Global Collapse

The group had already walked to the middle of the first-floor hall.

By this time, Zhao Lei had disappeared, hiding somewhere unknown.

From the beginning until now, Zhao Lei hadn't shown much offensive capability, but he seemed to have a close connection with the ghost in the house.

Although they already knew that they were in the World in the Mirror, how to get out remained a big issue.

Gu Mian had touched all the mirrors he could see. They all felt quite solid, and he couldn't just use his head to try crashing through them to see if he could get out.

It seemed they still had to follow the plot and find a mirror that would let them out.

Who exactly is the ghost in the house? Why is Zhao Lei suffering repeated memory loss? How should we leave the World in the Mirror...?

Gu Mian was voicing these questions using parallel phrasing.

At this point, Fatty, looking confused, spoke up, "Doctor, I seem to remember a show that used this kind of syntax."

Xiao Zhang chimed in from the side, "You mean 'Approaching Science', right?"

"Why are hundreds of mother donkeys screaming in the middle of the night? Why are the condoms in the convenience store frequently tampered with? Who stands behind the serial rape case of mother pigs? Welcome everyone to the upcoming episode of 'Approaching Science'." This was almost exactly the opening narration of the show 'Approaching Science'.

But since the start of the global game, Fatty had never again heard the familiar and down-to-earth lines from the show; the host was probably out of a job by now. He hadn't expected to find that familiar feeling again here with Gu Mian.

Fatty suggested earnestly, "Doctor, you have a talent for hosting. After everything returns to normal, you could consider applying to become a host..."

Gu Mian had no current plans to host a program titled 'Gu Mian Tells a Story'.

He looked at the phone in his hand and said, "This is the phone Zhao Guanhai has been using. Perhaps we can uncover some clues through it."

This old, neglected phone had finally gotten past the white screen and opened its only accessible app.

This seemed like an app for recording calls, but not quite. Upon opening the app, he was greeted by five neat rows of dashes. Indeed, they were dashes. If one had to describe them more vividly, they looked like two short horizontal lines placed side by side.

It was as if this used to be a phonebook, and now all the names had been replaced with dashes. Gu Mian pressed the arrow keys on the keypad, selecting the topmost row of dashes.

But before he could press enter, his own system panel appeared.

[Dimension-breaking Phone (Mirror Image)]

[Introduction: The original product was a special phone developed by the Toy Goose Company. However, due to the significant danger posed by this type of phone's functions, it has been completely discontinued. This item is a mirror-image projection with limited functions and can only be used five times.]

[Function: Each phone has five dialing attempts. If the player dials while in an instance, an important NPC from that instance will be randomly selected for the call. If the player dials while not in an instance, a game player with the strongest compatibility will be randomly selected for the call. Please note, this item can only dial a player or NPC who possesses a phone.]

A phone that can call NPCs and other players? This is a useful feature.

However, it could only dial someone who actually possessed a phone...

In the real world, phones had essentially lost their communication functions. However, many people still carried them, using them to check the time or as a light source, among other things. People still clung to the hope that the signal might be restored someday.

So, if he dialed a number in the real world, someone might answer. However, Gu Mian only had five chances, and he wasn't going to waste them just to see who he might reach.

After all, this device was much more useful within an instance than in the real world. He could call any important NPC who had a mobile phone or a landline. Perhaps a single call could crack the instance.

But the downside was that some instances might not have any NPCs carrying phones, which would mean wasting a dialing opportunity.

This Dimension-breaking Phone originated from this instance and was most likely a key part of the storyline's progression.

So Gu Mian didn't hesitate much and reached out to press the 'confirm' button.

However, just at that moment, an incoming call arrived.

What is this? Gu Mian looked at the phone screen.

There was no caller ID, nor any option to accept or reject the call. It was as if this call was just going through the motions; it had to be answered regardless.

Things unfolded just as Gu Mian had expected. After a few seconds, a man's voice came over the phone.

"Hello?"

Gu Mian didn't recognize the voice. Fatty and Xiao Zhang also exchanged glances; clearly, neither of them recognized the voice either. Is this a new NPC?

Gu Mian was about to respond when another man's voice suddenly cut in. They recognized this voice; it was Zhao Guanhai's.

Both voices came from the phone. Gu Mian didn't think he had been pulled into a three-way call. After a moment's thought, he understood. This must be a recording of a call between Zhao Guanhai and another man. So, even if he were to sing an intricate song into the microphone now, it wouldn't affect the two people in the recording. Because this was merely a recording of a phone call.

"Brother Li," Zhao Guanhai's voice came through. "Do you remember that favor I asked of you?"

"I do, of course, I do. Looking for a job, huh? But Old Zhao, no offense, but with your situation, it's genuinely tough to find something."

The man called Brother Li continued, "You're nearly forty, thin and small, and you don't have any particular skills. Yet you want a high-paying job. That's difficult, very difficult..."

At this point, the group was standing in the middle of the first-floor hall. Gu Mian was facing the inverted clock. But as the two in the recording conversed, Gu Mian noticed that the clock in front of him seemed to have returned to normal.