Global Collapse

Chapter 459 A Heavy-Flavored Rice Bowl [5000 words]

Gu Mian's dream of copying the exam paper in ten minutes and leaving gracefully was shattered.

Meanwhile, Fatty was typing furiously in the "plagiarism group," and Gu Mian realized for the first time how insane Fatty's typing speed was.

[Apang]: Are your proctors dressed like cosplayers too?
[A-Pang]: I don't know why, but I'm a little scared. Do you know what my questions were? I only had two questions. Let me show you my fill-in-the-blank question: "The key to classroom 9501 is in the office on the third floor." What kind of fill-in-the-blank question is that?

Gu Mian felt a strange pang of embarrassment when she looked at the nickname "A-Pang" that Fatty had given her.

Chu Changge has always maintained his original name and surname.

【Chu Changge】: This question means you need to put the key into the lock of classroom 9501.

That makes sense.

Gu Mian also looked at her fill-in-the-blank question, so her question, "There are 104 dead fish in the fish tank in dormitory 4244," meant that he had to put 104 dead fish into the fish tank.

That's a really crazy question.

Now he'll have to worry about where to find dead fish.

By this time, other candidates had already figured out the meaning of the exam paper.

"It means we have to do the questions ourselves, go to the locations in the questions, and make choices... Fill-in-the-blank questions should mean we have to fill in what should be in a certain place."

"Since we still have plenty of time, let's go to the place mentioned in the question together."

No one left the classroom for the time being; everyone was talking in hushed tones, trembling with fear.

The thing called the proctor stood on the platform the whole time, and sometimes it would slowly turn its head under the light. Whenever it twisted its neck, the candidates' already soft voices would drop to almost nothing.

Just then, Gu Mian suddenly heard 007 calling her from behind. She turned around and saw that 007 had already put away her test paper.

"If you need any help, you can come to me, like getting into the girls' dormitory." 007 had obviously seen the words "girls' dormitory" on Gu Mian's exam paper.

Gu Mian shook her head slightly, saying there was no need for that. Although he was indeed a man, procedurally speaking, his gender field was still a question mark, so he should be able to enter the database.

I wonder if the programmer who filled in his gender had a spoonful of brain tissue.

"But there's something I want to ask you," Gu Mian said as she stood up.

As soon as he stood up, he immediately attracted the attention of all the examinees. At this moment, everyone was somewhat afraid of what was on the stage, and they were also considering whether to form teams to discuss this strange event, so no one got up to leave for the time being.

The candidates in the examination room all stared intently at Gu Mian, while some silently observed the reaction of the proctor on the podium.

Seeing the man carrying the guitar walk out of the classroom safely, they breathed a slight sigh of relief. Although the rules said that answers could be found in school, no one dared to make any rash moves with a ghost standing there.

007 immediately followed.

The corridor was dark, and we could only see by the light coming from the classrooms.

At this moment, several individual candidates also came out of other classrooms and headed straight for the stairs, probably to find their teammates in other examination rooms.

After all, in this godforsaken place, no one wants to act alone.

Gu Mian stopped in front of the corridor window: "I want to ask your teammate in the black robe, do you know his name?"

“Xie Bi’an, but his nickname is anonymous in red,” 007 nodded. “I only met him a few days before the dragon boat event. At that time, I was still looking for my parents, and then I ran into him…”

"After he found out I was looking for someone, he told me that there might be some special items that could help me find my parents. He said that if I went into more dungeons and participated in more events, I might be able to get the special items I wanted. I thought about it carefully and it was true, so I came to participate in these events."

It's possible to find someone using special items. The small notebook that Fatty had before could be used to find out a person's specific situation during that time by filling in the time and nickname. Of course, it might also reveal the person's location.

However, this item drops in the "Close Your Eyes When It Gets Dark" dungeon.

There's also Gu Mian's [Cell Phone That Breaks the Dimensional Barrier], which, when used outside of a dungeon, allows you to call the player with the strongest compatibility with the dialer, but can only call players nearby who have a phone or cell phone...

But this thing isn't on him right now. Gu Mian doesn't have an inventory, so special items are usually kept by Fatty and Chu Changge. He doesn't know who has this phone now.

