Global Collapse-Chapter 607 - 575: Today is Another Day Without Interruption_1

"Ah," Fatty pondered, "when Miss Liu left the Old World, the variety show Metamorphosis didn't exist yet... So which world does this circus come from?"

Gu Mian thought back to a game instance from a long time ago. "A very popular variety show. Come to think of it, the last occupational instance we faced, which was called Slaughter, was also a variety show, wasn't it?"

When Fatty thought about that instance, he felt a pain in his butt. "Right, Slaughter seemed to be a real hit. I still remember the host's appearance—his face as white as if it were covered in flour, and wearing such flashy clothes. His name was something like..."

Fatty temporarily forgot the name of the host in that instance.

Chu Changge, who was beside him, reminded him, "Teacher Slaughter."

"Right, Teacher Slaughter!" Fatty slapped his thigh in realization.

Gu Mian remembered the worldview of that instance. When they entered it, the worldview was directly written in the instance's description. It originally stated:

"This world is highly industrialized, but its medical conditions are relatively backward. It is a world where the line dividing Upper Class People and Lower Class People is distinct, and the class system is extremely strict. According to the 'Upper Class Protection Convention,' all Lower Class People who provoke, insult, or ridicule Upper Class People will be detained and thrown into the 'Restricted Area' in batches."

The "Restricted Area" referred to the Slaughter instance. Monsters ran rampant inside, and humans couldn't resist them. The NPCs relied on the Evil God Statue to envelop the entire Restricted Area, preventing the monsters from leaving. But the good days didn't last. Later, Gu Mian entered the Restricted Area, and now it has collapsed.

Gu Mian remembered that the ending of Slaughter was the shattering of the Restricted Area's barrier, allowing the monsters inside to surge into the world of the Upper Class People.

Since then, he had never been matched into an instance under that worldview again.

"According to what those NPCs said, it's highly likely that the circus belongs to the world of the Slaughter instance... Speaking of Slaughter, I remember the monsters from inside escaped the Restricted Area. That must be giving the NPCs of that world a real headache," Gu Mian said, touching his chin.

"Furthermore, as you've said," Gu Mian looked at Chu Changge, "the world of the Slaughter instance even sent a Guardian, Jiang Yang."

Of course, that person was no longer called Jiang Yang.

The man in the cloak on the fourth floor, originally named Jiang Yang, whose formal name was 'Anonymous,' also called himself Xie Bi'an.

Gu Mian still remembered his game nickname was 'Anonymous,' written in red.

Chu Changge nodded slightly. "Perhaps we can learn something by asking him."

But now there was a problem.

Xie Bi'an had gone missing after emerging from the solo hide-and-seek instance, and Gu Mian hadn't seen him for a long time.

It was the same last time they tried to find him. After great difficulty cornering him, they were pulled into a special instance again.

Fatty was a bit vexed. "Does this guy know we're looking for him? He's been missing for days, like he's deliberately avoiding us."

He had even gone to the fourth floor to ask. Accompany me next year and the others there said Xie Bi'an had left on business and they didn't know when he would return.

"Even if we have no clues, we still have to enter the instance. We'll just assume that the 'Circus of Love and Righteousness' instance is set against the backdrop of the Slaughter instance." Gu Mian walked to the sofa and sat down.

Fatty frowned. "The world of the Slaughter instance is extremely dangerous... We don't even know what that world is called, or what its current situation is. Could it be overrun with monsters right now?"

That's possible.

"I remember when we entered the Slaughter instance, my electric saw was confiscated." Gu Mian fished out a piece of paper from somewhere, wrote "electric saw" on it, and then crossed it out.

"If the Circus Dungeon is indeed in the same world as Slaughter, Lower Class People aren't allowed to bring tools inside."

This is going to be tricky.

The Circus Dungeon sounded like it would have a lot of people, and Gu Mian wouldn't be able to beat a group without a weapon.

And his item bank couldn't store anything.

Fatty suggested, "How about we ask Miss 007 to put some weapons in her item bank? When we enter the instance, we can give the prepared weapons to Doctor. She just got a compensation of one thousand Game Coins, so she can afford good weapons... Huh? Wait, didn't Miss 007 just get compensation? Why would she be short of Game Coins?"

A thousand Game Coins should last an ordinary player for quite a while, right?

Chu Changge adjusted his glasses. "Her shortage of Game Coins might be related to her traveling a thousand miles a day."

Chu Changge guessed that 007's two-month journey to the South Sea might have yielded some kind of special transportation item. The fuel for this item was likely Game Coins, similar to the Fortune-teller's 'Money Can Make Ghosts Grind.' That would explain why 007 was short on Game Coins.

Fatty was already typing, apparently discussing the weapon situation with 007.

Gu Mian interjected, "Maybe we can bring some bombs or something."

Of course, that kind of stuff isn't easy to come by; supermarkets don't sell it.

However, Fatty took Gu Mian's suggestion very seriously and typed into the input box, "Doctor suggested bringing some bombs..."

"Assuming the Circus is in the same world as Slaughter, Gu Mian, when you enter the instance, you'll definitely be classified as 'Lower Class People.' We can now boldly speculate on this instance's content: it's likely 'Lower Class People' playing clowns in the circus to entertain the 'Upper Class People'," Chu Changge began his analysis.

Gu Mian nodded. "Speaking of which, the world of Slaughter seems a bit similar to the Old World. Both are pretty perverted."

Liu Ruyan, at the side, chuckled softly but expressed no opinion.

Gu Mian continued,

"However, the world of Slaughter is more overtly bloody and direct. People can see how their lives will end from the very start; their race determines their fate, and the chasm between upper and lower classes is insurmountable. The Upper Class People here seek bloody pleasure; one could say they are amused to death.

"Meanwhile, in the Old World, everyone was equal at the beginning—or at least, it appeared that way. However, everyone had to follow the so-called Law Code. Consequently, everyone spied on others—relatives, friends, and lovers—attempting to find 'rule-breakers' to execute. They, too, crazily pursued pleasure, enjoying torture, devastation, and the sight of others' suffering. This world, at least initially, maintained a facade of peace, and people's twisted desires could only be realized through the rule-breakers.

"The Old World might seem more peaceful, but the fundamental nature of its inhabitants is the same as those in the world of Slaughter. People in the Old World also yearn for the thrill of blood and killing, but they can only unleash these emotions when a rule-breaker appears. In other words, from the very beginning, they anticipated the emergence of rule-breakers. In contrast, the world of Slaughter directly sets up targets: Upper Class People can trample Lower Class People at will, without needing any reason.

"According to the commonalities in human nature between the two worlds, if the Old World's worldview continues to develop over a long period, it will most likely evolve into something like the world of Slaughter."

As Gu Mian spoke, he looked at Liu Ruyan. "There might be some connection between these two worlds."