"Miss Xiao Qiao's world doesn't sound easy to handle," Fatty pondered. Perhaps it's too terrifying, and hence unsuitable to be an instance?
As he thought, he turned to Xiao Qiao again. "So, Miss Xiao Qiao, could you describe what your world looks like and why it doesn't appear in instances?"
Although he asked this, Fatty didn't really expect Xiao Qiao to provide any useful information.
As expected, they watched her put down her fork, apparently deep in thought.
They waited.
About half a minute later, seemingly unable to describe her world, she picked up her fork again and resud eating the at on her plate.
Gu Mian and the other two were left waiting for nothing.
Thus, none of them planned to question Xiao Qiao further. There was still another person from the Low-Dinsional World in this building; they could try asking him.
Fatty cradled a glass in his hands, filled with orange juice he had freshly squeezed. "Doctor, Xie Bi'an hasn't been in his room much these past few days. I've been secretly observing him. He leaves early in the morning and only returns late in the evening. He moves incredibly fast, disappearing in a flash."
To put it nicely, it was secret observation. To put it bluntly, it was peeping.
Fatty had been peeping at Gu Mian for many years and was quite adept at it.
"Is he entering instances every day?" Gu Mian stroked his chin. "There are indeed quite a few ticket booths around here."
Although Xie Bi'an was gone all day, they could still catch him if they were vigilant enough.
「A few days later」
Gu Mian finally managed to corner Xie Bi'an at dusk.
When Gu Mian saw him again, Xie Bi'an looked the sa as before, wrapped up like a mummy from head to toe. Even his own parents wouldn't have recognized him.
"Can I help you?" Xie Bi'an, who had been cornered at the inn's entrance, asked in a gentle voice.
Gu Mian had no idea how the man even saw him standing there.
His cloak covered his face so tightly that not even his eyes were exposed. In any case, Gu Mian couldn't see his eyes.
Liu Ruyan suddenly appeared out of nowhere, leaning against a nearby wall and watching the two with an amused expression, as if enjoying a show.
A mont later, Xiao Qiao also appeared. She stood ramrod straight beside Liu Ruyan, her gaze fixed on Gu Mian and Xie Bi'an.
Following Xiao Qiao was Chu Changge. The three of them lined up, looking exactly like esteed spectators awaiting a performance.
Perhaps not wanting others to hear Gu Mian and Xie Bi'an's conversation, one of the "spectators," Chu Changge, moved towards Gu Mian. "Let's talk outside."
It was unclear whether he was wary of Liu Ruyan or Xiao Qiao.
Gu Mian then reached out, slung an arm around Xie Bi'an's shoulder, and began nudging him outside. "You've been quite elusive these past few days, making search high and low. Playing hide-and-seek with , were you?"
By the ti he finished speaking, Gu Mian had already nudged Xie Bi'an over the threshold.
Chu Changge followed closely behind them.
Just as Gu Mian was about to say sothing else, he suddenly sensed that sothing was amiss with their surroundings.
Xiao Qiao, who was behind them, was craning her neck to watch their departing figures. Unexpectedly, just two seconds after they crossed the threshold, all three vanished.
The three of them disappeared right before her eyes.
Xiao Qiao's mouth fell slightly open. She imdiately scurried to where they had vanished, looking left and right, but couldn't find even a single strand of hair.
"Where did they go?" she muttered, looking down at the ground as if trying to stare a hole through it.
Liu Ruyan also walked over. She surveyed the empty surroundings and frowned. "I'm afraid they've entered a special instance."
A special instance? Gu Mian stared at the panel that had suddenly materialized before him.
[Triggered special instance 'Hide-and-Seek Alone']
[Instance Players: 6]
[Detecting insufficient players. Randomly selecting additional teammates...]
[Matching successful.]
[Instance Introduction: 'Hide-and-Seek Alone' is a famous urban legend. The player must fill a doll with sufficient glutinous rice, red thread, and body tissue (usually hair or nails), then sew it shut with red thread and play 'hide-and-seek' with the doll. The original 'Hide-and-Seek Alone' ga process was overly complicated, so it has been simplified in this instance. The step where the player acts as the ghost to find the doll has been omitted.]
[Instance Task: The ga begins upon entering the instance. The doll acts as the 'ghost,' and players must hide. The first hour after entering the instance is hiding ti for players. During this period, the 'ghost' will not move. After one hour, the 'ghost' will begin searching for the player whose body tissue was used to fill it. Once the 'ghost' starts moving, players can still move freely. The task is completed if players are not caught by sunset.]
This instance doesn't seem to involve any complex strategies, Gu Mian thought. Just hide and avoid being caught by the doll.
After the three of them had read the introduction panel, their vision went black.
When light returned, their surroundings had changed completely.
The first thing Chu Changge saw upon opening his eyes was a large bathtub.
It was filled with water, and floating on the surface was a brown, person-sized teddy bear.
Its stomach had been cut open but was now crudely stitched back together with red thread. It seed the instance had handled the preparations for them.