The fat man has a special item called the "Strange Camera," which allows him to photograph an invisible ghost once a day. He no longer needs it after getting the "Everlasting Lamp," so it's currently in Gu Mian's pocket.

Putting all that aside for now, Gu Mian said, "I have a special item shaped like a cell phone. If you use it to make a call, you might be able to contact your parents. But it's not with me right now. You can wait at the school gate for a while after the event. I need to ask who has it first."

007's expression suddenly changed: "Thank you. Actually, I'm quite envious of your relationship. You can hand over special items to them so easily, and even forget about them when you don't need them... You know how hard it is for ordinary players to get special items, especially those useful in dungeons. Players don't easily give special items to others."

Is it difficult? Gu Mian remembered that the fat guy seemed to have used this phone to crack walnuts a few days ago.

He counted the number of special items they had obtained since the start of the game, and found that he couldn't count them all.

However, it seems he didn't call 007 out to count how many special items he had. Gu Mian remembered the important matter: "What kind of person is Xie Bi'an?"

007 thought for a moment: "He's very gentle. He never takes off his hood. I've never even seen him rest. Sometimes he sits for a whole day. Every time I go to his room, he opens the door immediately... As for his background, the other teammates have asked him, but he never says."

Xie Bi'an was always very patient and never lost his temper with anyone or had any disputes with others. Otherwise, 007 wouldn't have been Xie Bi'an's teammate, since his all-black cloak made him look somewhat frightening.

Gu Mian touched her chin. What a strange person.

He asked again, "Do you think Xie Bi'an is a good person?"

007 looked at Gu Mian with some confusion: "I guess... right."

Remembering Chu Changge's words, Gu Mian leaned closer to 007 and said, "Actually, he's not a good person."

Before 007 could react, Gu Mian had already made her escape, leaving her only with her back turned and a "bye-bye."

……

The restaurant is on the fourth floor.

Mingyue and Li Xueqi were lingering at the stairwell, shining their flashlights on the ground beneath their feet. Above them on the wall was a sign indicating the fourth floor.

The entire restaurant was dark, with no lights on, and only flashlights could illuminate the interior.

Li Xueqi is Mingyue's teammate and classmate. They were together when they were rowing the dragon boat. This time, they were both assigned to the exam room on the 3rd floor of Building 12, so they went together.

Building 12 is the closest to the cafeteria, directly opposite the school cafeteria, so they arrived very early. There aren't many students in the cafeteria yet.

"Mingyue, do you really want to go in now? Maybe we should wait until there are more people..." Li Xueqi hesitated, staring at the dark fourth floor. "Besides, I'm a little afraid of running into the proctors."

Mingyue clutched her test paper; she was about to answer a multiple-choice question.

You want to eat the specialty rice bowl on the fourth floor of the restaurant?

[A. Salt and Pepper Rice Bowl] [B. Tomato Rice Bowl]

She has to choose one of them.

Li Xueqi's questions were different from hers, so the two of them decided to finish Mingyue's multiple-choice questions first and then do Li Xueqi's.

“…Okay.” Mingyue stood stiffly at the top of the stairs.

Actually, she didn't want to go directly to the fourth floor of the restaurant, but as soon as she came out of Building 12, she saw a fat man coming out of Building 11 next door... and another person who was covered up very well, but she could recognize him at a glance!

She killed herself!
In the Death Scene instance, Mingyue stared at that expressionless face for a long time before she died, so much so that for the first few days after leaving the instance, every time she closed her eyes, she saw that person's face and the clothes hanger that pierced through her body.

How twisted and insane must someone be to kill a person so expressionlessly, as if it were perfectly natural?

Mingyue was even certain that if Xiao Qiao encountered her again, she would kill her without hesitation, just like before.

She used to hate Xiao Qiao intensely, and after that, that hatred deepened, turning into a more profound loathing and resentment. But when she saw that face again, that heartfelt hatred was unconsciously replaced by a deep fear, causing her to instinctively dart into the restaurant next door.

"If there were a chance to kill her... if there were a chance to kill her..." Mingyue thought to herself, "That would be wonderful."

