Global Collapse-Chapter 654 - 622: Bring it on, you_1

When Chu Changge arrived at the entrance of Gu Mian's courtroom, he was met with a chaotic scene.

Gu Mian was holding aloft the small mallet unique to a judge, looking as if he was about to deliver a verdict.

Keke clung tightly to his arm, trying to prevent him from getting too agitated.

Xie Bi'an sat to one side, looking up at Gu Mian, a mocking smile seemingly hidden beneath his black robe.

Another unfamiliar female player stood with her hands braced on the table, apparently considering whether to grab Gu Mian around the waist.

The judge's bench was in turmoil, yet the prisoner sat quietly behind a table, seemingly indifferent to their judgment.

Just as Gu Mian raised the mallet to nudge Keke aside, he heard Chu Changge's voice from behind him. "What are you all doing?"

He turned to look and saw Chu Changge, who had somehow appeared by the small door next to the judge's bench, silently observing them.

Behind Chu Changge stood three other people—two men and a woman—apparently players from his group.

These individuals were currently staring at Gu Mian and Keke with peculiar expressions, as if suspecting this instance had matched them with a pair of lunatics.

Before Gu Mian could speak, Bai Lu from his side was the first to call out to the newcomers at the entrance, "Chu Chu!"

Good grief, was she calling Chu Changge? Gu Mian wondered.

Then, he saw Bai Lu run over to a woman standing behind Chu Changge. "Chu Chu, I knew you'd be nearby too!"

So, she wasn't calling Chu Changge, Gu Mian realized.

He glanced at the female player's nickname: "Qiao Chuchu Wind Snow Mountain Temple."

That name... A fan of Xiao Qiao?

He also noted the nicknames of the other two male players: "Yan Shuang Fei" and "Li Yuan."

Looking at the chaos at Gu Mian's judge's stand, Chu Changge pushed up his glasses, a sudden realization dawning on him. "Don't you have a Guiding NPC?"

"A Guiding NPC?" Bai Lu looked at Chu Changge incredulously. Such a thing exists?

Chu Changge glanced at her. "It's the NPC who explains the case details and gives you the case file. It seems you haven't met him."

Hearing this, Bai Lu turned to Chu Chu with a surprised expression. "Does your group have one?"

Chu Chu also looked somewhat troubled. "Don't you?"

We did have one, Gu Mian quietly put down the mallet. But he bolted.

Fortunately, Chu Changge hadn't suffered the same misfortune. He took out a small notebook and handed it to Gu Mian. "After I realized we weren't in the same group, I anticipated you might run into this, so I jotted down a few points the NPC mentioned. However, you'll still need to find your own case file."

What a great teammate, Gu Mian thought.

He took the pink, cutesy cartoon notebook from Chu Changge. This aesthetic must be Fatty's handiwork, he guessed.

He opened the cover, which was printed with small white flowers, revealing pages filled with neat handwriting.

Gu Mian read it softly:

"Within three days, the judge must pass judgment on the prisoner, declaring them guilty or not guilty. Once the judge has delivered the verdict and adjourned the court, their group of players will be considered to have completed the task and will leave the instance;

"Players may go out to find evidence of the prisoner's guilt or innocence. The judge can make a judgment based on the evidence, and only the judge can make a judgment;

"The judge can ignore evidence when making a judgment. If the judge declares someone guilty, they are guilty; if declared innocent, they are innocent;

"Throughout the duration of the instance, players can enter or leave the courtroom at any time and can return to the courtroom to make a judgment at any time."

That's quite a lot of information, Gu Mian mused, fiddling with the pink, floral-printed notebook. "Only the judge can make a judgment, and after the judgment, you can leave the instance. Does this mean the judge is guaranteed to survive until the end?"

He didn't think the instance would be so kind to him.

Yet there was another possibility.

"Or perhaps the 'Judge' role itself is a trap designed to push players into a dead end. If the ghost kills the 'Judge,' then that Judge's group immediately hits a dead end. With no one left to make a judgment, once time is up, everyone in that group fails the task and dies," Chu Changge suggested.

Bai Lu felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing this. If that's the case, the ghost would only need to kill one judge, and the remaining three people in that group wouldn't survive either.

As she processed this, she looked at the Doctor with the vibrant green hair. We have to protect him, no matter what, she resolved.

"Of course, this is just speculation. We've only just entered the instance and don't have many clues," Chu Changge said, pushing up his glasses slightly.

Bai Lu sensed a familiar tone in their exchange. She looked at Gu Mian, then at Chu Changge. "Did you two know each other before?"

