Global Collapse-Chapter 596 - 564: The Slumbering Prince and the 100 Sleeping Princesses_1

Chu Changge, holding a watch he'd somehow acquired, said, "Mr. Green said an inspector would patrol the instance every hour. If they spot Gu Mian, it could be troublesome. Although they can't directly teleport players out of the instance, their aid in our mission would surely shorten our time spent inside."

"We don't know when the last inspector showed up, so we need to find the clown mask as soon as possible. Let's set the tasks aside for now…" Chu Changge said this while looking at Fatty, who was determinedly digging through a trash pile not far away.

Fatty was searching for the "talking garbage." The dark, shadowy demon on the tower had somehow approached the edge of the platform and was anxiously watching Fatty dig through the trash.

Sensing Chu Changge's gaze, the demon turned its head, its expression still full of hope, as if to say, "Hurry up, find some trash, and get this thing off my platform!"

Chu Changge looked away. "No need to worry about Gu Mian."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Splitting up was indeed the quickest way.

Soon, they all headed in the two directions indicated by the Big Data Search, beginning their individual searches.

The Fortune-teller, an integral part of the search team, was currently using her Pendulum to guide her, albeit clumsily.

While the Fortune-teller struggled to divine the clown mask's whereabouts, Xiao Qiao was having a blast.

She was squatting next to Fatty, pulling a barely working radio from the trash pile. It emitted CRACKLES of static when switched on.

"Does this count as talking garbage?" she asked Fatty, looking up.

Fatty pondered for a moment. "It should count, I guess?"

Just then, they heard a noise above. Looking up, they saw the demon at the edge of the tall platform, giving them an affirmative look, its face seeming to scream, "That's it! That's it!"

Xiao Qiao looked at the demon's eager face, then suddenly threw the radio far away and said firmly, "It's so insistent, it must be trying to trick us! This is definitely not it!"

Fatty nodded in agreement. "You make a good point."

And so, under the demon's despairing gaze, they both walked past the radio, heading off into the distance.

Gu Mian sat on a chair, watching the demon wander all over the platform.

It always kept its back to him, making it difficult for Gu Mian to see its face.

Gu Mian had tried leaving the platform, but it behaved like an automatic treadmill; no matter how many steps he took, he remained in the same spot. Tired from walking, Gu Mian could only sit down to rest.

The eyeball overhead flew about, BUZZING. Mr. Green, who was outside the instance, saw Gu Mian sitting on the tower and let out a sigh of relief.

Sitting up there, he won't be able to cause much trouble, Mr. Green clutched his chest, feeling that the Recycling Station was safe.

Just then, he saw Gu Mian on the screen pull a disc from his pocket and hurl it off the platform.

Mr. Green, of course, recognized it.

He knew that a horrifying ghost was contained in the disc, one that dared to call Gu Mian "younger sister."

Is he trying to get this ghost to find the clown mask? Mr. Green watched the screen. Anyway, one ghost won't cause any major trouble, as long as he sits quietly there.

However, the scene on the screen changed, and Mr. Green saw Fatty and Xiao Qiao approaching the first trash can with a pile of items.

"These shoes must be it!" Xiao Qiao picked up a pair of worn-out children's shoes. When she put them on the ground, they went SQUEAK, SQUEAK.

Having said that, under the demon's despairing gaze, she threw the shoes into the trash can in front of her.

Then, the shoes were spat back out, and the teary-eyed demon moved one step closer to the princess.

"Seems like we were wrong," Fatty said, growing nervous as he watched the demon get closer to Gu Mian. "We can't let the Doctor get caught by it!"

As he spoke, he carefully threw a rag doll into the trash can. It played music when punched. The rag doll was also spat out, and the demon edged even closer to the princess...

Mr. Green, watching from outside the instance, felt his face twitch as he observed the two.

They aren't doing this on purpose, are they? he speculated, looking at the screen. But considering neither of them was particularly bright, their behavior was somewhat understandable.

Meanwhile, her 'brother'—the ghost Gu Mian had thrown off the platform—crawled out of the disc on the other side and went on his way.

Fatty and Xiao Qiao, however, were continuing their antics.

They stood before a trash can.

As Fatty looked at the pile of trash at his feet, wondering what to throw in this time, he suddenly noticed Xiao Qiao staring intently at him.

He turned to look at Xiao Qiao and found her gazing at him so intently it gave him the creeps.

"What are you doing..." Fatty instinctively retreated a few steps.

Xiao Qiao moved closer and suddenly said, "You can talk!"

Fatty felt a wave of dizziness, and before he knew it, he was being shoved into the trash can.

Of course, he was promptly spat back out. The demon was now one step closer to the princess.

Fatty sat on the ground, his backside aching from the fall, while Xiao Qiao remarked with sudden insight, "Oh, so you're not trash!"

Mr. Green could no longer suppress his twitching face. I really want to rush into the instance and crack open Xiao Qiao's skull to see what's inside!

The Fortune-teller was walking beside mountains of trash.

She was the only person in this area. With so many items in this Recycling Station, her Pendulum was unstable, often leading her in circles.

As the Fortune-teller carefully watched her spinning Pendulum, she suddenly felt a faint, almost imperceptible vibration from beneath her feet.

Slightly startled, she looked down at the ground.

The vibration lasted only half a second; it would have been unnoticeable if she hadn't been standing still.

Was that... an earthquake? The Fortune-teller looked around, puzzled. There were only mountains of trash, nothing else out of the ordinary.

Paying little heed to the vibration, the Fortune-teller refocused on her search for the clown mask.

Chu Changge had said the instance patrollers could appear at any time, so they needed to hurry.

007, on the other hand, had made quite a few discoveries.

She found many discarded special items.

[Concentrating Desk (Discarded)]

[Description: Originating from the 'Ghastly School' instance. This special item was damaged when the instance suffered a major collapse and can no longer function...]

This instance name sounds vaguely familiar. She also noted that apart from special items, there was all sorts of household waste.

The most conspicuous trash 007 encountered were three derelict vehicles ahead.

The vehicles—a prison van, an ambulance, and a Spirit Car—were haphazardly dumped in an open area. The three vehicles exuded an eerie aura, compelling 007 to take a closer look.

On the Spirit Car's windshield was a note with a few lines written on it: "I've temporarily left these vehicles at this repair shop. I'll come back to fix them once I have the money. Please do not tow them away - Coach Che."

007 looked at these Spirit Cars that had appeared in the Recycling Station.

It seems this so-called Coach Che isn't aware that his cars have been dumped in a junkyard.

Just as 007 was about to leave after inspecting these vehicles, someone suddenly crawled out of the ambulance.

This startled 007, making her jump. She stepped back and looked at the person who had crawled out, realizing it was Keke.

They had met in the 'Close Your Eyes' instance, so they were somewhat acquainted.

007 looked somewhat awkwardly at the grimy Keke and asked, "Are you... looking for the clown mask in these vehicles?"

Keke dusted off her hair. "No, I saw an ambulance here and thought I'd check inside for any medical supplies."