After all, Gu Mian was a doctor, so he was able to determine the general direction of the heart based on the density and pathways of these blood vessel-like lines.
"Looking at the density distribution..." Gu Mian pointed in a certain direction. "It should be over there."
Fatty looked in the direction Gu Mian was pointing. Is that the location of the event's heart? "Doctor," he asked, "are you thinking of going over there to take a look?"
If the Doctor really went over there, he wouldn't just be taking a look, Fatty suspected. He'd definitely do something.
Gu Mian stroked his chin. "I'm guessing this event relies entirely on the heart to sustain itself. If the heart is damaged, the whole event will collapse with it."
That's all the more reason not to go!
Fatty remembered they were still in the real world. If the event collapsed, it would mean the ghosts within it couldn't return to the instance world.
What a terrifying thought!
"Hear me out," Gu Mian said, lowering his hand. "The event's heart is crucial, so the ghosts guarding it must be extraordinarily powerful."
Fatty, clutching his lantern, nodded in understanding.
"Therefore, the rewards for the lantern riddles around the heart are likely to be much higher."
Hearing Gu Mian's words, Fatty responded, "In theory, that makes sense, but I wonder if something unexpected will happen if we go there…"
Gu Mian understood Fatty's concerns.
He glanced at Chu Changge beside him. "Anyway, if an accident is meant to happen, it can happen anywhere."
There seemed to be some truth to those words.
If the event was destined to collapse, it would collapse one way or another; that was the gist of it.
"Let's go," Gu Mian said, then started walking in that direction.
Chu Changge said nothing and followed.
Fatty, still somewhat worried, glanced towards Mr. Green. Mr. Green seemed unaware that Gu Mian was heading towards the event's heart, his face a picture of serenity.
I hope this tranquility can last, Fatty prayed silently, then followed Gu Mian as well.
It was now past ten o'clock. The event had been ongoing for over three hours, and the group noticed they were encountering fewer and fewer players as time went on.
Before, they could still spot players hurrying past in the distance, but now, they could walk a long way without seeing a single person.
Fatty felt a little dazed, as if they were in a deserted city.
"There must have been many casualties," Chu Changge said, his gaze on the ground.
Gu Mian recalled the large number of people who had entered the event. He wondered how many would leave it still standing.
"Speaking of which," Fatty said, looking around curiously, "I saw a lot of military personnel coming in earlier; how come we've only encountered those few, like Han Shan and his team, so far?"
Gu Mian shook his head. "Perhaps they grouped up and went elsewhere, and we just haven't crossed paths."
Hengdian had many scenic areas. Gu Mian and the others had been walking for hours and hadn't even finished exploring one, so not encountering others wasn't particularly strange.
The night wind whistled, blowing through the rows of pale lanterns hanging overhead. The lanterns swayed, bumping into each other and producing faint clinking sounds.
Fatty suddenly spoke up, "Right, Doctor, do you remember that Bai Wuchang we met earlier? The one named Xie Bi'an."
"I remember," Gu Mian rubbed his chin. "He said someone was following us... and it seems the person following us is also being followed by something."
Fatty asked curiously, "But Doctor, you don't seem very concerned about who's following us."
"That's because I've already observed our surroundings," Gu Mian replied matter-of-factly. "Apart from that skittish green fellow, there's no one else. I'm also curious where this person he mentioned, the one supposedly following us, actually is."
Fatty tilted his head. "Ah, there were quite a few tricksters before this game started. Maybe that person was just trying to mess with us for fun?"
Gu Mian replied, "If so, he certainly has a lot of time on his hands."
Just then, Chu Changge, who was beside them, suddenly stopped. "I don't think so."
Fatty looked at him, puzzled.
Chu Changge continued, "Doesn't this person sound familiar to you?"
Familiar?
Fatty was a bit puzzled. He'd only ever heard of people being 'familiar-looking,' not 'familiar-sounding.'
Chu Changge's voice went on, "The description of this person: completely covered up, not a single bit of skin showing, and a very pleasant voice..."
As Chu Changge described them, a memory surfaced for Fatty. "I remember when we were staying at the inn, wasn't there someone across from us who never left their room?"
The innkeeper had used those exact phrases: 'completely covered up' and 'an especially pleasant voice.'
This description... it sounds like the same person...
A gust of night wind blew past, and Fatty couldn't help but shudder.
This person... they were nearby when we stayed at the inn, and now, even after entering the event, they're still hauntingly close.
"This person couldn't be a ghost, could they?" Fatty wanted to rub his arm where goosebumps had formed, but his clothes were too thick to feel them.
"Their name is strange too, taking the name of a ghost messenger," Fatty muttered. "They can't actually be a ghost messenger, can they?"
Chu Changge spoke up again, "In any case, it's best to be careful around this person. Try to avoid contact with them as much as possible in the future."
Fatty looked at Chu Changge in confusion. Was Chu Changge implying they would encounter this person again in the future?
With no external disturbances, the three of them made good time.
Before long, Fatty heard the Doctor, who was leading, suddenly stop and then speak: "Judging by the direction of these lines, if we continue along this path, we should reach the heart in about five minutes."
Fatty craned his neck to look ahead. "Then let's keep going..."
Mid-sentence, he suddenly realized something and glanced at the time. Damn, it was already 10:34 PM! Less than a minute until the next ghost wave.
When he saw the time, Fatty's heart leaped. He quickly scanned their surroundings and spotted a row of small, two-story buildings not far away.
He immediately dropped the lantern he was holding and pulled Gu Mian towards those buildings. Halfway there, the three of them suddenly heard a familiar voice.
They looked up to see a pale face peering out from a second-floor window of one of the buildings.
If they hadn't already heard movement from up there, the sight of that face would have scared most people half to death.
"Damn!" Fatty cursed. "Trying to scare people to death!"
Gu Mian immediately took a closer look at the pale face above. It looked familiar—the face of a soldier they had encountered not long ago. Gu Mian remembered his name was Angry Guiguzi.
But the last time I saw him, this fellow's complexion wasn't so pallid, Gu Mian thought. Did something happen to him?
"Hurry up and come up!" The pale face by the window spoke, his voice somewhat weak and not quite sounding like his own.
Fatty stared at the pale face, hesitating for a few seconds. Could the person up there really be human? he wondered. Or is it a ghost in disguise? Especially given how bizarre this situation is.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Fatty turned to Gu Mian and Chu Changge, as if wanting them to make the decision.
Chu Changge didn't hesitate and said immediately, "Let's go to the building next to theirs."
Hearing this, Fatty immediately started running towards the adjacent two-story building.
Time was running out; if they delayed any longer, they might run straight into a ghost.
It didn't take long for the three of them to enter the building. As they did, they could hear Guigu's increasingly frantic voice from next door.
Even after they had climbed to the second floor of this building, they could still hear Guigu muttering curses from the building next door.
Gu Mian went to the window. From there, he had a clear view of the building opposite them and immediately spotted Guigu's frantic face behind its window.
"You guys need to come over here! That house isn't safe!" The person opposite them, though clearly agitated, still tried to keep his voice down.
Guigu took a deep breath. "They're searching thoroughly! Hurry and come over, there's still time!"
But just as he finished speaking, a rustling sound came from outside.
The dangerous five minutes had begun.