Xia Jianren's hand shook, and he imdiately hung up the phone call from Cang Yue.
He'd seen Cang Yue torn in half with his own eyes; there was no way he was answering that call.
But the caller kept insisting. The phone screen lit up repeatedly, like a relentless, ominous curse. Panicked, Xia Jianren repeatedly pressed the end call button. Unexpectedly, after a few tries, the phone screen went black—it had powered off.
His phone's battery had already been low, and the recent calls had drained the last of its power. Xia Jianren stared dumbfounded at the dark screen.
He repeatedly pressed the power button, but the phone wouldn't light up again.
"Fuck!" Xia Jianren cursed, gripping his phone tightly, though he didn't dare to shout.
His breathing was heavy as he moved forward cautiously, desperate to find the path he'd taken earlier.
anwhile, Wang Chuan, who was on a mountain road, finally got through to Cang Yue's phone.
"Hello?" Cang Yue's voice ca from the phone.
Hearing Cang Yue finally answer, Wang Chuan breathed a sigh of relief and imdiately asked, "Gu Mian told you left with Zhao Shuang?"
"Yes, we're looking for our missing colleagues. We found a cave here. The other two went in, and I'm keeping watch outside."
Wang Chuan said anxiously, "Get them out of there first! Tell them to stop looking! Zhao Shuang might be the ghost!"
"Zhao Shuang is the ghost?"
"Yes! If she rembers she's dead, we're all dood! Don't stimulate her mories any further!"
The other end fell silent for a few seconds before a voice replied, "Alright, I'll go get them out. By the way, do Gu Mian and the others know about this?"
"Gu Mian was the one who told ."
"Okay. Where are you? I'll et up with you after I get them out."
While on the phone, Wang Chuan glanced down the mountain road where a group of police officers were gathered, discussing where the bus had gone.
"I'm right next to the accident site. You'll see when you co up."
"Okay."
Just as Wang Chuan was about to end the call, he suddenly rembered sothing. He asked uncertainly, "By the way, Cang Yue?"
"What is it?"
"Do you rember how much longer we have before we can leave this instance?"
He was asking about the ti limit for this instance.
The other end fell silent. For a long ti, no one spoke.
Wang Chuan's hands began to tremble. He was starting to realize sothing.
Suddenly, a bizarre CACKLE echoed from the silent receiver. It sounded like a child's strangled, sinister laugh, or a cat's shriek in the dead of night.
A chill ran down Wang Chuan's spine, and he dropped his phone in shock.
He quickly reacted, snatching up the phone and ending the call.
Staring at the darkened phone screen, he broke out in a cold sweat. Cang Yue... is she already dead? Did Zhao Shuang rember?!
This was clearly not the ti to stand around pondering such things.
He had already told 'Zhao Shuang' his location over the phone; the ghost would definitely co looking for him!
Wang Chuan didn't expect to escape harm by running towards a crowd; he'd already witnessed the ghost's teleportation ability.
With these thoughts, he got on his bicycle and headed towards the mountaintop. Gu Mian had said he took a small path further ahead down into the forest. Wang Chuan planned to retrace the route Gu Mian and Keke had taken to catch up with them.
He steered his bike with one hand while calling Gu Mian with the other.
Gu Mian and Keke were crossing the accident site, heading in the direction Cang Yue's group had gone, when Gu Mian's phone screen suddenly lit up. It was a call from Wang Chuan.
"What was the last major event the players participated in?" Gu Mian was caught off guard by the question as soon as he answered the phone.
He paused for a mont before replying, "The college entrance exam?"
Hearing those words, the person on the other end audibly sighed in relief and then began to speak rapidly.
"Cang Yue called just now. Before hanging up, I was careful enough to ask her a question about the instance mission, but she couldn't answer. Then she cackled strangely... I'm guessing Cang Yue is already dead..."
Keke was beside Gu Mian when he answered the phone, so she heard Wang Chuan's words clearly.
Hearing this, Keke pondered for a mont. If that's the case, Zhao Shuang must have regained her mory... The viable paths to survival in this instance are gone.
If they wanted to survive, they could only rely on hiding and luck.
We just don't know if Xia Jianren is dead yet. Keke had tried calling Xia Jianren earlier, only to find his phone was off.
Wang Chuan continued, "Where are you guys now? I want to find you."
Gu Mian's strength, demonstrated after entering the instance, was indeed very reassuring.