"Let's go down first." She turned around with a slight tremor and walked down the stairs.

That person should no longer be down there.

Li Xueqi looked at Mingyue cautiously: "What's wrong?"

Mingyue clenched her fists, noticing a thin layer of sweat on her palms: "It's alright, let's go..."

Two girls quietly descended the stairs, each carrying a flashlight; the flashlight beam was the only light on the entire staircase.

The two quickly realized that something was wrong.

I can't go down, I simply can't go down!
"Mingyue, I remember we were on the fourth floor just now. How come we haven't gone down yet after walking for so long?" Li Xueqi shivered as she looked at the endless staircase beneath her feet.

Ten minutes have passed, and they haven't come down the stairs even after walking for a full ten minutes! "What's going on?" Mingyue looked at the endless staircase, then suddenly remembered something and picked up her flashlight to shine on the wall above.

The flashlight illuminated the sign for the fourth floor above their heads. The two women stared wide-eyed at the top of their heads, realizing that they had been on the fourth floor the whole time and had never left.

Li Xueqi swallowed hard as she looked at the dark, gaping door on the fourth floor: "We've been here all along... and why haven't any other players come here yet after all this time?"

Other players should also have exams held in the cafeteria.

But the stairs were completely silent. They didn't hear anything, as if they were the only two people in the entire cafeteria.

There were only the two of them.

"What should we do?" Li Xueqi stared at the staircase that seemed to descend into the darkness, her scalp tingling with fear.

They cautiously tried to go down again, but no matter how many times they went, they always ended up facing the sign for the fourth floor after turning the corner.

“There’s no other way,” Mingyue said, standing on the stairs and looking at the dark doorway on the fourth floor. Behind the massive doorway lay utter darkness, as if it were about to swallow everyone whole. “Now we have no choice but to go in. Maybe once we finish the questions… we can leave this place…”

Li Xueqi swallowed hard and nodded. Although she regretted entering this terrifying restaurant, she had no choice but to go to the fourth floor.

Holding flashlights, the two quietly stepped into the fourth-floor restaurant.

Just then, they suddenly heard footsteps coming from the stairs behind them!
Run! The two of them snapped to attention and ran forward without a second thought.

At that moment, Li Xueqi tripped over something and fell hard to the ground, her flashlight rolling to the side.

When she tried to get up, the footsteps stopped, and then she saw a pair of worn-out shoes in front of her by the light of her flashlight.

……

At this moment, Gu Mian had already arrived on the third floor of the restaurant. Just as he was shining his flashlight and figuring out which way to go, he suddenly heard something hit the ground from above.

The sound was coming from the fourth floor.

He looked up at the ceiling and said, "What the hell are they doing up there?"

However, he didn't have time to care about what was happening above. Gu Mian was looking at the contents of the exam paper and seriously considering which way to go.

"I remember on the left there was a rotating hot pot, chicken pot, rice noodles, spicy hot pot, dumplings, and wontons, and on the right there was beef soup, mutton soup, curry rice, fried chicken, beer, and pork rib soup."

……

"Are you alright?" Li Xueqi heard a voice above her head.

Upon hearing the sound, Li Xueqi immediately looked up and saw a normal face. She then tried to open the player panel of the person in front of her and was relieved to find that the person had a player nickname.

The person in front of me is named Liu Xuan.

Behind Liu Xuan were two other boys, one named Feng Zitao and the other Wang Longxiang.

“We’re here for rice bowls,” Liu Xuan said, helping Li Xueqi up from the ground. “Flavorful rice bowls, are you here too?”

“Yes,” Mingyue had already turned back from the front, “We were trapped on the stairs for a long time. We were so scared when we heard the noise that we ran away.”

“It’s alright,” Liu Xuan took two steps forward, “Let’s go together then.”

The restaurant looked like it had been abandoned for many years; when you shone a flashlight on it, you could see that the tables were covered with a thick layer of dust.

The shop's signboard was so worn it was almost falling off. Behind the food counter, the shop was a dark, dense mass, with bowls stacked irregularly and pots upside down that could be vaguely seen.

