Global Collapse-Chapter 540 - 509: Shooting the Head with a Revolver_1

Chapter 540: Chapter 509: Shooting the Head with a Revolver_1

By the time Gu Mian infiltrated Lianhua University, Xiao Qiao had already woken up.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw a classical chandelier hanging above her head; if it fell, it could kill someone. To the side was a wooden wardrobe, its doors wide open. On the bottom shelf lay a jumble of red dresses, evidently rummaged through carelessly. Following the wall, she saw an open door offering a clear view into the living room from her bed. With no power card inserted, the room was dim. However, there was a photo album on the bedside table. Xiao Qiao fumbled for it, flipped it open, and saw a child who bore a striking resemblance to Gu Mian. She then realized she was in Gu Mian’s home.

Lainian, startled awake in the middle of the night, found she couldn’t fall back asleep. She glanced at the clock on the wall—it was two-thirty in the morning. Her face feeling a bit stiff, Lainian quietly left her room and stepped into the hallway. The June weather was neither cold nor hot; the night air was slightly biting but tolerable. Wind gusted through the wide-open windows into the hallway, sweeping up her hair. The moon was bright that night, its silvery light making the deserted hallway seem particularly empty and serene. She leaned against the open window and looked out. The street below was chaotic, cluttered with abandoned vehicles. The once-orderly road had become a car junkyard. Moonlight also blanketed the derelict street, adding a touch of tranquility.

Just as Lainian was staring out the window in a daze, the sound of footsteps suddenly reached her ears. She straightened up, trying to discern the direction of the sound, then looked towards the stairs. Someone’s coming downstairs?

Indeed, after a few seconds, she saw Xiao Qiao’s figure. Although Xiao Qiao had changed clothes, Lainian could still recognize her. Xiao Qiao seemed not to have noticed Lainian and walked straight past the fourth floor, heading downstairs. Curious, Lainian took a few steps forward, thought for two seconds, and then followed.

Xiao Qiao was headed straight for Liu Ruyan’s room. From afar, Lainian saw the celebrity knock on Liu Ruyan’s door. After knocking for a while with no answer, Xiao Qiao seemed to lose patience. Her fingers, once gently tapping, clenched into a fist, and she began to pound on the door. The dull THUDDING echoed through the night. Lainian remembered that the first time she entered an instance and hid in a room, the ghost outside had knocked on the door just like that. The pounding made Lainian’s heart leap into her throat.

As if finally roused by the noise, Liu Ruyan’s door suddenly opened. From a distance, Lainian watched the landlady standing in the doorway. Her face didn’t look good; she seemed pale and as if she had just woken up. Seeing Liu Ruyan open the door, Xiao Qiao leaped at her without a word.

"What are you doing?" Liu Ruyan exclaimed, surprised. She apparently hadn’t expected Xiao Qiao to act this way.

Xiao Qiao, like a monkey, hooked her arms around Liu Ruyan’s neck in a comical motion. She tilted her head up, stared at Liu Ruyan’s chin for a long moment, then enunciated clearly, "Something’s off."

With that, she withdrew her hands and seemed a little more normal.

Before Lainian could fully process what Xiao Qiao meant, Xiao Qiao turned and headed for the stairs. Feeling a pang of guilt, Lainian immediately spun around and scampered up the stairs.

「Meanwhile, Gu Mian and the others had arrived near the statue at Lianhua University.」

This gigantic trophy hadn’t fallen during the earthquake; however, the ground around it had collapsed quite a bit. Fatty worried he might fall through as they walked on it. The underground entrance had caved in, not even leaving a small crack. Unless they brought in an excavator, it would be impossible to clear a path.

"Makes sense," Fatty mumbled, eyeing the completely blocked entrance. "Doctor, when we burst out in the Spirit Car, the stairs collapsed. With such a huge commotion, it would be truly bizarre if the entrance hadn’t caved in too."

Even if the entrance were still accessible, Gu Mian couldn’t risk another trip. He might step inside only to have it collapse right behind him.

"Besides the underground area, the cafeteria here is also different from before," Gu Mian continued. "I think it probably merged with a school cafeteria from the Second World."

According to the school badge Gu Mian had acquired, the school that fused with Lianhua University was named Songcheng College.

Gu Mian glanced at Chu Changge behind him. "Was the place you were born located under a school?"

Chu Changge shook his head faintly. "No, it was beneath a plain."

It appeared this place was used to dispose of failed experimental subjects. Now, those failed subjects from the Second World were being transported from the Low-Dimensional World to reality.

"Perhaps this event was just an experiment," Gu Mian gazed at the cracks in the ground. "The Second World encroached on parts of reality but didn’t take the opportunity to send high-level NPCs. They probably weren’t sure if this encroachment would succeed before the event started."

At that, Fatty chimed in, "Or perhaps they didn’t intend to encroach upon reality in the first place, but since you caused an earthquake halfway through the event, Doctor, it triggered a bug."

"Would you just shut up?" Gu Mian slapped Fatty on the head and started heading towards the cafeteria.

"But I have a question," Gu Mian frowned. "If it’s so difficult for people like you, Chu Changge, to sneak from the Low-Dimensional World to the high-dimensional world—so much so that only one person can escape from an entire world—then why can those ticket sellers come to reality so easily?"

