Global Collapse-Chapter 551 - 519: See How Big And Round This Moon Is_1

Chapter 551: Chapter 519: See How Big And Round This Moon Is_1

"Indeed. That’s just like me."

Gu Mian had already seen the few people rushing out of the residential community and had also noticed Cang Yue striding over.

He also happened to catch, in his peripheral vision, the enigmatic expression on her face as she spoke: a mixture of relief from just escaping danger and an anger akin to discovering a cheating husband.

Though such a description might not be perfectly accurate, it was definitely anger.

On the other end, the customer service representative seemed desperate to stop dealing with this lunatic. Fortunately, Gu Mian ended the call at the right moment.

"I don’t have any other questions."

"Then, sir, do you need us to call a taxi for you?" the person on the other end asked, maintaining her professional composure to the very last.

"Yes, a large one, please."

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, she replied with a quick "Alright" and swiftly hung up. It was clear she’d been wanting to do that for a long time.

"So, what exactly are you doing?" Cang Yue stood outside the phone booth, panting heavily, and glared at Gu Mian with all her might.

Although these players had all enhanced their bodies using Attribute Points, the instances yielded too few points. Moreover, players had allocated these meager resources haphazardly, so most hadn’t significantly improved their physical stamina.

Gu Mian hung up and turned to look at Cang Yue outside the glass door.

A turn of his head revealed the community’s main gate, which offered little security. The other players were congregated there, bent over, clutching their knees, and gasping for air; they clearly had just experienced a frantic escape.

Zhao Shuang, who had no experience fleeing, looked ready to collapse. Keke was supporting her to keep her upright, her face flushed red.

Fortunately, this residential community was quite remote with few residents. The gatekeeper was also perpetually slacking off somewhere, so no one witnessed their terrified state.

Observing the scene before him, Gu Mian concluded, "You were chased by ghosts?"

Cang Yue’s brow twitched. She couldn’t comprehend why this person described "you were chased by ghosts" so casually and matter-of-factly, as if he were remarking, ’Look how big and round the moon is.’

"Indeed, we were almost chased by ghosts," Cang Yue exhaled deeply. "Luckily, they didn’t actually do anything... You still haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?"

Gu Mian pushed open the drafty glass door and stepped out, the wind causing his coat to rustle.

"It’s not like I sent the ghosts after you. Why are you glaring at me like that?" He took a few steps toward the community entrance. "You can’t just dump all your anger on me because you were scared by ghosts and I wasn’t, can you?"

That was indeed true, and Cang Yue understood it.

But they had just endured a perilous escape. Turning around only to see Gu Mian nonchalantly making a phone call in the booth naturally stirred feelings of imbalance and, consequently, anger.

"But you still haven’t answered my question." Cang Yue calmed herself; her breathing was no longer as ragged. "Who were you calling?"

Gu Mian’s status was already peculiar. For him to be calling someone immediately upon entering the instance had naturally caught Cang Yue’s attention.

Logically, players just entering an instance should be completely clueless about it and shouldn’t be conversing so familiarly with someone outside the player group. Cang Yue couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some conspiracy surrounding this person.

"Taxi customer service. I just called for a taxi." Gu Mian pointed to the landline phone in the booth.

Following his gesture, Cang Yue saw a "Call Taxi" button on the lower left corner of the phone, different from phone booths in the real world.

Next to the landline phone lay a newspaper that looked recently browsed. The bold headline "Fenshan Mountain Vehicle Accident" was printed on it, along with headshots of those who had vanished without a trace—neither seen alive nor their bodies found. Gu Mian must have read this newspaper during his time in the booth.

Gu Mian glanced at Zhao Shuang, who was being supported by Keke. "Since you brought her out, you must have planned your next move. You need to call for a ride; you’re not planning to spend the night at the gate, are you?"

He spoke with such conviction and righteousness that Cang Yue felt too embarrassed to say much more.

She had indeed considered actively seeking a way out of this instance. The way out of this instance was so obvious it made her itch to stab Zhao Shuang to death right then and there.

Not long ago, the person she had wanted to stab was Gu Mian.

Xia Jianren, having regained his composure, walked over. He glanced at Cang Yue, then at Gu Mian. "You haven’t been fiddling with this phone by yourself ever since you left the house, have you?"

This question was directed at Gu Mian.

Gu Mian nodded honestly. "Yes, I’ve been here the whole time."

"Aren’t you scared?" Xia Jianren’s expression was somewhat cryptic. Before the death protection mechanism was deactivated, he had indeed seen some daring players, but their courage usually manifested only after danger had struck.

He had never before encountered a player so audacious as to actively seek out danger.

Fiddling with a phone booth alone in the dead of night, in an instance where real death could occur, was practically a death wish!

Gu Mian looked at Xia Jianren, whose face was still slightly flushed, fiddled with the strap of his guitar case, and said without a hint of sincerity, "Scared me to death."

Xia Jianren’s eyebrow twitched. This person didn’t look "scared to death" in the slightest.

