Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared-Chapter 45 - Counterattack Plan

45: Chapter 45: Counterattack Plan

45 -45: Counterattack Plan

In the usual rehearsal room of the school dance society, Du Jun, Lin Xi and others from the dance society had gathered.

They had come together as per Lin Xi’s request, discussing something important.

Du Jun couldn’t help but ask: “Lin Xi, what is it that made you gather all of us here?”

Lin Xi quickly placated: “Please wait a little longer, Gu Fan and the others will be here soon.”

Hearing this, Du Jun had an expression of subtle displeasure.

He didn’t like waiting, especially for Gu Fan.

But since he was already here, he couldn’t just leave in case there was indeed some important matter.

After waiting for a moment, Gu Fan, Lu Yi and Jie pushed a whiteboard, which seemingly came out of nowhere, into the rehearsal room, causing several people to be taken aback.

“Gu Fan, what on earth are you planning?” Du Jun couldn’t help but ask.

Gu Fan wanted to answer, but upon seeing the bandage wrapped around Du Jun’s head, and the piteous look of someone who had been badly beaten up, Gu Fan had to stifle a laugh.

Seeing Gu Fan’s wannabe-laughing expression, Du Jun immediately got upset: “Come on, you said there was something important to discuss.

I even came despite my injury.

If you have nothing to say, I will leave.”

“Wait, wait, wait, my bad, I’ll get to the point immediately.” After saying this, Gu Fan suppressed his laughter, then pointed at Jie standing next to him: “Let’s let Jie explain, he seems to have come up with a good counterattack plan.”

Jie then stepped forward and cleared his throat: “Gu Fan told me, I’m aware that the current situation is dire, so we need to work together to solve the current predicament.”

Hearing this, Du Jun had an unsatisfied look on his face: “Gu Fan, you just told our story to others.

If everyone is as loose-lipped as you, and the news spreads so that everyone knows, what do you think people will think of us?”

Du Jun’s words sounded like an accusation, and others also began to cast blaming glances.

Gu Fan was made to feel like he was the only guilty party.

Gu Fan, however, was unfazed: “On the contrary, it’s precisely because we’ve been keeping secrets and not saying anything that we’ve ended up isolated with no help.

This situation must change.”

Hearing this, Du Jun’s face showed disdain: “Good, you told Jie and now Jie can save us?

Your plan seems really wonderful.

If it’s just like that, I’m not interested in hearing more.”

“Du Jun, think about it, if the matter really gets blown up and is reported by the media, causing a worldwide sensation and drawing everyone’s attention to us, do you think the people secretly dealing with us would dare to strike at us easily?” Gu Fan’s righteousness left Du Jun speechless.

While the others, upon listening, felt that this did seem like a potentially effective plan; to blow up the matter, relying on the power of society to protect themselves.

Whilst trying to suppress his discontent, Du Jun casually said: “That does sound like a method, but the key question is how it can be executed.

If we want everything to be public, do we need to contact the media?”

Gu Fan shook his head: “The matter should be kept under wraps as much as possible.

Because if it blows up, we’ll inevitably be in the spotlight and it will be difficult to return to a calm life.

In other words, this is the last resort.”

“So you really didn’t say anything of substance.” Du Jun immediately expressed his dissatisfaction, but Gu Fan made a calming gesture.

Then he said: “That’s why I have another counterattack plan here, we must convert our passiveness into assertiveness.”

Quickly, Jie drew three circles on the whiteboard: “We all know that the missing students have some common features: they all went to places with few people, and were alone.

Zhao Rui ran out of the secret room aimlessly and got separated, Li Xiaoyan was not with everyone when things were chaotic, Qian Chuan climbed the wall alone, and Sun Yi wandered around alone etc.”

Someone objected: “But Wu Fei and Chen Ying were travelling together, not alone, and they went to a crowded amusement park.”

Jie shook his head: “Have you been to that labyrinth ghost house?

It’s huge, with twelve routes just like a maze.

A group of people would enter and to a large degree, everyone would go their separate ways and disperse in the end.

So when Wu Fei and Chen Ying disappeared, there were no people around.

That’s when the other party might have acted.

That is to say, they went to a deserted place.

Although they acted together, as long as the opponent was overpowering them in numbers, and with the screams from the ghost house providing cover, you can imagine.”

At this moment, Gu Fan added, “A crowded place doesn’t necessarily mean we’re safe.

