Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared-Chapter 568: Working Together to Overcome Difficulties

Although Gu Fan and his crew of six ran together, their footsteps, loud and disorderly, couldn’t mask the heavy beats of pursuit from behind. They could hear something chasing and closing in on them.

"We need to run faster." Gu Fan pushed himself harder between life and death, increasing his speed somewhat. He was arguably the quickest of the lot, but his lone speed was useless when the others lagged behind.

The rope, tethering Gu Fan to others, restricted his speed.

"Bloody hell, this doesn’t look good." Gu Fan knew that they would never outrun whatever was hunting them. The surroundings were all fogged up, providing no sanctuary to hide.

Xu Haowen was stuck at the back, the slowest and weakest of the bunch. He couldn’t run any longer. Fear filled his eyes, he could feel something creeping up behind him.

A scream echoed, Xu Haowen felt something grabbed his neck. He was then lifted and dragged backwards.

The one tied to Xu Haowen, Jie, felt an immense force yanking him backward. Using every bit of strength to resist, his feet still inadvertently slid backward.

"Hold on, brothers, hold on!" Gu Fan shouted. Everyone strove together, a tug of war between them and the unknown entity in the fog.

In this perilous second, Xu Haowen, suspended in mid-air, cried out, "Save me, brothers, save me now."

Without Xu Haowen having to plead, they would have done it anyway. To their surprise, united, they managed to stabilise their ground, even hinting at the possibility of pulling Xu Haowen back.

Feet planted firmly against the ground and hands straining, everyone gritted their teeth. They had the upper hand, but the problem was they were gradually feeling their strength depleting.

Gu Fan knew it’d be disadvantageous if the stalemate continued. When everyone’s energy burned out, they’d likely be dragged away.

"We can’t give up. We’ve braved through so many adversities together, we’ve never abandoned a comrade." Despite knowing the implication of heading this way, Gu Fan refused to relent. Unfortunately, as they weakened, they couldn’t hold on any longer, each being dragged over to Xu Haowen’s side.

Du Jun frowned, "This isn’t good. Not only can’t we save Xu Haowen, but it’s likely we’re all going to get into trouble."

Ouyang Jin chimed in, "We can’t just keep on competing in strength, we need another strategy."

"Take a chance; bring out your shield, Lu Yi." Gu Fan shouted. Lu Yi lifted her shield that was on her back and held it up high.

Gu Fan took a deep breath, "All of you, on my count, charge forward. Lu Yi, you lead us with your shield."

"Alright, I got it." Lu Yi, quite nervous, listened carefully to Gu Fan’s instructions. When Gu Fan counted to three, Lu Yi roared and charged forward, shield held high with everyone trailing after her.

All five concentrated their strength on pushing Lu Yi, who pushed the shield forward. They had no idea what laid within the mystifying fog, but they decided to take the chance with Lu Yi’s sturdy, ancient Super Civilization shield that she’d found on the floating island.

A collision echoed. Not knowing what they had bumped into, they were certain of one thing, that they had sent whatever hid within the fog flying and Xu Haowen had managed to land safely, bundling up with everyone at once.

They knew it wouldn’t be that easy to fend off the enemy in the fog. However, each taking cover behind Lu Yi’s shield, they remained on tenterhooks.

"We need to retreat slowly." Gu Fan ordered, step by step backward, electroshock stick in hand. Meanwhile, everyone else drew an assortment of weapons. Knowing they were outmatched, they couldn’t surrender easily.

Not long after, they heard something stood up within the fog and stepped forward with weighty footfalls. Everyone’s heartbeat quickened. They knew a brutal battle was about to start.

A hefty blow came pursuing, landing heavily on the shield. Lu Yi’s arm tingled from the impact, but with her allies behind her, she wasn’t knocked down.

The second strike, the third strike, the entity within the fog attacked crazily. Their resistance wavered under the continuous onslaught. Fatigue gnawed at their bodies.

After the fifth strike, Xu Haowen was the first to give up. His legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the ground.

"Damn it!" Gu Fan knew they were in a tight spot. But surrounded by white blindness, he had no idea where the enemy was. It was impossible to hit the target with his electroshock stick.

Just then, as Gu Fan hesitated, the thing within the fog grabbed the shield, then lifted the shield and Lu Yi together, throwing them forcefully onto the floor. The throw left Lu Yi dazed and confused.

"No way!" Without Lu Yi and her shield, Gu Fan stood at the front, defenceless. He eyed the fog before him, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

Suddenly, something grabbed Gu Fan’s neck, its icy grip churning a spine-chilling fear, but it also identified Gu Fan’s enemy’s direction. Clenching his teeth, Gu Fan pointed his electroshock stick towards his captor.

The sound of electricity crackling rang out, accompanied by a strange cry from the fog. Gu Fan jerked from the electricity, but his assailant had let him go.

"Holy shit, that actually worked." Jie sprinted over and grabbed Gu Fan’s shock stick, pointing it forward while Du Jun and Ouyang Jin aided Gu Fan.

Feeling much better, Lu Yi struggled to lift her shield. Her eyes signalled Jie to retreat first.

With each step of their retreat, they remained vigilant. After an extended pause without any sign of further assault from the fog, they figured that whatever was in the fog was probably deterred by Gu Fan’s shock stick.

Suddenly, the intensive gunshot sound spiked everyone’s tension once more. A string of unfamiliar shouting indicated that the pirates had arrived, for only the pirates possessed guns.

"Wonder what the hell those damn pirates have run into," Lu Yi remarked.

To that, Xu Haowen shook his head, "Regardless of what the pirates encountered, they deserve it. We were all safe and sound; out of nowhere, they attacked. Now, they’ve led us all into this dangerous situation."

"Enough, no more useless chatter. Attention, on guard." After Gu Fan spoke, he rubbed his neck. The cold sensation still lingered, causing an internal shudder.

As everyone was figuring out their next move, the cargo ship abruptly shook violently. It seemed as though it had collided with something. Everyone staggered, struggling to keep their footing.

Immediately after, the cargo ship listed to one side, leaving them puzzled and worried about what prickly situation they were going to face next.

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