Gu Mian nodded slightly. "Yes, the four of us entered this instance together."

He lowered his head again to look at the notebook. "The rule says, 'If the judge declares someone guilty, they are guilty; if declared innocent, they are innocent.' And 'The judge can pass judgment on the prisoner at any time.' This means as soon as a judge enters the instance, they can make a decision. Guess right, and we all continue to suffer; guess wrong, and we all die with smiles on our faces."

Hearing Gu Mian's words, Keke flinched. It's true, most people alive right now are indeed suffering, she thought.

Chu Changge hummed in agreement but didn't comment on Gu Mian's two idioms. "It seems so for now. Players need to make the correct judgment. A wrong judgment will most likely result in the entire group dying."

Hearing this, Gu Mian picked up his little mallet again.

Bai Lu was terrified that this Doctor, shouting the famous catchphrase of a certain Host Lu—"I don't believe!"—would then slam the gavel down.

Luckily, he didn't.

Gu Mian thought of Coach Che, still at large, and put the mallet down again.

"So, what we need to do now is find out the truth of the case, right?" Li Yuan, a male player from Chu Changge's group, stepped forward. "If the prisoner is innocent, we must clear his name. If he's guilty and deserves it, then we sentence him as guilty."

"In theory, yes," Chu Changge summarized. "Find the truth and make the correct judgment to live. Otherwise, you die."

"By the way, are you the judge in your group?" Gu Mian handed the notebook back to Chu Changge.

Chu Changge reached out and took it. "Yes."

"How did you find our courtroom then?"

"After the NPC left, we moved around freely and found many courtrooms on this floor. I guessed you might be in one of them, so we checked them one by one," Chu Changge said, tucking the pink notebook back into his pocket.

Gu Mian watched the corner of the pink cover peeking out from Chu Changge's pocket. "Didn't you run into the other group?"

"We found your group first. There are still many courtrooms we haven't entered," Chu Changge replied, seemingly not intending to look for the other group.

It was the two male players from his group who spoke up.

The player named Yan Shuang Fei stepped forward. "Li Yuan and I entered the instance together. There's another male player with us named... 'Twist Off Your Head.' He should be in the other group, and we want to find him."

Twist Off Your Head... Gu Mian mused. Violent, and very much my style. I like it.

Chu Changge didn't seem too concerned about his group members. He glanced at the two. "Do as you please."

Yan Shuang Fei and Li Yuan exchanged a look, then asked, "Aren't you coming with us?"

People could actually die in this instance.

They didn't dare to go off as just a pair.

What if they split up and immediately ran into a ghost that killed them?

Chu Changge ignored them, turning instead to look at the prisoner in the middle of the courtroom.

The two looked awkward and glanced at the others. Bai Lu and Chu Chu were already huddled together, clearly uninterested in searching for another group's teammate.

Xie Bi'an kept his head covered and rarely spoke.

Keke didn't plan to leave Gu Mian; staying with him would greatly increase her chances of survival.

Gu Mian lowered his voice to ask Chu Changge, "Have you seen Coach Che?"

Chu Changge realized something. "Was he the Guiding NPC for your courtroom?"

Gu Mian nodded slightly.

"No wonder," Chu Changge mused, looking up. "Even if Gu Mian is terrifying, I thought, he wouldn't go so far as to scare an NPC away. But if it was him, then it's understandable. After all, you've tormented him many times."

"Our case file is with him; he took off with it," Gu Mian frowned. "Keke and the others are here. I can't just make a random judgment."

I don't know what the death mechanism in this instance is. If it's ghosts killing people, that's one thing. But if a wrong judgment leads to forced elimination, that would be bad.

"Let's go find Coach Che first. He shouldn't have left this building," Chu Changge said softly.

Indeed, Coach Che hadn't left. He was hiding in a bathroom.

Gu Mian had long since inflicted significant psychological trauma on him. Now, the mere sight of a doctor, anyone surnamed Gu, or even a guitar, would make him reflexively fearful.

Who would have thought this instance would deliver Gu Mian straight to him, causing his composure to shatter completely.

At this moment, he was huddled in a corner, clutching the case file. What will my next job be? he wondered miserably.

Gu Mian was always adept at finding traces of ghosts within instances.

He knew ghosts often lurked in bathrooms. Perhaps Coach Che has similar tendencies, he mused, so he decided to check the bathrooms first.

Surprisingly, he immediately found his target, shivering in the last stall.

When Gu Mian hauled him up from the toilet, Coach Che, still clutching the case file, let out a desperate wail. "Must you torment me so relentlessly!"