Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared-Chapter 66 - Unshakeable
66: Chapter 66: Unshakeable
66 -66: Unshakeable
Just as the argument between Gu Fan and the security guard escalated, the venue’s management staff came to mediate.
The manager suggested that Xia Yue’s absence could simply be because he had wandered off to another location, not a kidnapping or sudden disappearance.
Gu Fan and his group were instructed to call and confirm first.
Gu Fan and his group would, of course, do just that.
Although Xia Yue’s phone wasn’t off, it just wasn’t connecting.
Gu Fan knew all too well that reaching Xia Yue by phone was impossible.
Later, Xia Yue’s phone was found amongst the armour scattered all over the palace.
From the way things looked, Xia Yue must have lost his grip on the phone during the infringement.
Gu Fan’s phone was also amongst the found items.
Gu Fan questioned the positioning of the armour pieces.
The staff explained that they had moved the armour aside to clean.
Then the staff brought up a counter-question, asking why Gu Fan and his group had forcefully tried to get past the armour, causing a mess, and suggested that any damage to the artefacts should be compensated by them.
Upon hearing that, Du Jun, Jie, and Lu Yi and began to panic at the thought of the potential sum they might have to pay.
Gu Fan, however, had a quick retort: “If the palace hadn’t experienced a power outage, thus locking us in and stopping us from leaving, we wouldn’t have had to find our way to the exit or find someone to help us.
In the pitch darkness, the staff’s poor arrangement of the armour led to our accidental mess.
It’s the staff’s negligence.”
Hearing his argument, Du Jun and Jie immediately agreed and stood by Gu Fan’s side, blaming the staff for their reprehensible actions in seeking compensation.
The staff were left speechless, infuriated by the accusation.
They explained that the sudden door lock was because the door was electrically controlled and would automatically close during power outages.
Gu Fan pressed for an explanation regarding the sudden power failure which seemed to only affect the palace.
The staff reasoned it might be due to an old electrical circuit, and the real cause was still being investigated.
Despite their explanations, Gu Fan was adamant that their priority should be finding Xia Yue, but everyone understood that it seemed nearly impossible.
The antagonist’s careful planning and arrangements would make it impossible to find any missing person.
“There must be security cameras around.” Gu Fan demanded to check the surveillance footage.
But the staff argued this could only be done by the police, and since Xia Yue hadn’t been missing for 24 hours, it wasn’t clear if he had strayed away or was kidnapped, so the police wouldn’t take the case yet.
Treating every second as critical in saving people, Su Hui produced her credentials and immediately called an old classmate, now a police officer in the city.
There was no need to wait 24 hours to report a missing person.
If there was evidence to suggest that the person was in danger, an urgent report could be made.
As a police officer, Su Hui could warrant that Xia Yue was in danger, as he wasn’t the first, but the eighth person.
Using her authority as a police officer, Su Hui demanded immediate access to the surveillance footage, primarily from the palace where the incident took place.
Unfortunately, due to the power outage, nothing was recorded.
Unyielding, Su Hui commanded all the available CCTV footage near the palace, confident that the suspect couldn’t have just grown wings and flown away.
Regrettably, none of the nearby CCTV cameras captured any suspicious movement.
If Xia Yue had indeed been taken, there likely would have been signs of struggle, crying out, or being dragged, but none of these were observed.
Gu Fan proposed examining the security footage facing the palace entrance.
If the power had been restored and the main door opened, the suspect might be seen leaving with Xia Yue.
By that time, the camera facing the entrance should have regained power and recorded it.
It seemed like a good idea, but there was a hitch.
The CCTV system was quite old and took a while to start up.
If, after the power was restored, the suspect fled straight away, the CCTV might not have fully started recording, and the footage would not show their escape.
“What a piece of junk.” Gu Fan almost smashed something in his frustration.
Meanwhile, arms crossed, Su Hui was deep in thought.
She could discern that the suspect had a thorough understanding of the place and had used it to his advantage.
In short, something was off about this foreign museum, but…
Soon, local police, one of whom was Su Hui’s classmate, arrived.
After being briefed about on all that had transpired, they promised to begin their investigation at full strength.
Su Hui had obtained some information about every staff member working at the museum and found, just as she had suspected, that the museum workers had all been there for several years.
This brought her back to the strange circumstances surrounding the haunted house disappearance, where the museum staff, who had spent several years working there without incident, should not hold any grudges against Xia Yue.
