Global Collapse

Chapter 397 Full

You should understand that they are different.

"I know, but I..."

"Who's there?"

The sudden sound in her dream made 007 shudder, and she opened her eyes with some difficulty.

All I could see was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, swaying slightly. Perhaps because it was too damp, large and small mold spots had already appeared on the already not-so-white ceiling.

She stared blankly at the small, dark green mold spots for a while before remembering that she was still in the instance.

The sleepless nights and days in the real world had brought her consciousness to the brink of collapse, and then she happened to enter a special instance.

"This is terrible, I actually fell asleep. Looks like I still don't have enough attribute points..." 007 used his hands to support himself on the ground and barely managed to get up.

Meanwhile, the telephone on the wooden counter next to her was still ringing incessantly, which seemed to have helped wake her up.

007 immediately reached for the phone on the counter and glanced at the time on the clock opposite him.

It's already 8:50.

She slept for about thirty minutes.

She was now holding the phone receiver, and the fat man's anxious voice came through: "Why didn't you answer the phone? I thought something had happened to you."

This instance has its protection mechanism disabled for them; death here is a true death.

007 never expected to fall asleep in such an environment. She pinched her brow and asked in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry, I accidentally fell asleep just now. Is everything alright?"

The fat man seemed surprised for a moment, then quickly put it off: "That's right, I saw you almost falling asleep in the car... Putting that aside, I only contacted you because nothing happened. The last time the doctor came, it was a little after eight, but it's already eight-fifty and I haven't seen him again."
I originally wanted to ask if you had seen the doctor, but I didn't expect you to be asleep.

Hearing the fat man's anxious voice, 007 said apologetically, "I was asleep, so I didn't know. I'm so sorry..."

As she spoke, she suddenly remembered her dream from earlier, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Have you asked Chu Changge about it?"

"Brother Chu also said that the doctor hasn't been to his place recently. By the way..." At this point, the fat man's voice suddenly turned strange, "Did Brother Chu ask you when the doctor last saved an file with you?"

007 was taken aback. She didn't quite understand why the fat man would suddenly ask such a question. Her brain was a little sluggish from just waking up, but she still quickly remembered: "Yes, did he ask you that before I fell asleep?"

The fat man on the other side gave an affirmative answer: "Yes, it was about half an hour ago..."

While listening, 007 turned his gaze to the clock in front of him, where the second hand was ticking away.

Chu Changge asked her about this about half an hour ago.

The fat man's voice was still coming through the microphone: "The doctor came to my place four times, but only saved the file three times. The last time, he just tried to fool me with a lighter."

Upon hearing this, 007 instinctively asked, "When was the last time he saved his game with you?"

"Before I found out that the doctor was that woman."

007 then asked, "What about the last time you saved your game with Chu Changge?"

The fat man seemed to recall for a moment: "The doctor has saved it with Brother Chu five times already. I remember the last time was when I was on the phone with Brother Chu. Right, that's when I found out that the woman was a character controlled by the doctor."

"What's wrong?" the fat man's voice came through the microphone.

007 chuckled: "It's nothing, thank you for telling me."

After saying that, she hung up the phone.

007 turned to look outside the door.

The night sky was like a tissue splattered with thick ink; darkness permeated the entire sky, and as far as the eye could see, there was only boundless blackness.

Both he and the fat guy could find data or clues about the game in the bookstore.

Only Chu Changge didn't reveal a word, saying that he hadn't found anything.

Considering Chu Changge's performance in the previous instance, 007 didn't quite believe what he said.

Furthermore, Chu Changge had asked the two of them about Gu Mian's last save point.

According to Fatty, Gu Mian's last save file was with her.

As 007 pondered this, he gazed at the dark night sky. What did it mean that the last time he saved his game was here...?

Gu Mian did not directly transmigrate into the game, so there were many inconveniences. Even if she discovered something, she could not ask directly and had to wait until the options appeared before she could make her own choice.

At this moment, he was following the little bird deeper into the structure that resembled an ant nest.

Although there were no options on the screen, Gu Mian still had choices.

He controls the game character and now has the option to make two choices.

First, turn around and run away from this eerie place.

Second, follow the little bird to what she called "the room prepared for you".

Gu Mian considered option one and even tried it out herself for a short time.

However, this option was only put into practice for a short time before it died in the womb.

He had just turned his head when he saw that the curtains of all the cave entrances he had passed through were lifted up with a small gap, and there were gaunt faces holding lamps squeezed into those gaps, staring straight at him.

These people seemed to be expecting something.

Gu Mian was certain that if she turned to run, those people would block her way. "It feels like I've entered a wolf's den..."

At this moment, Gu Mian stroked her chin and stared at the somewhat dark screen as she spoke.

While talking to himself, he glanced down at the chainsaw lying quietly at his feet. If he were the one who entered this game, he wouldn't be afraid of those people who were almost as thin as skeletons.

