Global Collapse-Chapter 402 - 385: Coo Coo, the last - is gone _1
"Are you only coming out now that the grass on my grave is a meter high?"
Immediately after Gu Mian and Chu Changge exited the instance, they heard Fatty’s long-unheard voice. He sounded as if the grass on his tombstone had already grown tall.
It was completely dark outside by now. Gu Mian guessed that the ticket booth’s desk had likely been sullied by Fatty’s drool.
"I waited for you for so long! Just a few hours felt like two months," Fatty said joyfully as he ran over to them.
He looked Gu Mian up and down with a cheerful expression, a stark contrast to the ticket seller behind the window, who looked as if he wanted to commit suicide on the spot.
Fatty happily touched Gu Mian’s white coat. "Doctor, you made it out alive! It seems the ghost won."
Gu Mian nodded slightly.
The game had essentially ended without suspense after the third round of voting, when only one person and one ghost remained.
Apparently seeing no need to continue, the instance punished Guo Jimei directly after Chu Changge’s death.
So Gu Mian watched as Keke, Chu Changge, and Guo Jimei died one after another. He emerged as the victorious survivor of the instance, even though he was the only one left in the end.
"Let’s go back to the Spirit Car first," Fatty said, leading the way. "Doctor, I was quite worried about you. After all, in this instance, death might not only come from the ghost but also from the game rules... I was terrified that only Brother Chu would come back."
Gu Mian glanced at the puddle of drool on the nearby desk. So, you were so worried that you took a nap on the table?
As Fatty stepped out the door, he said, "This instance wasn’t bad, quite a cause for celebration..."
But his words seemed to have jinxed it. Just as he finished speaking, an announcement appeared on the game panel.
How odd, Gu Mian thought as he looked at the announcement. I didn’t do anything, right?
He hadn’t even killed anyone. Not even Guo Jimei—she had been dealt with directly by the instance.
[ANNOUNCEMENT]
[Due to a loophole in the regular instance "Close Your Eyes (VIP Version)," allowing numerous "actors" to be present within the game, the instance will be shut down for immediate rectification. The reopening date is unknown.]
"Actors?" Fatty, of course, knew what this meant. It was a term often used in games, like when a spy from the opposing team infiltrates your team in a 5v5 game.
"I know Brother Chu can act, but who else was acting?"
Gu Mian coughed as he walked. "Let me think. 007, Yuan Qinghua, Keke, and Chu Changge... you four were definitely a team. And Fatty, you would have definitely been part of the acting troupe if you hadn’t died in the first round."
Chu Changge said nothing, continuing to walk forward.
Fatty gave an awkward smile. "I did die too early... But how did the two of you ghosts and two civilians coordinate everything, especially with Yuan Qinghua being the real ghost?"
As they strolled forward, Gu Mian began to explain, "From the first round, Fatty, you were killed by Yuan Qinghua, right?"
Fatty nodded slightly. "She made me understand why so many people have to hold a pig down when they’re slaughtering it—it fucking hurts."
Gu Mian continued, "Back then, the four-person team hadn’t been formed yet. Yuan Qinghua was just killing indiscriminately."
Fatty sighed, full of regret. "I missed the chance to sacrifice myself for the Doctor. What a pity."
Gu Mian’s forehead twitched as he continued, "Chu Changge, you were making moves from the start. I saw you standing on one of the buildings. Li Wentao happened to pass by a window of another building, so you used the school badge to disguise yourself as him, leading Pan Yue and Keke astray and causing an innocent civilian to be voted out in the first round.
"In the daytime of the second round, you tracked Yue Nu and saw her playing a video in a classroom, even deliberately appearing within camera range. Then you negotiated with 007 to have her kill Yue Nu and appear in the video, which led to 007 being voted out in the second round. I don’t know why she agreed to such an unreasonable request.
"007’s extra fourth vote was cast by herself. She voted herself out to ensure it didn’t implicate me. Moreover, you and 007 had arranged her place of death, ensuring you could take Li Yibai there during the daytime in the third round, triggering his death.
"Furthermore, you took the watch Xu Xingcheng used to store his identity slip, so you knew long before anyone else that Xu Xingcheng was participating in the game, not Zhang Pingfan. But the others didn’t know.
"Civilians can’t kill other players, but civilians *can* kill non-players.
"So, you killed the non-player Zhang Pingfan and recorded a video, then had Keke show it to Guo Jimei to mislead her. I’m guessing you did it in the school’s basement. That’s why we saw you looking for something down there; you were searching for a suitable room to do the deed."
When Gu Mian reached this point, Fatty sucked in a sharp breath. "Brother Chu, your methods are that ruthless?"
Gu Mian continued, "In the final round, you used Yuan Qinghua to move Zhang Pingfan’s corpse to the construction site. You had her kill two people nearby to avoid Guo Jimei suspecting Xu Xingcheng’s identity, so you swapped Xu Xingcheng’s corpse with Zhang Pingfan’s."
At this, Chu Changge suddenly looked up. "You saw that?"
Gu Mian nodded. "I knew something was off when I saw Yuan Qinghua kill those two people."
In the last round, after inspecting the corpses of Yuan Qinghua and the others, Gu Mian had seemingly left the area. But he hadn’t really left; he had gone into hiding to continue observing.
So, he saw Chu Changge drag Zhang Pingfan’s body out from a nearby building and then drag Xu Xingcheng’s body into it.
"However," Gu Mian resumed, "I’m not sure how you reached an agreement with Keke. During the second round, when everyone was looking for clues, Keke choosing to pair up with Li Yibai was also to make it convenient for you to act against Li Yibai, wasn’t it? Plus, she was constantly preventing Guo Jimei from using the Prophecy Book."
Fatty was stunned, looking at Chu Changge with newfound awe in his eyes.
Chu Changge came to a halt.
They were almost at the Spirit Car.
Xiao Hong, in her red dress, was restlessly pressing her face against the rear window of the Spirit Car. Seeing them return, she bared her teeth in a grin.
Gu Mian heard Chu Changge speak slowly, "The reason I reached an agreement with Keke is that she needs something from you. She wants to tell you in person next time you meet."
Needs something from me?
Gu Mian remembered Keke’s expression at her death. Willing to go to such lengths for a favor for a stranger... that request must be very difficult to fulfill.
He thought of the Hide and Seek instance where he had first met Keke. In that game, a female player named Ji Bie Li had tried to take advantage of him but ended up being strangled with a headphone cord.
As he thought, Gu Mian furrowed his brows. "I think she was also the one who killed Ji Bie Li back then."
Chu Changge nodded. "As for 007, you had saved her life before, so when we approached her, she agreed without hesitation."
After nodding, he turned to Gu Mian. "Gu Mian, you should have noticed by now how serious the situation has become.
"In this instance, Fatty, Keke, Yuan Qinghua, 007, and I all died. Only you managed a narrow victory.
"You must realize that this instance was specifically targeting you."
Gu Mian nodded slightly.
The fact that Guo Jimei became a player was proof. The instance went to the extent of turning an NPC into a player just so she could use special items. In the end, when Guo Jimei used the Prophecy Book, it almost led to his downfall.
Speaking of which, Gu Mian suddenly remembered something. He looked at Chu Changge. "Did you promise Yuan Qinghua something?"
Why else would Yuan Qinghua have said that before she died?
Chu Changge shook his head. "No."
What a dry answer.
Xiao Hong on the Spirit Car had been baring her teeth in a grin while waiting for them. For some reason, Gu Mian thought Fatty seemed somewhat afraid as he climbed back into the vehicle.
