When Gu Mian saw Chu Changge again, Chu Changge was tied to a bench, thoroughly bound, with a glass box pressed on top of him.
Nearby, a teenager was thrusting a torch he had struggled to light towards the box. If it werenât for the conspicuous flames in the dark, Gu Mian would have had a hard time finding this location.
The rats in the box were already restless, their sharp claws scratching at Chu Changgeâs clothes.
Just as the teenager was gleefully extending the torch, he suddenly felt his hand meet some resistance, preventing him from stretching it out any further.
He turned around, annoyed, to see what was happening. To his surprise, he saw a somewhat dirty white hem.
The teenager looked up, following the hem as it billowed in the breeze, and saw a cheerful, smiling face. He recognized this face.
The previously unhappy teenager immediately perked up upon seeing this face and no longer cared about the torch in his hand. "Haha, you actually ran all the way here!"
Gu Mianâs current status within the instance was no different from that of a wanted criminal. Both the audience and the production crew were itching to catch him and bring him to justice on the spot.
Therefore, upon seeing Gu Mianâs face, the teenagerâs face lit up with genuine joy. "Heâs here! Quick, grab him!"
But he soon saw the cameramen lying all over the ground behind Gu Mian, and his companions huddled together in a corner, trembling, looking too scared to even try to run.
At that moment, a grey-haired youth of unknown origin was gently tying up the hands and feet of the cameramen on the ground with strips torn from some tattered clothing. When tying the knots, he even carefully fashioned them into bows. As for these tattered cloth strips, they were from the rope Gu Mian had casually swiped from Accompany me next year, who had intended to use it for hanging. This had forced Accompany me next year to tearfully pick out a new rope.
Before entering âMetamorphosisâ, Gu Mian had flattened his older brother and stuffed him into his pocket. After staying in the pocket for a day, his brother was finally let out by Gu Mian to get some air.
Gu Mian casually took the torch from the teenagerâs hand, tossed it aside, and gently lifted him by the collar. "Kids shouldnât play with fire, you know."
Chu Changge silently watched the glass box still pressing down on him. The rats were still clawing at his clothes.
This doesnât seem to be about playing with fire anymore,
he thought.
The teenager glared maliciously at Gu Mian. "Let me go!"
He reached out to scratch Gu Mianâs face, but Gu Mian unexpectedly loosened his grip, causing the teenager to fall flat on his face. The teenager lifted his head, his eyes filled with venomous hatred. "Just you wait! When they catch you, youâre finished! Youâll get whatâs coming to you!"
He was still waiting for the production crew to come and capture Gu Mian.
Gu Mian squatted down, pushed the teenagerâs head back into the damp soil, and sighed while forcefully grinding it. "Ah, such nostalgia. About half a year ago, I met a group of kids just like you. Unfortunately, their end wasnât very peaceful."
With his face pressed into the dirt, the teenager couldnât make a sound. He could only listen to Gu Mian sighing above him. "Afterward, I often wished they hadnât gone. But luckily, Iâve met you all today. This allows me to fulfill a wish Iâve harbored for a very long time..."
Hearing this, the teenager suddenly felt a prickling numbness on his back. Though the tone was gentle and the words kind, they sent a profound chill through him.
Just then, he felt his hands being tied behind his back.
The man above him was still muttering to himself, "Theyâll probably struggle a lot later. I need to tie them up really tight..."
Hearing this, the teenagerâs hair stood on end.
What is he planning to do?!
At this point, Gu Mian shifted his gaze to Chu Changge.
Fortunately, these people had tied Chu Changge up very tightly. So, Gu Mian cheerfully pulled some ropes off him to use.
Chu Changge: "..."
With his older brotherâs help, the group of kids was quickly tied together.
As they watched in terror, Gu Mian approached, carrying the glass box full of rats...
What was he going to do?!
Soon, these children would find out.
The dark night filled with waves of piercing screams. The word "no" could be heard most often, screamed so heart-wrenchingly it sounded as if their throats were tearing.
But then, the voices vanished one by one, and before long, the night returned to silence.
After finishing everything, Gu Mian picked up an undamaged camera from the damp earth, its lens aimed directly at the bound people.
Their eyes were bloodshot, eyeballs practically bulging, their terror palpable.
They couldnât scream because Gu Mian had sealed their mouths tightly with medical tape. However, a long, black-furred tail could be seen dangling from each of their mouths.
These tails writhed constantly, clearly indicating their owners were still very much alive.
Gu Mian stroked his chin. "Although Iâve used tape, if they try hard to burrow deeper, the tape wonât hold their tails. So, you all need to bite down firmly. Otherwise, the rats will slip down your throats..."
As he said this, he seemed to recall something else. "But donât bite too hard either. If you bite the tails off, theyâll still burrow inside."
The bound people stared with terrified, wide eyes.
A prickly, squirming sensation emanated from their mouths, as if rat whiskers were brushing against every part of their oral cavities.
Some had already started to gag, but they couldnât vomit.
Gu Mian paid no mind to whether they felt nauseous. "You all just experience this for a while. I have to run. If I donât leave now, your production crew will catch me."
As he spoke, he waved at the camera, called out, "Bye-bye!" and then bolted with Chu Changge and his older brother.
Liu Ruyan had never cared much for sleep. At this moment, she was watching the live broadcast of the show. On screen, the captured individuals still had rat tails, twisting and writhing, dangling from their mouths. The bound people looked like they were on the verge of fainting from shock. Staring at those tails, she sighed sincerely from her heart.
Heâs truly not human.
ăMeanwhileă
Xiao Qiao was still in the house of the players from the "You Hit Me Because of Yao Zhai!" incident. One of them, Yao Zhai, had been held by the collar by Xiao Qiao for quite some time and started to get a strange feeling.
Itâs like Iâm somewhat familiar with this female celebrity,
he thought. He asked curiously, "Is your friend the top-ranked player? If so, he definitely wonât be able to get out now."
As he spoke, he looked up at Xiao Qiao, only to see her staring blankly into space. Her expression reminded him of how he used to stare at the blackboard during his school days. If Xiao Qiao hadnât been staring at empty air, he would have really thought she was looking at a blackboard.
After a good while, Xiao Qiao finally seemed to register his voice and lowered her gaze to Yao Zhai.
Yao Zhai noticed some inexplicable expressions appearing on her usually stoic face. Then, he heard Xiao Qiao ask, "This instance you mentioned... is stuffing live rats into peopleâs mouths a normal thing in it?"
Yao Zhai was tongue-tied for a moment. It took him a few seconds to find his voice. "N-no... I... The last time I entered that instance, it wasnât this... twisted."
"No," Xiao Qiao shook her head seriously. "Iâm asking, is it normal for a *guest* to stuff live rats into an *NPCâs* mouth?"
Normal, my ass!
Yao Zhai screamed internally.