Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared

The last activity was the most crucial part of the teambuilding training. This time, fifty people were divided into ten groups, with five people per group. This means each group would face challenges from nine other teams.

Lu Yi felt like it was a full-on battle royale, and he was so excited. He would have preferred to be with Gu Fan in the same group, but, alas, the groups were decided through a lucky draw.

After the draw, Gu Fan got number seven. He then checked Lin Xi’s number, but to their disappointment, Lin Xi was in group nine.

Lu Yi was in group three with people he hardly knew, let alone was close to. Suddenly, he felt isolated.

Unluckily, Lv Wei and Gu Fan ended up in group seven. When Lv Wei drew his number and found out he would be in the same group as Gu Fan, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Du Jun was put in group five. After realizing which group he was in, he glanced at Gu Fan and Lv Wei meaningfully. As he did, Du Jun clenched his fist; the competitive fire was burning in his eyes.

The rules of the game were as follows: each group was given a mission. They had to rush to a specific location and solve the puzzle hidden there. The group that solved all the puzzles on the mission in the shortest time and reached the finish line first would be declared the winner.

The field for this game covered a vast area, even extending beyond the training center and into the streets. This widespread dispersion made Gu Fan uneasy, and he was considering gathering everyone when Lv Wei, unexpectedly, was the first to speak up.

Lv Wei gathered everyone and said seriously: "The competition is secondary, winning or losing doesn’t matter. What I’m worried about is something unexpected happening. You all know what I mean, right?"

"Seriously?" Lin Xi looked worried. "Should we drop out? We don’t have to play."

Lv Wei shook his head. "I was worried about this when organizing the activity."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi immediately questioned, "You knew there could be danger, and you still went ahead? What exactly were you thinking?"

Lv Wei answered solemnly: "The teacher asked me to organize this. If I hadn’t someone else would have, and the result would have been the same. Moreover, should we just avoid every activity? Should we just hide in school or home all day? We have to go out eventually."

His words made sense. Gu Fan frowned upon hearing them and asked, "Lv Wei, do you have a plan?"

"Yes!" Lv Wei looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before continuing: "In general, with five people in a group, it’d be hard for anyone to attack us. But we’ve experienced too many tricks from them, and they can always find an opportunity."

Gu Fan quickly added, "Right now, only Lin Xi, Du Jun and Lv Wei have been to the secret room. However, you three are in different groups and can’t support each other. Lv Wei and I are in the same group, Lin Xi and Jie are in one, as for Du Jun..."

Everyone looked at him with concern, but Du Jun seemed unworried, even saying, "Don’t worry, I can take care of myself."

Seeing Du Jun’s confidence, everyone was anxious for him, though they didn’t know on what he was basing his confidence.

Du Jun added, "Why worry? You guys can’t watch over me 24/7 anyway. It’s only a matter of a few hours apart. Nothing has happened to me before, and it won’t happen now."

Lu Yi couldn’t help but comment, "That makes sense. After all, you’re the only one who’s survived an attack."

"Thanks for reminding me of the time someone whacked me in the head," Du Jun coolly replied, breaking the tension with his humor.

However, as Gu Fan looked at everyone, he couldn’t shake his feeling of unease, as every activity they’d had ended with someone disappearing.

"Wait, this is weird." Gu Fan suddenly noticed a pattern. Zhao Rui disappeared when they all went climbing and accidently found a secret room.

Li Xiaoyan went missing after they had a brawl that lead to chaos at the club.

Sun Yi mysteriously disappeared from the hotel they were staying in after they all went to an esports competition.

Zhou Yu and Xia Yue also went missing during a group activity. All these cases made it seem like every time they did anything together, someone would disappear.

Of course, Gu Fan also considered that he might be overthinking. Qian Chuan disappeared after leaving the campus by himself late at night, Wu Fei and Chen Ying encountered an accident during their date, and even Du Jun was attacked when he was going home alone.

Comparing the disappearances that occurred during group activities and those when everyone was separate, it seemed like there was an even split. But that was exactly what was so strange to Gu Fan.

Gu Fan figured that if he were in the opponent’s position, he would certainly choose to strike when everyone was scattered because it increases the chances of success. Therefore, it’s the times when the group splits that there are a greater number of disappearances.