"So, you’ve decided to explore the mysteries of the instance with Zhao Shuang?" Gu Mian asked them.

Xia Jianren looked at Cang Yue in bewilderment. "When did we decide that?"

Cang Yue wiped her forehead. "Well, I think this instance might be rather simple. Instead of hiding and leaving our lives in the instance’s hands, why not start from an easier angle..."

"But your theory could be completely wrong!" Xia Jianren lowered his voice as he spoke, as if afraid Zhao Shuang in the distance might overhear. "What if stabbing Zhao Shuang isn’t the way out but a path to death? What if the ghosts not only have no feud with Zhao Shuang but actually get along well with her? If you stab her, wouldn’t we be done for?"

Of course, ghosts and humans getting along well was highly unlikely; Xia Jianren was merely providing a hypothetical example.

"That’s why I didn’t stab her on the spot!" As Cang Yue spoke, she shifted, allowing Gu Mian to see the fruit knife hidden in her pocket. He silently took a few steps back, wary that the person before him might suddenly snap.

Looking at the fruit knife in Cang Yue’s pocket, Gu Mian couldn’t help but remark, "You really are something."

Cang Yue found those words somewhat familiar, as if she had said them herself not long ago.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on such things. She pressed down on the fruit knife in her pocket. "I also considered that such an obvious way out might be a trap set by the instance, so I didn’t act immediately. Actually, it’s quite simple to find out if this is the way out: we just need to help Zhao Shuang recover her memories from that day..."

Wang Chuan had, at some point, also joined them. Gu Mian had already retreated several steps, distancing himself from this group of players, just in case someone got any bright ideas about doing something to him.

Fortunately, no one had acted rashly yet.

Wang Chuan, who had just arrived, strongly agreed with Cang Yue’s statement. "Yes, I think since this is the first instance players have participated in that involves real death, the instance’s difficulty might have decreased. There has to be a grace period for players. Killing Zhao Shuang is very likely the way out of the instance. But we still need to be cautious. As long as we help Zhao Shuang regain her memory of that day, we’ll know if this way out is real or fake."

The instance’s name was Amnesia; it was clear this instance was intricately linked to what Zhao Shuang had forgotten from the day of the incident.

Whether her colleagues’ deaths were due to Zhao Shuang could be determined if she remembered what actually happened that day, which would confirm the way out of the instance.

Xia Jianren stared wide-eyed at Cang Yue. "That’s not what you said when we were in the room earlier! What happened to not courting death?"

"This might not necessarily be courting death." Cang Yue kept her hand on the fruit knife in her pocket and looked towards Zhao Shuang, who was being supported by Keke in the distance. "If she really is the way out, isn’t killing her simpler than struggling in the instance for thirty-six hours?"

Everyone present had struggled through numerous horror instances; naturally, they wouldn’t feel compassion for an NPC or hesitate to kill one.

"Alright, if you all want to find the way out, I’ll go with you." Xia Jianren then looked at Gu Mian. "Do you also agree with Cang Yue’s plan to help Zhao Shuang recover her memory?"

Gu Mian nodded slightly. "I was originally planning to stick by Zhao Shuang anyway. If it’s on your way, you can come along."

Earlier, he had asked the operator about locations and variety shows in other instances and had gotten a clue about a Sweet Manor in the neighboring city. If it wasn’t just a coincidence of names, then it meant this instance was interconnected with certain other instances. Perhaps he could pry more clues from the NPCs; he had been targeting Zhao Shuang from the start.

"Recovering her memory shouldn’t be too difficult. If we stimulate her with things from the past, she might suddenly remember," Wang Chuan said. "Also, I remember the news report said there were thirty-eight people on the bus on October 1st, but only thirty bodies were found. Besides Zhao Shuang, seven others are unaccounted for. I guess they’re most likely still alive. If we can find these seven, we might make a significant breakthrough. Even if Zhao Shuang really can’t remember, these seven might know what happened that day."

"You’re not thinking of taking Zhao Shuang to Fenshan Mountain right now to recall her past, are you?" Xia Jianren pursed his lips. "I think going there in the middle of the night is a bit too dangerous."

Cang Yue shook her head. "No rush. We can go to their company first. These people spent more time at the company than in the employee dormitories when they were alive. We might find some important clues there, and the company isn’t far from here..."

Just as Cang Yue was speaking, a van approached from the distance and screeched to a halt in front of them.

The window rolled down slowly, revealing the driver’s face. "You called for a cab?"

Gu Mian nodded.

There were six of them, so Gu Mian had specifically requested a larger vehicle when he called.

And just like that, a van had arrived.

They all climbed into the van and sat down. In the back row, Xia Jianren was speaking quietly with Wang Chuan, "Are we going to the company?"

The three young women sat in the second row, with Zhao Shuang sandwiched between Cang Yue and Keke, still visibly shaken and fearful.

Gu Mian, cradling his guitar, sat in the front passenger seat. The driver turned the steering wheel and asked, "Where to?"

Before anyone else could speak, Gu Mian, clearly prepared, quickly answered, "Can we go to Sweet Manor?"