Global Collapse-Chapter 481 - 456: Family Members Not Allowed In_1
Gu Mian was well aware of Chu Changge’s propensity for deception.
He used to think that he was the greatest deceiver, but compared to Chu Changge, Gu Mian still had some shortfalls.
Chu Changge was sneaky. He cunningly deceived others, and by the time they realized what had happened, it was too late. Alternatively, he would charm someone into willingly falling into his trap and still make them feel that it was worthwhile. He had the potential to be a suitor everyone loved to hate.
However, Gu Mian never imagined Chu Changge and Xiao Qiao would conspire to commit murder. Of course, this conspiracy was merely Gu Mian’s intuition until it was confirmed by Chu Changge’s admission.
"You two aren’t actually planning on killing someone together, are you?" Gu Mian sidled up to the pair.
Since the start of this global game, he, Chu Changge, and Fatty had mostly stuck together. It seemed unlikely that Chu Changge would find the time to rendezvous with Xiao Qiao to commit murder.
Could it be that they executed their plan before the game started?
Had Chu Changge already lost his mind before the game began?
Xiao Qiao closed her mouth and fell silent. Silence usually indicated guilt, but Gu Mian couldn’t read any hint of guilt on her beautiful face.
"When we first met him at the Lantern Festival, the last time we saw him was on the dragon boat," Gu Mian pondered. "Chu Changge, how could you not have recognized him if you have killed him before?"
However, on second thought, even if Chu Changge did know Xie Bi’an from before, it made sense that he might not have recognized him later.
Xie Bi’an was wrapped like a mummy from an Egyptian pharaoh’s tomb. It was likely that not even his own parents would have recognized him if they had been present.
Maybe he was wrapped so securely because he feared being recognized by Chu Changge and consequently murdered?
After a few seconds, Gu Mian finally heard Chu Changge’s voice, "I didn’t kill him."
Nearby, Xiao Qiao also silently raised her hand, "I didn’t either."
But clearly, they recognized each other.
And judging by the glance Xie Bi’an cast in their direction, he obviously recognized someone familiar, making Gu Mian feel deceived, as if he were the only one in the world who didn’t know Xie Bi’an.
Fatty, who was sitting nearby, leaned over to join the conversation, "Doctor, don’t be disheartened. I might recognize him too when he takes off his mask."
Gu Mian shoved Fatty away dismissively.
Fatty, now by the window, continued, "But his voice sounds so enticing. If I knew him, I would have definitely recognized him... such a soothing voice means he must be quite good-looking. It would be even better if he were a girl."
Gu Mian ignored Fatty—who had the strange fixation of looking at men but wishing they were women—and turned to Xiao Qiao. "Tell me, what’s your relationship with that cloaked man."
Xiao Qiao paused for three seconds before replying, "He’s an orphan."
It sounded as if she was stating a fact, not using the opportunity to insult someone.
Then she continued, "I am an orphan, and so is Chu Changge."
Gu Mian was silent for a moment. Oh great, was this an orphan gathering? Surely this vehicle was named ’Orphan’s House’.
"We knew him before, but he had an accident. We all thought he was dead," Xiao Qiao succinctly stated before falling silent again.
Gu Mian broke the silence, "Could you tell more about it?"
"No."
Although Gu Mian suspected there was more to the story, right now he was more curious about why Xie Bi’an wrapped himself so tightly. "What does he look like?"
Xiao Qiao pondered for a moment. "Quite good-looking, I think."
So, his reason for wrapping himself so tightly wasn’t the same as Xiao Hong’s.
Did he possess some sort of superpower? Like a special item tattooed onto his skin that could kill anyone who saw it...
While Gu Mian was envisioning the tattoo, Chu Changge suddenly spoke up, "He’s very dangerous."
He indeed looked dangerous. If he had dressed that way before the game started and went to a train station, he would surely have been arrested by the on-duty policemen.
Then Chu Changge suddenly turned his head to look at Gu Mian. "You need to be careful."
"Why?" Gu Mian asked.
Chu Changge fell silent again.
Gu Mian was frustrated with their vague and evasive responses. If it were ghosts, he would have tortured them until they confessed.
But these were Chu Changge, who probably wouldn’t even blink if his head were chopped off, and Xiao Qiao, who could probably be dead for several minutes before it registered.
"Ah." Gu Mian leaned back in his chair and exhaled a sigh. He wanted to beat someone up.
However, causing a scene by assaulting his own brother would surely draw too much attention. Gu Mian quickly discarded the idea.
The school bus continued its rapid journey from dusk till dawn.
As the sun slowly began to set again, only about twenty people had boarded the bus during the better part of the day. Fortunately, there was plenty of space on this large bus, and the seats were spaced generously apart, so the players didn’t have to squeeze together.
It was confirmed that this bus was meant to transport the top-ranking players from the Dragon Boat event. After spending half a day on the road, the players in the bus had started to strike up conversations.
However, no one tried to chat with the six people sitting in the back row, but they couldn’t help glancing back from time to time.
Among the six, two were wrapped up tightly, looking quite eerie; along with a beautiful but obviously malicious mature woman, an emotionless man with glasses, a stern Doctor, and in the far corner sat the most terrifying figure of all: a large, menacingly ferocious-looking man.
