Global Collapse-Chapter 623 - 591: One Title_1

What's wrong with this guy?

The boy stared blankly at the Lower Class Person in front of him.

The man's face was pale, with dark eyeshadow—acquired from who-knows-where—smeared on his eyelids. He even seemed to have smudged some onto his lips, making him look as if he'd been poisoned.

The joyful expression on his face vanished in an instant, as if it had only been an illusion.

Gu Mian had applied foundation the previous night. After boarding the vehicle today, he had deliberately smeared his face with soot from the carriage to avoid being recognized by the Upper Class People once he removed his mask.

He had applied his makeup in the darkness of the carriage; it was undoubtedly a mess.

But seeing the boy's expression...

Gu Mian touched his chin. Am I really that ugly? For him to be looking at me with such an expression.

"Mike, what's the matter?" Several children in front turned to look at the boy who had suddenly stopped, only to see Gu Mian's unconventional face.

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

Then, mocking laughter erupted in the corridor.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! What kind of look is that?"

"So ridiculous! I've never seen such a funny-looking Lower Class Person."

"You've smeared your face so white, are you envying us? Envying our Upper Class status? Hmph, don't even think about it. No matter what you smear on your faces, you Lower Class People are and will always be lowly. That will never change."

The children continued their barrage of taunts.

Gu Mian seemed oblivious to them. With sudden realization, he looked at the boy before him. "So, you're Mike."

"Shut up! Who said you could call me by my name?" Mike looked disgusted, yet he couldn't help but look up at Gu Mian again.

Gu Mian's expression was placid, showing no excitement.

Mike blinked hard. Something's not right. He had clearly seen a strange expression on this person's face the moment he took off his mask, but it had vanished instantly.

Could I have been mistaken?

Mike frowned, lost in thought. Vaguely, he felt that this Lower Class Person before him looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere.

The Slaughter Game, being the most popular show in this world, was naturally favored by many Upper Class People.

Men and women, old and young, everyone loved that show, and these children were no exception.

Of course, they had seen Gu Mian before.

It was only on the television screen that they had seen Gu Mian, dressed in a white coat with a clean face.

Moreover, Gu Mian's guitar case hadn't appeared on camera when he participated in the Slaughter Game.

This time, he had deliberately taken off his white coat and carefully applied makeup to his face, removing all familiar points of reference.

Unless one knew him well, it would be very difficult to recognize him.

Mike stared at Gu Mian for a long while but still couldn't recall where he might have seen him.

The children ahead, seeing Mike standing motionless, were growing impatient. "Mike, what are you doing just standing there?"

"It was hard enough for us to get out today; don't waste time."

Then, a little girl suddenly started complaining, "It's all because the Forbidden Zone was breached! Monsters are rampant everywhere, so the adults don't let us go out whenever we want."

Gu Mian thought, It seems the destruction of the Forbidden Zone has affected these people after all.

While thinking, Gu Mian looked out at the lawn beyond the window. The edge of the distant lawn was enclosed by a high iron fence. He had noticed it when he got off the vehicle; it was presumably to prevent incursions from Forbidden Zone monsters.

"The adults are already clearing out the monsters," a child said, glancing at Gu Mian. "Even though those monsters are very strong and powerful, we have many slaves... As long as these Lower Class People charge ahead, our losses will be minimized. The number of monsters is much lower now compared to when the Forbidden Zone was first breached."

Quite the qualified background commentator, Gu Mian thought to himself.

"Alright, let's get going," the little girl at the front said. "Let's go to our usual spot."

Upon hearing this, Mike stopped scrutinizing Gu Mian. He furrowed his brow, turning his head away, and tried hard to recall if he had seen the man somewhere before.

Gu Mian took the opportunity to count the children.

There were five in total: three boys and two girls.

They all looked like a handful.

The weather was pleasant today. The sky, washed clean by the rain, was a fresh, clear blue. Sunlight streamed unimpeded through the corridor window, casting warm patches on the floor.

Everything felt warm and beautiful.

The occasional passing Upper Class People with their eerie smiles were the only discordant notes in this otherwise warm scene.

Gu Mian thought, It doesn't matter. They might all be gone soon anyway.

Just as Gu Mian's thoughts began to wander, the children had already led him around a bend and up a flight of stairs.

The building they were in was oval-shaped and hollow in the center. A ceiling covered the uppermost level, while below was the area where the Upper Class People watched performances. The solid circular ring to the side housed a series of rooms that weren't too crowded. As Gu Mian walked along, he saw many tightly closed doors, probably offices or storage rooms.

Of course, the Upper Class People wouldn't miss the carnival's exciting performances. When Gu Mian first came out, he still ran into a few adult Upper Class People, but as time went on, they encountered fewer and fewer individuals.

By the time the group stopped, there was no one else around besides these children.

At that moment, a tremendous cheer erupted—a cacophony of voices mixed with music and jeering laughter.

It was like the roar of a crowd before a performance begins in a TV show.

Gu Mian looked in the direction of the sound, but a wall blocked his view.

The children, of course, also heard this sound.

Mike, who was closest to Gu Mian, turned back to look at him again. "The performance down there has started, you know. But that has nothing to do with you anymore."

Gu Mian affected a look of regret.

A mocking voice came from the side. "Judging by your expression, you want to win the Most Popular Award too, don't you? I heard that the Lower Class People who win that award get to live a good life. It's a pity you won't get a chance to perform. You must be heartbroken, right?"

Gu Mian puffed out his chest and declared with an air of great righteousness, "How could I be such a shallow person! I don't perform to win awards. I perform so that more people can see me, to spread the radiance of art, to make the audience gasp in awe at my spectacular performance!"

After listening to Gu Mian's impassioned speech, the children all fell silent.

The children even stopped laughing. They just stared woodenly at Gu Mian, looking at him as if he were a lunatic.