Global Collapse

Chapter 157 The Ticket Seller's Struggle
There is a high-end ticket booth not far from Hengdian, which many people know.

Even so, it took Gu Mian and the others quite a while to find this so-called high-class ticket booth.

Because it's really hard to find.

Looking at the narrow alleyway in front of him, barely a few meters wide, a dusty dirt road full of potholes, the fat man scratched his head and said, "Doctor, is that fancy ticket booth really inside?"

"This is such a remote and impoverished place, I don't even think birds would poop here. This fancy ticket booth really knows how to pick a location!" the fat man muttered to himself.

This alley was branched off from a narrow road, and there were several bags of cement next to it, which seemed to indicate that they were planning to pave the area with cement.

But before construction could even begin, this global game was about to hit the world, and this dirt road would never be turned into a cement road.

Because it was a dirt road, Gu Mian noticed a tall tree growing at the end of the alley.

Unlike the green trees along the roadside, the tree at the end was lush with branches and leaves, and its trunk was just big enough for one person to hug. Gu Mian estimated that the tree was about four stories tall.

Not far from the big tree stood a brand new house.

Sunlight streamed onto the brand-new house, making the scene look beautiful.

Gu Mian glanced at the map in her hand: "It should be that room, do you see it?"

"I see it," the fat man nodded, looking at the building. "But isn't it a little different from the ticket booths we've seen before?"

Of course they're different, since the word "advanced" has been added.

The ticket halls they had seen before were all dilapidated and old, with the outer walls almost peeling off and the interior facilities being very outdated. The large table in the middle of the ticket hall looked like it had been salvaged from a garbage dump.

But the one in the distance looked very high-end and classy, ​​with snow-white walls that reflected the sunlight.

Gu Mian saw people constantly going in and out of the ticket booth.

The people who went in mostly had joy and anticipation on their faces, while those who came out were almost all dejected; the atmosphere between the two groups was completely different.

"I bet 90% of the people who went in didn't get tickets," the fat man said mysteriously as he leaned closer.

People would pass by them from time to time, mostly looking dejected as they walked out of the ticket booth.

The fat man spoke very softly, probably afraid that if he spoke too loudly, these people would hear him; he was afraid of being beaten up by the group.

"Of course," Gu Mian said matter-of-factly, "I guess we'll have to go through some kind of trial to get this event ticket."

And it seems this trial is quite difficult...

Gu Mian thought for a moment and then added, "We might not be able to get it."

Some people walked out of the ticket booth with beaming smiles, seemingly having successfully obtained tickets to the event, but there weren't many people with such cheerful expressions on their faces.

Gu Mian didn't observe outside for long before walking towards the high-end-looking building.

When they reached the entrance, they discovered a group of people in military uniforms standing inside the ticket booth.

It's not surprising that there are troops stationed there, since it's the only high-end ticket booth near the event. Gu Mian guessed that this was to prevent ticket scrambling.

Moreover, seeing the military around Hengdian is no longer a rare occurrence; people often see small teams in military uniforms patrolling the streets.

Putting aside other places, the security around Hengdian is relatively safe.

There were quite a few patrol teams around this high-class ticket booth, and one team would pass by every now and then.

As Gu Mian and her group reached the door, they happened to brush past a small team.

The fat man looked curiously at the group of soldiers who brushed past him: "Speaking of which, Doctor, I've seen this patrol group so many times today. They don't seem to have time to go into dungeons, do they?"

"I think they probably don't have time," Gu Mian nodded.

The army was clearly short-handed. The three of them stayed in Hengdian for a few days and noticed that the army was constantly recruiting. They basically accepted all young men who came up with the job.

Even the fat man walking down the street a few days ago was enthusiastically asked questions, which scared the timid fat man so much that he ran back to the hotel and didn't dare to show his face for several days.

Normally, the military would never recruit people so hastily, but these are special times.

"The troops here have to protect the activity area, maintain order, and even work overtime at night. They're also probably trying to find time to enter the instance in batches to improve their physical fitness..."

Although the army possesses firearms, if it doesn't enter the game regularly, it will eventually be overtaken by the players.

Gu Mian stroked her chin: "Thinking about it, they really are quite busy."

The fat man gave a look of utter despair: "It's a complete disaster."

The fat man sighed as he looked into the ticket booth.

