At this mont, Gu Mian and Keke were walking through the dense forest.
Although it was already October, tiny bugs always flew about in places with lush vegetation. Occasionally, these tiny insects would land on their faces or collars. However, now was not the ti to be bothered by this.
"Zhao Shuang definitely turned into a ghost after recovering her mory," Keke said, looking down as she proceeded. "I guess so important clues that could stimulate her mory are located where Cang Yue and the others have gone."
The two of them were now heading in that direction.
Gu Mian, who was walking ahead, nodded slightly. "Zhao Shuang might have seen her own body."
Nothing could stimulate one's mory more than seeing one's own corpse.
Keke also nodded, agreeing with this idea.
"The malice of this instance towards players is indeed imnse," her voice ca from behind Gu Mian. "From the very beginning, it misled us into thinking that killing Zhao Shuang was the way to survive. But if Cang Yue had actually stabbed her then, Zhao Shuang would have imdiately realized she couldn't die from being stabbed."
"And then later, helping her recover her mory—that was also a path to death. It seems we've been on the wrong path ever since we entered this instance," Keke said gravely.
This was a highly deceptive instance, designed to trap all players in one fell swoop.
Keke continued, "I'm even more suspicious of the true purpose of this global ga now..."
She guessed many players must be harboring doubts by now.
This global ga, under the banner of human evolution, has done nothing practical to achieve it. From last winter's cold snap and plague, to activities with real death, the pitifully scarce resources given after clearing instances, and now the deactivation of the instance death protection chanism.
"I, for one, think it's a human extermination plan," Keke said, looking up at the back of Gu Mian's head.
She knew Gu Mian was special in this ga.
And special people were always burdened with important tasks or involved in colossal conspiracies.
"Indeed," Gu Mian, who was walking ahead, responded. "I believe that in a little while—a few months, perhaps half a year, or a year—this ga will show its true colors, and soone will discover the truth."
Only the CRUNCHING sounds of shoes on grass could be heard in the quiet, dense forest. No one responded to him.
Amidst the monotonous sound of footsteps, Gu Mian stopped, and the only sound in the woods vanished.
He turned to look back. Behind him was nothing but empty space, branches swaying gently in the wind, and trampled weeds struggling to straighten.
Keke was gone.
「DRIP. DRIP. DRIP.」
Before her was complete darkness, and the sound of dripping water reached her ears.
Keke's eyes widened.
It took her a mont to adjust.
Just a mont ago, her surroundings were bright, and Gu Mian's back was less than two ters in front of her.
In an instant, her vision went black. The sll of damp must filled her nostrils, the sound of dripping water echoed in her ears, and a chilling cold enveloped her. Keke shivered.
Where am I?
She cald herself, took out her flashlight, wrapped the glowing end with several layers of her clothing, and then carefully pressed the switch.
The light, muffled by the cloth, was much dimr and could only illuminate a distance of half a ter.
Clutching her modified flashlight, she probed her surroundings. She saw damp earthen walls on both sides and overhead.
She seed to be in a cave. The spot where Keke stood wasn't too narrow; she could stand upright, and the cave was about a ter wide.
Holding the flashlight, she took a few steps forward and then backward.
Behind her, the passage grew narrower and lower. Ahead, the passage beca wider, and the ceiling gradually rose.
After a few more steps, she was sure.
I'm the only one here. Gu Mian isn't with .
Keke understood. This is the ghost's doing. The ghost has found .
She stood still, considering for a few seconds, then began to walk slowly forward. The further she went, the more open the cave beca, and the dripping sound also ca from that direction.
As Keke moved quietly through the darkness, she suddenly caught sight of a pair of shoes in the gloom ahead, illuminated by her flashlight. They were facing her.
She quickly switched off the flashlight, but the other person had already seen her.
"Keke?" Wang Chuan's voice ca from the darkness.
Wang Chuan? Is that him?
Before Keke could speak, a light flared as Wang Chuan switched on his flashlight.
She saw Wang Chuan's face appear before her.
Keke instinctively tried to check his player panel first. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found it could be opened.
Across from her, Wang Chuan's eyes kept darting towards the top of her head; he was clearly trying to open Keke's player panel as well.
Fortunately, both of their player panels could be opened normally.
