Global Collapse-Chapter 426 - 405: A Simple Gu Mian_1

So that's the gallows, hidden pretty well.

Just by navigating this narrow alley and passing the dilapidated thatched-roof houses on either side, I can reach the destination.

That's the third memory point.

At that point, Gu Mian will be able to transform, and his health bar, which is almost depleted to a sliver, will also be restored. He remembered that when he was a child, the TV station often broadcast animations about magical girls. Whenever the scene of a girl transforming played, the little girls in the orphanage would gasp in amazement one after another.

Back then, Gu Mian had sneered at it, but he never expected to be so excited when it was his turn to transform today.

The little companions will be saved!

Gu Mian quickly maneuvered the character forward. However, just as he took a few steps, the screen suddenly began to shake, as if the cameraman filming a video had Parkinson's disease. Simultaneously, words started popping up one by one at the bottom of the screen—

"THUD"

"THUD"

"THUD"

The moment Gu Mian saw these words, he understood. It was most likely that monster on the other side of the crevice causing trouble!

He quickly switched his perspective to look behind him. Sure enough, the cliff face behind him was starting to shake. Small pebbles tumbled down from above, and tiny cracks spread along both sides of the crevice, as if some colossal creature were attempting to force its way through this pitifully narrow gap. The stone wall behind him could collapse at any moment!

Fuck! Gu Mian cursed inwardly and immediately turned, sprinting madly towards the gallows.

Besides the "THUD" continuously popping up at the bottom of the screen, other words appeared. This path was already narrow; if Gu Mian spread his arms while running down the middle, he could even touch the houses on either side. The newly appearing words were the conversations of the people inside the houses, startled by the commotion.

"What's going on?"

"It must be the monster. Is it chiseling through the wall?"

Gu Mian had no time to consider how close the monster behind him was. He put away his shovel, trying to increase his speed, and mashed the keyboard, sprinting towards the gallows ahead. But the awakened people had already begun to move. Some even pushed open their doors, wanting to see what was happening outside. Simply opening a door wouldn't have been a major issue, but this alley, flanked by houses on both sides, was extremely narrow. If someone in front opened their door, it would block nearly half the path. If, at that moment, someone on the opposite side also opened their door, Gu Mian would have no choice but to attempt a hurdle.

Though he wasn't sure he could clear it.

Fortunately, the Holy Daughter's luck was decent; there was no instance of two opposite doors opening simultaneously. But even if only one person opened their door, they could still see the Holy Daughter sprinting down the alley.

Sure enough, someone saw her and screamed, "It's her!"

The people in the houses were quickly and fully awakened. Candlelight flickered to life within the rooms. Gu Mian watched as doors ahead were pushed open one by one, revealing heads so emaciated they were almost skeletal. Soon, the eyes set in those withered heads lit up. Gu Mian recognized that look—it was the gaze of a starving wolf spotting food.

And mixed within it was excitement and madness.

"Don't let her escape!"

"The Holy Daughter! We've seen a living Holy Daughter again! All these years, we've never managed to kill her with our own hands... Is our wish finally going to be fulfilled today?"

They spoke while leaning out, intending to come out and block Gu Mian.

Of course, I can't let you achieve that! Gu Mian sprinted rapidly towards the gallows ahead. At this point, he was less than twenty meters from the gallows, which was already charred black.

Just then, he took out the shovel from his inventory. While running desperately forward, he swung it at the people sticking their heads out from either side. The remnants of the Crusaders were already few and far between; only about a dozen heads poked out from the two rows of houses. Gu Mian roughly estimated the population density and, while still running, took out his only remaining lighter and threw it towards the side where more heads were protruding.

Perhaps because this was a game, the fire spread incredibly fast. Leaping, enormous flames immediately engulfed the entire row of houses. The emaciated heads in the houses were instantly obscured by the blaze. Gu Mian casually swung his shovel, striking a person beside him who was attempting to flee outwards, knocking him, his face etched with shock, back into the burning building.

The flames also swept over the Holy Daughter. Gu Mian saw one side of the screen glowing with firelight, and her health, already down to one-sixth, began to slowly decrease again.

More and more people burst out from the houses ahead. They chased closely behind Gu Mian, shouting, "Catch her!"

The persistent "THUD, THUD" at the bottom of the screen indicated that the monster behind him had not given up its advance.

Bright flames leaped in the dark canyon. A clamorous crowd pursued the Holy Daughter through a sea of fire. A huge monster squeezed through the narrow crevice, entering this area. The charred gallows stood silently amidst the chaotic environment, seemingly observing everything.

The scene was, for a moment, utter chaos.

Gu Mian mashed the keyboard frantically, bursting out of the sea of fire as his health bar rapidly approached zero, a mob of crazed people following closely behind him.

Faster! Faster!

He kept running forward, finally touching the charred gallows just as his health bar was nearly depleted.

For an instant, time seemed to freeze; even the arrogant flames paused their consumption.

A new scene flashed across the screen.

"Run, get out of here." A girl's face appeared on the screen. The background was a forest at night, but the girl's eyes were exceptionally bright, like stars in the sky. She was leaning against a thick tree, her foot caught in a large animal trap; it seemed she had stepped into a snare.

In the distance, many faint lights flickered; Gu Mian recognized them as the glow of torches.

During the memory flashback, Gu Mian couldn't control the character.

He could only sit in front of the computer and watch.

"Go! Don't worry about me." The girl gave 'him' a push... No, she must have been pushing the Holy Daughter at that time.

"If you don't like it here, then don't stay. Kindness is not your responsibility. You should go to a new place, give yourself a real name, one that you like. Someone like you deserves to live happily."

The screen's perspective remained unchanged.

The flames in the background seemed to be drawing nearer, almost upon them.

The Holy Daughter still showed no reaction. Perhaps she remained silent, or maybe Gu Mian couldn't see what she was saying. But the camera angle never left this girl with the sparkling eyes; the Holy Daughter hadn't abandoned her to escape alone.

But an agitated expression appeared on the girl's face. She forcefully pushed the Holy Daughter down, and Gu Mian saw the screen image lurch.

"Go! I told you to go!"

In the end, neither of them managed to leave, because the torches from the darkness were already right before them, and countless faces surrounded them.

They were captured and taken back. After that, the Holy Daughter's perspective never left the girl.

Gu Mian saw the girl tied up. On a pitch-black night, she was placed on the gallows, which resembled a roasting rack. Fierce flames rose from beneath her feet, and the dry, thin kindling instantly burned black. Before long, the struggling person on the gallows gradually turned the color of the charred wood beneath her, along with the terrifying gallows itself.

"Look, Holy Daughter," the village chief's face suddenly appeared on the screen, making Gu Mian almost want to grab his Saw. "This is the consequence of making a mistake. The great Holy Daughter, of course, never makes mistakes. The fault can only lie with others."

The Holy Daughter's gaze remained fixed on the charred gallows. At the same time, Gu Mian heard whispers by his ear.

"Selfish."

"Hypocritical."

"Greedy."

"Cruel."

These are not the people I should protect.

Gu Mian turned his head to look around; there was no one else in the empty room.

Then, a new change appeared on the screen.

Gu Mian saw his health bar in the top-left corner completely disappear. It wasn't that his health had run out... the entire health bar had simply vanished into thin air.

Simultaneously, the faces on the screen, which had almost closed in on them, suddenly showed expressions of utter panic.

They stumbled backward, their mouths opening and closing. Gu Mian saw the game translate their words at the bottom of the screen—

"The demon has descended!"