Global Collapse-Chapter 520 - 489: The Love and Hatred Among the First Place_1

Gu Mian initially thought the population of this world was quite sparse, thus only assigning a shabby-looking cameraman to follow him. But as time went on, Gu Mian realized he was mistaken. The production team had only sent a single shabby-looking cameraman because he was the most familiar with the terrain here. If a group of people had come, they might have easily lost their way and gotten lost. This cameraman was deeply familiar with the area, navigating it as if he knew it by heart, even with his eyes closed.

At this point, the sun was starting to dip westward; it was already afternoon. Although this place wasn’t the real world, the pattern of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west hadn’t changed. At some point, a thick fog began to fill the small woods, restricting Gu Mian’s visibility to only about seven or eight meters. If he got lost in here, finding his way again would be very difficult.

At first, the cameraman was quite taciturn. However, he was fervent about filming Gu Mian’s face with his camera. A shy Gu Mian would occasionally take the opportunity to strike the most perfect pose for the camera. Unfortunately, the cameraman didn’t notice Gu Mian secretly posing for the lens. His expression was filled with anticipation and fervor, as if he was waiting for something. This expression lasted until Gu Mian finished looking at Su Xiaocha’s picture and gave his comments. After that, the cameraman’s expression lost its fervor. He looked as if he had been struck by something, his face indescribable. To use a common description from novels, his face held three parts embarrassment, two parts surprise, and five parts incredulity. Making such an expression was quite difficult, but it was probably simpler than the original "three parts coldness, two parts derision, and five parts deep affection."

Gu Mian knew the cameraman wanted to see him look scared and surprised. However, years of honing had made him extremely resilient, and his thought processes typically didn’t align with those of ordinary people. He wouldn’t bat an eye if Su Xiaocha, a stranger to him, were thrown into a latrine pit. Even if Fatty were thrown in, Gu Mian would only remark, To think they could throw someone so fat. Impressive!

Gu Mian’s eccentric mindset obviously annoyed the cameraman. The two stared at each other awkwardly for a while. There was no third person around; if they started fighting, no one would intervene. If no one were there to pull them apart, Gu Mian would certainly take the chance to open his guitar case. Possibly, Gu Mian’s screen time would end right there. Fortunately, the cameraman managed to maintain his professional demeanor and didn’t make a move immediately. But his face now carried a hint of "I’ll get you later," like a grade-school kid waiting until after class to bully a classmate.

Fatty, watching the television screen and worried about Gu Mian, had no clue that in Gu Mian’s mind, he had already been thrown into a latrine pit. At this moment, he was still sincerely concerned about Gu Mian’s safety.

「Let’s leave that aside for now.」

The cameraman soon perked up again. He received a message from the production team on his old-fashioned phone. The message, which Gu Mian couldn’t see, significantly boosted his confidence. It seemed the production team had also regained its confidence after sending the message. Fatty noticed the camera had shifted back to Gu Mian. Gu Mian’s hand was fiddling with the zipper of his guitar case. Fatty’s hair stood on end, and a chill ran down his spine. Thankfully, Gu Mian only touched the zipper and didn’t pull out the item inside to give the cameraman an exclusive performance. Fatty heaved a sigh of relief at this sight. He knew that the instance task was to complete the filming. If Gu Mian directly dealt with the cameraman, the task would surely be impossible to complete. Although Gu Mian’s way of clearing instances was different from most people’s, for safety’s sake, it was better to keep the cameraman alive.

But why did the camera switch back to the Doctor again? Fatty wondered, alert to the woman under the bed while also keeping an eye on the television screen outside the door. In contrast to Fatty, You Si, who was nearby, seemed completely unconcerned about his girlfriend. When clips of "Accompany Me Next Year" were aired, he didn’t show any signs of worry.

Just as Fatty was beside himself with worry for Gu Mian, the man of the house in front of the TV suddenly twisted his neck, his entire face turning to confront them. Fatty was startled by the sudden turn, swallowing hard as he stared at the man’s face. Then, he saw the man’s mouth open and close, and a voice reached Fatty’s ears, "Although you all live in a very impoverished place, you’ve surely watched this show quite a few times."

Indeed, since its inception, Metamorphosis had become the mainstream variety show in the Old World, its ubiquity comparable to the weather forecast in the real world. Fatty couldn’t understand why the man of the house would ask such a question.

Then he heard the man’s mouth continue to speak, "Then you should also know that no matter how difficult the guests are, once they go into this forest, they will completely despair and go crazy. They will beat their chests, stamp their feet, and bang their heads against the ground. Some will even commit suicide in there. So far, there are dozens of bodies inside."

His voice was soft, tinged with a faint smile, but Fatty felt an intense chill. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Players completely despair and go crazy just by entering this forest?

Why? Fatty wanted to ask but didn’t dare to. He had a vague feeling that something was wrong. What horrific thing was hidden in that forest that could make players behave like this? Theoretically, it was impossible for players to truly despair in an instance. Even if they died in an instance, they would resurrect in reality. So, what could make those players end up like that? Could it be...

At this moment, the unfortunate player named "You Beat Me Up For Debt Collection" still had the back of his collar in Xiao Qiao’s grasp. However, compared to his companions lying haphazardly around him, Yao Zhai was already quite lucky. Yao Zhai looked up trembling at Xiao Qiao, at the face that usually only appeared on TV screens. This female celebrity, whom the public unanimously considered a "decorative piece," had smashed them to smithereens.

Although the current scene was surreal, Yao Zhai was still somewhat curious. Yao Zhai carefully craned his neck and asked, "You’re asking me this for someone else, right? Do you have a friend in that instance?"

He found it strange. To his knowledge, there were no communication tools connecting the inside and outside of an instance. But looking at Xiao Qiao, it was clear she was asking on behalf of someone else, and she seemed anxious.

"Yes," Xiao Qiao answered without hesitation.

Yao Zhai became even more curious. What kind of influential friend could make a top celebrity do something that could ruin her image, even personally beating them up? Could the person in the instance be one of her parents...?

Thinking this, Yao Zhai impulsively asked another question, "A very important friend?"

Xiao Qiao bent down, her dark eyes staring directly at him. "If he doesn’t come out, none of you need to live."

Yao Zhai suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He inwardly lamented, cursing the undeserved calamity that had befallen them today.

Then he heard Xiao Qiao’s voice from above, "What else is there to pay attention to?"

Even if I tell you, can you still send a message to the people inside the instance? Cold sweat trickling down his face, Yao Zhai began, "There’s one more thing to note..."

As he spoke, Yao Zhai’s already panicked expression grew even more mournful. "The number one player in that instance... the one sent to the mountainous region for Metamorphosis, the guest voted by the audience as the most popular... I’ve never seen him again..."

A voice came from above, "What do you mean?"

Yao Zhai was sweating profusely. "He... seems to have never come out of the instance. Later... later, I also met another player who had been in that instance. He said... their most popular player didn’t come out either...

"What I mean is... the guest who ranks first in popularity, it seems, will be trapped in the instance forever."

Even guests who were disqualified from filming could leave the instance through suicide. But this didn’t seem to be the case for the most popular guest; for them, suicide meant true death. Regardless of life or death, they would be forever trapped in this world, the Old World.