Global Collapse

Chu Changge pushed his glasses up and voiced his conclusion, "Logically, it's so close to you by now. We shouldn't be looking at a living person."

"I'm really alive!" Zi Liang pinched his hand and then squeezed his face vigorously. "See, it's still warm!"

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand, as if inviting everyone present to feel it.

Chu Changge, of course, wasn't going to pinch him to see if he was warm.

Fatty, however, stared at Zi Liang's hand for a few moments before giving it a hard squeeze. "It's really hot," he concluded.

Perhaps because he had been too tense earlier, Zi Liang was now sweating all over, his hands clammy.

At this point, Chu Changge had already changed the subject. "We made some discoveries in the toilet earlier," he said. "Would you like to come and see?"

Zi Liang wasn't very enthusiastic about staying long in this ghost-filled laboratory building. However, he had just been frightened into a sweat and couldn't run far at the moment. So, he nodded in agreement with Chu Changge's proposal.

Gu Mian was holding a phone.

Zi Liang noticed that the screens on Gu Mian's, Chu Changge's, and Fatty's phones were different from his own. Three different options had appeared on their phones.

Gu Mian explained, "Since the three of us searched different places in the toilet, the triggered choices are also different."

Zi Liang first looked at Chu Changge's phone screen.

[Chu Changge thoroughly searched the 'broken mop handle']

[There seem to be marks from a small knife on the break. This kind of knife is only found in the art gallery]

[Go to the art gallery?]

[If you abandon this, you cannot explore it again]

Next was Fatty's screen.

[Wang Panzi thoroughly searched 'the filthy ground and walls']

[There's an unknown yellow liquid sprayed on the walls, along with traces of chalk. Could the chalk have been brought from a classroom?]

[Go to the classroom?]

[If you abandon this, you cannot explore it again]

Finally, it was the Chainsaw Doctor's. His screen was the most outlandish of all.

[Gu Gu thoroughly searched 'the squat toilet pit']

[A key was pulled out from the pit, coated in some yellow solid substance. The number '4473' is written on the key. It seems to be a dormitory key]

[Go to the dormitory?]

[If you abandon this, you cannot explore it again]

"'I can tolerate the others…'" Zi Liang pressed his lips together, but in the end, he couldn't hold back. "But Doctor, what's the deal with yours? Pulling a key from a squat toilet pit is really going too far!"

He still remembered that the characters in this game followed the actions of the real players.

Gu Mian spoke very sincerely, "I just clicked 'search squat toilet pit.' The character in the game dug out the Key on its own."

That little character is surprisingly smart, then. Zi Liang swallowed.

"Now we have three directions," Chu Changge suddenly interjected from the side. "My suggestion is that we explore all three."

Zi Liang nodded. "Indeed, it says that once you give up, you can't explore it. So, we need to split up?"

Gu Mian suddenly spoke up, "Of course, if everyone present could split themselves into three, we wouldn't need to separate."

Zi Liang chuckled, thinking the joke was a bit lame.

Chu Changge continued, "Our mission in this instance is to survive for four days. Since the instance is time-based, we can imagine that the danger will increase as time goes on. So, it's best to resolve this instance as soon as possible, ideally by tonight."

Resolve? Zi Liang silently touched his ear. Did he just say "resolve"? He had only ever seen instances "resolving" players, never players "resolving" an instance. No… he seemed to recall seeing players "resolve" an instance, but only in game announcements.

As he thought this, Zi Liang suddenly realized that Fatty's and Chu Changge's nicknames seemed familiar.

But before he could dwell on it, Chu Changge's voice interrupted his thoughts, "The three of us will, of course, go to these three different places."

Zi Liang noticed Fatty's spirits droop again; he looked like a student forced back to school after a hard-earned two-day break.

"What are you two planning to do?" Chu Changge asked, looking at Zi Liang and Willow not supporting wind.

Zi Liang shifted his feet; his legs weren't as wobbly as before. "Of course, we can't just do nothing. Doing nothing is basically asking for death… I'll go with Fatty!"

Fatty seemed the most reliable of the three. Zi Liang suspected the Doctor with the chainsaw might suddenly go berserk and start hacking. He also suspected Chu Changge was a vicious beast in human skin. Fatty seemed the safest; besides, they had already spent some time together, even if it was only for about an hour.

Willow not supporting wind, standing nearby, obviously didn't want to just sit around waiting for death either. Between the unreliable-looking Doctor and the seemingly reliable guy with glasses, her choice was naturally the latter.

So Gu Mian was left to go it alone again.

"'I'm so pitiful, truly…'" Gu Mian sighed, glancing at the time on the blackboard. It was already 1:40.

After checking the time, he turned back. "Let's go downstairs first."

Naturally, Zi Liang couldn't wait to leave this laboratory building.

But for some reason, the three who came out of the toilet moved downstairs at an extremely slow pace, as if they were leisurely strolling through the laboratory building. Fatty was still constantly looking at his phone, further slowing their descent.

Luckily, no mishaps occurred. The female ghost who was bashing her head on the ground, the male ghost in the toilet, and the white-faced ghost at the window all failed to appear.

By the time they reached the building's entrance, it was almost two o'clock.

The iron chain on the door had already been sawed off by Gu Mian with his chainsaw. Although the lock was on the inside of the laboratory building, Gu Mian, from the outside, had still been able to reach his chainsaw through.

Fortunately, no security guard came by during this time; otherwise, Gu Mian, chainsaw in hand, would have been apprehended long ago.

Zi Liang scrambled out of the laboratory building and into the brilliant sunlight. The summer sun was scorching, but Zi Liang found it incredibly comforting, as if bathing in its rays could dispel all evil spirits and ghosts.

Gu Mian glanced at his phone screen; the options were still displayed there.

Similarly, Chu Changge and Fatty hadn't made their choices immediately either.

In the sunlight, Zi Liang saw the three of them exchange a few words before they simultaneously pressed the options on their screens.

At the same time, different messages appeared on their screens.

[Chu Changge: There seems to have been a fierce fight in the toilet. The mop handle has marks from a utility knife. Perhaps I should go take a look.]