I wonder how the others are doing now... Bai Wu pondered while hiding in a fitting room.
The clothing city was sowhat dim; by now, all the lights overhead had been switched on.
She had successfully survived most of the day; only a few hours remained until she could leave.
She had checked the news earlier and confird her suspicions about Yu Ji's death.
They had known each other for a long ti, and knowing that Yu Ji was truly dead, Bai Wu couldn't help but feel sorrowful.
But ultimately, her own life was what mattered most. After a brief mont of sadness, she focused her attention on studying this instance.
"This instance is really weird," Bai Wu said, crouching in the corner of the fitting room. "The ga of hide-and-seek usually only needs one person and one ghost to complete. It could easily be a single-player instance."
But the instance had summoned so many players and sent out six ghosts to catch people separately.
Pure overkill.
Just then, the chatter of children grew closer.
Through a very narrow gap on the side of the fitting room door, Bai Wu peered outward. She saw children playing hide-and-seek—not the sa kind she was playing, of course.
She heard one child, playing the ghost, counting down, while the others scattered to hide.
This should have been a joyful day. But right when the child finished counting and was ready to catch people, Bai Wu heard a woman's loud yell from outside, "What are you playing at? Still trying to catch people? Go do your howork!"
Suddenly, a woman appeared beside the "ghost," grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him away.
Looks like she was taking him to do his howork.
Seeing this, Bai Wu chuckled softly, reminded of her own childhood when she would receive the sa treatnt.
But then, her laughter froze on her face as a sudden thought struck her.
"Wait, hide-and-seek for one... I understand why there are so many players in the instance now!"
Realization dawned on her, and she quickly pulled out her phone to call the others.
But at that mont, Bai Wu noticed sothing near a shelf not too far away... a giant, hollow-eyed teddy bear.
It's here!
It moved slowly down the aisle. The people nearby passed by as if they couldn't see it.
Bai Wu clutched her phone, a cold sweat breaking out. She watched the human-height plush toy walk into the clothing store opposite, search carefully, then stop right at a fitting room door and pull it open.
Bai Wu shivered as she watched the door of the fitting room across from hers being pulled open.
Run, I need to run!
But the teddy bear is just outside! Running out now would be like walking straight into the line of fire!
Luckily, it didn't co to Bai Wu's side right away.
It walked down the aisle, checking store after store, its figure gradually disappearing. But it'll be back in a mont! Bai Wu knew.
She tightly held her phone, and the mont the teddy bear's figure completely disappeared from her sight, she pushed the door open and ran in the opposite direction.
The nearby children were startled, glancing curiously at Bai Wu's retreating figure.
"Who's she?" the children whispered among themselves.
"Dunno. She was hiding in there. She must have been playing hide-and-seek too."
"With who?"
"No idea."
"Then I'm gonna tell the one who's 'it' that she ran that way!" one of the boys exclaid, getting excited. They jumped up and down, pointing in the direction Bai Wu had just gone.
At that mont, the lights overhead flickered a few tis, and a teddy bear's face popped up in the darkness before disappearing again, but no one noticed.
"Hello?" Bai Wu panted, dialing Liu Yiji's number as she sprinted.
She had worried he might hang up, but he actually answered imdiately.
Liu Yiji was at that mont searching online for a map of his surroundings to facilitate an easier escape should he be found by the ghost.
He hadn't expected Bai Wu to call him out of the blue, but after a mont's thought, he answered.
No sooner had he answered than Bai Wu threw a question at him, "How much is Gu Mian worth now?"
Liu Yiji was taken aback, completely stumped by the question.
He instinctively asked back, "What did you say?"
Bai Wu, her voice hurried and breathless, repeated, "How much is Gu Mian worth now!"
Only then did Liu Yiji realize he hadn't misheard. He hesitated for a mont before answering, "A hundred thousand?"
Bai Wu breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. That confirms you're a real player."
"What on earth are you doing?" Liu Yiji frowned, not understanding why Bai Wu would ask such a question.
"Listen!" Bai Wu's voice was urgent, punctuated with heavy pants. "I think I've figured out the survival path in this instance. If we're going to trigger it, I need your help. Where are you now?"
Upon hearing her ask for his location, Liu Yiji imdiately grew wary.
Though Bai Wu had initially asked about Gu Mian—sothing only real players would know—it didn't completely dismiss the suspicion that she could be a ghost.
What if a ghost heard about this from another player and is using it to deceive ?
So, he threw back his own question, "Which instance was the first to crash in Global Ga?"
If Gu Mian had been there to hear their exchange, he'd definitely be thinking, Really, you two...
Bai Wu didn't hesitate, imdiately answering, "Revengeful High School!"
"And the second one?"
"Spirit Car Driver Test Center."
Only after hearing Bai Wu's correct answers did Liu Yiji lower his guard a little. "Why are you asking for my location?"
"To trigger the survival path, at least two players need to be together... Hurry, where are you?"
Liu Yiji scratched his head, which was itching from apprehension.
Still wary, he said, "I'm in Tis Square."
As he spoke, he looked out the window at the empty square below.
He was actually in the clock tower next to the square, where he had a bird's-eye view of the surroundings and could escape imdiately if sothing seed off.
If Bai Wu ca to the square, he would be able to observe her from here and see if anything was amiss.
"Great!" Bai Wu's voice was full of joy. "I'm not far away. I'll be there in a few minutes!"
"Okay."
Bai Wu was on the run and naturally couldn't stay on the phone for long.
After confirming Liu Yiji's location, she hung up and sprinted towards Tis Square.
During the past few hours, she had also carefully studied the local map, so she knew which direction Tis Square was in.
After Liu Yiji hung up, he was still puzzled. From the sound of Bai Wu's voice, it seed like she was running hard.
Then a thought struck him: She's not being chased by a ghost, is she?!
If she's being chased by a ghost and she's coming to find , isn't she leading it right to ? That's asking for my life!
Liu Yiji's expression tensed, and his head itched even more.
Strange, why is it still so itchy...
He reached out again to scratch his head.
But as soon as his hand reached the back of his head, he touched sothing fluffy. He could feel it... That thing is right behind my head...
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