「8:30」
Gu Mian was in a noodle shop.
He used so of the money he earned from the instance to buy a beat-up cell phone.
The phone was slow to start up but could barely connect to the internet.
He glanced at the advertisent paper attached to the wall next to him. His gaze moved down to the bottom, where a line was written in black marker: "Wi-Fi password: 88888888".
Gu Mian quickly typed eight eights into the password field.
Half a minute later, the phone finally, after a struggle, connected to the internet.
He opened a browser and, after so thought, typed "Fenshan Mountain car accident case" into the search box.
Sure enough, quite a few search terms popped up below the search box.
Gu Mian casually clicked one, and it took a full minute for the content to appear on the screen.
"The Fenshan Mountain car accident case has co to an end. Although the bodies of other missing persons have been found, the only survivor, Zhao Shuang, has mysteriously disappeared..."
"It is reported that all five employees of the company who did not participate in the team-building activity have also gone missing after the incident..."
This instance was indeed in the sa world as the amnesia case.
Gu Mian stared at his phone screen.
The worldview of this world was very similar to the real world. Chu Changge had once guessed that it was a Second World.
"But speaking of it..." Gu Mian frowned slightly. "How co after the Old World instance, the next two instances are also in this world?"
He wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or not.
Gu Mian knew that the Old World instance was the core of the Old World. However, he had torn that core not long ago, causing the entire Old World to almost collapse and all other instances to shut down for half a month.
Could it be that the damage to the Old World had affected other worlds, and only this world remained untouched? Is that why he was matched to this world twice in a row?
Of course, these were just Gu Mian's speculations.
To verify, he would have to ask players who had recently entered instances about the worldviews of the instances they were matched with.
anwhile, Bai Wu was also holding her phone, staring intently at the screen.
She wasn't playing Tetris; she was searching for past disappearances and deaths caused by "One-Man Hide and Seek."
She was in a secluded alleyway. The entrance was hidden, flanked by brick walls, with a dirt road that never seed clean running through it.
This alley, situated between two tall buildings, was dark and damp. Rarely visited by anyone, it was always cluttered with garbage thrown down from the buildings above.
Under Bai Wu's feet were several dirt-covered plastic bottles, and further away, plastic bags rustled in the wind.
Outside the alleyway was a shop selling pan-fried buns. A speaker at the shop entrance would blare out intermittently, and the advertisent, "Yang Family's pan-fried buns are truly delicious!" could be heard from far away.
She had no ti to be disgusted by the filth; she was focused only on the clues she had found.
"The last ti this ga caused a large number of deaths and disappearances was a few weeks ago..." she muttered, reading the content on the screen.
"The known death list included Wang Tiankuo, Zhao Hongqing, Liu Yi, and Zhao Ziyi. The missing list included Yuwen Hao, Xia Qing, and Shen Wutang..."
Those listed as dead definitely died in this instance, but those listed as missing weren't necessarily still alive. The missing could have left the instance, or they might have died sowhere undiscovered.
She trembled slightly as she looked at the death list.
This ant that among the last batch of players to enter this instance, four had died. As for the remaining three, it was unknown whether they were alive or dead.
This horrifying death rate.
Could the dolls find players that easily?
It was almost nine o'clock. The doll had been searching for her for nearly an hour, but she showed no signs of being discovered yet.
"It doesn't seem to be that easy to be found..." she murmured.
Just as Bai Wu was pondering this, her phone suddenly vibrated, and a call notification popped up on the screen.
She looked at the caller in confusion.
It was Yu Ji Zi Wen.
They were teammates who had entered the instance together, so it was natural for them to communicate.
But they had just spoken over the phone a short while ago...
After a mont's thought, Bai Wu answered the call.
"Hello? Yu Ji?"
There was no imdiate reply from the other end. Bai Wu could hear station announcents in the background; it sounded like the other person was on a train.
After the announcents ended, Yu Ji Zi Wen's voice finally ca through the phone, "Hello, Bai Wu, how are you? Are you still safe?"