However, Keke knew the instance wouldn't let them stay by Gu Mian's side indefinitely. In the next second, they might be teleported elsewhere, out of the safe zone.
They needed to prepare early.
Beside her, Gu Mian had already given their location. Hearing that Gu Mian was heading towards Zhao Shuang, Wang Chuan sounded a bit apprehensive.
Keke, who was beside Gu Mian, spoke into the phone, "Actually, you don't need to co find us. Just hide well. You know the ghost can teleport us."
Wang Chuan sounded quite helpless. "That's true, but I still feel a bit safer near Gu Mian. Anyway, I'm heading your way. Try to go a bit slower and wait for , okay?"
Keke silently glanced at the phone by Gu Mian's ear, not quite understanding why their initially astute teammate had beco like this.
After giving Gu Mian these instructions, Wang Chuan hung up. He then veered onto a gentle path leading down into the forest below, and his figure quickly disappeared from sight.
anwhile, Xia Jianren was still wandering around aimlessly, like a headless fly.
He moved stealthily, terrified that any sound he made might attract Zhao Shuang.
The image of Cang Yue's severed torso was still vivid in his mind. That was his first true encounter with death.
He didn't want to die, especially not in such a grueso way.
After wandering in the dense forest for what felt like an eternity, Xia Jianren suddenly heard a rustling sound up ahead. He quickly ducked to the side and carefully parted the branches, peering through the gap.
Ahead, he saw a familiar back.
"Wang Chuan? What are you doing here?" Xia Jianren called out, a wave of pleasant surprise washing over him.
Encountering soone familiar in a place like this was indeed a great comfort.
The person turned around, looking at Xia Jianren with apparent surprise. "Xia Jianren? I ca down to look for you all."
Hearing this, Xia Jianren hurried out, panting. "That sound earlier scared to death! Thank goodness it's you... By the way, you don't know, that Zhao Shuang, she... she..."
Wang Chuan interrupted him, "I know. She's the ghost."
Xia Jianren asked in surprise, "How do you know?"
"Gu Mian told . Later, Zhao Shuang used Cang Yue's phone and Cang Yue's voice to call , but I saw through her trick," he said, glancing behind Xia Jianren. "Cang Yue is dead?"
Xia Jianren gritted his teeth and nodded. "Dead."
Even now, the mory of Cang Yue's death made him tremble with fear.
"Let's not stand around talking here. Do you know the way back to the bus? Let's head that way. We might run into Gu Mian," Xia Jianren urged, nudging Wang Chuan forward.
"Alright," Wang Chuan nodded. "This way."
As he spoke, he started walking in one direction, and Xia Jianren quickly followed.
"That Zhao Shuang is terrifying," he said, describing what happened as he walked behind Wang Chuan. "We found a cave, and the two of them went in. Cang Yue was worried, so she tied a rope around her waist, with the other end in my hand. But when I pulled her out, only her upper body was left..."
"Then I ran. When I looked back while running, I saw Zhao Shuang's face in the cave, smiling at ! It scared to death!"
Xia Jianren followed closely behind Wang Chuan, speaking with lingering fear and occasionally patting his chest.
He continued, "When we find Gu Mian, let's just stick to him and not leave his side. I don't believe the ghost can still move us if we're stuck to him."
"Alright," the person in front agreed.
At this point, Xia Jianren sensed sothing was wrong.
The surrounding scenery looked very familiar, as if he had passed by here not long ago.
But this definitely wasn't the way back; it seed more like the path leading to that cave.
The dead leaves and withered grass crunched underfoot. Xia Jianren stared at the back of the person in front of him, an increasingly unsettling feeling creeping into his heart. He felt a chill, and his steps gradually slowed to a halt.
He tried to open the player panel of the person in front of him, but it wouldn't open.
Just then, the 'Wang Chuan' in front of him also stopped.
"Why did you stop?" Wang Chuan's voice ca, though he still hadn't turned around. It was as if he were talking to Xia Jianren with his back.
Xia Jianren stared at the eerie back, took two steps backward, and opened his mouth, but no words ca out.
Getting no reply, 'Wang Chuan' turned his head and asked again, "Why did you stop?"
Xia Jianren shuddered, nearly falling to the ground.
The person in front had only turned their head; their body remained facing away from him. From that bizarrely turned head, two eyes stared intently at Xia Jianren.
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