Remember when Li Xiaoyan vanished in a crowd?

At that time, the scene was too chaotic, everyone was focused on leaving, oblivious to a stranger’s plight.

So a crowd isn’t always beneficial, in fact, it can trigger chaos which serves as an excellent cover.”

Everyone was taken aback by this statement.

Although they felt what Gu Fan and Jie said made sense, they were still uneasy.

It prompted one person to ask: “What do you mean by that?

What’s your plan?”

Jie went on, “If we don’t uncover the person who’s engineering this from behind the scenes, you’ll never be able to live in peace.

We must find a way to expose these people.

However, we lack clues as to who is behind this, and I believe those hiding in the dark are waiting for the right opportunity.”

Gu Fan agreed, “We know the enemy will strike again, but we don’t know when.

This puts us at a disadvantage.

So I’m thinking, rather than waiting passively, why not be proactive?”

“What do you mean?

Are you suggesting we isolate one of us to lure them out?” Du Jun’s face soured as he spoke, and the others looked equally uncomfortable.

“Exactly.

This is the only counter-attack strategy I could think of.

You can reject my plan, but remember, the enemy will strike again eventually.

And when that happens, who’s next to disappear?” Gu Fan’s serious tone conveyed a daunting reality, sending a chill down everyone’s spine.

“Either way, we’re at risk, I think it’s worth a shot,” one student bravely decided to support Gu Fan.

Seeing this, the others had no choice but to agree.

Du Jun, unable to change the situation, reluctantly approved Gu Fan’s idea but raised the question of how to carry out this plan safely and effectively.

Jie, drawing on the whiteboard, spoke as he sketched, “Based on the previous pattern, the enemy either targets places with few people or uses the chaos of a crowd as a cover.

We should pick a location, either scarcely or heavily populated, and with minimal surveillance to give them the opportunity.”

“The location doesn’t matter, but who’s going to volunteer to be the bait?

Who’s willing to take this risk, Gu Fan?” Du Jun’s question hit the nail on the head.

As Gu Fan looked around, everyone’s faces reflected their determination to survive, with no one willing to take the risk.

Gu Fan didn’t blame them for their fear, in fact, he wouldn’t have allowed Lin Xi to risk her life either.

If no one was willing to volunteer, Gu Fan couldn’t force them, and the counter-attack plan would have to be abandoned.

Just as Gu Fan was starting to lose hope, Zhou Yu stepped forward, volunteering to be the bait.

Everyone was initially shocked to see someone so courageous, soon replaced by admiration for his bravery.

Gu Fan sighed inwardly, knowing that Zhou Yu had a difficult home situation.

Divorced parents, each with their own families, a father who largely ignored him, a mother in a different city, and being shuffled between grandparents and other relatives, he’d never really experienced the warmth of a family.

“Alright, we have the volunteer, the location is yet to be decided.

Now we need equipment,” Jie said, his face serious.

After all, this was a matter of life and death, no room for mistakes.

“Equipment, what kind?” As the crowd looked on in confusion, Jie wrote the words “tracking device” on the whiteboard and everyone understood.

Gu Fan continued, “Previously, all the missing students’ phones were turned off, and we couldn’t trace them, likely as the culprit destroyed them.

But if they don’t know that we have another tracking device, or something else with positioning capabilities, on our person to help us track them, they may be taken by surprise.

The more expensive the device, the better.

We also need a reliable source for the device, which is why we’re relying on you, Du Jun.”

“Don’t worry, leave it to me,” Du Jun confidently guaranteed, showing an aura of infectious hope that excited all the students.

It began feeling like a scene from a movie.

Gu Fan began outlining the plan, “On the day of the operation, we’ll go out as if it’s just another ordinary day, laughing and chatting away.

We’ll divide into three groups, positioning ourselves at defined locations to create a triangular zone.

The bait would then be in the center of this triangle, sending a coded message every minute, only decipherable by us.

If a minute passes without receiving a message, or if the code is incorrect, we’ll know something is wrong.

Once the bait is missing, everyone must act together, using the tracking system to converge on the rogue’s location and capture them.”

Everyone nodded in approval after hearing the plan.

It seemed like a viable strategy to turn their situation around.

However, they were just students, lacking the experience of trained law enforcement, and feared any potential oversights in the plan.

(My apologies, I was too busy yesterday and forgot to update.

Today there will be two chapters)