Global Collapse-Chapter 432 - 408: The High Mountain Flower Gu Bong Bong_1
"These two events are both Chinese holidays, though..."
"And if I’m not mistaken, June 7th should be the day of the college entrance exam, which seems to coincide with the Dragon Boat Festival this year," Fatty remarked as he looked at the panel. However, before he could dwell on it too long, he suddenly noticed another event announcement below.
Two event announcements? Could it be two events happening together?
By this time, Gu Mian had already clicked on the next announcement.
[The third global event ’College Entrance Exam’ is about to descend on Earth]
[Event location: See event ticket. To maintain fairness between game event regions, tickets will have teleportation capabilities. Players holding tickets can be transported to the event location during the event time]
[Event time: June 8th, 2019, 7:00 to June 9th, 24:00]
[Content: All participating players will enter the examination room for a large-scale test;
Players who reach the final admission score will receive event rewards]
[Event participation conditions: The event area will be sealed off during the event. Only players who rank in the top 20 percent in the ’Dragon Boat Racing’ event can get tickets to the ’College Entrance Exam’ event.]
Gu Mian stared at the game panel. "The Dragon Boat Racing event is on June 7th, and the College Entrance Exam starts on the 8th. Only players who rank in the top 20 percent in the Dragon Boat Racing event can participate in the College Entrance Exam... Sounds just like the real College Entrance Exam."
"Will the players be able to handle two large-scale events at once?" Fatty scratched his head. "They’ll be moving from one event to the next immediately. I guess the players will suffer greatly in the Dragon Boat Racing event."
Chu Changge, sitting to the side, pushed his glasses up with his index finger. "The two events are seamlessly connected. Players who get a ’College Entrance Exam’ ticket in the ’Dragon Boat Racing’ event can participate in the next event if they are not injured. If they are injured..." At this point, Chu Changge paused, focusing his gaze on Gu Mian. "Then it will be time for the Doctor class to shine. Of course, injured players could also sell their tickets to other players at a high price, and I guess that’s another reason for the existence of tickets."
Of course, injured players would depend on healers who could quickly replenish their health. With Gu Mian being the only Doctor in the world, they didn’t have a choice.
As for whether Gu Mian would be harmed by players... Just look at drooling Xiao Hong and grinning Brother behind him, and you’d know it’s not that easy.
"So, Doctor, are we going?" Fatty asked, looking at Gu Mian with a bowl in his hands.
Gu Mian straightened his collar. "Of course we’re going. We might discover something." As he spoke, he tapped on the tablecloth. "Chu Changge said before that participating in events could be beneficial, didn’t he? But today is only April 5th. There are still two months before the event starts. Let’s return 007 home first."
If there aren’t any unexpected events, 007’s hometown of Yingchuan should be reachable in seven days, and it wouldn’t delay anything.
007, who was mentioned, sat up straight with bread in her hands. "I appreciate your help."
However, now that there were four living people in the Spirit Car, it wasn’t quite convenient for them to sleep together at night.
During their journey, Gu Mian found a hotel that had been locked up for quite some time. The owner might have died or might be hiding at home. The sun was halfway down the mountain, and the afterglow of the sunset shone on this empty building, adding a touch of warmth to this cold early April.
Fatty was currently trying to pick the lock. "It’s a good thing I’ve done all kinds of jobs in my travels over the years..."
Gu Mian couldn’t remember all the things Fatty had done. He could have just sawed the door open, but Fatty felt it would be impolite to damage someone else’s lock when freeloading in their rooms. Fatty, meanwhile, was sticking his butt out, hunched over the door lock as he tinkered with it.
A gust of wind blew by, making Gu Mian’s white coat flap loudly. Fatty’s butt also shivered a little; he seemed a bit cold.
Just then, Gu Mian felt something placed over his shoulders. He looked to the side and saw a coat. Then, a pair of hands proceeded to help him button it up—the buttons were a little tight. Following the hands, Gu Mian looked up to see his Brother, who was earnestly fastening the buttons.
This coat... Gu Mian pondered for two seconds, then turned to look behind him.
007, who had been relieved of her coat, was standing in the cold wind, clutching the collar of her sweater and shivering as she looked at him.
This is really... Feeling a bit troubled, Gu Mian unbuttoned the coat, walked over to 007, and helped her put it back on.
007 looked up at him. "If you... if you feel cold, you can wear it."
Gu Mian shook his head helplessly. "I’m not cold."
By this time, Fatty had finally picked the lock, so 007 no longer had to arduously guard her coat.
"Alright, we can go in!" Fatty excitedly pushed the door open. "I wonder if there are any blankets or something inside." As he spoke, he stepped inside.
Gu Mian also took a few steps forward and entered the hotel. The hotel featured a tranquil style and had six floors. It was surrounded by greenery, and one would have to walk quite a way to see the road.
"Hmm," Fatty, who had jumped behind the front desk, began rummaging about. "I’ll look for some room keys. Doctor, which floor should we stay on?"
"Staying on the first floor doesn’t seem safe," Gu Mian said, turning to look at the out-of-order elevator. "Let’s stay on the third or fourth floor."
In the end, they chose a large room on the third floor. The room was exceptionally tidy. A huge window was embedded in the wall opposite the entrance. To the left of the entrance was the washroom, and to the right was the kitchen. A soft, light-coffee-colored carpet covered the floor. Further inside were four single beds, spaced evenly apart, enough for the four of them.