"Your name was revealed during the Dragon Boat event," Liu Ruyan said, looking towards the conversing players in front. She spoke in a voice so low that no one else could hear. "Everyone knows Gu Mian came in first, and they know that the first-place winner is on this bus. It’s likely they’ve already figured out we are the winners."
"It doesn’t matter," Gu Mian touched the school emblem on his chest. "Everyone knows Meiren Chu and Gu Mian are two different people. Right now, I am Meiren Chu."
All five of them could open their player panels normally, but the most suspicious one was Xiao Hong, who couldn’t open her player panel.
If any player did have the intention to kill, they would target Xiao Hong. Whether through firearms or melee weapons, all attacks would be directed towards Xiao Hong.
He was a man, and Xiao Hong was a woman, but who really knew Gu Mian’s gender in the eyes of others?
Thinking of this, Gu Mian reached out and gently patted Xiao Hong’s hair with a smile. "Xiao Hong, you’re truly kind-hearted."
Feeling puzzled, Xiao Hong looked up at Gu Mian, cheerfully brushing against his hand.
For now, no one dared to make a move. Gu Mian suspected that it was due to the "Fighting Prohibited" sign placed at the front of the bus. Long-term gaming experience taught the players to obey the rules or face dire consequences, so they naturally treated the sign as a rule of the bus that had to be obeyed.
But none of them knew that the sign was put up by the driver after seeing Gu Mian get on the bus.
"We should be picking up the final group next," Chu Changge commented, watching the setting sun. "It’s already past four in the afternoon, and the event begins at seven. The bus still needs time to get us to our destination."
By dusk at five o’clock, the bus stopped and started to play the recording of "A One-Way Journey," which Gu Mian had heard many times.
Shortly after, three hurried girls got on the bus; among them was a familiar face to Gu Mian.
"Mingyue?" Fatty blinked in surprise. "Doctor, do you remember her from the Death Aspect instance?"
Gu Mian quirked an eyebrow. "My memory isn’t as poor as you believe."
It was impossible for him to forget the players from the last instance.
Mingyue, aside from them, was the last player to survive the previous game. According to Fatty, she was rather untrustworthy and was finally killed by a falling clothes rack—poetic justice.
Perhaps it was just Gu Mian’s imagination, but he noticed that as soon as Mingyue got on the bus and took a glance at the interior, her entire body seemed to shudder when her gaze fell on their side. She immediately looked down and rushed to a seat in the front row.
"What’s with her?" Gu Mian was a bit confused; he didn’t think he looked like the clothes rack that killed her.
Xiao Qiao replied with righteous certainty, "I don’t know."
As expected, after that stop, the school bus drove on without stopping again until six in the evening. At that point, a familiar scene appeared outside—the entrance to Lianhua University.
"Exit the bus in order!" The driver stood up and started shouting at them, as if afraid someone would refuse to leave.
Starting with the quiet man in the front row, they started to disembark. Being at the very back, Gu Mian and his group were the last to get off. However, he noticed many of the players sneaking glances at them as they got off, as if they were plotting something.
The questionable Mingyue, however, disembarked rather quickly, almost jumping off the bus as if a ghost were chasing her.
Several other school buses were also parked in front of Lianhua University, with their own set of players dismounting.
Gu Mian stood at the school entrance, watching the players trickling out from the school buses. These were not all the exam candidates. Most of them were probably still on their way, and some perhaps already in the examination room.
Several NPC-looking figures stood outside the massive main gates of Lianhua University, holding what seemed like Metal Detectors. The players were lining up, awaiting their turn to be inspected by these NPCs.
"Come over for forbidden object detection with your admission ticket!" an NPC shouted towards the players.
Players from different locations trickled towards the school’s entrance and stood in line for the inspection. Gu Mian thought that the irregular line resembled the trajectory of the eighteen flower pots that had almost hit him.
"Let’s go." Gu Mian walked briskly up, taking his position at the end of the line.
For some time, no new buses arrived with candidates, leaving no one behind Gu Mian and his group.
Once the line had shortened, Gu Mian was finally able to see that the object held in the NPC’s hand was a "Contraband Detector."
It was not a Metal Detector, as Gu Mian saw a goth with a nose ring, a player with a walkie-talkie on their chest, and someone on a bicycle all successfully pass through the detector. It was a sight he had never seen before.
"What exactly is that thing supposed to detect?" asked Fatty, who was standing close behind Gu Mian.
Gu Mian genuinely expressed his opinion, "I think it must be broken."
But it was soon proven that the detector wasn’t broken when it beeped loudly as Gu Mian passed through, triggering the red warning light.
Gu Mian thought for a moment and silently raised his saw. "But the bike passed through just fine earlier..."
"No," the NPC suddenly spoke. "It’s not that."
Then what was it?
Just as Gu Mian was feeling puzzled, the NPC hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "Relatives are not allowed inside."
"I do not have any fami..." As soon as Gu Mian began to respond, he stopped. Then, somewhat uncertain, he pulled out the CD from his pocket. "This?"
