Global Collapse-Chapter 719 - 684: Clearly Wanted to Update During the Day_1

As Xu Xingcheng spoke, he pulled out three photos—the very ones Gu Mian had been sitting on. "He gave me both the group photo and these three pictures. He told me to find you and show you the way to survive."

Wenqin Tan Jiu looked dazed. "So, it was really like that... But we only have five photos left now. I'm afraid this path to survival won't work anymore."

"It's better than nothing," Xu Xingcheng said. "Don't we still have the Polaroid camera? We can use that to take more photos. Try to cover as large an area as possible with each shot; it'll at least be somewhat useful."

Ningmeng Busuan was examining the photos in Xu Xingcheng's hand. She noticed that of the three, one showed a roadside, another an intersection, and the last was of the reservoir they had passed while on the bus.

However, there was something strange about the reservoir photo. She pointed to the road beside the reservoir. "Why is there a tear here?"

Xu Xingcheng glanced at the photo. "It wasn't stored properly and got accidentally scratched."

Polaroid photos are thicker than regular ones, making them difficult to damage. Ningmeng Busuan was skeptical of his explanation.

Of course, Xu Xingcheng couldn't admit Gu Mian had damaged it. Gu Mian had seen the ghost wandering on that photo and had pulled out a knife to test his idea—what if the ghost could be scraped off? The attempt proved his theory wrong; they couldn't harm the ghost through a photograph.

Having lost interest, Gu Mian then gave all three photos to Xu Xingcheng, telling him to find the others and inform them of this way to survive. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

At this, Wenqin Tan Jiu suddenly asked, "He gave all three photos to us? Then where is he now? Doesn't he need photos to hide from the ghost?"

Xu Xingcheng had anticipated this question and promptly recited the lie he had prepared. "He said he's a doctor, and his duty is to save people. He's gone to find the ghost and delay it, to buy everyone time. He said he'd have no regrets, even if it meant sacrificing himself."

It sounded like a grand speech. Both Wenqin Tan Jiu and Ningmeng Busuan listened, stunned. They hadn't realized the Doctor was such a selfless person when they were on the bus.

Nearby, Hao Laoshi, who knew the truth, cringed internally. He felt a bit embarrassed listening to all that.

"Why don't we go find him so he can use the photos to hide from the ghost with us?" Ningmeng Busuan suggested hesitantly. "Even if we players risk our lives to delay the ghost, we won't slow it down much."

Hao Laoshi immediately shook his head. "We don't even know where he is. It would be very difficult to find him."

Wenqin Tan Jiu also chimed in, "Right. Now that we know a way to survive, the priority is to get to the locations in the photos and use them to evade the ghost."

Hao Laoshi then suggested, "The locations in these five photos are quite far apart. I think we should use the Polaroid to photograph the gaps between them."

"Exactly," Wenqin Tan Jiu nodded. "It would be perfect if we could photograph a closed-loop path. That way, we could lead the ghost in circles."

Unfortunately, they had destroyed too many photos earlier, so they couldn't create a complete loop with only three sheets of film remaining.

Ningmeng Busuan looked at the Polaroid in her hand. "Actually, photographing a long, straight path could also work. But this path must be long and ideally include several intersections."

She continued, "After we take the photos, we'll position ourselves at the midpoint of this path. If we see the ghost appear at one end, we immediately run to the other. Then, using the intersections in the middle, we can loop back to the end where the ghost first appeared. By then, the ghost should have moved on a fair bit, making it safe for us to return there."

"But when we're taking those detours, we won't be in an area covered by a photo," she added. "If the ghost doesn't move in a straight line and instead turns into an intersection, we'll be in great danger."

"Can't we just keep an eye on the photos?" Hao Laoshi asked. "The moment we see the ghost turn into an intersection, we immediately return to the straight, monitored path. Would that work?"

"That takes time," Ningmeng Busuan said, her worry evident. "From the moment we spot the ghost entering an intersection until we get back to the monitored area, there'll be a period where we can't track its movements. We could run right into it."

"Photographing a long, straight path has another drawback," she continued. "The ghost might enter the monitored area from the nearest intersection, catching us completely off guard."

"But we have no other choice right now," Wenqin Tan Jiu said, looking at the road ahead. "The Polaroid only has three sheets of film left, plus the three photos Xu Xingcheng brought. We can only photograph a straight path."

Ningmeng Busuan also accepted this reality. She looked at the photos in Xu Xingcheng's hand. "Among these three photos, only the one of the intersection covers a reasonably large area. The other two only show one side of the road. If the ghost is hiding on the other side, we won't see it at all."

"So only the intersection photo is useful?" Wenqin Tan Jiu asked.

"Yes," Ningmeng Busuan nodded. "If I remember correctly, that intersection is quite close to us now. Let's hurry."

The group immediately set off towards the intersection shown in the photo. Within minutes, they arrived.

Standing at the intersection, Ningmeng Busuan glanced around, quickly chose a road with the fewest obstructions, and pressed the shutter button.

The Polaroid's range was decent; from their position, they could just make out the traffic light at the next intersection, though it was blurry in the distance. After taking the picture, Ningmeng Busuan quickly examined it. She only sighed in relief after confirming there was no ghost on that road in the photo.

The others also began to relax. They finally had a safe zone! And a fairly large one at that!

Hao Laoshi, overjoyed, immediately ran onto this safe road, gesticulating excitedly. "This road is also quite long! If the ghost comes from one end, we'll have plenty of room to escape from the middle!"

"This length still isn't enough," Ningmeng Busuan said, shaking her head. "If the ghost appears at one end of this road, it will spot us in the middle immediately. We need to photograph a longer stretch for surveillance."

As she spoke, she started walking forward. When she reached the next intersection, she backed up a few steps. Before taking the picture, Ningmeng Busuan carefully angled the camera, trying to capture as much of the road on both sides of the intersection as possible.

After the flash, everyone nervously looked at the photo. The road ahead in the picture also looked clear, with nothing unusual on it.

Looking at the photo, Ningmeng Busuan's lips curved into a slight smile. "Just one more shot, and the surveillance distance will be long enough."

But just as she lifted her foot to continue forward, Xu Xingcheng, who was beside her, suddenly grabbed her arm. "Wait, look at this."

Ningmeng Busuan turned to look and saw Xu Xingcheng staring intently at the photo of the first intersection they had photographed. "What's wrong?" Her heart skipped a beat.