This was a bathroom. A quick turn revealed a large mirror on one wall, reflecting Chu Changge's figure and the teddy bear in the tub.
He quickly stepped out of the bathroom, his gaze searching for sothing to tell him the ti.
He found himself in a one-bedroom apartnt, consisting of one bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. A clock sat on the coffee table in the living room. He picked it up and checked: 7:30.
Looking out the window, he saw it was broad daylight; it was now 7:31 in the morning.
According to the task, they need to survive until sunset this evening.
There are still more than ten hours until sunset...
「anwhile」
The other players had gathered.
In the living room of a residential building, three players were assembled.
Their ga nicknas, in order, were Huai Xin Zhen Yue, Bai Wu Wu Wu Wu, and Liu Yiji.
Bai Wu Wu Wu Wu was a female player; the other two were male.
All three wore expressions of confusion and fear, as they hadn't entered voluntarily but had been inexplicably pulled into this special instance. Given that players could genuinely die in these instances, their reluctance was understandable. With no other choice, the three could only resign themselves to their misfortune.
"Hello, hello..." Liu Yiji said, turning to Bai Wu beside him after checking her na on the player panel.
This instance hadn't assigned players 'instance nas'.
Bai Wu subconsciously replied, "Hello to you too..."
Still reeling from the shock, they were all terrified.
Liu Yiji was the first to compose himself. He looked around and found himself in a four-bedroom, one-living-room apartnt. Three of the bedroom doors were open, and they had apparently erged from these rooms.
Recalling what he had seen in his bedroom, he turned to the other male player. "Zhen Yue, when I first entered the instance, there was a large doll stitched with red thread in my room. Did you have one in yours too?"
The male player nad Huai Xin Zhen Yue nodded slightly.
Seeing that the two seed very familiar with each other, Bai Wu asked, "Do you two know each other?"
Huai Xin Zhen Yue explained, "We were friends before this ga started and have always entered instances together. We happened to be near each other when we were selected for this special instance, so we were brought in together."
While Huai Xin Zhen Yue was explaining, Liu Yiji walked over to the open bedroom doors to look inside.
In each room, he saw a long, rectangular plastic tub filled with water. A large doll, stitched with red thread, floated on the surface. These dolls were enormous, almost as tall as a person. Each doll corresponded to one player. The thought that these things would rise and hunt them in an hour sent a shiver down Liu Yiji's spine. He quickly averted his gaze.
At this point, Huai Xin Zhen Yue began to ask Bai Wu, "Did you enter this instance by yourself?"
"No," Bai Wu shook her head. "I ca with a friend too. Her nickna is 'Yu Ji Zi Wen,' but she doesn't seem to be nearby right now..."
Yu Ji Zi Wen? Huai Xin Zhen Yue found the na rather ominous. Sounds like she's destined for a grim end. But even if it's unlucky, it can't be changed now, and this isn't the ti to dwell on whether the na is auspicious or not.
Since the introduction stated that the first hour was safe, they didn't imdiately flee.
Huai Xin Zhen Yue glanced at the wall clock. The hour hand pointed to "7" and the minute hand to "1". "Since we're all here now," he said, "why don't we discuss this instance first? 'Hide-and-Seek Alone'... I've heard of this ga before."
This was an instance where death was real. They couldn't just run around aimlessly upon entering.
They needed to analyze the situation first.
Bai Wu nodded slightly. "I've heard of this ga too. It seems to be a very famous paranormal ga."
Huai Xin Zhen Yue recalled, "The steps for that ga are pretty much the sa as what this instance describes. You stuff the doll with glutinous rice and nails, sew it shut with red thread, place it in saltwater, and then play hide-and-seek..."
"However, in the original ga, a person first plays the 'ghost' and searches for the doll. Once the doll is found, the person stabs it three tis with a knife and says, 'It's your turn.' Only then does the doll take over as the 'ghost.'"
But this instance skipped the player-as-ghost phase, having the doll be the 'ghost' from the start.
Players had to flee for their lives imdiately.
"Why is that?" Huai Xin Zhen Yue wondered aloud. "Could it be they're afraid players might damage the ghost? Surely no player has that ability, right?"
"After all, this is a horror instance," Liu Yiji's voice ca. "Having players act as the ghost searching for the doll wouldn't provide much of a horror experience. Its removal is understandable."
At this mont, Liu Yiji was standing before the one closed door, a puzzled look on his face.
The instance hadn't implanted any mories, so they had no idea what lay behind that door.
Just as Liu Yiji stood there, puzzled, he suddenly heard the sound of a doorknob turning.
He looked down and saw the handle of the door in front of him twisting, as if soone on the other side was turning it.
Then, the closed door was suddenly pulled open.
Liu Yiji, standing right in front of it, jumped back in fright.
The sudden opening of the door also startled the other two in the living room. They hadn't realized there was anyone else in the house.
All three simultaneously turned their gazes toward the sound. Behind the opened door stood a pleasant-looking young man in a white coat.
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