Global Collapse-Chapter 433 - 409: 007 Looking for Mom_1
The next morning, when Gu Mian opened his eyes, the first thing that met his gaze was a corpse.
A grotesquely shaped, distorted-faced corpse.
It was placed at the foot of his bed.
Neatly arranged at the foot of his bed. ππ»πππππ«π£π€πππ΅.ππ€π’
Gu Mian was speechless.
He subconsciously felt for the chainsaw beside him and only turned his head to look around after confirming the chainsaw was still there.
To the left of the corpse was a strange-looking Fatty, holding a camera. He was standing over the corpse on the ground as if transfixed by some spell.
Across from Fatty was 007, who looked equally odd, clutching her clothes and shivering visibly.
Meanwhile, Chu Changge was sitting on the couch opposite them, holding the book "Second World." A thick atlas lay open next to him. Apart from these two books, several miscellaneous items were scattered on the table. He didnβt appear to pay any attention to the corpse on the floor.
Xiao Hong was sitting on 007βs bed, hugging a large plastic bag filled with snacks. Gu Mian noticed red cans of lychee soda taking up a good portion of the space; Chu Changge had likely bought them when he went to the supermarket the previous night.
At this moment, she was unconcerned about anything else. She reached into the shopping bag, took out a can of lychee soda, pulled the tab, and slipped in a straw.
Gu Mian tugged at his uncomfortable collar, his voice a bit hoarse. "Whatβs up with this corpse?"
It didnβt quite look human, and it seemed somewhat familiar.
Fatty finally moved. He looked up at Gu Mian. "Well, hereβs the thing. The Holy Daughterβs brother went out last night... He just got back this morning... and dragged back this... trophy, I guess."
As he spoke, he raised the camera in his hand. "I thought it looked familiar, so I flipped through the photos I took of you before, Doctor."
Fatty took a few steps, walking around the corpse on the ground to Gu Mian. "Doctor, look. Doesnβt this thing on the ground look a lot like the assassin I photographed trying to kill you before?"
Gu Mian looked at the screen. It did indeed look very similar.
Previously, he had drawn a strange Wanted Order, and a ghost had been pursuing him ever since. However, this ghost probably realized it needed to bide its time and build its strength, so it hadnβt appeared again after their initial encounter.
Who would have thought it would die while biding its time.
So tragic...
Gu Mian looked around again. "Where is he?"
Fatty pointed to the side. "In the bathroom... washing his hands, I suppose?"
Very conscientious, he even had to wash his hands after killing a ghost.
By this time, Xiao Hong had already finished one can of soda. She was now pulling the tab on a second can and inserting a straw.
As Gu Mian passed her, he smoothly snatched the lychee soda from her hand, took a few sips through the straw, and remarked, "Tastes good."
Xiao Hong sat with her mouth slightly open, maintaining her previous posture, a bewildered look on her face.
Gu Mian walked over to the corpse and looked down at it. Its expression was incredibly contorted. Its mouth was so wide open Gu Mian suspected two eggs could be stuffed inside. It made one wonder what terrifying ordeal it had experienced when it was still alive and mobile.
"To actually scare a ghost to this extent..." Fatty muttered, subconsciously thinking of Gu Mian.
At this moment, 007 looked up at Gu Mian. "When it was... dragged back, it dropped some special items along the way..."
"Mm," Gu Mian nodded. He remembered the assassinβs description mentioned it carried many special items, and killing it would allow one to claim them.
007 continued, "But most of them probably dropped outside. We only found these few."
As she spoke, she pointed in Chu Changgeβs direction.
Gu Mian turned to look; so those items on the coffee table were the special items they had found.
Three in total.
[Rose Teacup]
[Description: A transparent crystal cup, devoid of artistic value. Selling it to a second-hand gift recycler might fetch a small sum.]
[Function: The teacup will always be filled with rose tea at the perfect temperature. It is an essential item for crossing deserts.]
A lifestyle-type special item?
This would indeed be very convenient for some players.
Chu Changge stopped flipping through the book in his hands, reached for the teacup filled with rose tea and a few floating petals, and took a sip.
It seemed quite tasty.
The other two items were of no use.
[Wand Five]
[Description: A card from a tarot deck, depicting five small figures and five wands. Basically useless unless a complete set is assembled.]
[Function: A tarot card with extremely high accuracy. A dream item for the Fortune-teller class.]
The other was also a tarot card, depicting a man holding a swordβthe King of Swords.
The description and function were similar to the Wand Five.
Gu Mian knew about tarot cards. A full set was needed for them to be useful, and a set consisted of dozens of cards. Having only two of them, like these, was useless.
Gu Mian picked up the two cards from the coffee table. "These two cards are class-specific items. Iβm not a Fortune-teller. Is anyone here proficient in fortune-telling?"
As he spoke, he looked at the people around him. Chu Changge and 007 shook their heads. Only Fatty eagerly raised his hand. "Iβve told fortunes under an overpass before!"
Gu Mian remarked, "...You really have done everything, havenβt you?"
He took a few more sips of lychee soda. "Alright, enough nonsense. Letβs get going."
He still needed to get 007 home soon.