The group walked forward for less than a minute before seeing the sign for "Flavorful Rice Bowl".

They heard a gurgling sound and smelled a disgusting, pungent odor.

Looking towards that direction from afar, Mingyue saw a human figure moving behind the glass of the food serving area, with a pot filled with something next to it.

This is her choice.

Choosing between salt and pepper rice or tomato rice, and looking at what's in that pot... do I really still want to eat it?
The group lingered for a while before Liu Xuan and his companions finally stepped forward and spoke to the eerie humanoid figure behind the window: "We'd like a salt and pepper rice bowl."

Seeing that they had made their choices, Mingyue also stepped closer. As soon as she got close, the strange stench rushed into her nostrils. Then she saw the blurry human figure behind the glass approaching, almost touching her face.

"I want a salt and pepper rice bowl!" she said almost immediately.

A plate of foul-smelling, black, mushy stuff was placed in front of her. Mingyue forced herself to eat it and carried it to the dining table, sitting down next to Liu Xuan. Li Xueqi sat opposite Mingyue; this wasn't her choice, so of course she wouldn't ask for a rice bowl.

At this moment, Liu Xuan and the other two were also facing the plate in front of them, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Mingyue clutched her exam paper, saying she wanted to eat, but not that she wanted to finish it.

She would stop immediately whenever a multiple-choice question appeared on the test paper. As she thought this, Mingyue grabbed a little food from the plate and brought it to her mouth.

"Ugh—" No, it's still too disgusting!
She regretted coming to this event; not only did she run into the person who killed her, but she also had to eat this disgusting stuff.

Fortunately, there were people around her eating with her, which made her feel relatively balanced.

As she thought about it, she glanced at Liu Xuan, who was eating next to her.

Hmm? He...

Liu Xuan had somehow picked up a plate and was frantically stuffing food into his mouth with one hand, making smacking noises as he chewed. Thick, black liquid covered almost the entire lower half of his face.

Mingyue suddenly felt a chill down her spine, and her fingers began to tremble.

The other two are the same!
They were all frantically eating what was on their plates!

Li Xueqi seemed to have noticed something was wrong a long time ago. She stared stiffly at the three people next to her, not daring to move her head.

Just then, Liu Xuan suddenly stopped moving.

He turned his head, staring wide-eyed at Mingyue: "Why aren't you eating?"

The other two stopped what they were doing and turned around: "Why aren't you eating?"

Fear instantly spread throughout my body.

run!
Li Xueqi grabbed Mingyue and ran desperately towards the stairs.

After recovering, Mingyue sprinted forward, overtaking Li Xueqi. The two grabbed each other's hands and ran wildly on the fourth floor.

A rustling sound came from behind. Mingyue looked back and saw three people following them closely in the darkness with strange movements.

But before she could run far, the sound behind her disappeared. Mingyue turned around in surprise and saw that the three human figures behind her had vanished.

Li Xueqi, who was behind her, also disappeared.

At this moment, she was only holding a broken hand.

"Where is Li Xueqi?" Mingyue stared blankly at the severed hand in her hand.

Just then, a faint sound reached her ears. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a familiar head through the food serving window.

……

Gu Mian chose the third floor, on the east side, which is the side with the rotating hot pot.

He missed the food at the school, but the cafeteria seemed completely different from before. There was no familiar sign, only a crumbling iron frame and a dilapidated window.

Just as Gu Mian stepped into the East District, multiple-choice questions were automatically filled in on the test paper.

During this time, there was a constant clanging and banging upstairs, as if a world war was raging.

For some reason, it seemed like he was the only person on this floor. Gu Mian walked eastward along the window for a minute and finally saw something that could move—a person who looked like he was burned and oozing pus.

It's behind a window, and the sign above it reads "Mixed Meat Soup".

Gu Mian took two steps to the window, almost pressing her face against the glass: "Is there anything to eat?"

Thank you so much for the generous donation from Xuebaixue! (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
——
Below is a short skit featuring Gu Mian and the organizers:
"Boss, you've been keeping Gu Mian in the dungeon for three years now!"

"Is he dead?"

"They didn't die, but the entire instance collapsed."


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(End of this chapter)