Bai Wu looked at the narrow alley in front of her. "I'm still safe. There's no sign of the ghost finding yet. What about you?"
"I've found so clues I'd like to tell you about."
"What?"
"It might be difficult to explain over the phone. How about we et and talk in person? Where are you now?"
"I'm on the pedestrian overpass near New Century Park." Bai Wu's hand began to tremble, but her voice remained steady.
The other party was asking for her location.
Bai Wu recalled Liu Yiji's words: if a player calls to ask for your location, it might an that player is no longer... a player.
Yu Ji Zi Wen had most likely been killed by the ghost!
Bai Wu's hand trembled uncontrollably as she gave a fake address, pretending she hadn't seen through the deception.
A voice ca from the other end of the phone, "Alright, I'll co find you."
"Okay, I'll hang up then," Bai Wu responded, eager to end the call.
But just then, a not-too-loud, not-too-soft blare from the loudspeaker at the end of the alley suddenly sounded—"Yang Family's pan-fried buns are truly delicious!"
The sound was like a death knell.
Bai Wu hurriedly pressed the end call button.
It must have heard! Bai Wu gripped her phone tightly.
This damned loudspeaker had exposed her location, letting the ghost know she wasn't on the pedestrian overpass near New Century Park, but near this cursed Yang Family's pan-fried bun shop!
She had to leave this place quickly!
With this thought, she sprinted out of the damp alley, heading towards areas with more buildings and better concealnt.
She hadn't run more than a few seconds out of the alley when she heard a chilling laugh from behind.
There wasn't anyone around just now. Where did the laughter co from?!
As Bai Wu sprinted, she glanced back and saw a giant plush toy, which had appeared out of nowhere, now blocking the alley entrance, its head turning to look at her.
Where its eyes should have been, there were two horrifying hollows instead.
Bai Wu's hair stood on end. She didn't dare to look back anymore and rushed towards a crowded area.
anwhile, Gu Mian was still in the noodle shop.
Chu Changge, amidst his busy schedule, finally checked the group chat, and Gu Mian managed to contact him.
He was now discussing this instance with Chu Changge.
[Gu Mian]: I've discovered that this instance and the amnesia instance I entered last ti are in the sa world. After the Old World, entering the sa world for two consecutive instances, isn't that a bit strange?
[Chu Changge]: Are you suspecting that the damage to the Old World has also affected other worlds?
[Gu Mian]: Indeed, that's what I think. But logically speaking, Low-Dinsional Worlds shouldn't affect each other, right?
[Chu Changge]: Theoretically, yes.
Then it's strange. Could entering the sa world twice in a row be a coincidence?
Just as Gu Mian was pondering this, a figure suddenly darted past the glass door of the noodle shop.
Gu Mian wasn't looking outside at all, so he didn't notice this figure.
If he had seen it, he would have definitely recognized it as Bai Wu, who had been in the sa room with him just a short while ago.
Gu Mian typed again in the group chat.
[Gu Mian]: Aren't you going to et up with ?
Chu Changge was acting alone, and Gu Mian was slightly worried.
Although Gu Mian knew Chu Changge was notorious for tirelessly leading others to ruin, often casually pulling soone in to be a scapegoat.
[Chu Changge]: I have so things to attend to.
It seems he doesn't want to et up.
Gu Mian didn't press further, as a newly popped-up news item had caught his attention.
[Female body discovered at Shibei Train Station. After identity confirmation, the deceased has been identified as Yu Ji...]
Yu Ji?
Gu Mian rembered there was a player in this instance nad Yu Ji Zi Wen.
He scrolled down the screen, wanting to see if there was a photo below.
At the very bottom, there was indeed a photo of the cri scene. It was clear that Yu Ji's death had been horrifying; the entire photo was heavily pixelated.
Staring at his phone, Gu Mian said aloud, "So, one is already dead."
The noodle shop owner, who happened to be passing by Gu Mian, overheard his nonsensical rambling and imdiately gave him a strange look.
At this mont, Huai Xin Zhen Yue, who was currently hiding and evading, also saw this news and knew that a death had already occurred.
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