Furthermore, they would not have known beforehand that Xia Yue was coming and taken precautions.
“Unless these people have been working here all these years just waiting for these students to visit, but how could they have known that Gu Fan, Xia Yue and the others were sure to make an appearance?
It doesn’t add up.” Su Hui mulled over the increasingly unfathomable situation, casting a glance at Gu Fan, who had suggested the visit.
If someone was manipulating things behind the scenes, Gu Fan would be the most likely candidate.
But, upon further thought, Su Hui dismissed the possibility of it being Gu Fan.
He had not participated when the fourteen students first entered the secret chamber and appeared to have even opposed it.
The only individuals capable of driving this entire arrangement and causing Xia Yue’s disappearance would be the museum staff.
Yet, they didn’t seem to have any motive or logical reason.
The contradictory nature of the situation made the case incredibly challenging to handle, something Su Hui was encountering for the first time.
The police stated they would continue their investigation and advised Gu Fan and the others to go home, promising to contact them immediately upon finding anything substantial.
Everyone could only place their hopes on the police.
However, based on previous occurrences, their hopes were dim, since no missing students had ever been found.
On the journey home, everyone was in low spirits having lost another teammate, their morale crushed once again.
The seemingly powerless feeling against the ongoing disappearances left them feeling resigned.
Du Jun couldn’t help but express, “If we had just gone home during the day, this wouldn’t have happened.
It’s all because Gu Fan was too persistent.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yi became upset and said, “What are you trying to say?
Gu Fan didn’t want this to happen either.
You can’t just shift all the blame onto him.”
Du Jun sneered, “It was his idea to come here.
He led us all into this mess.
He even suggested a counter-attack last time which resulted in Zhou Yu’s disappearance.
We all followed him here, but for what…?”
One accusation after another, aimed exclusively at Gu Fan, felt like fuel being added to his already miserable state.
“It’s true.
Now it’s necessary…” Du Jun began, only to be interrupted by Gu Fan dashing towards him in fury.
Du Jun assumed Gu Fan wouldn’t dare do anything and watched him approach, unfazed.
Unexpectedly, however, Gu Fan swung a punch at him, landing squarely on Du Jun’s face.
“You…” Du Jun could hardly believe anyone would dare punch him.
He was about to fight back but Gu Fan coldly retorted, “Don’t forget, it was your idea to go mountain climbing initially which led to everyone winding up in the secret chamber.
Now one by one they’re disappearing, all because…”
Taken aback by Gu Fan’s words, Du Jun responded, “What do you mean?
The responsibility is completely on you.
Are you planning to shift it onto me now?”
Sighing, Gu Fan shook his head and responded, “I’m not trying to evade responsibility.
I’m asking, is it meaningful for us to accuse one another at this point?
It’s the eighth disappearance already and we still don’t understand the need for unity, instead we keep blaming each other.
If that’s the case, it’s hopeless for all us and we might as well wait for death.”
After Gu Fan’s outburst, everyone fell silent.
The chilling wind of the night did little to compare to the frigid fear lingering within them, as thoughts of their missing classmates filled their minds.
Gu Fan was visibly furious, his breathing heavy.
He surveyed the disheartened group then broke the silence, “Let me make one thing perfectly clear.
We’re all in the same boat and it’s quickly sinking.
What we need to do is find a way to save it.
If it goes down, we’re all responsible.
Those who do nothing, those who point fingers, those who destroy our unity and morale, they’re all accountable.
Saying it plainly, from now on, every action we take is about saving our teammates.
If you’re involved, it means you agree to this course.
If anything happens, if anyone else goes missing, everyone involved holds responsibility.
Even those who do nothing, hiding away and not helping, they’re responsible too.
No one can evade this, and no one can blame someone else.
I don’t want to hear anything to the contrary and we don’t need such people in our team.”
Everyone looked on in shock.
Gu Fan’s words and determination seemed to resonate with many, including Du Jun who refrained from saying more and seemed to acknowledge Gu Fan’s point.
“Impressive, he managed to rally everyone’s morale.” Su Hui had to admire Gu Fan.
If everyone lost hope, it would be very difficult to salvage anything, but Gu Fan had successfully prevented that.
Seeing things under control, Gu Fan added, “This isn’t a complete failure.
At least, we now have an opportunity to turn things around.”
