Chapter 128: Strength in Numbers
Gu Fan never saw himself as a righteous hero or a goody-two-shoes. Initially, he started his search for his missing classmates in order to find the culprit behind the disappearances to ensure more students did not go missing, and thereby protecting Lin Xi.
In his quest to find the person orchestrating everything behind the scenes, Gu Fan rallied everyone together to maintain a united front, provide mutual assistance to one another, and search for their missing classmates together. His ultimate goal was to harness everyone’s strength to protect Lin Xi.
Frankly speaking, Gu Fan’s original intention in doing all these was to protect Lin Xi, who was his girlfriend, and so, he did have his own selfish motives.
However, after all twelve students ended up missing, Lin Xi was essentially safe. Yet, Gu Fan didn’t give up. He constantly asked himself: when everyone was in a bind, he had rallied them to search for the missing students together as if he was a beacon of justice. Now that Lin Xi was safe, could he let himself off the hook? Could he give up the search entirely?
No, absolutely not. Gu Fan may not want to become a hero or a goody-two-shoes, but he couldn’t be a deserter or a person without a sense of responsibility. Since he had initially rallied everyone together and had received everyone’s support and response, it was everyone’s responsibility to find the missing classmates.
Especially after Zhou Yu and Xia Yue went missing, Gu Fan bore undeniable responsibility. He couldn’t bring himself to just give up. He hoped to keep persevering for just a little longer.
After much thought, Gu Fan felt uneasy and conflicted as he thought to himself: "Everyone, during this expedition to the foreign lands, we’ve encountered many dangers. We genuinely want to find all of you. We’re doing our utmost, but..."
Due to his heavy mood, Gu Fan took a long while to fall asleep. He hoped that everything would come to an end once they returned.
In fact, not only Gu Fan but also Lu Yi and Jie shared the same feelings. Initially, they had vowed to march forward together, but now that their classmates started to disappear one by one, each felt guilty for their inaction.
Daybreak came, signifying the first day of their return trip. Xu Haowen was the first to get up. He steps out of the tent, closing his eyes as he lets out a yawn. When he opens his eyes, he was so astonished that he forgets to close his yawning mouth.
"Everyone, wake up, wake up!" At Xu Haowen’s panicked cries, the others scramble to their feet, one by one leaving their tents, each exhibiting the same shocked expression.