Global Collapse

The screams of the passerby in despair could still be heard from not too far away. Judging from the commotion, it sounded like he had rolled around on the ground a few times. So, I, the best in the world, know for sure that this hand is definitely not his.

A cold, slightly stiff sensation came from his hand; he knew it was the hand of a dead man.

Without pausing to savor the sensation for long, I managed to shakily remove my hand from the other, icy one.

How could a corpse suddenly appear? Is there anyone else in this room besides me and that random passerby? Because so many unexpected things have happened in this instance, he's become somewhat numb.

He no longer cared about the sudden appearance of the corpse in the room; he only wanted to understand what had happened and whether he could survive.

"It's the mentally challenged group." Just as he was lost in thought about his future, which seemed so predictable, he suddenly heard a woman's voice coming from the darkness.

The voice sounded young and calm.

There was no time to think about why there was another person. Compared to the passerby who was collapsing and roaring next to him and the mysterious corpse at his feet that was full of eerie energy, this newcomer was obviously more normal, even though the other party seemed to be saying that he was an idiot.

I immediately stood up, looking around in the direction the voice came from, even though I couldn't see anything: "Who? Who are you? What do you mean by 'the idiot group'?"

But the voice did not answer him.

He only heard footsteps coming from that direction, as if the person making the sound was leaving.

Hearing the other person's unhurried footsteps, I cursed inwardly.

Damn it! Why does this person seem to be able to see the ground clearly in the dark?!
He hesitated for a moment, then followed the sound of footsteps, tripping over a corpse at his feet as he did so.

In fact, Anzhi Tinglan's vision was completely dark, and she couldn't see anything at all.

But she was prepared, knowing what might happen after a set of pieces had been in the square for ten minutes, so she didn't panic when everything went dark after ten minutes.

She tried to take out a flashlight to illuminate the surrounding darkness, but found that she couldn't open her inventory.

"Other groups can stay in the grid for more than ten minutes without any problems, but this group is the only one experiencing this situation. It's somewhat similar to the situation during the previous dungeon maintenance, where the panel couldn't be opened and no special items could be used. However, the dungeon wasn't this dark during the previous maintenance."

Then the ground beneath her feet began to shake, and she heard her junior sister's corpse roll away with a gurgling sound due to the shaking. It rolled a long way until she could no longer hear the sound of the corpse rolling.

As the corpse rolled without encountering any obstacles, Anzhi Tinglan realized that the wall that had been blocking her had disappeared.

The treasure chest was on the left side of the starting room, and her first instinct was to walk over there to get the treasure chest in the left room.

She had a great sense of direction and could easily figure out which way to go based on her memory, but she still couldn't find the treasure chest.

She walked a little further and then heard the ghostly cries of a mentally challenged man coming from ahead.

Without a doubt, the sound must have come from Group Two, and the direction was right. This ghostly scream also matched An Zhitinglan's stereotype of Group Two.

Anzhi Tinglan didn't want to pay too much attention to the people in this group, so she turned around and walked in another direction.

She hadn't walked far when she bumped into another person.

Both of them were very careful and walked silently until they bumped into each other, only then realizing there was another person on the other side.

Ironically, after they bumped into each other, they maintained their previous principle of being cautious and silent, quickly taking a few steps back and remaining silent in the darkness, not making a sound at all, as if whoever made a sound first would be the first to have their position revealed and then be attacked.

Guigu waited in the darkness for a while, listening to the sounds around him.

But the other person seemed to be just as determined as him, not making a sound first, and even seemed to have stopped breathing.

Guigu also noticed that the surrounding walls had disappeared shortly after the lights were turned off. Although he didn't know what had happened, he didn't think anything would be surprising with Gu Mian there. He quickly adjusted to the darkness and groped his way towards them, wanting to find Hao Laoshi and Gu Mian. He wanted to ensure Hao Laoshi's safety and also catch up with his old friend Gu Mian, whom he hadn't seen for many years.

Having determined the general direction, he began to walk in this direction.

Unexpectedly, before I even met the person I was looking for, I bumped into a guy who didn't say a word.

He knew this person couldn't possibly be Hao Laoshi or Gu Mian. Hao Laoshi, needless to say, didn't have such a cautious nature. If he bumped into someone, he would most likely first shout "Ah!" then apologize, introduce himself, and ask who the other person was. Gu Mian, on the other hand, didn't need to be so cautious.

Therefore, Guigu concluded that this person was neither Hao Laoshi nor Gu Mian, but a stranger he did not know.

The opponent seems to be coming from Group Two, but their cautious and calm personality doesn't seem like that of someone from Group Two; they seem more like a player from Group One or Group Three.

After more than a dozen rounds of the game, Guigu was very impressed with the intellect of the two groups of players. Watching their style of crushing the other groups, Guigu would sometimes vaguely recall Hanshan.

