And, they are moving.
The 'Chu Changges' are moving.
"When I first left the station, the arrows were all pointing in this direction," Fatty's voice trembled slightly. "Even though I don't know why there are so many arrows, I still ca over here."
"It wasn't until I got close to this area that I noticed the arrows starting to scatter, moving in all directions." Fatty tightened his grip on the kitchen knife in his hand. "Doctor, what does this an? Why are there so many arrows?"
So that's how it is.
Gu Mian looked intently at the screen showing Big Data Search results for a while before handing it back to Fatty.
This unique object, the Big Data Search tool, could only be used once a week. Once Fatty filled in Chu Changge's na, he wouldn't be able to search for anyone else for a while.
Otherwise, he could also try entering the nas of 007, Xiao Qiao, and the Fortune-teller to see if their search results would be similar to Chu Changge's.
"I think I understand why this world lacks the concept of ti now." Gu Mian looked at the Big Data Search tool in Fatty's hand.
The Fortune-teller had prophesied "death and resurrection." Group chats and friend slots had vanished. These events, along with the densely packed, moving arrows, were all explaining the rules of this world to Gu Mian.
Fatty opened his mouth, wanting to ask sothing, but then he suddenly saw a familiar figure standing under a building not far away.
The surroundings were dark, so Fatty could only make out a general outline. Even so, the silhouette was enough for him to recognize the person.
He widened his eyes and tugged at Gu Mian's sleeve. "Doctor, look there, isn't that... isn't that..."
Fatty looked at the figure standing under the building, instinctively feeling that sothing was off.
Gu Mian also turned his gaze in that direction.
He saw a familiar silhouette standing in front of a two-story building not too far from the roadside.
The silhouette seed to sense their gazes and imdiately darted into the two-story building behind it.
Fatty stared blankly at the place where the figure had disappeared. "So fast? Sothing seems strange…"
As he spoke, he uncontrollably took two steps forward but was pulled back by Gu Mian.
Although Fatty had a Ghost Card, Gu Mian still added his na to the Wildlife Protection Law as well.
Only after adding Fatty's na did Gu Mian move toward the direction where the figure had been standing.
Fatty followed in a daze.
Thinking about the dense arrows on the screen and the odd, familiar silhouette they had just seen, he had a bad feeling.
The two had already reached the two-story building.
It was a small restaurant. The sign above the entrance was so battered that its original na was illegible.
The double glass doors were also cracked and hung loosely on the doorfra, looking as if they were about to collapse.
The doors were wide open, giving a clear view of the lobby inside.
Directly opposite the entrance was a large counter. A fortune cat lay upon it, covered in a thick layer of dust. Behind the counter, a tall shelf ssily displayed a few bottles of finely packaged liquor.
Gu Mian stepped into the restaurant.
The kitchen was on the right side of the first floor. Gu Mian glanced around; there was nothing special.
On the left, there were a few askew tables, indicating that no one had been here for a long ti.
The first floor could be surveyed at a glance.
There was no one else here.
Gu Mian thought, That shadow might have vanished into thin air, just like the one that darted into the photo studio. But it could also be hiding on the second floor.
He looked at the stairs leading to the second floor, reflected for a mont, and eventually stepped onto them.
Fatty tightly clung to Gu Mian's sleeve, his steps heavy. He barely dared to climb the stairs, fearing he would see sothing he didn't want to on the second floor.
"Doctor," Fatty raised his head to look at Gu Mian's back as he climbed the stairs, "you recognized who that was too, didn't you?"
Gu Mian stopped in his tracks and nodded without turning his head.
Fatty seed to have guessed sothing. He stood on the stairs, pursing his lips. "Even though I don't know why things turned out like this, I think that person might not want to be seen by you… Just now, it was rely peeking at us from over here. As soon as it realized it had been found, it imdiately hid. Doctor, let's not go up…"
Gu Mian did not take Fatty's advice.
He continued to climb the stairs.
Fatty gritted his teeth and followed.
The two quickly arrived on the second floor.
Like many restaurants on Earth, the second floor consisted of private rooms.
A hallway faced the staircase, with rather rudintary private rooms on either side.
There were five private rooms in total on this floor.
Gu Mian walked towards the one nearest to him and pushed open the door.
The interior was laid bare. It was a dim room with a large, round dining table. Chairs lay fallen on the floor, the tablecloth was torn in half, and a waist-high dish-and-chopstick cupboard stood in the corner.
Gu Mian quickly scanned the entire room, looked under the table hidden by the tablecloth, and even opened the cupboard to inspect inside.
Nothing was there.
He left the room to check the others.
All four rooms presented much the sa scene, devoid of any presence.
Fatty felt relieved. Maybe it has already left...
By this point, Gu Mian had already opened the door to the last private room.
The situation in this room was similar to the rest, all in disarray.
After checking under the table, Gu Mian walked over to the dish-and-chopstick cupboard and reached for the door handle.
It didn't open.
It was as if soone inside the cupboard was holding the door shut.
Fatty looked at the firmly held cupboard door, his expression uneasy.
Uncharacteristically, Gu Mian didn't resort to his chainsaw to force the door. Instead, he gripped the handle and pulled outward again.
Without leverage inside the cupboard, it was difficult to resist the pull from outside.
After a few tugs, Gu Mian was victorious.
With a BANG, the cupboard door was pulled open.
A black shadow dashed out from inside and ran towards the exit, knocking over Fatty who was standing by the doorway.
However, Gu Mian quickly extended his hand and caught hold of the person who had almost escaped.
The caught person struggled for about half a minute before giving up.
Fatty had already scrambled up from the ground. When he clearly saw the person before him, he instinctively retreated a few steps, leaning against the table behind him.
He hadn't been mistaken just now.
Looking at the person Gu Mian had caught, Fatty was shocked and opened his mouth to cry out their na.
But Gu Mian was faster.
Looking at the terrifying, completely distorted face in front of him, Gu Mian spoke her na.
"Xiao Qiao."
The effect of the Wildlife Protection Law was gradually wearing off.
But the Fortune-teller was in no mood to bother about that at the mont.
She was still imrsed in the scene she had just witnessed—two charred figures standing behind the window of a building.
The intense palpitations she felt in that instant made her imdiately recognize one of them.
It was herself.
"Am I... already dead?" The Fortune-teller's gaze was sowhat vacant. She looked at the person beside her, hoping for an answer.
But no one answered her.
The Fortune-teller could only hear the THUMP-THUMP of her own heart; its insistent beat seed to tell her she was alive.
It was then that the Fortune-teller rembered the familiar people and things ntioned by Chu Changge and 007.
She spoke in a daze, "The ones you saw, weren't they also your dead selves?"
"That's right," Chu Changge was the first to break the silence. "When I first entered here, I saw one of my unique items under a tree, already so corroded it was hardly recognizable."
But Chu Changge had recognized it at first glance.
"At that ti, it was still in my inventory; it shouldn't have appeared there. That's when I realized I was already dead."
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