Global Collapse-Chapter 712 - 677: The World has Suffered for a Long Time_1

This instance had to do with a photo.

The ghost will crawl out of the photo and kill people, and the only way to survive is to destroy the photo before the ghost crawls out, Ningmeng Busuan pondered. This was their speculation. After all, no one had witnessed a ghost emerge from a photo. They had simply conjectured this conclusion based on the ghost's actions. Indeed, this was the most plausible guess so far. Ningmeng Busuan couldn't think of any other possibilities for now, so she proceeded with her deductions based on this conjecture.

Is destroying the photo the only way to survive? Could there be other hidden survival methods? There must be a connection between the ghost and the photo; if a ghost can emerge from a photo, can it return to the photo? Thinking about this, she suddenly remembered that Polaroid camera. If a ghost appears, could taking another photo of it with the Polaroid send it back into the photo?

Ningmeng Busuan remembered that there were still four pieces of photo paper left in that Polaroid. Perhaps that's the escape route the instance left for them. But it seemed Jin Ye Bai took the Polaroid. We've been on our respective paths for several hours now, and it would be hard to find Jin Ye Bai if we were to return for him now.

Thinking about this, Ningmeng Busuan frowned.

If we don't have a Polaroid, maybe we could try other cameras? But a standard camera doesn't produce a photo immediately after shooting. We'd have to find a photo studio to develop it, and the ghost won't give us that time. Besides, where would we find a camera now?

Ningmeng Busuan felt a bit of a headache.

There were probably many rats in the cornfield at night; she could hear something rustling around, then the sound would disappear. These noises kept her highly alert, fearing the ghost's arrival.

Fortunately, what she worried about never happened. The two of them had spent five hours there safely. After standing guard for five hours, Ningmeng Busuan started to feel drowsy. She poked Yu Ji, who was beside her, wanting to switch so she could rest.

Yu Ji was a light sleeper and woke up instantly. First, she swatted away the flying insects in front of her, then sat up and looked around. It was pitch dark all around; she could only see the nearby cornstalks. Aside from the sounds of small animals and the wind, there were no other particular disturbances. After observing her surroundings for a moment, she finally looked at Ningmeng Busuan beside her.

Ningmeng Busuan lowered her head and wrote in her notebook, "I'm a bit tired. Can you keep watch for a while longer?"

Yu Ji looked at the words in the notebook and nodded.

Only then did Ningmeng Busuan close her eyes. In this place, we can detect any noise immediately and prepare promptly. Moreover, this place is very hidden. It would be difficult for the ghost to find us, so staying hidden here for all three days is actually a good choice.

Just as she was about to drift off to sleep while pondering, a sudden, distinct rustling sound erupted.

Ningmeng Busuan sat up instantly. Yu Ji beside her also widened her eyes, not daring to make a sound. This sound was clearly not made by a small animal. It sounded more like someone had entered the cornfield and was moving rapidly within it.

Both of them held their breath, not daring to move or make a sound.

Was it the ghost? Did the ghost come looking for us?

For a moment, they couldn't be sure.

Ningmeng Busuan gently shook her head at Yu Ji, signaling her not to move.

Yu Ji pursed her lips, afraid of making even the slightest sound.

The rustling sound was exceptionally clear in the night. They heard it getting closer and closer...

In a little over ten seconds, the rustling sound reached their vicinity, then brushed past them and receded into the distance. Before the two could feel relieved, the sound returned. After this happened several times, the rustling finally stopped, very close to them.

At this point, they were almost certain: it was the ghost, and it was looking for them.

Ningmeng Busuan clutched the remote control in her hand, staring intently in the direction the sound had come from. If they were found, she would immediately press the horn switch and run.

But just then, the sound suddenly stopped.

The two of them held their breath, remaining motionless for several minutes, but the sound did not resume.

The moonlight shone on the dense cornstalks, making the place look somewhat eerie. Cold sweat already covered Ningmeng Busuan's forehead, but she couldn't spare a moment to wipe it.

Yu Ji turned her head towards her, her expression questioning, as if asking whether the source of the sound had left.

Ningmeng Busuan slightly shook her head.

