Global Collapse-Chapter 616 - 584: Dumbfounded_1
"No," Gu Mian patted 007 on the shoulder.
007, seeing Gu Mian stop her, pondered seriously, "I also feel this girl is more peculiar than any other ghost I've encountered. Without understanding her, it's better not to act rashly..."
"What if, after we take her down, they use the excuse of a critical NPC suffering mental trauma to kick us out of the instance? That wouldn't be good."
007: "..."
She really couldn't grasp the thought process of people like him.
"So, you're suggesting a gentle approach? To keep her emotions around, 'This person hammered me a few times, so my opinion of him has plummeted, but I can still go on, I can still counter and take him down'?"
Gu Mian pursed his lips. "That sounds very difficult."
It seemed easier to just knock her out swiftly.
Catching Gu Mian's thoughts, 007 pointed out, "Unfortunately, I don't think you can even take her down now."
How come?
Gu Mian looked towards the girl.
The pale-faced girl had somehow disappeared, and the man whose neck she had been embracing was still shivering slightly.
"What's going on with him? The ghost isn't even on him anymore, yet he's still trembling. Is he happy?" 007 had also noticed the strange excitement of this group of people, but this particular man seemed excessively thrilled, almost hysterically so.
Gu Mian, glancing at the man with the snake-head mask, commented, "He's really happy, probably happier than when I escaped from bank robbers."
"...What exactly have you been through over the years?"
"Now is clearly not the time for me to recount my past heroic deeds."
Gu Mian brought the conversation back on track, focusing on the snake-head masked man. "His excitement gives me an idea."
What kind of idea? 007 looked up at Gu Mian.
"As I've mentioned, I've entered other instances in this world, so I have some understanding of the Upper Class People's methods. Based on my experience in the Slaughter game instance..." Gu Mian paused to recall. "The Upper Class People must have offered a very attractive prize, something like 'the best performer in the Carnival can shed their Lower Class People status.' That's why these people are so excited."
Of course, Gu Mian knew such an outcome was impossible.
In this world, there were no Upper Class People beyond those with white skin.
Even Jin Hu, working diligently in the Forbidden Zone for the Slaughter game, was nothing more than a laughingstock in the eyes of the Upper Class People.
Although such an outcome was impossible, lies could still be fabricated.
"The Carnival started three years ago?" Gu Mian asked 007 beside him.
007 nodded slightly. "As far as I know, yes."
Gu Mian mused, "The Circus has been around for decades, but the Carnival only appeared three years ago. Is there a reason for its appearance...?"
"Why did that little girl show up here? Does she have a grudge against the snake-head masked man? Or did she just randomly pick someone to cling to?" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Judging by the girl's face, she appeared to be an Upper Class child. Why would the ghost of an Upper Class child be in the Circus?
From her expression, it seemed she wanted to torment these Lower Class People even in death. The Upper Class People in this world amused themselves by tormenting the Lower Class People; children were no exception. Some children were even more twisted and cruel than adults.
Bratty kids exist in every world.
"A little girl's ghost appearing in the Circus is likely connected to the instance mission. Even if she isn't Lu Yi, she must be someone related to Lu Yi," 007 said, eyeing the snake-head masked man not far away. "Actually, I have a thought. Gu Mian, you entered this instance to find a high-level NPC who knows the game's secrets. Could the NPC you're looking for be related to this 'Lu Yi' from the mission?"
That's possible.
Gu Mian stroked his chin. "The NPC I'm looking for is definitely not among these Lower Class People. Many Upper Class People will attend today's performance, but the area is so vast it will be hard to pinpoint the one I'm looking for."
007 frowned. "Even if the person you're looking for would react upon seeing the clown mask, with so many people in the audience, it would be difficult to notice any change in anyone's expression."
"If only we had someone familiar with this place to help us."
007 asked, "Are you thinking of some kind of horrible plan?"
Exactly.
Gu Mian was thinking fondly of Teacher Slaughter.
Teacher Slaughter, who was checking the facilities on stage up front, suddenly shivered. Why did it suddenly get cold...
He didn't give it much thought. After a shiver, he continued his inspection on stage. "The audience will be entering soon. This year's Carnival is extremely important; we can't screw it up."
Everyone around him agreed.
Teacher Slaughter was somewhat displeased. If the Forbidden Zone hadn't been destroyed, some of the audience should be watching my Slaughter game.
But complaining about it now was pointless. In his spare time, Teacher Slaughter was constantly racking his brains about how he could make a comeback, brainstorming better entertainment ideas than the Slaughter game.
"Hmph," he snorted while deep in thought. "Once I've finished setting things up here, I'll go backstage to see what those Lower Class People are up to. I never thought that old fool from the Circus could pull off this Carnival thing in the past few years, even promising rewards for Lower Class People who participated. That old fool is as idiotic as ever."
At this moment, backstage, 007 swallowed nervously. "You're not seriously considering targeting that man in the pink shirt, are you?"
In a normal instance, it would be fairly standard for Gu Mian to grab an NPC for a 'friendly exchange.'
But the premise of this instance was different from typical ones.
They were both playing the roles of Lower Class People, and capturing an Upper Class NPC would likely be extraordinarily difficult.
Gu Mian contemplated, "This room isn't guarded; it should be easy to leave. Maybe I can go out and find some clues."
While he was at it, he could observe if there were any NPCs that looked like high-ranking figures in the instance.
007 felt a bit of a headache. "So, are we still participating in the performance?"
The Lower Class People apparently didn't have a choice whether to participate in the performance or not; 007 simply wanted to ask if Gu Mian would return after leaving.
"Of course, we have to participate. The performance is a good opportunity to showcase the clown mask, even though we still don't know when the performance starts or what the act will be..."
Gu Mian looked around, but no performance schedule was visible.
"Just standing motionless on stage would be too risky," 007 frowned, pondering for half a second before her gaze locked onto the man with the snake-head mask. "I'll try to get some information from him about the performance acts."
With that, she subtly moved in that direction, looking as if she were about to employ some cunning tactic.
Gu Mian figured that because the man with the snake-head mask had been ridden by the ghost, 007 felt a strange sense of affinity towards him, which was why she specifically chose him to try and get information from.
While 007 was diligently trying to find out about the day's performance, Gu Mian noticed the door to the room had opened at some point, and several new people were standing there.
They had the same chalk-white faces and blood-red lips.
If he hadn't known this was the fashionable attire of the Upper Class People, Gu Mian might have mistaken them for ghosts.
These were a few new children.
Judging by their relatively normal expressions and exaggerated body language, these children seemed to be here for a visit.
"So, they *are* here," the child at the front said, looking at the people inside the room and pinching his nose in disgust. "How disgusting."
"Are these the ones performing later? So filthy!" the little girl beside him chimed in, surveying the room and commenting brazenly.
The other children barely spared them a glance, only occasionally shooting them disdainful looks from behind the first two.
In the real world, children visiting a circus might go to see the animals in their cages before a performance. Here, however, these children didn't even seem to regard them as animals; their expressions were like those of someone looking at an utterly disgusting cesspool.
