Global Collapse-Chapter 579 - 547: The Manuscript Keeper is Dead _1

"Yu Ji Zi Wen is dead..." The notification sent a chill down Huai Xin Zhen Yue's spine. He stared at the words, his heart pounding.

It was noon now, and the ghost had already been active for several hours. Just a moment ago, Huai Xin Zhen Yue had been secretly relieved, glad the ghost had remained quiet for these past few hours. If I can just endure this afternoon, he'd thought, I can leave this instance smoothly.

He hadn't expected to immediately see news of a player's death.

After seeing the notification, he cautiously scanned his surroundings. He was in a pitch-black, dilapidated warehouse overgrown with weeds, a hiding spot he had found with great difficulty. It looked as if no one had been there for a very long time.

Besides himself, the warehouse only contained a few scurrying rats.

This place is so hidden... the ghost shouldn't find me here, right? he wondered.

「At this time」

Chu Changge, who hadn't met up with Gu Mian, was still in the small, one-bedroom rental unit.

He had started the instance here. Though he had left after entering, he returned after eight o'clock.

The plush toy in the bathroom had disappeared. It seemed to have set off to find Chu Changge.

But it had never occurred to the doll that Chu Changge would return. After all, the most dangerous place is often the safest.

Chu Changge had been staying here for a long time, while the doll was still fruitlessly searching for him outside.

He was bent over a map, studying it carefully. It was a map of the city he had bought when he'd ventured out earlier.

Standing by the window, Chu Changge occasionally glanced outside, as if comparing directions and locations.

Just then, footsteps echoed in the dimly lit, cramped room.

They came from behind him.

Chu Changge put down what he was holding and turned around.

A man, completely bundled up, stood two meters behind him, staring at him without moving.

Chu Changge observed him for a long moment before finally speaking, "Jiang Yang."

That was Xie Bi'an's former name.

The man seemed indifferent to which name Chu Changge used. He just gave a small laugh. "I heard the Old World almost collapsed."

The laughter, muffled by the black cloak, sounded particularly somber.

Chu Changge didn't respond directly, instead saying something unrelated, "I haven't seen much of you recently."

After he spoke, silence descended upon the cramped rental unit. Neither of them said a word.

If Gu Mian were present, he would have aptly described them as a pair of wary dogs, each sizing the other up, wondering where to take the first bite.

After a long while, Xie Bi'an broke the silence. "You didn't expect me to come back."

Chu Changge clutched the map. "We all thought you were dead."

Xie Bi'an laughed again, his voice a little lighter this time. "I have a question for you. I wouldn't have asked this before, because I knew what your answer would be. But now... Chu Changge, are you afraid of death?"

Gu Mian, meanwhile, was oblivious to the fact that two people were discussing the matter of fearing death behind his back.

He had found a weed-choked area and taken off his guitar case.

There wasn't a soul in sight, only some nearly collapsed, hazardous buildings in the near distance.

The guitar case no longer had its previous weight; it even bounced slightly when he set it on the ground.

He poked the outside of the case. Inside, it felt soft, and his finger easily poked a dent into it.

In front of a public toilet, Gu Mian slowly unzipped the case.

The chainsaw that had been inside was gone; only scorched fluff now peeked out, eagerly squeezing through the opening.

Gu Mian continued to unzip it, and suddenly, a dejected-looking head popped out.

He had stuffed the teddy bear into his case much earlier!

It had taken considerable effort to stuff such a large object into the case.

The fur on the bear's face was half-gone and scorched black, emitting a burnt smell.

Gu Mian gripped the dejected-looking head and yanked the toy out of his guitar case.

His rough handling stretched the bear's head and body completely out of shape. With another forceful tug, Gu Mian finally wrestled it free from the case.

The moment the doll was completely out, its entire body sprang up and down, the expression on its head growing even more dejected.

「Meanwhile, in the ruin not far from there.」

Huai Xin Zhen Yue was pressed behind the door, his mouth agape, watching in stunned silence as Gu Mian manhandled the doll.

He watched Gu Mian unzip the guitar case and, with what could only be described as abusive force, pull out the toy bear that struck fear into their hearts.

Holy shit! Huai Xin Zhen Yue internally exclaimed, pinching his thigh hard to make sure he wasn't dreaming. That player... no, is he really a player?!

He had seen Gu Mian approaching from a distance.

However, considering the possibility that the newcomer might be a ghost in disguise, Huai Xin Zhen Yue had remained hidden in the warehouse, observing him secretly.

He never expected to witness such an utterly deranged scene.

While everyone else was desperately trying to evade the toy bear that hunted them, this guy had actually stuffed it into his backpack!

And he was yanking it! Pulling it! Abusing it! 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Even from a distance, Huai Xin Zhen Yue could feel the depressive aura emanating from the plush toy.

Gu Mian, still clutching the doll, had no idea someone was watching him from the dilapidated building nearby.

He'd finally managed to get into an instance where the ghost was present from the very beginning; of course, he couldn't let this opportunity pass.

So, back in the room, Gu Mian had conducted a series of experiments. Discovering the doll was difficult to damage, he had simply stuffed it into his case. I'll interrogate it when I find a way, he had thought.

He looked at the doll he had tossed onto the muddy ground. It lay there limply, as if trying to say, I'm really not a ghost.

Fire couldn't burn it, and a saw couldn't cut through it.

Gu Mian was in a predicament.

He picked up the toy bear, twisted its neck around like a pretzel, then let go. The bear's head began to spin merrily.

Merry as it was, it spun for a long time without revealing a thing.

Frustrated, Gu Mian flipped it over and over. Suddenly, he noticed something printed beneath the fur on the bear's backside.

He parted the fluff on the bear's rear and found the hidden text: "Produced by the Toy Goose Factory."