With this outrageous inference, Gu Fan thought that moving as a group might instead present an opportunity for the enemy.

Unable to understand exactly what was going on, Gu Fan found himself still contemplating as the competition started. The other teams had already chosen their leaders and received their assignment, whereas Gu Fan’s group had not.

"Will the leader of your group please come forward to receive the assignment?" the judge of the competition had just announced when Lv Wei stepped forward, volunteering himself to take the lead and receive the task book.

Without saying anything, Gu Fan didn’t care for the title of team leader, nor was he eager to prove himself victorious in the competition. What mattered more to him was to figure out how he would cause either Lin Xi, Du Jun, or Lv Wei to disappear if he were the mystery antagonist.

Upon evaluation, Gu Fan concluded that Du Jun was the easiest target seeing as none of the members in his group were aware of the impending crisis at hand, nor willing to coordinate with Du Jun in their actions.

As for Lin Xi, at least Jie was keeping an eye on her. Gu Fan trusted Jie as a reliable friend, but he still urged Lin Xi not to stray away from the group, and to wait in crowded places if she got lost. Above all, he reminded her not to prioritize victory over safety by running off on her own.

Finally, the competition began. Each team opened their task books and set off in different directions. Glancing at his own team’s assignment, Gu Fan’s eyebrows slightly crinkled. freēnovelkiss.com

"How many red lanterns are there at the entrance of the nearest shopping plaza?" Lv Wei read the task aloud, taking out his phone to locate the nearby blocks. Once he found the closest shopping plaza, he led the team, running in its direction.

The teams were to complete tasks at ten different locations. Whichever group finished all tasks and returned first would be victorious. Speed mattered greatly, so everyone began to run.

However, this undoubtedly put those with less stamina at a disadvantage; soon enough, some members of Gu Fan’s team lagged behind.

Desperate to win the competition, Lv Wei didn’t intend to wait; his sole focus was completing the tasks and coming first.

"Who’d have thought that this guy’s athletic ability matches his grades..." Gu Fan mused as he did his best to keep up. Looking back, he noted that his other three teammates were trailing behind them.

Ensuring Lv Wei’s safety was Gu Fan’s priority, prompting him to maintain Lv Wei’s pace. He trusted his own stamina and speed to match up to Lv Wei’s.

Five minutes later, Lv Wei and Gu Fan arrived at the shopping plaza. Seeing a substantial number of red lanterns hanging at the entrance, they were taken aback, wondering how they could possibly count them all.

Not one to back down from a challenge, Lv Wei began assigning tasks to his team members once they arrived. Everyone would count the lanterns in their assigned area and then sum the numbers. The method certainly seemed efficient.

Under Lv Wei’s guidance, everyone began to count the lanterns in their areas. Soon enough, the task started feeling as challenging as counting stars in the night sky.

Gu Fan stood still and simply observed without taking any action, which rendered Lv Wei slightly displeased. He wondered why Gu Fan seemed devoid of any team spirit and hesitant to follow commands.

The truth was, Gu Fan was not against the idea of counting; the task simply seemed overwhelming due to the large number of intersecting rows of lanterns which were sometimes clustered together, causing confusion.

As expected, Lv Wei began to get confused and soon a dispute rose among the team members. "This is my area to count, don’t repeat." one said.

The other disagreed, "No, this is my area. You miscounted."

Hearing this, Gu Fan’s eyebrow furrowed. He realized that counting the lanterns would be impossible if the numbers got mixed up.

Desiring to stop the argument and encourage the team to focus on the task at hand, Lv Wei glanced back at his team members. But to his horror, he found that he himself had lost track of his count upon returning his gaze to the lanterns.

"I guess a clear division of labor doesn’t really apply here." Gu Fan commented lightly which Lv Wei contemplated for a moment before agreeing, "Gu Fan, I think we’re on the same page here."

Gu Fan nodded. "Just like the first task, accomplishing it efficiently requires the right approach. After all, dividing tasks efficiently is just one approach among many."

Unable to suppress a laugh, Lv Wei agreed. "You’re right. Despite the number of lanterns, there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to count accurately. Plus, it’s a huge waste of time. So, in my opinion..."

"Ask the management personnel here." Gu Fan and Lv Wei suggested simultaneously. Sharing a look, the two of them couldn’t help but share a laugh at having finally reached a consensus.