"Since you know you're such a shameless pest, you shouldn't..."

However, before Gu Mian could finish his sentence, the newcomer strode to the car, pulled open the door, and got in.

Fatty silently observed Liu Ruyan, who had just boarded, and then glanced at Gu Mian, who had fallen silent.

Fatty remembered the woman; she was Gu Mian's landlady in Lianhua City. He hadn't expected her to show up here for the event as well.

She was dressed warmly in a black sweater dress that enveloped her snugly. Her long hair cascaded down her back, and she wore a smile...

"What a coincidence, Dr. Gu," Liu Ruyan said, looking up at Gu Mian in the driver's seat and touching her chin. "We're staying in the same hotel."

Gu Mian glanced at her. "Haven't we always stayed in the same hotel?"

"Mhm," the smile on Liu Ruyan's face deepened. "That's true. So, giving me a lift isn't a big deal, right?"

Gu Mian also smiled. "Of course not. But considering you snuck into my room twenty-nine times to turn on the gas, I think it would be better to kick you out of the car right now..."

In the end, however, Gu Mian didn't kick Liu Ruyan out of the car.

Just as he was about to move his foot, Chu Changge stopped him. "I have something to ask her."

Gu Mian retracted his foot. "Fine, go ahead."

However, he didn't recall Chu Changge and Liu Ruyan having any close connection; they had only met a few times.

The light was still dim. Despite it being daytime, the car's headlights were needed to see properly. Since there were no other cars on the road, Gu Mian naturally switched on the high beams.

Fatty, squeezed in behind the driver's seat, exclaimed, "Whoa, driving a Spirit Car with high beams on—badass!"

Gu Mian, fearing Liu Ruyan might suddenly lunge over and stab him while he was driving, had deliberately positioned Fatty behind the driver's seat to act as a shield. Fatty was thoroughly disgruntled by this arrangement.

Chu Changge and Liu Ruyan were speaking in hushed tones in the back of the car. Their conversation was so quiet that Gu Mian and Fatty in the front could barely hear anything.

However, they looked as if they had known each other for a long time.

Gu Mian glanced at the two in the back through the car's rear-view mirror. "How strange," he muttered.

How on earth did these two know each other?

Chu Changge still wore his usual blank expression. Liu Ruyan, however, seemed quite casual, occasionally raising an eyebrow as she spoke, as if she had heard something amusing.

But Chu Changge wasn't the type to tell jokes; Gu Mian and Fatty knew this very well.

Their conversation didn't last long. After just a few minutes, Chu Changge fell silent and sat quietly to one side.

Liu Ruyan, on the other hand, rested her head on one arm, leaning against the car window, seemingly lost in thought.

At this moment, Gu Mian finally had an opportunity to speak. "We're going to the supermarket. Are you going too?"

Liu Ruyan looked up at him and smiled. "Yes, wherever you go, I'll go."

How terrifying!

At this point, Fatty spoke up, his tone laced with confusion. "Speaking of which... Miss Liu, is it alright if I call you Miss Liu?"

Liu Ruyan smiled. "Of course, you can call me whatever you like."

Although a beautiful woman's smile was captivating, an inexplicable chill ran down Fatty's spine. He paused for a moment before continuing, "Didn't you see that thing on the roof when you got in?"

Xiao Hong was still obediently lying on the car roof, her long hair trailing down beside Gu Mian's window. Anyone who wasn't blind could see the red figure on the car.

Yet, Liu Ruyan had paid it no mind, not even glancing up before getting into the car.

"The car roof?" Liu Ruyan asked.

Fatty nodded. "Yes, the car roof."

Seeing Liu Ruyan's reaction, Fatty couldn't help but wonder. Could it be that no one else besides them could see this female ghost? If he'd known that, he wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of dressing her up.

But soon, Fatty's suspicion was dispelled.

Liu Ruyan glanced at the window beside Gu Mian. "Oh, that. I've seen her before, so I wasn't too surprised."

What in the world?

Fatty's eyes widened. Seen her before?

"Mhm," Liu Ruyan nodded, her head still propped on her arm. "It was the night the event ended. She seemed to have climbed to the wrong window and ended up plastered against mine."

Fatty: "..."

Then, as if recalling something, she continued, "I remember that night, seeing her stuck to my window, staring at me. But after a few seconds, she started shouting, 'Wrong one, wrong one, wrong one!' and then accidentally fell. I leaned out to look; she fell pretty hard."

Gu Mian: "..."

Did she really have it that rough?

But Liu Ruyan was also quite bold. Not only was she unfazed by a ghost plastered to her window, but she even peeked when it fell...

Gu Mian had no desire to associate with this audacious woman who had snuck into his room twenty-nine times and turned on his gas.

As he turned the steering wheel, he said, "Once we get to the supermarket, we'll go our separate ways and find our own mothers."

Fatty asked, puzzled, "Doctor, you don't have a mother, do you?"

"Shut up!"

Liu Ruyan chuckled, resting her head on her hand, but said nothing.

Meanwhile, Chu Changge, sitting beside them, seemed to be pondering something, a rare, peculiar expression on his face.

Gu Mian really wanted to ask what the two of them had been secretly discussing, but before he could voice his curiosity, the supermarket was already in sight.

"Almost there," Gu Mian said, turning the steering wheel. "I'll park over..."

But before Gu Mian could finish his sentence, a strange, semi-transparent panel suddenly appeared in front of him. He instinctively slammed on the brakes.

Immediately after, Fatty also noticed a panel appear in front of him—it was the same kind of panel they had seen before when triggering special instances!

"Damn it!" Gu Mian exclaimed. "I just got out of an instance yesterday! I haven't even had a chance to enjoy a moment of peace, you bastards!"

In the midst of the chaos, Fatty heard Chu Changge, who was beside him, say, "Retrieve the car first."

Fatty immediately understood. Just as they were about to enter the special instance, he quickly gestured, pulling the Spirit Car into his inventory.

Then, THUD.

A dazed female ghost fell from a height of over a meter, landing hard on the ground.

She got up, turned her head, and looked around in a daze. But by then, there was no one in sight; everyone from the car had entered the special instance.

The cold wind still howled.

She stood rooted to the spot, motionless, as if waiting for them, yet uncertain if they would ever return.

Meanwhile, Gu Mian and the others had already begun the teammate matching process.

[Triggering special instance 'High School Mystery: The Spiriting Away Game']

Fatty's voice came through: "Just from the name, you can tell this instance is no ordinary piece of work!"

[Instance Introduction: This instance is part of the 'High School Mystery' series. Special items obtained in this series of instances can be used in conjunction.]

[Number of Players: 6 to 10]

[Insufficient players detected. Randomly supplementing teammates. Loading...]

[Successfully matched teammates. Current number of players: 8]

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