The ticket sellers all came from the Low-Dimensional World, and in large groups. This contradicted what Chu Changge said about the difficulty of infiltration.

Before Chu Changge could speak, Mr. Green interjected, "It’s quite simple. To use an analogy, your real world and our Low-Dimensional World are like two countries on bad terms, constantly on high alert against spies. People like Chu Changge are the spies who managed to infiltrate your world with great difficulty.

"But now, the relationship between the two countries has changed..."

Fatty poked his head out again. "Improved? Are the people of the two countries having friendly exchanges in each other’s nations now?"

"Improved, my ass!" Mr. Green retorted loudly. "Your country built a high-altitude cannon and blasted a hole in our border! Now people from your side are constantly pouring into ours through that gap..."

A vivid analogy: he was talking about Earth initiating the Global Game, with players continuously flooding into the Low-Dimensional World.

"Since the war started, we had no choice but to build more strongholds and deploy more guards to defend the gap. The strongholds are the ticket booths, and the guards are the ticket sellers. But unlike spies, these guards can’t move freely; they have significant restrictions. Do you understand now?"

"What about the supermarkets?" Gu Mian asked. "The cashiers in the supermarkets should also be NPCs from your Low-Dimensional World, right?"

"The supermarkets were built by Earth, and the cashiers are prisoners captured by Earth," Mr. Green sighed deeply, as if mourning for these prisoners.

To summarize, Earth, for some unknown reason, suddenly launched the Global Game, breaching the entrance to the Low-Dimensional World. The Low-Dimensional World then established strongholds at this breach. The rules of the Global Game were jointly formulated by both sides, mutually restricting each other.

"Historian" Wang Xianzhi spoke up again, "Even I, as a history student, know that conflicts between two countries always have a trigger. So why did Earth decide to attack the Low-Dimensional World this time?"

As they spoke, the group arrived at the cafeteria entrance. The ground was covered in cracks, making it hard to find a stable spot. The cafeteria in front of them had also partially caved in due to the collapses. Gu Mian couldn’t help but suspect the building would immediately give way if he stepped inside.

Mr. Green, while answering Fatty’s question, surreptitiously rolled his eyes at Gu Mian. "For that, you’ll have to ask your omnipotent Doctor..."

But before he could finish his sentence, Gu Mian grabbed him.

Mr. Green’s voice caught in his throat, his hat even tilting askew in his panic. "I... I just got sand in my eyes!"

Even if I can’t go in, we have our omnipotent Mr. Green-brand drone!

Thinking this, Gu Mian pushed Mr. Green forward and thrust Fatty’s [Strange Camera] into his hands. "You’re an NPC; you’re not afraid of dying. Go in and take some photos for us, why don’t you?"

At this point, he suddenly stopped. Just as Fatty thought Gu Mian had a pang of conscience and wouldn’t oppress Mr. Green further, Gu Mian continued, "Take plenty of photos of the third floor. Get all those windows. Don’t come out until you have at least a hundred pictures."

As he spoke, he gave a hard shove, and Mr. Green, ever bold enough to roll his eyes at Gu Mian, was pushed into the cafeteria’s dark doorway. It took several seconds for the host to react. Fatty heard a barely audible curse from inside.

Eventually, Mr. Green dutifully ascended the stairs.

As his footsteps receded, Fatty asked curiously, "Doctor, why did you make him photograph the third floor of the cafeteria?"

Gu Mian looked up at the pitch-dark windows of the third floor. "I visited the third floor of the cafeteria during the event. Back then, all the shops on that entire floor were different from before. Now that the event is over, if the cafeteria shops haven’t reverted, it means a part of this school has been completely encroached upon by the Second World."

This implied that the Low-Dimensional World was beginning to possess the ability to encroach upon reality. It also meant that Earth had lost its advantage in this interdimensional conflict.

Fatty nodded, only half-understanding, then mused, "Doctor, you heard him earlier, right? Why did Mr. Green imply that you’re the trigger?"

"How would I know," Gu Mian replied quite frankly. "Perhaps my long-lost parents might know why."

Ever since Gu Mian could remember, he had been encountering "accidents" arranged by Earth. He reasonably suspected that Earth, realizing it couldn’t kill him, had angrily provoked a war against the Low-Dimensional World out of frustration. Moreover, according to Chu Changge, people like them were the best chosen by the Low-Dimensional World and sent to reality to protect Gu Mian.

In that case...

Gu Mian withdrew his gaze from the third floor. Could I be a living bomb planted on Earth by the Low-Dimensional World?

The Low-Dimensional World plants a bomb on Earth and waits gleefully for Gu Mian to explode. Unexpectedly, Earth angrily initiates the Global Game, and Gu Mian gets pushed around as a result. It’s like Russian roulette: whoever the bullet lands on is finished.

Mr. Green returned quickly, apparently also afraid of being buried by the precarious building.

"Here, for you," he reluctantly thrust the camera into Gu Mian’s hands. "I’ve photographed everything."

Gu Mian looked down at the camera screen. Indeed, the third floor was still the same as during the event; it hadn’t reverted to its previous state.

It seemed Earth was already at a disadvantage in this game.