prepared themselves mentally, their hearts inevitably sank when the communication engineer shook his head.

No escape. No assistance. Did this mean they would stay here, waiting to be picked off one by one by that thing?

No, they absolutely couldn’t sit idly by. The engineer mentioned that if there was a telecommunications company nearby with some remaining equipment, there might still be a chance—though...

The communication engineer didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone knew that finding such a location and equipment would take time. Meanwhile, the sky was already beginning to darken.

The boss quickly decided to find a building with fewer exit points where everyone could focus on resting—not getting enough sleep may cost them dearly overnight.

There wasn’t much to say. Everyone followed the boss’s arrangement, and Gu Fan felt his eyelids becoming heavy. He hurried to find a spot, lay down immediately, and rapidly drifted off to sleep.

In the darkness, Gu Fan found himself walking down a pitch-black road, unable to see his own hand outstretched. He didn’t know where he was going, nor what awaited him ahead.

The next moment, the scene shifted. He was inside a room, surrounded by panic-stricken companions running chaotically. One was bitten while another one was dragged away. The air was thick with fear and despair.

Terrified, Gu Fan ran desperately, returning to that pitch-black road. freёwebnoѵel.com

Suddenly, the ground beneath Gu Fan’s feet disappeared. He fell, the sensation of dropping filling him with dread.

The scene shifted once again. He landed on a grass field in a safe place, surrounded by beautiful mountains and waters, vibrant and lush.

"Did I escape?" For a fleeting moment, Gu Fan was still shaken, but he suddenly felt a strong wind rushing from behind. Something leapt at him.

The nightmare ended. Gu Fan woke up with a start, gasping for breath, drenched in cold sweat. The experiences in his dream felt horrifying.

Li Shi noticed Gu Fan waking up and approached him with concern. "You’re awake—did you have a nightmare?"

Gu Fan wiped the sweat from his face and silently nodded.

Next, Gu Fan glanced at his phone. He’d been asleep for five hours, his energy somewhat restored, while the others were still sound asleep.

"There’s not much time left!" Gu Fan stared at the phone’s dwindling battery. If they didn’t come up with a plan, even if the signal base station was fixed, a dead phone wouldn’t be useful.

Li Shi suggested, "How about we take turns using our phones to conserve power?"

"It seems like we’ll have to do that." After agreeing, Gu Fan observed the people waking one after another and then glanced at the boss.

Truthfully, staying in such a perilous place was a ticking bomb. Food and water were scarce, and mental breakdowns were inevitable if they couldn’t find a way out. Their only hope was for people outside to discover the situation here.

Seven students—all tied to seven families—had been out of contact for so long that their parents must have noticed something was wrong.

Once Gu Fan’s parents connected with the families of the other students, they’d realize the severity of the situation and immediately report it to the police.

Li Shi reflected for a moment and grew doubtful. They had snuck away from their parents for this trip—how would their parents know where they were?

"No, there’s still a chance," Gu Fan said with resolute certainty. He believed that once their parents reported their disappearance, the police would inquire about when the seven high school students had left home. The timeline would reveal significant clues.

Seven students couldn’t possibly be traveling with private vehicles—they must have taken public transportation. By checking the timeframe and reviewing surveillance footage at bus stations, they’d eventually discover which bus Gu Fan and Li Shi boarded.

Moreover, if the bus driver hadn’t returned to the company for a prolonged period, the company could also report it to authorities. The matching timeframes would lead investigators one step closer.

Upon hearing Gu Fan’s analysis, everyone felt a spark of hope ignite within them. Gu Fan’s reasoning was so logical—it seemed inevitable that someone could trace them to this location.

Hope. It surged in everyone’s hearts. But this sudden optimism unsettled the boss and his band of outlaws.

Gu Fan was focused solely on escaping, entirely ignoring one fact—that their hope meant the boss and his crew faced a dead end.

One classmate joked, "If I get out of here, I swear I’ll be a good kid and never talk back to my parents again."

"Wow, you talk back to your parents? You’ve got guts," others said casually, trying to break the suffocating tension.

Gu Fan agreed silently. Only from outside did he truly realize how good home could be.

At that moment, the boss gave a command: "Alright, hand over all your food and water to me. I’ll handle the distribution myself."

"Why?" Everyone wondered. Shouldn’t they at least keep a portion in case of emergencies?

"I said hand it over—stop questioning me." Old Five brutally kicked someone over and pulled out his gun, threatening, "Keep talking nonsense and see if I don’t shoot you dead right here."

Gu Fan frowned deeply. The thing he’d feared the most had finally happened. Unfortunately, there was no way to stop it. Other than surrendering their food and water, they had no other choice.

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