Global Collapse

This painting was identical to the one they had found earlier, even bearing the same signature: Chu Hang, Senior Year One, Class Eight.

But a closer look revealed that this painting differed slightly from the one they had just seen.

Unfortunately, Willow not supporting wind couldn't make an accurate comparison now because Chu Changge had already taken the previous painting upstairs.

Remembering Chu Changge's instructions, she quickly ran upstairs with this slightly different painting to find him.

When she arrived on the second floor, Chu Changge was standing in the corridor, holding a painting and seemingly lost in thought.

Willow not supporting wind approached and saw at a glance that the painting he was holding wasn't from the first floor. This painting was a group portrait, incomparably better than the abstract demons and monsters from the first floor; at least one could make out human figures.

But these human figures were also terrifying.

The painting appeared to be a class group photo, but Willow not supporting wind had never seen any class photo like it.

Over forty twisted human figures were on the paper, their bodies contorted as if melted by fire, filling every part of the canvas.

In the lower right corner was a signature: "Senior Year Two, Class Eight - Chu Hang."

"Look," Chu Changge said, not paying attention to the new painting in Willow not supporting wind's hand, but instead pointing to the one he was holding. "The head in this painting looks very similar to the head in the painting we found earlier."

Willow not supporting wind followed his finger and saw that it was indeed the case.

Although the heads in this painting were all very abstract, a careful comparison showed that the head from the portrait was indeed very similar to one specific head in the group painting.

"But the strange thing is, everyone in this group portrait is doubled," Chu Changge said, pushing up his glasses.

Doubled? Willow not supporting wind didn't quite understand.

Chu Changge explained, "It means there are two identical figures for each person. Look, there seem to be over forty people on this canvas, but if you compare them carefully, you'll find that there are always two figures that are identical."

Willow not supporting wind looked carefully and found that it did seem to be the case. "I've basically finished exploring the second floor," Chu Changge continued. "I'm going to the third floor now. Are you coming with me?"

Willow not supporting wind furrowed her brows. "But I haven't finished searching the first floor yet..."

Chu Changge interrupted her, "There's no need."

Willow not supporting wind pursed her lips awkwardly. What did he mean by 'no need'? She hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm not one to have strong opinions. Okay, then let's go to the third floor..."

Thus, the two of them set off for the third-floor stairs without further disagreement.

Willow not supporting wind felt very uneasy the entire way. She couldn't figure out Chu Changge's intentions, and she herself lacked any strong opinions.

Up to this point, everything she had done involved following other players, reliable or not, randomly around the instance. Sometimes she would stumble her way to clearing the instance, but other times, she would stumble her way to death.

Overall, the latter happened more often.

The person in front of me seems quite reliable, but after getting a better understanding, he doesn't seem that reliable after all...

While Willow not supporting wind was still lost in her thoughts, the two of them had already gone halfway up the stairs.

Chu Changge suddenly asked, "Did you find anything else on the first floor?"

Willow not supporting wind wasn't really comfortable talking to Chu Changge. He clearly wasn't a talkative person, so every time he spoke to her, she became nervous.

"Yes," Willow not supporting wind answered immediately, "I saw a 'trap' on the first floor."

Chu Changge didn't make a sound, continuing to listen to her.

"On the game screen, it looked like the mouth of a well. But I guessed that there might be sharp daggers or swarms of poisonous snakes underneath."

"My registered character said something like, 'This thing is too dangerous; it's best not to go over there,' or something similar," Willow recalled after thinking for a moment. "Then I took a detour. Oh, right, I also opened a treasure box earlier..."

Chu Changge glanced at her. "The treasure box contained an item called 'Sturdy Hairband from a Female Student.'"

[Sturdy Hairband from a Female Student]

[A long, sturdy hairband. Besides binding hair tightly, it seems it could also be used to bind other things.]

As Willow not supporting wind spoke, she took out her phone to show Chu Changge. But he only gave it a quick glance before turning away.

Willow suspected, He probably didn't even see the phone screen clearly.

At this point, Chu Changge spoke again: "When we get to the third floor, we'll still split up. The corridor is circular, so you take one half, and I'll take the other. Find all the strange paintings. Be thorough."

Willow not supporting wind nodded very seriously. She had always been stingy with her thoughts, often hoping to be given perfectly clear instructions.

Unfortunately, the players she teamed up with in previous instances never had the time or energy to arrange things for her. This wish was only fulfilled today.

At this time, the two of them had already arrived on the third floor.

As far as the eye could see, there was a circular corridor, and the third floor had a great many paintings.

Willow visually estimated that there were not only works by third-year high school students, but also some by teachers and unknown artists. Consequently, the cheaper student works were mostly placed on the floor.

"You go left," Chu Changge also arranged the search areas very clearly. "I'll go right. This time we're on the same floor, so you don't need to look for me too often."

Speaking up to this point, Chu Changge paused for a moment. "We'll meet up in about thirty minutes. There's no clock on the third floor; you'll have to estimate the time yourself."

Willow not supporting wind looked at him a bit anxiously. "Do you have a watch?"

Chu Changge pushed up his glasses. "No."

"Alright..." Hearing this, Willow not supporting wind didn't delay further and set off to the left.

Chu Changge watched her figure disappear from view, then turned and walked back.

Meanwhile, Gu Mian had already arrived at the dormitory building; however, he encountered a slight problem.

It was 3:15 PM, and the students who had been taking an afternoon nap were already awake and wandering about. Usually, at this time of day, you could barely see a student's shadow in the dormitories, but now they were overcrowded.

Due to it being summer, many male students were shirtless.

In the corridor, Gu Mian witnessed many bizarrely shaped underpants.

The most eye-catching was a pair of pink Hello Kitty women's mini briefs. Gu Mian couldn't help but look a few more times.

And now, he was standing at the entrance of Dormitory 4473, watching the students come and go.

This dormitory door had a seal pasted on it, which looked like an old, aged paper seal. A large lock was also on it.

Although Gu Mian had the key to Dormitory 4473 in the mobile game, he didn't have it in reality.

And there were far too many people coming and going here. Gu Mian didn't know what would happen if he opened the door in the game.

It wasn't that he was afraid of harming innocents or anything like that; rather, he was afraid that if he caused too big a commotion, he'd be the first one arrested and taken to the police station.