Upon hearing these words, Gu Mian couldn't help but imagine the scene—
A high-end version of Xiao Qiao hugging his skull, smacking her lips as she sucked out his brains.
The image was too vivid.
Gu Mian shook his head, forcing the image from his mind.
"Speaking of which, that NPC nad Xingyun has the sa voice as Xiao Qiao. I wonder if they also look the sa, Gu Mian mused.
Fatty picked up the trash bag. "Based on your description, Doctor," he said, "I feel like that NPC from the Seventh World should look similar to Miss Xiao Qiao, after all, Miss Xiao Qiao was created by her."
Since there were no living beings left in the Seventh World, Xingyun had to personally create a Guardian and send it to Earth.
Gu Mian couldn't help but feel sorry for this pitiful NPC.
This must be the most miserable core character among all seven worlds. No one was left alive in her world, yet she still had to expend imnse effort to prevent its collapse.
She was a truly unlucky NPC.
Gu Mian felt that the na Xingyun didn't suit her at all. She should change her na to Misfortune instead, he thought.
At that mont, Fatty, holding a black trash bag, opened the door. "Doctor, I'm going out to take out the trash. I'll cook when I get back."
Gu Mian looked out the window. The sun in the distance was setting in the west, about to dip below the horizon.
It had been a truly thrilling and eventful day.
From the Seventh World to the train, and then from the train to a fantastical director's instance.
On this day, they had t the exceptionally fortunate Miss Xingyun and the warmly hospitable train conductor.
They had also learned the nas of several core characters.
Next, they needed to try and make more allies to prevent the chain collapse of the Low-Dinsional Worlds.
After dinner, Gu Mian lay peacefully on his bed.
Xiao Hong, beside him, was clueless about his tumultuous day. In her eyes, Gu Mian had rely disappeared for a few hours and then returned.
As usual, she clutched her lychee soda, relishing it beside Gu Mian's bed.
She stayed there for a long ti. Seeing that the man on the bed paid her no attention, she began to feel a little aggrieved.
Just as Xiao Hong was feeling dejected, Gu Mian suddenly reached out and patted her slightly aggrieved head. "Don't worry," he said, "I won't let you die."
Having her head patted, Xiao Hong instantly cheered up and joyfully scampered under the bed.
What a harmonious and loving day, Gu Mian thought as he pulled up his blanket and closed his eyes.
And so, the day drew to a perfect close.
「Ten days later, Xiao Qiao finally woke up.」
There was nothing seriously wrong with her body; she was just pale from sleeping so long.
Gu Mian confird that this was still the sa Xiao Qiao with limited brain capacity; that clichéd 'possession' scenario hadn't occurred.
It's worth ntioning that the first thing Xiao Qiao did after waking up was to find Gu Mian and carefully examine the lower half of his face.
Before she fainted, the last thing she had seen was Gu Mian's chin, ravaged by the ground.
During these ten days, the wounds on Gu Mian's face had long since scabbed over and healed. Seeing the still relatively flawless lower half of his face, Xiao Qiao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Doctor," Fatty began hesitantly, "did Miss Xiao Qiao's brain devolve again? Shouldn't a person who narrowly escapes death typically have an emotional breakdown upon waking up? Why did she imdiately worry about whether your face was disfigured as soon as she opened her eyes?"
Gu Mian touched the previously injured spot on his face. "Maybe she thinks my face is more important than her life," he said.
Fatty scratched his head. "Then, Doctor, you really need to take good care of your face."
"I would have, even if you hadn't said anything."
After confirming that Gu Mian's face was not disfigured, Xiao Qiao simply sat blankly by the window, not breaking down emotionally as Fatty had expected.
Her silhouette even seed a bit depressed.
"What's wrong with Miss Xiao Qiao? She hasn't been herself since she woke up," Fatty said, sensing sothing was off. "She's never been this depressed before. She couldn't be upset because the Seventh World collapsed, could she?"
Gu Mian also found it strange. He still wanted to ask Xiao Qiao if she knew anything about Xingyun.
Just as the two of them were wondering, Xiao Qiao, by the window, suddenly stood up.