After confirming each other's identities, they both sighed in relief simultaneously.
"What are you doing here?" Keke frowned.
Wang Chuan looked equally troubled. "I don't know either. I was in the forest looking for you all when everything suddenly went dark. I thought I'd gone blind until I turned on my flashlight and realized I was in here."
It seems Wang Chuan was also brought here by the ghost, Keke thought, glancing around warily. "How long have you been in here?"
"About ten minutes, I think..."
For the past ten minutes, Wang Chuan had been carefully making his way along the wall. He had tried to call Gu Mian, but his phone had no signal, likely because they were in a cave.
"How did you get in?" Wang Chuan asked Keke.
Keke replied, "Sa as you. I was suddenly brought in."
Wang Chuan swept his flashlight beam around. "I guess the ghost did this."
Keke nodded. "She's found us."
An eerie silence instantly fell upon the cave, broken only by the continuous sound of dripping water in the distance.
Wang Chuan paused for a mont. "Gu Mian... he's not here?"
Keke looked in the direction of the dripping sound. "I don't think the ghost would be that reckless."
If Gu Mian were brought in, this cave might just collapse.
Seeing only darkness around him, Wang Chuan's heart was shrouded in gloom. He understood that the ghost had already found them, and anything he did next would probably be a futile struggle.
A strong desire to live spurred him into action again. "Let's try to find an exit first."
He quickened his pace as he spoke, moving forward. I don't want to die here, he thought.
Keke followed behind Wang Chuan. "By the way, Xia Jianren's phone is off. Have you run into him?"
Wang Chuan shook his head as he continued forward. "I haven't run into anyone. I was trying to rendezvous with you all, but before I could find you, I was brought to this place. Judging by your tone, you haven't seen him either, have you?"
His voice was hurried and soft, as if afraid sothing else might hear him.
Keke nodded. "He left with Cang Yue and Zhao Shuang. Cang Yue is already dead, so I guess his chances are slim as well."
Wang Chuan sighed but had no ti to mourn his teammate.
He could barely fend for himself right now.
The dripping sound ahead grew clearer, as if they were very close to its source.
Wang Chuan hoped the source of the sound was the tunnel's exit. Getting out would be much safer than staying in this pitch-black tunnel.
As he thought this, he quickened his pace. But just then, he suddenly noticed his flashlight begin to flicker, dimming and brightening as if it were about to run out of power.
"What's going on?" he wondered, staring at the flickering flashlight in astonishnt. He always checked the flashlight's battery before entering an instance; it should never run out midway.
He quickly realized it wasn't just his flashlight; Keke's, behind him, had also started to flicker.
Imdiately after, they heard a loud RUSTLING sound from behind them, as if sothing was crawling there.
They understood at once.
It's the ghost!
Run!
Without a word, both of them turned and bolted forward. Their flashlights flickered a few more tis and then went out completely.
Absolute darkness enveloped them.
They could only feel their way along the wall as they sprinted forward.
Unable to see, their sense of hearing beca even more acute.
They could only hear the RUSTLING sound from behind them growing faster and closer!
The ground was uneven, causing them to stumble occasionally, but each ti they quickly regained their balance and continued running.
Keke's stamina was inherently worse than Wang Chuan's, and she had been walking behind him earlier, so the distance between them naturally grew.
She could only hear Wang Chuan's footsteps receding into the distance ahead, while the crawling sound behind her grew closer and closer, until it was almost right at her ears.
But just then, she suddenly heard the sound of soone falling up ahead, followed by a startled cry from Wang Chuan.
It seed he had tripped over sothing and fallen.
Keke, who was behind, had no ti to slow down. She rushed forward, and then her foot hit sothing soft and raised. She lost her balance and pitched forward.
Her forehead slamd hard against the ground, making her head buzz.
Her flashlight also slipped from her grasp and ROLLED away, CLATTERING.
Keke quickly regained her senses. She turned and sat up, intending to keep running, when she suddenly felt sothing drip onto her face. After a mont of confusion, she heard an incredibly clear dripping sound, seemingly coming from directly above her head.
Just then, the flashlight that had rolled to one side suddenly lit up again.
The white light illuminated the darkness. Keke looked up in the direction the sound had co from.
She saw...
Cang Yue's face was suspended above her, eyes wide, staring down at her.
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