Global Collapse-Chapter 576 - 544: ’I Accidentally Sat on a Fish’_1

"So, destroying the dolls is not an option," Liu Yiji said, stepping back as if afraid Gu Mian might pull out a lighter and incinerate him on the spot. "Actually, I just found this in my room."

As he spoke, he pulled a folded newspaper from his pocket and unfolded it. "Initially, I thought I was the only one in the room and wanted to take it as a clue, but since you all are here, let's take a look together."

Liu Yiji handed the spread-out newspaper to Huai Xin Zhen Yue.

Upon careful inspection, Huai Xin Zhen Yue saw the headline was: "Multiple Unexplained Disappearances Recently, Police Suspect Connection with Paranormal Game."

Below was an explanation about "Hide and Seek Alone" and the recent incidents.

Over the past few months, numerous people had inexplicably disappeared, and the investigation found that all those missing had played this horrific game.

Following this report were some other irrelevant news pieces—

"Bizarre spectacle in Lujia Gou village: dozens of sows line up to jump into the river."

"Two men dig up their ancestral grave to impress their boss, planning to feign heroism when the boss can't find it."

"Toy Goose Food Factory worker calls police reporting an alien in the warehouse, walking back and forth."

"Whole African tilapia discovered inside a man: 'I accidentally sat on the fish.'"

Gu Mian glanced over the newspaper cursorily. It was filled with outlandish news pieces that read like an urban comedy novel.

He couldn't help but laugh.

The others, who were seriously perusing the newspaper, looked up at Gu Mian with expressions akin to seeing a pervert.

"I'm sorry." Gu Mian quickly reined in his laughter, putting on a serious expression.

"These were probably players who entered this instance before us," Liu Yiji said, focusing on the list of missing persons, not at all distracted by the trivial reports below. "Considering the number of missing persons... this instance seems to be quite dangerous."

Huai Xin Zhen Yue nodded in agreement. "I suspected that 'Hide and Seek Alone' would be a risky game even before the global game started. I just didn't think we'd be dragged into this instance someday."

"Let's discuss the escape routes for this instance. Is survival all about not being caught by the ghost?" Bai Wu asked, looking up from the newspaper.

"That's the idea, but I suspect the ghost in this instance will do everything it can to find our locations." Liu Yiji furrowed his brows, glancing at the clock. It showed 7:15; a quarter of the safe period had already passed. "Moreover, we don't know if there's a connection between the dolls. If they can communicate, sticking together poses a high risk."

"Let me give you an example," Liu Yiji said after pondering for a moment. "For instance, if we stay together, as soon as one doll finds us, it could inform all the other dolls of our location."

"Indeed," Bai Wu agreed solemnly. "And... I experienced a college entrance exam instance not long ago, where some ghosts could impersonate players! So, contacting other players might expose our own positions too!"

As she said this, she shivered slightly, as if recalling something horrifying.

Hearing this, neither Liu Yiji nor Huai Xin Zhen Yue seemed surprised. "We've also encountered ghosts that could mimic player appearances," Liu Yiji said. "It's just that those ghosts didn't seem to know we had player panels. We could tell if they were impostors by checking their panels."

"No!" Bai Wu broke out in a cold sweat. "Those ghosts I met... could also access player panels. They all had nicknames and ID numbers!"

What?

Both male players widened their eyes.

"That's impossible! Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"

"I couldn't have mistaken it!" Bai Wu shook her head. "I saw three ghosts with nicknames and ID numbers in the cafeteria during the college entrance exam event. Two of our teammates died at their hands..."

Suddenly, Gu Mian spoke up. "Indeed, I've also encountered those three ghosts. Their names were Liu Xuan, Feng Zitao, and Wang Longxiang."

He remembered these names crystal clearly; they had, after all, contributed three valuable school badges.

Bai Wu nodded vigorously. "Yes, those were the three!"

