Global Collapse-Chapter 404 - 387: Dreaming Back to the Qing Dynasty_1
Gu Mian never expected to run into 007 on this auspicious day, and of all places, in front of two large, grey-black buildings.
This bizarre place was remarkably familiar; Gu Mian had spotted it from a great distance. Chu Changge also noticed it.
Fatty, on the other hand, had no idea what was so familiar about these two buildings. It was only after Gu Mian had parked the Spirit Car beneath them that he slowly realized and asked, "Doctor, are we planning to spend the night here?"
One couldn’t blame him. Fatty hadn’t seen the exteriors of these two buildings before, as he was the first one to die in the ’Close Your Eyes’ instance.
That’s right; the two buildings in front of the Spirit Car now eerily matched the two buildings from Gu Mian’s memory of the ’Close Your Eyes’ instance. They were almost exactly the same. Even the person standing in front of the buildings was disturbingly familiar.
It was nighttime. Gu Mian saw a tiny silhouette standing under the massive moon, looking upwards, motionless.
On closer inspection, it turned out to be 007.
007, it seemed, had also noticed the arrival of the Spirit Car. The disguise on Gu Mian’s Spirit Car wasn’t particularly elaborate; therefore, anyone who had seen it before could easily recognize its make. She evidently recognized it. 007 retreated a few steps, as if wanting to move away from the eerie Spirit Car that had appeared on the night of the Qingming Festival. But then, as if noticing Gu Mian inside the vehicle, she paused.
By now, Gu Mian had already stopped the car and stepped out onto the pavement with his Saw.
Watching Gu Mian exit the vehicle, 007 stared at them for a few seconds and then walked over, saying, "What a coincidence, running into you guys again."
Gu Mian also glanced down at 007. "This is our third meeting, isn’t it? Though the second time was just a short while ago."
Actually, this is my first time seeing 007 in the real world, he thought, and the circumstances are oddly fitting.
He looked up at the two buildings in front of him. The two grey-black structures looked incredibly oppressive in the darkness, separated by an electric fence in the middle.
This familiar scene, this familiar face... isn’t this the very place where we were on the first night in the ’Close Your Eyes’ instance? Gu Mian almost suspected he had been transported back into the ’Close Your Eyes’ instance. What on earth is happening?
By now, Chu Changge and Fatty had also exited the Spirit Car. Chu Changge was looking up at the two buildings.
Meanwhile, Fatty frowned, saying, "Why does this place feel so... creepy? Like I could just die at any second."
Fatty’s intuition was spot on; he had indeed died at this place the last time.
007 clearly wasn’t skilled at making small talk, especially during the festive Qingming Festival. She couldn’t exactly ask, "Are your ancestors resting well?" or anything of the sort.
She didn’t say anything else but jumped straight to the point, "I didn’t expect to run into you guys here."
Gu Mian wasn’t one for small talk either. He didn’t waste words on this peculiar woman who could literally tear the skin off her own arm. He asked, "Have you been standing here for a long time?"
007 frowned. "Actually, I was on my way home to see my parents..."
Fatty, remembering it was a holiday, suddenly had a lapse in judgment and blurted out, "Would you like to buy some joss paper to take back with you?"
007 choked. "No... they’re still... alive."
Hearing this, Fatty blinked, taken aback, then awkwardly pulled his head back. "Oh, my bad."
007 shook her head slightly. "It’s okay. I was on my way, but I passed by this place in the afternoon. It was just too familiar; I couldn’t help but notice."
At this point, Chu Changge also suddenly spoke up, "Indeed, it’s exactly the same."
Fatty was somewhat perplexed. "What do you mean, ’exactly the same’?"
Gu Mian turned on his flashlight, pointing it at one of the buildings. "Fatty, you died early on, so you probably don’t know where we spent the first night in the previous instance. Let me tell you, it was in this building."
Hearing this, Fatty’s scalp tingled. "What? How could that be?!"
Gu Mian shone the flashlight on the dark building. "I didn’t expect to find a building here that’s exactly like the one in the instance... 007, did you go inside and check?"
007 nodded slightly. "I went in for a look this afternoon. The layout inside is almost the same as in the instance." As she spoke, she glanced at Fatty. "But there were no bodies."
Fatty’s scalp prickled, and a chill ran down his spine. "Since you both say so... could it be that our instances are held in the real world?"
Looking at the two buildings, Chu Changge shook his head slightly. "I’m afraid not. The terrain around these two buildings is a bit different from what was in the instance. Plus, if we had died in the real world, we wouldn’t have been resurrected."
Gu Mian agreed with Chu Changge. "Moreover, the worldviews of some instances are completely inconsistent with the real world."
"For instance, the Slaughter instance."
"Or the Fairy Tale City instance."
007 sighed. "Ever since the Fairy Tale City instance, I’ve felt that this game was somewhat unusual. And now, I’ve encountered a building identical to one from an instance."
Why would buildings from instances appear in the real world? Could it be that this global game was designed using the real world as a blueprint?
Gu Mian also scratched his chin. "I suspect that if we look into it further, we might uncover even more similarities. For instance, the school not far from these two buildings."
At this point, Fatty suddenly interjected from behind Gu Mian, "Doctor, I have a thought. Do you think the game’s instances might be adaptations of real-world events? If you think about it, we’ve experienced several instances that felt very much like real events."
Indeed, there were a few instances that were very down-to-earth. But there were also many that were completely impossible within this world’s framework.
At this point, Chu Changge turned his head. "We could go take a look nearby, especially for a school."
That’s right. Gu Mian turned. In the last instance, they had spent most of their time in the school, and its basement seemed to hold quite a few mysteries.
Hearing this, 007 swiftly grabbed Fatty, who was nearest to her, her expression tense. "We can’t go! I checked the map earlier. There is indeed a school nearby..."
Gu Mian glanced at Fatty, who had been grabbed by 007.
She continued, "But the area around the school is densely populated. The current infectious disease outbreak is severe, especially in crowded places. Going there could be dangerous."
Gu Mian wasn’t worried about that, though. They had virus neutralizers in the Spirit Car, so driving in should be fine. Besides, they could wear their specialized masks inside.
At this point, Fatty patted 007 on the shoulder in a token gesture of comfort. "Don’t worry, we’ve got the Doctor! Don’t you remember who severed your nerves in the instance last time?"
007: "..." The memory was still painfully fresh.
Before leaving, Gu Mian turned back to ask 007, "Won’t you come with us? We might uncover unprecedented secrets about the instances."
As expected, 007 couldn’t resist temptation. She eagerly let Gu Mian tempt her into the Spirit Car.
It was only when the Spirit Car arrived in front of the school that 007 was overcome with regret. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦
Gu Mian heard her repeatedly murmuring from the backseat, "I’m so stupid, really..."
Ignoring 007, who was berating herself, Gu Mian used the Spirit Car’s headlights to look at the school entrance. Four large characters were carved on it—"Wensong College".
Gu Mian remembered the school in the instance was called "Songwen Academy"; it had likely been altered.
Then, amidst 007’s self-recriminating mutters of, "I’m so stupid, really..." he drove the Spirit Car onto the school grounds.