Although the three groups of players had planned to kill him, their wisdom and decisiveness were undeniable.

Who exactly is the other party?
If it's a player in the same group, that's fine; a friend of a friend is a friend, and they might even be someone he knows.

Guigu thought that the chess player in Gu Mian's group might be the man with glasses. That man's temperament was somewhat similar to Hanshan's, and his name was often listed together with Gu Mian's in the dungeon maintenance announcements.

But if it's three groups of players...

Guigu slowly reached for the short sword tucked behind his waist. He had kept this sword tucked behind his waist ever since an accident.

The knife is useless against the ghosts in the dungeon; it's for defending against people.

Just as he reached for the dagger behind his waist, he suddenly heard voices behind him.

"Miss Liu... don't walk so fast, I can't see where you are..."

Guigu's head twitched slightly; it was Hao Laoshi's voice!
That Miss Liu should be the other pawn in the group that was always with Hao Laoshi before. She's the one who was called the pretty woman on the pen-shaped real-time repeater. Now the two of them are together, but is Gu Mian not here?
Then he heard a woman's voice behind him: "I told you to just stay where you are. If you fall and hurt yourself, your chess players will be worried."

"After it got dark, Gu Mian suddenly disappeared, and I was too scared to stay there alone..."

Guigu was caught off guard when he heard the woman's voice talking about him, and then he was caught off guard when he heard Gu Mian's name.

However, judging from Hao Laoshi's words, he seems to be quite familiar with Gu Mian. Has Hao Laoshi become that familiar with Gu Mian after only spending such a short time together in this instance? He feels unsafe if he's not by Gu Mian's side.

Guigu was somewhat stunned as he thought about it. Moreover, judging from their conversation, Hao Laoshi had obviously told Gu Mian and the woman about his existence. Judging from the woman's voice, it seemed that she already knew quite a bit about him. Guigu knew Hao Laoshi's personality. Although Hao Laoshi was honest, he wasn't completely empty-headed. He would never casually reveal his information to a stranger he had only recently met and couldn't discern their intentions.

He felt that Hao Laoshi was getting a little too familiar with the two chess pieces in his group.

Just as Guigu was pondering, he suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps.

The sound came from the direction of the person who had bumped into me earlier. The footsteps grew fainter and fainter until they were far away from him.

For some reason, the person who had been keeping quiet suddenly left quickly, and their footsteps sounded like they were in a hurry.

What happened? Guigu wondered. Could it be that the other party heard two unfamiliar voices and mistook them for his helpers?
"Someone's here." The footsteps clearly attracted the attention of others as well. The beautiful woman's voice suddenly turned cold, and then Guigu heard the sound of clothes rustling, as if the person had turned their body in this direction.

"Is that Gu Mian?" Hao Laoshi's voice followed, though it was much softer than before.

"It's me," Guigu said in the darkness.

Liu Ruyan didn't recognize the voice, but the other person's reply made it seem as if she should know him. Soon, Liu Ruyan realized that the reply wasn't meant for her, because Hao Laoshi behind her shouted "Mr. Gu" after hearing the voice and then excitedly ran over.

She knew that "Mr. Gu" was Hao Laoshi's affectionate nickname for the four groups of chess players, whom he called "the one who makes Guiguzi so angry."

So this is where the four groups of chess players are. Liu Ruyan didn't expect to see the four groups of chess players in this instance. However, it can hardly be called "seeing" them now, as it's pitch black all around and everyone can only chat a few words without being able to see each other.

Hao Laoshi may have run in a slightly off-center position. Liu Ruyan heard him run forward for quite a while without touching Guiguzi. Then she heard Hao Laoshi stop, and his questioning voice came from the darkness: "Mr. Gu, where are you?"

"I'm here, right here," Guigu's voice rang out in the darkness, guiding Hao Laoshi.

Hearing Guigu's voice, Liu Ruyan took a few steps toward him.

She figured that since the four groups of chess players were still there, the one who ran away earlier must have been someone else, and not 007. 007 would recognize her voice and wouldn't turn and run away upon hearing it.

"Are you Gu Mian's friend?" Just as Liu Ruyan was wondering who the person who had just run away was, she heard Gui Gu's voice coming from ahead. It was clear that the words were being spoken to her.

She paused for a few seconds without answering, then asked in return, "Did you already know he was in this instance?"

Hao Laoshi mentioned Gu Mian when he was talking to her, but Gui Gu didn't seem to have just found out that Gu Mian was in this instance, and didn't show any surprise at all.

Moreover, Hao Laoshi told them that Guigu had a special item called "pen-shaped real-time repeater," and she thought that Guigu probably already knew that Gu Mian was a pawn through that special item.

