The NPCs of the Old World harbored great malice towards the players. Among these players, their malice towards Gu Mian was particularly strong. To put it figuratively, it was as if Gu Mian had murdered their parents. No, according to Liu Ruyan, even if their parents had been killed, their resentment towards Gu Mian wouldnât have reached such an intense level. Therefore, Gu Mianâs initial plan to "negotiate amicably" was doomed from the start.
By the time the two humans and one ghost reached the vicinity of the production crew, it was already five in the morning, and the sky was beginning to brighten. Everyone in the crew, except for a few cameramen, was searching for the "lost child" Gu Mian, so there werenât many people around the crewâs area. Gu Mian and the others easily sneaked into the directorâs room. The director lived in the best house in this rundown village, and all the live broadcast equipment was located here. It was a two-story concrete building, painted white on the outside, appearing particularly dazzling in the dawn light.
Few people remained in the two-story building. Gu Mian didnât even need to act; the scattered individuals were quickly dealt with by his elusive brother, who covered their mouths and dragged them aside. The brother had been a formidable fighter when alive and was even more so in death.
Watching this, Gu Mian idly wished he could try dying too, just to see if he could then spy on Fatty taking a bath.
Gu Mian easily grabbed the director. Right up until his collar was seized, the director had been angrily cursing the escaped Gu Mian. Only when he felt his collar tighten and turned around did he see the very person heâd been cursing standing behind him.
The rope they had saved for the coming year came in handy. Gu Mian made a noose with the rope, hung it from the ceiling fan, and then put the directorâs head into it. The brother dutifully held the directorâs body from below to prevent him from actually hanging himself.
"Put me down!" The director struggled in the noose but couldnât break free.
Gu Mian sat on a nearby chair, his back straight, "Mr. Director, what are your thoughts on our sudden return?"
The director thrashed about violently, naturally unable to answer such irrelevant questions.
The brotherâs grey hair trembled with the directorâs struggles. He looked up at the man, slightly loosening his grip. The noose tightened, and the directorâs eyes rolled back. The brother pushed him up again, and the director, gasping, coughed violently before managing a deep breath.
Gu Mian didnât waste any more words. He stood up, walked under the fan, and poked the directorâs slightly inflated belly with his finger, "You know we arenât from this world, so you must know something else." As he spoke, he pressed a pit into the soft belly with more force, "When I carried Mr. Green out, a ticket seller mentioned the word âlandingâ to him. I guessed then that a large number of NPCs would arrive in reality. Now Iâm sure that the instance is in a Low-Dimensional World, which means the Low-Dimensional World is trying to erode the High-Dimensional World... perhaps this is why the global game came to Earth."
"Letâs put that aside for now," Gu Mian looked up at the director. "So, do you know how the Low-Dimensional World plans to âlandâ? Whatâs the connection between the global game and the Low-Dimensional Worldâs erosion?"
Gu Mian saw a flicker of confusion on the directorâs face; he clearly didnât understand.
It seemed that even the director of Metamorphosis didnât know much about the core information. Gu Mian had been prepared for this.
This was troublesome.
Gu Mian and the others were deep in the mountains. If the director didnât know much, they would have to leave the mountains to find NPCs who had the information they needed. They might be ambushed by a crowd before they could even get out. After all, they were outnumbered; two fists couldnât fend off four hands.
Just then, Chu Changge suddenly spoke up, "Actually, if we canât find the key NPC, thereâs another way to leave. This method might be difficult in other worlds, but itâs simple in this one."
What method?
Gu Mian looked at Chu Changge.
Chu Changge adjusted his glasses. "The Low-Dimensional World exists through a âmedium,â just as the Second World relies on books to exist. The Old World must also rely on something."
If they destroyed the medium this world relied on, the Old World would be completely obliterated. The medium in other worlds might be hard to find, but for the Old World... The most distinctive feature of this world, wasnât it the Law Code Liu Ruyan had spoken of? The Law Code was the faith of the Old Worldâs people. They viewed it as devout Believers viewed their gods: unchallengeable, indisputable, and inviolable. This was the most likely candidate for the medium.
"However, the medium the Old World relies on is certainly not within this world," Gu Mian stroked his chin. "The Second World is generated from books in the real world. Similarly, the Old World must be generated from something in the real world; its anchor must be in the real world."