Seeing that Bai Wu and this Doctor had both encountered those three ghosts with nicknames, Liu Yiji broke out in a cold sweat. "In that case, doesn't it become almost impossible to tell who the real players are?"

"You're right," Gu Mian's somber voice echoed. "Perhaps in an hour, there'll be a ghost with a player nickname among us."

Liu Yiji took a step back from Gu Mian and took several deep breaths to calm himself. "If so, we'd better split up."

The others all nodded in agreement.

Liu Yiji checked the time again. "We have forty minutes of safe time left. I suggest we all hide in different places, and..."

As he spoke, he pulled out a mobile phone, which had been given to them upon entering the instance. It had the phone numbers of the other players. "After we split up, if anyone calls you, you can answer. However, you must not reveal your location, because you won't know whether the caller is human or a ghost."

"Speaking of which..." Bai Wu also fumbled for her own phone. "There's something strange. Initially, I didn't know the Doctor was here too, so I didn't pay it much mind. Now that I think about it, I only have five phone numbers in my contact list."

She lit up her phone screen to reveal her contact list. The names, from top to bottom, were: "Anonymous," "Meiren Chu," "Yu Ji Zi Wen," "Huai Xin Zhen Yue," and "Liu Yiji."

Apart from her own, the name "Doctor" wasn't there.

"Excuse me," Bai Wu asked tentatively, "this 'Anonymous'... is that your contact name, Doctor?"

Of course not.

Gu Mian knew that Xie Bi'an's nickname was the red-colored "Anonymous"; this was Xie Bi'an's number.

As for himself...

"I don't think I got a phone," Gu Mian said, spreading his hands. "Do you all have one?"

The other three nodded in unison.

How nice. Really great.

Gu Mian felt like he was receiving special treatment, but he was already used to it. He had grown up accustomed to such special treatment.

At this, the other three looked at Gu Mian even more strangely. Their eyes quietly shifted to the bulging guitar bag behind him, and they began to wonder what was inside.

"In any case—" Liu Yiji was the first to look away. "We should all run separately! Never reveal your location. Even if other players call to ask, do not disclose your position!"

He continued, looking at Huai Xin Zhen Yue, "Even if I call you, don't tell me your location."

Huai Xin Zhen Yue nodded seriously.

"Alright, let's split up and run now!" Liu Yiji urged, watching the ticking second hand. "The farther we get from here, the better! We can't waste any more time. If we discover anything, we can communicate by phone, but be careful not to fall into traps. We must always suspect whether the person calling is human or a ghost."

With that said, he took two steps back, walked over to the living room door, and pulled it open. "Let's go out one by one. I'll go first. The next person should wait two minutes before leaving. This way, none of us will know which direction the others went."

After Liu Yiji left, Bai Wu was the next to leave.

Her face was etched with worry as she departed.

The third to leave was Huai Xin Zhen Yue. Most players wouldn't want to be the last to depart, as that person would have to stay alone in the room with those giant stuffed toys for two minutes.

Gu Mian, however, wasn't afraid of this, so he let Huai Xin Zhen Yue go first.

As Huai Xin Zhen Yue left, he cast a grateful glance at Gu Mian.

After everyone else had left, Gu Mian went from room to room, beginning to torment the teddy bears. He plucked out their eyes, used a bedsheet to tie one up and hang it outside a window, and emptied the fridge to stuff a soaked toy inside.

By the time he had finished all this, it was already seven-thirty.

In half an hour, the teddy bears would start moving.

Gu Mian didn't continue his mischief. He cast a final, reluctant look at the room, then, like a poet, metaphorically "waved his sleeve, not taking a single cloud," and left.

When he got downstairs, the other three had already vanished without a trace.

Gu Mian first checked the group chat messages and found Fatty wailing about being abandoned.

He ignored the weeping Fatty in the group and directly messaged Chu Changge to ask his location.

After waiting for a few minutes, Chu Changge still hadn't replied; he probably wasn't checking the group chat.