Fatty pulled the curtains and excitedly inserted the key card into the slot by the door. "Let’s choose our beds! It’s been so long since we last slept on a real bed."
Gu Mian was indifferent. He randomly picked a bed, sat down, removed his coat, and started reading *Second World*, the book he had gotten from the Central Library.
He had skimmed through the book before but hadn’t found anything. Tonight, he could thoroughly delve into its contents.
Just then, Fatty approached with a large basket. "Doctor, I saw a laundry room outside. Do you guys have any clothes to wash?"
Gu Mian and the others didn’t have the habit of hoarding clothes. They always bought new ones and discarded the old ones immediately, as they had neither the time nor the energy to do laundry.
Gu Mian was wearing a thin, white shirt at the time. He tugged at the collar of his shirt. "If I give you this shirt, I’ll have nothing to wear."
"I came prepared," Fatty said, magically producing a black turtleneck sweater. "A black sweater, handsome and warm! Look at this stylishly loose turtleneck; wear this, and you’ll be the epitome of cool, aloof elegance..."
"Alright," Gu Mian interrupted, reaching for the sweater. "I’ll go change in the next room."
With two girls in the room, it really wouldn’t be right to undress in front of them. Yes, Xiao Hong had also entered the room. 007 was currently secretly stuffing pieces of bread into Xiao Hong’s mouth.
When Gu Mian returned after changing, Fatty was stuffing Chu Changge’s coat into the laundry basket. Seeing Gu Mian, Fatty’s eyes lit up. "I must say, I have excellent taste."
Gu Mian ignored Fatty’s bright-eyed self-praise, returned to the bed, leaned against the headboard, and resumed reading *Second World*, his legs bent.
The book had a book band claiming it was Wang Yushu’s debut work. However, the book itself was chaotic. It started as a supernatural novel set about ten years in the past, then transitioned into science fiction, then into tomb raiding, and finally, it even included fantasy elements.
The protagonists were also inconsistent, seeming forcibly inserted into the plot. The initial protagonist died before the story was even halfway through, after which the protagonists kept changing, one after another...
Gu Mian spent several hours flipping through the book. Because he was short on time, he only skimmed it.
It seemed like seven or eight protagonists died throughout the book. It was as if an author would come up with an idea, write half of it, get bored, kill off the protagonist, and then start on a new idea.
Yuan Qinghua was a character in an instance, but she had existed in the real world thirteen years ago. Wang Yushu was Yuan Qinghua’s classmate and the author of *Second World*. When Gu Mian and his friends obtained the book, they were all drawn into a special instance that would lead to certain death—as if something didn’t want them to have the book.
"What on earth is this?" Gu Mian slammed the book shut.
Just then, Chu Changge’s voice suddenly came from above his head. "Have you noticed? The beginning of this book is quite different from the rest."
Gu Mian turned to look. Chu Changge was standing beside his bed; Gu Mian had no idea how long he’d been there. His Brother was also sitting by Gu Mian’s legs, watching him.
Gu Mian asked, puzzled, "You haven’t been standing there for several hours, have you?"
Chu Changge didn’t answer, instead sitting down. "The beginning of this book feels very similar to the real world, and the protagonist seems awkwardly inserted, as if a character was forced into a book meant to introduce a worldview. But the later parts are different; they read like a story passionately written by a novice."
That’s right. Gu Mian nodded. In fact, the book band also said that the writing quality at the beginning was the highest, and the rest was just a jumble of stories.
"It’s as if a decent beginning was copied, and the rest was just made up," Gu Mian said, rubbing the book’s pages. "Are you suggesting that the rest of Wang Yushu’s book is useless to us?"
"Perhaps we should find out where he copied the beginning from," Chu Changge said.
Gu Mian yawned. He spent another two hours rereading the beginning of the book, noting down the locations mentioned. Yan Chuan, Hou Ming, Xile Town. The first part of the story wasn’t long, and these were the only three locations Gu Mian found.
"Do these three places exist in the real world?" Gu Mian rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
"They do," came Chu Changge’s resolute voice.
They exist? Gu Mian turned towards him.
Chu Changge’s face was backlit, making his expression difficult to see in the dim light.
Gu Mian suddenly remembered that Chu Changge had an excellent memory for maps. After the hide-and-seek instance, when Gu Mian had asked him about locations related to "Seven," Chu Changge had been able to list several without hesitation.
"But I need to check some information," he said, standing up and looking down at Gu Mian. "You guys go to sleep first."
"You’re going out?" Gu Mian asked as Chu Changge walked towards the door.
Chu Changge paused. "I’m going to find a more detailed map. There’s a supermarket nearby that should sell them."
In that case... Gu Mian turned to Xiao Hong, who was still stuffed with bread. "Xiao Hong, you go with him."
It’s not safe for one person to go out this late at night.
Xiao Hong, looking as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, quickly agreed and left with Chu Changge.
Gu Mian lay on the bed and closed his eyes. "I haven’t read a book in so long. I’m a bit tired. I’m going to sleep now."
When Fatty returned after hanging the clothes, he saw Gu Mian asleep, curled up under the blanket, with the brown-eyed Brother sitting beside him.
But then, as if sensing something, the grey-haired man looked out the window. Before Fatty could react, he suddenly stood up and left the room.