Attacking the Law Code within the Old World might not achieve anything. The real âLaw Codeâ must be found in the real world to truly obliterate the Old World.
Chu Changge glanced at the director hanging in the noose. "Even if the Law Code within the Old World isnât the direct medium, it shares the same origin as its real-world counterpart. Your actions in the Low-Dimensional World can affect the real Law Code. Even if the Old World canât be destroyed instantly, this instance will certainly begin to collapse in self-preservation."
Chu Changge spoke abstractly. The director, still hanging, widened his eyes as he listened to their conversation, only gradually understanding what they were discussing.
Once he understood, the director began to struggle fiercely. "Youâre going to desecrate the Law Code?!"
In this world, people held the Law Code in higher regard than their own parents. It was worth mentioning that in the Old World, over a million copies of the Law Code had been printed, each one treated with the utmost respect and enshrined on altars.
Gu Mian couldnât locate the original Law Code now; he could only target those reprinted versions. The problem was, even the reprints would be hard to find at this moment.
"I saw a Law Code in the village school. It was enshrined in the centermost room on the second floor," Chu Changge said, adjusting his glasses.
So, they had a copy of the Law Code. But destroying this instance wouldnât be easy. Would the instance collapse every time a random copy of the Law Code was destroyed? That seemed absurd. Accidents always happened. Every year in this world, Law Codes were lost to fires or accidentally stained, yet the Old World persisted. The collapse of the instance would require an additional push.
Gu Mian glanced at Chu Changge. "That pen."
He was referring to the pen they had received during the Dragon Boat activity. Chu Changge understood and pulled out the [Paranormal Editor Simulator]. The pen could alter reality within its capabilities: writing âdisappearâ on a bed made it vanish; inscribing âopenâ on a locked door made it swing open on its own.
Using the pen to alter the Law Code was the perfect plan.
Gu Mian regarded the pen in Chu Changgeâs hand. "So, youâll..."
Before he could finish, Chu Changge shook his head and pressed the pen into Gu Mianâs hand. "I think this kind of task will only be truly effective if youâre the one to do it."
But Gu Mian knew many special items didnât work to their full potential in his hands. Whatever, heâd give it a shotâa desperate gamble. If he failed, they could just let Chu Changge try scribbling on it.
Gu Mian pocketed the pen, his gaze drifting to the window as he did so.
That glance made him freeze. He looked out the window and saw that, at some point, they had been surrounded. Most were villagers with glowing green eyes, interspersed with a few staff members who had hurried back.
Someone had likely realized the director was a hostage and had gathered a mob to take him down.
"Looks like reaching the school peacefully is out of the question now," Gu Mian said, watching the people slowly converging outside. "Chu Changge, you didnât bring the Spirit Car, did you?"
Chu Changge shook his head. "No."
A pity. If they had a vehicle now, this crowd wouldnât be able to stop him.
Chu Changgeâs voice came from the side, "But the production teamâs vehicle is parked downstairs."
Hearing this, Gu Mian turned to the director, still hanging in the noose. He reached into the directorâs pockets and, after a moment of fumbling, found a set of car keys.
"Well, that makes things easier," Gu Mian said.
Gu Mian glanced at the advancing crowd downstairs, then casually picked up a camera from the table and thrust it into his brotherâs arms. "Such an exciting escape from the Old World should be seen by more people. Itâs the only way to stimulate resonance."
The brother, having had a camera thrust into his arms, instinctively clutched it. With the brother no longer supporting him, the director hung taut by his neck, struggling desperately.
Gu Mian had no idea how to operate the live broadcast equipment, but heâd seen pigs run, even if heâd never eaten pork; he had some idea how it worked. He randomly hit a few control buttons until the broadcast switched to the camera his brother was holding.
And so, the Old World viewers who had woken up early and turned on their TVs, hoping to see if Gu Mian had been caught, were instead greeted with the sight of their director hanging from the ceiling fan, his face swollen and flushed a deep, liverish red.
Then, they saw the camera view shift, and a smiling face appeared on the screen.
The person on screen opened his mouth, his voice broadcasting, "Welcome, everyone, to the first Old World Law Code Amendment Vote!"