Then she began to mumble to herself, "This isn't right... it shouldn't be... why... I don't understand..."
"Have you discovered sothing?" Gu Mian asked. "What's wrong with you?"
Xiao Qiao finally turned her head to look at him. "I feel weird."
What?
Gu Mian found it difficult to communicate with her normally.
Before he could ask further, Xiao Qiao began to repeat her earlier words, heading towards the door as if in a daze.
Fatty looked worriedly at Xiao Qiao's retreating figure. "Doctor, do you know if there's any dicine that can increase IQ?"
"I'm afraid not."
Gu Mian watched Xiao Qiao walk away.
Fortunately, there were no cars on the road outside. Otherwise, he would have been genuinely worried that she might wander into traffic and get hit.
Given Xiao Qiao's current ntal state, Gu Mian decided to ask her about the Seventh World and Xingyun in a few days.
Over the next few days, Gu Mian continuously studied the walkie-talkie he had snatched from Mr. Green.
He pressed all the strange buttons on it, but the walkie-talkie showed no reaction at all.
Could it be that only NPCs can use this thing? Gu Mian wondered, feeling a pang of regret. If I'd known, I would have tied up Mr. Green too.
After the walkie-talkie was snatched, poor Host Green disappeared. Fatty guessed he had probably found a corner sowhere to recover from his psychological trauma.
Fatty looked at the walkie-talkie Gu Mian had tossed aside. "Mr. Green must be traumatized," he said. "Doctor, you're always snatching people's things. No wonder he's too scared to show his face."
Fatty was right.
A few days later, Gu Mian found a small piece of paper that had been slipped under the door.
Mr. Green had slipped it in while they were asleep.
*I've found another place to stay temporarily. Don't look for , and don't worry about .*
Fatty examined the note Mr. Green had slipped under the door, clicking his tongue in amusent. "This is just like a note left by a child running away from ho! I didn't expect Mr. Green to be so childlike."
"Speaking of running away from ho," Fatty continued, picking up a calendar from the nearby table and circling a date. "In a few days, it'll be the Mid-Autumn Festival. It's supposed to be a ti for reunions, but Mr. Green has just left us..."
Having been unemployed for so long, Gu Mian had almost forgotten about such holidays.
Only after Fatty's reminder did he rember that the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching.
Isn't there going to be an event for such a major holiday? Gu Mian wondered as he opened his panel. He found the event interface was still gray; it seed the organizers weren't planning anything.
The Lantern Festival, the dragon boat race, and the college entrance examination events had all been held on major holidays.
He had originally thought there would be new events for the Mid-Autumn Festival, yet the organizers had surprisingly made no moves.
"Yeah," Fatty said, "they're not even holding an event for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Could it be that this ga is planning to shut down and skip town?"
If it really did shut down and run off, the players would probably cry tears of joy.
"Before, when the death protection chanism was active, the Low-Dinsional Worlds held events to ensnare players," Gu Mian said, looking at the date Fatty had circled. "Now that players face real death in instances, the Low-Dinsional Worlds don't need to expend energy organizing events. We should eat mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival, right?"
"Huh?"
Fatty took a mont to process Gu Mian's abrupt change of topic. "Oh, right, mooncakes. What kind do you like, Doctor?"
Gu Mian thought for a while before saying, "I don't like ones with rock sugar; they're too hard on my teeth. Anything else is fine."
Because he didn't usually celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, Gu Mian hadn't eaten many mooncakes. Consequently, his knowledge of different mooncake types was quite limited.
Fatty clapped his hands. "I'll make them myself! I promise they won't be hard on your teeth, Doctor."
Saying this, he rushed out, presumably to buy molds and ingredients for the mooncakes.
Chu Changge, who was nearby, asked, "When do you plan to enter the next instance? After the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
Now that human order had collapsed, traditional holidays no longer held much aning.
But Gu Mian still hoped this festival could be passed peacefully.
Yet that, too, was an extravagant hope.
We'll go in the next few days, Gu Mian mused. We can celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival when we get back. I don't know how long Xingyun can hold on; we need to hurry.
He borrowed Big Data Search from Xiao Qiao to look for core characters in the instances.
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