Itβs worth mentioning that to prevent his brother from running around at night, Gu Mian had put the CD back into his lab coat pocket. Fortunately, since the night the assassin was dealt with, his brother hadnβt shown any inclination to go out gallivanting at midnight.
The journey was quite smooth. Gu Mian brought 007 back to her hometown without many detours.
Throughout the journey, Xiao Hong clutched her lychee soda tightly, completely preventing anyone from snatching another can. Gu Mian couldnβt understand why a ghost could drink soda.
It was already April 13th when 007 arrived home. During the journey, Gu Mian and his group passed by an advanced ticket booth. Amidst the ticket sellerβs ashen-faced expression, they obtained event tickets, and 007 also managed to snag one.
The city of Yingchuan looked relatively normal. Someone had cleared the cars from the roads, and Gu Mian saw bicycles weaving through the narrow paths that had been cleared out.
At this moment, 007 had already gotten out of the car and was looking up to bid them farewell. "This is far enough. You donβt need to continue playing β007 Searches for Her Parentsβ with me. Driving further in makes it too easy to be targeted."
Gu Mian looked down at her. "Do you not need us to escort you in?"
007 shook her head. "This is my home. I can find my way back with my eyes closed."
As she said this, Gu Mian suddenly saw Xiao Hong approach from the side. She reluctantly stuffed two cans of lychee soda into 007βs hands, then quickly scrambled back to the rear of the vehicle.
007 was slightly stunned, then smiled. "You all should take care as well."
"Oh, right," she suddenly leaned closer to Gu Mian, quickly pressed something into his hand, and whispered, "Consider this my payment for the ride."
With that, she waved goodbye and turned to leave. Gu Mian looked down at the item in his hand.
It was the [Prophecy Book].
A special item Guo Jimei had used in the βClose Your Eyesβ instance. By filling in a name, one could learn all the identities that person had possessed from birth until the present.
This was probably the reward 007 had received in that instance.
Looking at the item in his hand, Gu Mian again remembered the identity he had seen for Chu Changge before Chu Changge died in that instance.
Just then, Chu Changge, sitting in the back, suddenly spoke. "Iβve researched the three locations: Yan Chuan, Hou Ming, and Xile Town. From here, Yan Chuan is the closest, followed by Xile Town, and Hou Ming is the farthest. Our event location is at the Liannu River. Iβve planned a route..."
As he spoke, he took out a small notebook with his left hand and a pen with his right. It was pink, and the cap was adorned with a cute rabbit in a pink dress. Chu Changge put the cap on the end of the pen and began writing in the notebook, the cute rabbit head bobbing with his movements, a sight rather inconsistent with his temperament.
Undoubtedly, this was Fattyβs aesthetic taste.
"The event starts on June 7th. Although the event tickets can teleport us directly there, itβs best to familiarize ourselves with the environment first. This is like familiarizing yourself with the test site before a driving exam; understanding the environment can be a great help to us."
"So, Iβve planned a route. From here, weβll first go to Yan Chuan, then Hou Ming, then Xile Town, and finally the Liannu River. Xile Town and the Liannu River are almost next to each other. This route is the shortest one Iβve calculated, and the density of cities along the way isnβt high."
"However, it might take some time. Itβs best not to enter any instances in the meantime. But we can enter a few more after we reach the Liannu River. What do you all think?"
As he finished, Chu Changge looked up and adjusted his glasses.
Gu Mian nodded. "No problem. If we want to understand the connection between instances and the real world, exploring these three locations is our only option."
Perhaps because Xiao Hong and his brother, two ghosts, were providing suppression, they encountered no trouble along the way; even special instances didnβt pop up.
Gu Mian passed through Yan Chuan and Hou Ming smoothly but didnβt find a single shred of a clue. He could only pin his hopes on the final stop, Xile Town.
However, his brotherβs surveillance only intensified. He not only stared at Gu Mian during the day but also at night.
He was practically staring Gu Mian bald.
More than once, Gu Mian woke up in the middle of the night to see a pale face hovering above his head. Even Fatty, sleeping beside him, got caught in the crossfire several times. The Spirit Car often echoed with Fattyβs wails.
As for Chu Changge, even if he saw a pale face hovering above him, he wouldnβt make a sound. At most, he would just turn over and continue sleeping.
Gu Mian, at his witβs end, eventually resorted to forcibly pressing his brother back into the CD every night before sleeping.
However, Fatty still often saw the brother appear in the middle of the night to gently tuck Gu Mianβs blanket, much like a mother covering her child in the dead of night.
The peculiar team of three people and two ghosts finally arrived successfully at Xile Town on May 21st. This was their last hope.
This should have been a good day for giving flowers. However, at this point, people couldnβt even afford flowers for their ancestorsβ graves, let alone worry about whether their significant others would be angry if they didnβt receive any.
Fortunately, Gu Mian and the other two were single, so they never had to consider such problems.
Fatty, however, had somehow procured a wilted flower and spent the whole day trying to give it to Gu Mian.
At this point, Gu Mian stopped the car, as he saw two familiar figures ahead.
Gu Mian looked through the windshield. "An acquaintance? Looks like thereβs something to this place."
