Global Collapse

Chapter 679 Pretending to be up late
Chu Changge looked at the group photo in his hand: "Actually, I have a question. Can ghosts really come out of photos? Are the series of behaviors of the ghosts that we see deliberately done for us to see?"

Gu Mian also looked at the photo that no longer contained ghosts: "You mean it's creating an illusion?"

They created the illusion that they could crawl out of the photos to mislead them into burning them.

But Winnie was too quick with her words and threw the photo out of the car.

Many other photos were burned.

"This is just a guess," Chu Changge said, adjusting his glasses. "There's no evidence to prove it."

“If the ghost is really misleading players into burning the photos, then there’s a good chance that a way out is hidden in those photos.” Gu Mian thoughtfully reached for her guitar case.

He also put a few photos in his bag.

While everyone was burning the photos in the car, Gu Mian didn't take out the photos from her bag.

At that time, Winnie's theory about alcohol was that "ghosts can crawl out of photographs."

Gu Mian thought to herself, "Is there really such a good thing?"

So, full of anticipation, he carried those photos close to his body.

He had already opened his guitar case and taken out the photos he had treasured.

There are three in total.

These three photos were all taken on a bus, showing people sitting on the bus taking pictures of the scenery outside through the window.

Because the photos were taken from inside the car, they are somewhat blurry.

The first photo shows a flower bed in the roadside green belt.

The photographer probably thought the red flowers were beautiful, so he took a picture on the spur of the moment.

Besides the flower bed, there were other things in the picture, including part of a road and part of a sidewalk. There was also a road sign next to the flower bed, but the photo was too blurry, and Gu Mian could only vaguely make out two characters.

"It looks like this is some kind of flower street," Gu Mian said, staring at the photo.

Chu Changge also came over to look, and after a few seconds he said, "Huayin Street."

"You can even recognize this?" Gu Mian looked at the blurry text in the middle.

“I passed this sign on the bus back to the company, so it seems we took the same route,” Chu Changge said. “I remember the location in the photo isn’t far from here.”

As he spoke, he pointed forward: "You'll see it after walking two intersections."

He even remembers the exact location so clearly.

Gu Mian thought he could simply stick Chu Changge next to the steering wheel as a car map.

He then looked at the next photo.

The main subject of this photo is the sky, with a cloud in the center that looks like poop. Gu Mian wanted to take more pictures of it.

The photographer didn't shoot from a completely upward angle, so part of the ground was also captured in the shot.

Below the sky is an intersection, and the cars are probably waiting at a red light, so this photo is clearer.

“This intersection looks familiar.” Gu Mian held up the photo and compared it to the intersection in the distance ahead. “It looks like the one in front of us.”

“That’s right.” Chu Changge also looked at the intersection ahead. “It’s the intersection that’s only ten minutes away from the company.”

Gu Mian remembered that the bus had waited at the red light here for a while when it came back.

"Let's go take a look there later."

As Gu Mian spoke, she looked at the third photo.

This photo is from far away.

He remembered there was a reservoir along the way, and the photo was taken there.

It's far from here; it takes about twenty minutes to drive there.

This photo was also taken while driving, and it's even blurrier than the first one. Fortunately, the reservoir in the picture is very recognizable, and Gu Mian recognized it at a glance.

He stared at the blurry photo in his hand for a long time. Chu Changge asked, "What are you looking at?"

Gu Mian looked up at him: "Something's not right about this photo."

Wen Qin and the others were unaware that Gu Mian had returned to the place where she threw the photos, and even retrieved the group photo.

The two pedaled desperately for several hours, and their strength was starting to wane.

"Why don't we take a break?" Jin Yebai looked at the streetlights by the roadside. "My legs are a little weak, I can't keep going."

Wen Qin was also very tired from talking about wine. He nodded in agreement, got out of the car, and plopped down on the ground by the roadside.

Tonight, Bai also sat next to him with a Polaroid camera in hand.

My butt is a little sore from riding my bike for so long.

He rubbed his backside and looked back: "Hasn't that Hao Laoshi caught up yet?"

Hao Laoshi also stole a car, but his physical strength was no match for the two young men, and he was left far behind.

The two sat there for almost two minutes before Hao Laoshi arrived on his bicycle.

Seeing Wen Qin and Tan Jiu sitting by the roadside to rest, Hao Laoshi immediately jumped out of the car and lay half-reclined on the steps, panting heavily.

"It's almost dawn." Tonight, Bai turned his gaze away and looked up at the sky.

Perhaps it's psychological, but the arrival of daylight always makes people feel more at ease.

“We’ve run far enough, the ghost shouldn’t be able to catch us anytime soon.” Wen Qin Tanjiu looked at the three bicycles by the roadside, trying to ease the tense atmosphere. “If the ghost wants to catch us, it will probably have to ride a bicycle to chase us.”

Tonight, Bai imagined that scene and laughed.

Even Hao Laoshi, who was panting heavily, was amused.

“Even if we get caught by the ghost, we still have Polaroid cameras. What if taking a picture of the ghost is a way out?” Wen Qin Tanjiu continued. “If it turns out to be a way out, we’ll go back and find the others, gather everyone together, and survive together.”

Tonight, Bai looked at the moon gradually darkening in the sky and said, "Yes. I hope everyone can survive."

Hao Laoshi always liked to plan for the worst, and at this moment he hesitated before speaking: "What if taking pictures of ghosts isn't a way to survive?"

The other two fell silent.

Half a minute later, Wen Qintangjiu spoke again: "Then run. If all else fails, we have special items that we can use to escape."

Players cannot harm the ghost, but some players possess special items that can hold it back.

For example, Coco's special item, "Money Makes the World Go Round," and Xiao Qiao's "Ghost Census Form."

Both of these special items can hold off a ghost for a few seconds or even tens of seconds.

The former's delay depends on how much money you have, while the latter's delay depends on how long the ghost's name is.

As for the Wildlife Protection Law, which Gu Mian uses like a cheat code, there's no need to say more.

However, these special items are extremely rare and difficult to obtain in normal dungeons.

Wen Qin was lucky; she won this special item that could save her life in a lottery, but it was a one-time use item.

He won't easily use it unless he's forced into a corner.

The other two weren't as lucky as him.

Tonight there's a whole bunch of random, nonsensical stuff, nothing of any use.

Hao Laoshi was in an even worse situation. He didn't even have any odds and ends. He sold all his special items and used the money to buy game currency to support his family.

The supermarket has a special area for recycling special items, and there are signs that read "Fair prices, no deception of the young or old".

Hao Laoshi sells things there.

For a moment, both of them looked gloomy and remained silent with their heads down.

Forget pretending, be tough, this is midnight!
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(End of this chapter)