Don't move, don't make a sound! That thing made noise when it came; it would surely make noise when it left. But the sound stopped nearby. 'It' hasn't left. It just temporarily lost track of us and stopped, waiting for us to give ourselves away. Luckily, this cornfield is vast, and the ghost doesn't know our exact hiding spot. Even if the ghost finds us, we can immediately run in separate directions. I've even scattered horns around to disrupt the ghost's hearing, making it unable to determine our escape route. There's hope... We have hope to survive this together.

As Ningmeng Busuan encouraged herself, she looked at Yu Ji beside her.

She saw Yu Ji trying to press her body as low as possible to hide.

Seeing this, Ningmeng Busuan also copied Yu Ji, slightly bending her waist. But halfway down, she felt something was wrong. She watched Yu Ji continuously press her body lower. Wait, I don't remember Yu Ji being this flexible.

The person before her sat on the ground with her legs spread apart. Her upper body was continuously pressing towards the ground, her head almost buried in the earth.

Watching this, an unsettling feeling surged in Ningmeng Busuan's heart.

She opened her mouth but dared not make a sound. She wanted to reach out and touch 'Yu Ji,' but the bizarre sight made her recoil.

Ningmeng Busuan's trembling arms supported her on the ground, ready to flee at any moment.

Just then, a sudden CRACK came from 'Yu Ji's' body, like the sound of a bone breaking.

With that sound, 'Yu Ji's' upper body completely flattened against the ground.

Her spine has snapped!

Ningmeng Busuan leapt up abruptly, wanting to flee.

At that moment, 'Yu Ji,' who had kept her head buried in the ground, suddenly tilted her head up. Her movements were grotesque. Her upper body remained pressed tightly to the ground, yet her head was tilted upwards.

Ningmeng Busuan saw 'Yu Ji's' mouth agape, but no sound came out; her mud-streaked face was covered in tears.

She watched as 'Yu Ji's' head tilted back further and further, almost becoming perpendicular to the ground. She saw 'Yu Ji's' eyes widening, filled with terror.

Then, another familiar CRACK.

The back of 'Yu Ji's' head pressed completely against her spine.

She was dead.

All of this happened almost instantaneously.

Ningmeng Busuan no longer dared to stay put. She desperately ran backward, pressing the button on the remote in her hand.

Shrill horn blasts echoed from all directions.

She didn't dare look back, nor did she dare run in a straight line. She made several turns within the cornfield, nearly losing her bearings. It took her a long time to run out of this cornfield. Then, without looking back, she darted into the nearby woods.

After running in the woods for several minutes and confirming the ghost hadn't followed, she finally dared to stop.

Ningmeng Busuan leaned against a tree, gasping for breath. She felt wetness on her face. Reaching up to touch it, she realized they were tears she had shed unconsciously.

"How... how could this happen..." she thought of the scene of Yu Ji's death, mumbling to herself repeatedly. "Why is the ghost invisible... We can't see the ghost at all..."

Doesn't this mean that even if the ghost is right in front of us, we wouldn't know? Can only that Polaroid camera capture the invisible ghost?

「Meanwhile」

Gu Mian had found the discarded group photo.

The sanitation workers in this area were very diligent. When Gu Mian and the others arrived at the spot where the photo had been discarded, the ground had already been cleaned spotless, without a single piece of trash left. Ultimately, it was Xu Xingcheng who fished the group photo out of a trash can. He had rummaged through many trash cans, only finding it late at night.

At this moment, Gu Mian was holding one corner of the group photo, shining a flashlight on it. The photo looked mostly the same as before, only the ghost inside it had disappeared.

"Did it crawl out from here?" The photo had a strange odor from being thrown in the trash can, and Gu Mian was quite disgusted by it. Gu Mian had already shooed Xu Xingcheng, the one who had rummaged through the trash cans, to the side, forbidding him to come close.

Xu Xingcheng felt very wronged by this.

Chu Changge took the photo, seemingly oblivious to the odor emanating from it. "The idea of the ghost crawling out of the photo is just an assumption. From start to finish, none of us have actually seen a ghost crawl out."

Wenqin Tan Jiu had also discarded the photo as a precaution.