Global Collapse

Fatty wore a grimace.

He flailed his hand about, trying to cover the sources of his pain. However, his injuries were all on his back; despite struggling, he couldn't reach them and reluctantly dropped his hand.

He coughed a few times and began to speak, "Once, my dad took me to a fortune teller... That charlatan told me I definitely wouldn't die a natural death. He said I'd die on a very long, very, very long vehicle..."

"COUGH, COUGH. I didn't believe him back then... I kicked him right out the door. But now, it looks like I might've misunderstood him, hahaha...."

Gu Mian turned Fatty onto his side. "Just shut up."

Besides several arrows, two fresh bullet holes now marred Fatty's back, near his left lung and not far from his heart.

Gu Mian had witnessed the power of these guns before. He suspected Fatty's left lung had been obliterated, and the nearby arteries were likely damaged as well.

Fresh blood gushed out, pooling on the ground.

"Can't save him?" Chu Changge asked, looking over.

Gu Mian nodded slightly. "No."

Fatty struggled weakly, trembling as he pushed Gu Mian away. "Doctor... go on without me. I'm going to die. Don't worry about me."

Gu Mian squatted and gently pressed on him. "Don't be scared. You won't really die."

Fatty buried his face in the ground. "But I've never died before... I'm scared... It hurts, I feel terrible..."

"Don't worry," Gu Mian comforted him. "Just close your eyes and sleep for a while. When you wake up, you'll see us again."

Fatty's voice grew fainter. "Really? Can I really see you again, Doctor, when I wake up?"

"Yes, really."

Only after hearing this did Fatty seem to relax. He buried his head, his voice muffled as he replied, "Then I'll sleep..."

Gu Mian watched as Fatty's breathing grew shallower and shallower, until it finally ceased altogether.

Chu Changge looked down at Fatty, who was no longer breathing. "Where are we going next?"

Gu Mian stood up, grabbed the follow-up device on Chu Changge's head, and crushed it. "Kuangcheng Central Hospital."

Chu Changge had a Spirit Car in his inventory, which made things much simpler.

The city was large, and having a vehicle was quite convenient.

In the dead of night, the streets were utterly deserted.

Of course, human figures were a rare sight in this city anyway. The shadows that roamed the streets at night were usually ghosts.

Gu Mian stepped on the accelerator, speeding down the street. "By the way, I haven't asked you yet, how did you end up in that mine?"

Chu Changge sat in the passenger seat. "I was placed near the hospital. In a nearby hotel, I found a 'Rebellion Plan'."

As he spoke, he produced a tattered piece of paper. "It detailed a rebellion plan formulated by the miners. I noticed they were planning to kidnap the insidious and treacherous factory manager, Xiao En, so I went straight to the mine to investigate."

The travel brochure described factory manager Xiao En as "humorous" and "witty," not "insidious and treacherous."

Gu Mian asked, "When you got there, you must have encountered it, right? I mean, Xiao En's face. How did you get past?"

"Hmm," Chu Changge nodded. "It said I only had ten minutes to find its real face, or else I couldn't leave that area. But in fact, you can just wait downstairs for ten minutes and then leave directly..."

Gu Mian was somewhat curious. "How did you know?"

"Because when I was looking for its real face, it seemed to intentionally lure me towards one of the faces... It was very strange. I felt it was a trap, so I feigned ignorance and approached. It immediately tried to attack me, and that's when I discovered its range of movement was restricted, which is why it created this game of finding faces."

"At that moment, I wondered why it had set a ten-minute time limit. There was absolutely no need. I guessed it could only trap people for ten minutes, so it was desperate for someone to approach its vicinity within that timeframe."

"As it turns out, my guess was indeed correct."

Gu Mian snorted. Chu Changge wouldn't really die even if he died, so he could boldly test his theories.

But it was different for him. He didn't have that many lives to waste verifying guesses.

When Chu Changge reached this point, he looked at Gu Mian with understanding. "How did you guys get through?"

From Gu Mian's tone, it sounded like they hadn't waited the ten minutes.

Gu Mian didn't waste words. He simply stretched out his hand, took the face from his pocket, and tossed it to Chu Changge.

Chu Changge looked at the face of Xiao En that Gu Mian tossed over. His eyebrows twitched. He'd guessed as much.

Then he spoke again, "After passing the ceiling of human faces, I continued deeper into the mine. Later, I discovered a collapse in the deepest part."

Collapse?

The mine had collapsed once before?

Chu Changge said, "The bomb in the mine cart must have been used then. I noticed many signs of a struggle near the collapse. It must have been a conflict between the miners and those who came to rescue the factory manager."

Xiao En had mentioned this too. He'd said many people died at that time.

Chu Changge continued, "The bomb in the mine cart was prepared in advance. You understand what I mean, right?"

Gu Mian paused for a moment. "I understand."

Either the miners had prepared the bomb in advance, ready to die together, or the rescue team had prepared it, intending to leave no one behind—no survivors.

He remembered the bomb's description said "military-use." It was clear who had prepared it.

Gu Mian stroked his chin. "Was it to prevent some information from leaking? They didn't even plan to save a big shot like Xiao En, intending to blow up the entire mine, people and all."

Chu Changge nodded. "Actually, after I got out of the mine, I also planned to come to the hospital. I found this near the mine cart—a medical report."

As he spoke, he took out a crumpled medical report.

Most of the content was illegible, but a few lines could still be deciphered.

This medical report didn't look like the ones Gu Mian issued at his hospital, but it was still understandable.

It listed many examination items, and all results indicated 'normal.' Overall, it was the report of a very healthy individual.

Looking at this long string of "no abnormalities found," Gu Mian felt an overwhelming sense of vitality.

Why would Chu Changge find such a vibrant medical report in the mine?

This was obviously the medical report of one of the miners. Gu Mian remembered the travel brochure mentioning that Xiao En regularly sent the miners for health examinations.

Although other sources heaped praise on Xiao En, he himself was very reluctant to mention the hospital, as if he had done something shameful there.

Chu Changge apparently had the same thought as Gu Mian.

They exchanged a glance and then looked towards the hospital.

But just then, they both heard a distant rumbling, like several vehicles approaching on a faraway road.

Gu Mian's scalp tingled. "It couldn't be that damned biochemical team again, could it?"

"Highly likely," Chu Changge nodded. "If you want to avoid a gunfight, we'd better hurry."

Gu Mian angrily stomped on the gas pedal. "A perfectly good horror instance, and they had to turn it into PUBG!"

But when Gu Mian sped to the hospital, he discovered it was indeed a genuine Mysterious Dungeon.