“Yes, I have a special item called ‘pen-shaped real-time repeater’. Gu Mian has seen it before, but it wasn’t mine when Gu Mian saw it last time…” Gui Gu paused for a while before continuing, “I learned that Gu Mian was in this instance through that special item. I trust his character, so I let Hao Laoshi stay with you. Hao Laoshi should have told you about my situation, right?”

“I’ve already said it, I’ve already said it, Mr. Gu, you don’t need to introduce yourself anymore. Gu Mian said she knew you after she found out that you were our chess player. I really didn’t expect that you knew Gu Mian before that.” Hao Laoshi’s voice came at the right time.

Guigu turned to look in the direction from which Hao Laoshi's voice came, though all he could see was darkness: "Did you and Gu Mian already know each other?"

Hao Laoshi nodded, but stopped abruptly after realizing that the other party couldn't see his movements: "We've been matched before, several times in fact."

Guigu chuckled twice: "You guys actually know each other? Looks like everyone in this instance is an acquaintance."

After chuckling twice, he asked again, "I heard you say Gu Mian is missing?"

Although he had only spent a short time with Gu Mian, Gui Gu genuinely missed him. The last time he was with Gu Mian, everyone around him was still there. If he saw Gu Mian again, he thought he would probably find that feeling again, like when everyone was still around.

Just like the snacks we couldn't forget in our childhood, we may have forgotten how much we liked and longed for them as adults. But when we taste them again, the anticipation and longing of our childhood will explode in our hearts again, as if we are still the children who looked forward to every day and dreamed of a bright future.

Gu Mian disappeared immediately after the instance went dark. Liu Ruyan knew that Gu Mian had probably been taken away by the evil god, but she had nothing to say to Guigu.

The other party was just a stranger to her, and she didn't need to have too much in-depth communication with Guigu.

She immediately changed the subject: "Was that person who left in such a hurry just now also an acquaintance?"

After hearing Liu Ruyan's words, Guigu knew that she probably didn't want to tell him too much. In the past, he would have relentlessly pressed her to tell him everything she knew so that she could cooperate with his work.

but now……

Guigu was silent for a moment before picking up where Liu Ruyan left off: “It didn’t seem like an acquaintance. I bumped into it while walking. I thought it was one of the chess players from your group.”

“It’s not our chess player.” Liu Ruyan knew the other party definitely wasn’t 007. “But you guys are really quiet, listening to me and Hao Laoshi talk without saying a word. This tacit understanding makes me think you’re in cahoots.”

Guigu calmly said, "We are all very cautious and unwilling to make a sound and reveal our location first. After hearing that you were coming, we probably thought you were my helpers, so we left in a hurry."

"So cautious, they definitely aren't those brainless people from Group Two." Although Group Two's previous decision to sacrifice a piece salvaged their image a little, Liu Ruyan's general impression of Group Two was still that of brainless idiots. She quickly determined the person who had just left using the process of elimination, "It's the player from Group Three."

Speaking of the three groups of chess players, Liu Ruyan thought of Ren Leshan. Gu Mian had previously suspected that the three groups of chess players might be Ren Leshan, and 007 probably guessed the same thing. She also knew about the grudge between Ren Leshan and 007. Now that the wall between the rooms has disappeared, 007 should take the initiative to go to the direction of the three groups to find Ren Leshan.

The three groups of chess players leaving in a hurry just now didn't necessarily think that Guigu's helpers had arrived, but rather because they heard the name "Gu Mian".

Anzhi Tinglan was unaware that she was being suspected of being someone else, but she did leave in a hurry because she heard the name Gu Mian.

The impression Gu Mian left on her in the dating reality show was still there. This person was too unruly, and she instinctively wanted to stay away from this kind of person since she had no control over them. She felt that someone who didn't follow any rules might jump up and kill her at any moment, which is why she left in a hurry, not even controlling the force of her steps.

"It really is him," An Zhitinglan thought to herself as she walked away from the three people. At this moment, she slowed her pace to try not to make a sound. When she was observing the chessboard, she felt that the style of a group of pieces seemed familiar, and she had also thought of Gu Mian.

However, the set of chess pieces in this instance was even more disorderly than Gu Mian in her memory, so she could only suspect it and could not be completely certain.

Now it's all settled; it's absolutely certain that Gu Mian is the key player. We need to get away from those people as quickly as possible. Although she doesn't know exactly what happened in this instance, An Zhitinglan knows she'll probably receive compensation after she leaves.

Just as she was thinking and moving away from those people, another person bumped into her by sheer coincidence.

History always repeats itself. This time, the two of them acted silently, and after bumping into each other, they tacitly took a few steps back and then fell into an eerie silence.

This time, it seemed she bumped into a woman, An Zhitinglan thought to herself. (End of Chapter)