Global Collapse-Chapter 408 - 391: The Instance You are in is less than 100 Meters_1
Playing first-person horror games for extended periods always left one feeling dizzy.
Fortunately, it was still dusk in the game, so the light was somewhat brighter.
At that moment, Gu Mian was controlling the protagonist, who was standing on a dilapidated street.
The location was a village by a cliff. The village was massive, with a style somewhat resembling Western medieval aesthetics.
Half-collapsed buildings were everywhere, their ruin possessing a strange artistic quality.
The village looked like it had been abandoned for many years, completely devoid of people.
Gu Mian explored the terrain, controlling his character while murmuring to himself, Perhaps, like me, the others have also entered a small, dark room and are controlling their game characters?
Or, to take the thought a step further…
Gu Mian stared at the computer screen in front of him.
Since it was a first-person perspective, only a desolate street was visible ahead.
Perhaps they've also become characters in the game? If they turned into ghosts, that could be a real problem…
Meanwhile, Fatty was anxiously pacing back and forth in his bookstore.
He realized he couldn't leave the dilapidated building at all; an invisible barrier blocked his way, preventing him from taking a single step outside.
"Unheard of! Unseen!" Fatty could only lean against the main door, watching helplessly as the sky outside gradually darkened.
The world outside was so vast, so free, yet he couldn't take a single step into it!
Fatty was so agitated he wanted to curse. What kind of instance traps a player in a dilapidated building with no way out?
Recalling that the instance's death protection mechanism had disappeared, he grew even more anxious. I wonder how Doctor and the others are doing…
Fatty had already switched on the pendant lamp. It was constantly swayed by the wind from outside, its movement making Fatty's heart flutter with unease.
He looked at the desktop telephone on the table. Though it was there, it had no numbers on it, and even pressing the redial button yielded nothing.
But there has to be a way to leave this place, right?
With this thought, Fatty turned his gaze to the old bookshelves in front of him.
Why not start by checking these books? Maybe one of them contains a spell to leave this wretched place.
As he thought about this, he took a few steps toward the bookshelves.
But just then, a familiar and eerie voice suddenly came from behind him, "Hello, I'm here to return a book."
Fatty's neck stiffened as he slowly turned his head to look at the main door.
There, in front of the wide-open door, a woman stood. He didn't know when she had appeared.
Her face was wan and sallow, her figure emaciated. She held a book in her gaunt hand, extending it toward him.
The scene eerily overlapped with what he had witnessed not long before.
If the sky outside hadn't already darkened, Fatty would have almost suspected he had traveled back in time.
His body stiffened, an unnatural expression on his face as he looked at the woman. "I remember you… you were here just a moment ago?"
The woman didn't answer, still extending her withered hand. Fatty, however, didn't dare to go forward and take the book.
He leaned against the bookshelf behind him, warily watching the person before him.
For a moment, neither of them moved, standing rooted to the spot.
But the silence didn't last long. A few seconds later, that eerie and shrill voice once again issued from the woman's throat.
"I'm here to return a book!"
"I'm here to return a book!"
"I'm here to return a book!"
Her body contorted wildly as if she would burst into the room at any second.
Startled, Fatty rushed forward and snatched the book from the woman's hand.
Once he took the book from her hand, the woman stopped. Fatty watched her turn mechanically and walk off into the darkness.
"Shit!" he shivered, watching the woman's retreating figure. "This place is so damn creepy."
Why is this person repeating the same thing over and over…
Just as Fatty was swallowing hard and staring in the direction where the woman had vanished, the telephone on the table suddenly rang.
He turned his head in shock.
Who would call him in this instance?
The ringing of the telephone sounded exceptionally chilling in the dark night. Without much hesitation, Fatty quickly strode forward and answered it.
Then, a familiar voice emerged from the receiver, "This is Chu Changge."
Hearing this familiar voice, Fatty's eyes instantly welled with tears. "Brother Chu, where are you now?"
"I think we're all in the same situation. I'm trapped in a bookstore and can't get out. I found two unmarked phone numbers on a bookshelf. The first person who answered my call was 007; she's also stuck in a bookstore and can't get out."
Hearing this, Fatty nodded, even though he knew Chu Changge couldn't see him. "I'm in a bookstore too, and I can't get out at all. Plus, there's this crazy woman who keeps coming to return a book."
Chu Changge paused on the other end, then asked, "Did she say this—"
"Hello, I'm here to return a book."
The eerie tone burrowed into Fatty's ears, the sound particularly bone-chilling in the cold night.
He slowly twisted his neck to look behind him. Indeed, the voice was coming from right behind his head.
An emaciated woman stood at the door, staring blankly ahead. Her withered hand was raised, holding a black book.
"Hello, I'm here to return a book."
Fatty heard her say it again.
The top right corner of the screen displayed the time: 7:30 PM. The sky in the game had completely darkened.
Gu Mian had used the preceding time to sneak into a few buildings, searching for game clues. Despite the village being deserted, there were still quite a few good items to be found.
Gu Mian had found a lighter and a page torn from some unknown book.
He had also saved the game a few times along the way.
At this moment, Gu Mian was using the lighter—an in-game item—to illuminate the white paper in his hand. It was clear the publisher of this book had been quite generous, as only a single line was printed in the center of the page—
"May the Angels forgive all sins."
Gu Mian stared at this line of text. Speaking of which, the vibe of this instance seems a bit like the 'Slaughter' game. I wonder if there will be some deeply moving story at the end.
Of course, whether there's a story or not isn't very important. I remember there seemed to be an Evil God Statue in the 'Slaughter' instance. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
He looked at the words on the paper on the screen and said aloud, It's so unfair. Even the game character has an inventory, but I don't.
After night fell, the screen's clarity visibly diminished.
It had to be said, the game was incredibly realistic. The dry grass on the thatched roofs and the tattered cloth snagged on fences swayed in the wind. The uneven dirt road kicked up dust. Although he couldn't hear any sound, Gu Mian felt as if a gust of wind was truly rushing towards his face.
It was worth mentioning that so far, not a single ghost or monster had appeared in the instance, even during the incredibly eerie night.
If the others are really in this game, they should be quite safe in an environment devoid of ghosts or monsters.
Gu Mian quickly retracted this naive thought, because he saw, in the darkness not far away, a tall monster dragging iron chains, slowly heading in his direction.
Gu Mian looked at his inventory: a lighter and a piece of paper. There seemed to be nothing that could compare to a chainsaw.
He quickly turned tail and fled. I take back what I just said! They'd be safer if they aren't in this game… But where on earth are they?!
Meanwhile, Fatty had also found two phone numbers on his bookshelf. By now, he had already finished his conversation with Chu Changge and was currently talking to 007.
"Three times! That woman has come three times now! Each time, it's the same sentence, the same action. Why does she keep repeating the same thing so many times?"
On the other end, 007 was silent for a moment. "That woman has visited me twice too, repeating the same thing both times: returning a book… Also, I just tried to use a special item to leave the bookstore, but I couldn't use it."
Fatty was slightly taken aback. "Is this place restricting our use of special items?"
"No," 007's low voice came through. "It's not a restriction; they're simply unusable."
She paused here, seemingly considering how to explain. "I have a special item that can teleport me one hundred meters directly ahead. But when I tried to use it, a prompt appeared saying it couldn't be used. The reason was…"
007 paused again.
After a long moment, Fatty finally heard her voice come from the receiver, as if she were repeating what she had seen—
"The area of the instance you are currently in is less than one hundred meters."