The decor of this high-end ticket booth was indeed different from those of ordinary ticket booths. The walls, the tables, and the chairs were all brand new, several levels better than the ticket booths they had seen before.

The soldiers stood close to several walls, their eyes wide open, constantly watching the situation inside the ticket booth. Gu Mian noticed a familiar face among them—the young man in military uniform who had bought flowers outside the ticket booth earlier.

This boy must have been a temporary addition to the organization; his clothes looked a bit too big and didn't fit him well.

At this moment, the boy seemed to have not slept all night, dozing off slightly and nodding his head a few times. But he immediately opened his eyes wide and stared intently at the situation in the ticket booth, not daring to relax for a moment.

Gu Mian didn't pay attention to the boy for long.

He turned his head to look at the ticket booth.

There were quite a few people in this high-end ticket booth, most of them there for event admission tickets.

A short queue had already formed at the ticket counter, and Gu Mian consciously joined the end of the queue.

In front of him was a somewhat overweight middle-aged man. Seemingly noticing that someone had moved up behind him, the middle-aged man turned around and glanced at Gu Mian a few times, then turned back around and craned his neck to look ahead.

The people in line were all quite anxious, and Gu Mian noticed that they were straining their ears to listen to what was happening ahead of them.

Seeing this, Gu Mian also stretched out her ears to listen to the sounds ahead.

At that moment, the ticket seller was talking to the person at the front of the line.

"Event admission ticket... High-difficulty dungeon..."

Because she was quite far away, Gu Mian couldn't hear very clearly.

He saw the person at the front of the line leave the line and walk to the side after the ticket seller finished speaking, seemingly to enter the dungeon.

The fat man looked at the other person and said, "Does getting an admission ticket mean you have to enter a high-difficulty dungeon?"

At this moment, another person entered the ticket booth and joined the line after the three of them; it was a young man.

After joining the queue, the young man, like the people in front of him, stretched out his ears and craned his neck to look ahead.

The line moved forward quickly, and soon Gu Mian was able to understand the voice of the ticket seller in front.

"To get an event ticket, you need to clear a high-difficulty dungeon. I'll give you a ticket for a high-difficulty dungeon first. After you clear it, you can come back to me to pick up your event ticket..."

"A high-difficulty dungeon?" The fat man frowned. "The event description didn't say that you had to participate in a high-difficulty dungeon to get an admission ticket, did it?"

Gu Mian looked at the ticket seller in front of her, who had a happy expression on her face, and said, "I'm really worried that we won't be able to get tickets."

At this point, more people joined the queue intermittently behind them.

Every now and then, people would emerge from the instance, their faces filled with gloom and dejection.

The people in line saw that everyone coming out of the dungeon had this expression, and they all became serious, as if they were afraid that they would not be able to get an admission ticket for the event.

Everyone inside looked solemn, and for a moment the entire ticket hall was filled with a depressing atmosphere. People were anxious, and some even sighed.

Only the ticket seller in front of them looked very happy.

It seems that as more players enter the instance here, the ticket sellers also receive some kind of commission.

He cheerfully greeted one serious-looking player after another, his tone even becoming somewhat ethereal.

The group moved forward quickly, and soon Gu Mian arrived at the front.

He looked down at the ticket seller sitting in the window.

Inside, the person was tearing up a ticket. He seemed very busy, so he didn't even look up, and quickly uttered the same words as before.

"To get an event ticket, you need to clear a high-difficulty dungeon. I'll give you a ticket for a high-difficulty dungeon first. After you clear it, you can come back to me to pick up your event ticket..."

"Could I have a ticket for a high-difficulty dungeon with a group? There are three of us." Gu Mian looked at the ticket seller's head behind the ticket window.

The ticket seller's cheerful voice came through: "Of course, no problem."

The person behind the ticket window was talking as he quickly tore off a ticket, stamped it, and then looked up and reached out to hand the ticket over.

The fat man kept observing the situation ahead.

He saw the ticket seller in front of him finally raise his head, with a smile on his face. He saw that the ticket seller was holding a ticket and seemed to be about to hand it over.

But the moment the ticket seller's eyes met Gu Mian's, he was struck dumb, his smile freezing on his face.

At that moment, Gu Mian reached out to take the ticket.

Immediately afterwards, the ticket seller's roar rang in everyone's ears—"Wait!"

The author seems to write 10,000 words a day...

Thank you to the person who posted the tip (づ￣3￣)づ╭～


(End of this chapter)