But right now he's just a player controlling a game character.

He can't wield a chainsaw to cut off anyone's head, nor can he do anything frivolous in this game. If an unforeseen event occurs, he can only quietly accept his death.

Even though there's a save file after you die...

But Gu Mian always felt that saving was something uncontrollable, so it was best to use it sparingly... Therefore, it was best not to die.

"We've arrived. This is where you'll rest. Your Excellency, please get some sleep."

Gu Mian saw text appear at the bottom of the screen again.

The little bird skillfully led him to a rather ornate-looking earthen hut, appearing quite adept at it. There was only this one hut around, suggesting that she also felt it wasn't appropriate for the saintess to be with a group of starving, skeletal commoners.

Although this cave was much cleaner than the places where others lived, it couldn't change the fact that it was still a dirt hut.

All I could see was a mud pit that had been roughly carved into a square shape. A table was placed against the wall, and on the table was a kerosene lamp that barely illuminated the pit. Next to it was a chipped porcelain bowl filled with about two-thirds water.

The water was a bit murky, and steam was rising from the rim of the bowl, indicating that it was freshly prepared hot water.

A chair was placed in front of the table, one of its legs already loose.

Next to the table was a bed—a bed made of tattered clothes and sofa cushions, with a blue sheet on top. It looked a bit dirty but was still relatively tidy.

It's clear that this room has been carefully furnished, and it's far better than the mud huts where other people live.

The little bird looked somewhat embarrassed at the bowl of water on the table, then turned its head toward the screen and swallowed hard: "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, we don't have any food today. Please drink some water and bear with it. We'll be able to eat tomorrow."

Gu Mian saw the bird's prominent Adam's apple, which was protruding due to its thinness, bobbing up and down incessantly, as if it were swallowing saliva.

With a murderous expression, even if someone else were sitting in front of the computer, they would be able to tell that something was wrong with the person in front of them.

And now, another option finally appeared before us.

Where do you get your food?

Can I just walk around?

This place has several exits.

I'm scared, will you sleep with me tonight?

The fourth option is reminiscent of the style of certain indescribable games, but even if the person sitting in front of the computer is a lustful lecher, he wouldn't dare choose this option while looking at a woman with gleaming eyes staring at him and constantly swallowing her saliva, especially since the little bird is rather unattractive.

Gu Mian is certainly a virtuous person, even though choosing any of the other options would have yielded more information than choosing the last one.

But Gu Mian resolutely chose the fourth option—"Sleep with me."

The little bird was stunned: "Holy Maiden, you seem a little different this time... No, it's nothing. I need to go and report some things to the village chief first. I can come and keep you company when I get back. Please wait here for a while and don't wander off."

After saying that, he turned around, lifted the curtain, and left.

Gu Mian certainly wouldn't wait here.

After seeing the bird go out, he immediately began to search the room, found a lighter in a drawer, successfully removed a loose chair leg, and even blew out the kerosene lamp on the table.

The room was plunged into darkness.

Gu Mian had always suffered from not having an inventory. In this game, he finally had an inventory and filled it with everything he could fit—including a loose chair leg and an outdated kerosene lamp.

After confirming that there was nothing left to take, Gu Mian immediately left the earthen hut and went to the passage outside.

The passage was very dark, and Gu Mian certainly wouldn't go back, because there were more than a dozen hungry ghosts waiting for him with their eyes shining.

He noticed that the bird went deeper into the area as it left.

So he controlled his character and groped his way deeper into the darkness.

He hadn't walked far when he came to a fork in the road, one leading to the right and the other to the left.

Without hesitation, Gu Mian lifted her foot and walked to the left.

He didn't use a lighter, but he didn't walk in the dark for long before he saw light coming from ahead.

It looked like light shining through a curtain that wasn't fully closed.

Gu Mian immediately tiptoed forward.

There was another earthen mound in front of her. Gu Mian couldn't see inside because of the curtain, but she could still hear sounds... not that she could hear the sounds, but that the conversations of the people inside were displayed at the bottom of the screen.

"Village Chief, there's something else. When we encountered the Holy Maiden, the house where Bai Sha and the others were staying caught fire... This has never happened before. I have a feeling that something's not right with the Holy Maiden this time."

Gu Mian guessed that this must have been what the little bird said, that the one he burned to death was named Bai Sha.
Then the next sentence appeared at the bottom of the screen.

"Don't worry, the Holy Maiden has come many times before. This time it was just an accident... Wait a moment, then you take some men to carry out their bodies, and with the Holy Maiden's help, we'll have a full stomach..."

Although there was an ellipsis at the end, Gu Mian still managed to guess the content.

Just as I suspected, they were going to target him...

Still full... full my ass!
My aunt only missed seven days this month! Oh my god, am I really a slacker?
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(End of this chapter)