On Gu Mian's end, there was indeed a small anomaly—a very small one, as small as it could possibly be. Compared to Fatty and Zi Liang, he was relatively safe, for now...

Meanwhile, Fatty and Zi Liang were running for their lives.

Fatty cursed the Doctor. "No wonder we were all students when we entered—it's because those ghosts are also students! We all wear the same uniform, which made us mistake those ghosts for our own characters. It was all a ploy to confuse us." As he spoke, he quickened his pace, trying to run even faster.

"In theory, we shouldn't need to run if we encounter a ghost," Zi Liang, gasping for breath, called from up ahead. "Brother Fatty, you've never heard of anyone outrunning a ghost in a race, have you?"

Fatty shot him a cold glance. "Stop spouting nonsense. Believe it or not, this stupid game will throw you into a sports meet instance next, specifically to race against ghosts."

Zi Liang pursed his lips. Even though he was somewhat glib, his body stayed honest. He ran forward for all he was worth, despite knowing he couldn't outrun these ghosts.

The two ghostly figures behind them were closing in, now almost within five meters. If they stretched out their arms just a little further, they would be able to touch them...

Just then, an idea struck Zi Liang. "Right, the traps! The traps in the game must be for them!"

As soon as he yelled this, Fatty also understood.

The little figures represented the ghosts. So, if they lured the little figures onto the traps, wouldn't that be perfect?

They hadn't dared to step on the traps before, fearing that if their characters died, they themselves would be affected. Little did they suspect that there was no necessary connection between them and their characters. If there was any connection at all, it was that their characters were out to take their lives.

Fatty found his courage growing. In such a dangerous moment, he was still able to think of such things.

Unfortunately, even if they tried to lead the ghosts onto the traps now, it was uncertain if those ghosts would follow. The ghosts chasing them already seemed out of control.

As he frantically fled up ahead, Zi Liang griped, "It definitely has to be your unreliable Doctor, or that unreliable Four-Eyed Boy who did something!"

Fatty retorted, "You're a damn Four-Eyed Boy too!"

Running like a bat out of hell, Zi Liang yelled, "Never mind that now! Let's head towards the traps! Even if those things behind us don't step on them, they wouldn't dare to pass through them, right? We can use this to shake them off!"

His point made sense. Fatty began to think about where the nearest trap in the game was.

As chance would have it, it was in the First Year High School Building, two buildings away from them.

They would probably be caught and torn limb from limb by the ghosts before they could even get there.

Fatty had no intention of experiencing being torn apart. If he had the chance, he'd rather be disco dancing on someone's grave...

Zi Liang, unaware of Fatty's thoughts, kept anxiously glancing back.

Closer... even closer!

The ghosts behind them only needed to reach out to touch them!

"It's over, it's over..." Zi Liang almost screamed.

He had gone through many instances with his handcuffs and had barely accumulated any resources. He didn't know how much would be deducted if he died this time. The real world had already changed. If he didn't have enough resources, he was likely to be eliminated—to put it bluntly, left without even his underpants when he died.

Just then, he heard Fatty's voice, filled with delighted surprise.

"Doctor!"

Delighted? At this moment? Zi Liang was sure that no matter who showed up, he wouldn't feel any delight in this life-or-death situation. Even if his long-dead grandfather suddenly popped out of his grave, jumped in front of him, and affectionately called him 'Grandson,' he wouldn't be overjoyed. Yet, right now, Fatty sounded even more delighted than if he had seen his own deceased grandfather.

Upon hearing Fatty, Zi Liang immediately looked up but saw no sign of the Doctor. He skeptically glanced at Fatty. Was Fatty seeing things?

But then he noticed that Fatty wasn't looking ahead; he was staring at the smartphone in his hand.

Seeing this, Zi Liang slowly shifted his gaze to his own phone...

An additional little figure had appeared on the screen, unnoticed until now.

[Gu Mian: Damn it, why have I turned into a pixel person?]

[Gu Mian: Damn it, why did I become so flat?]

[Gu Mian: Damn it! What are those two things rushing towards me?]

Gu Mian?

The name flashed through Zi Liang's mind. He thought for half a second, then realization dawned. "I remember you guys!"

"Remember my ass!" Fatty slapped Zi Liang on the head, then pushed himself to run even harder. "Wait, how did the Doctor get into this game? I need to find a safe place to check this out!"

At that moment, Zi Liang was staring blankly at his phone screen.

On it, the [Wang Panzi] and [Liang'er] figures that had been chasing them from behind had just collided head-on with the approaching [Gu Mian].

The Gu Mian in the game didn't seem to realize that Fatty and he were running for their lives in reality.

[Gu Mian: Why do these two figures look distorted? I don't think they look like the characters Fatty and the others registered...]

While the Doctor on screen voiced his doubts, his body acted decisively, pulling out the chainsaw.

That ferocious, meter-long chainsaw looked terrifying even in its pixelated form. Zi Liang felt as if the chainsaw might just burst out of the screen and lop his head off.

The images on the screen continued to change.

Fatty stole a glance back and saw that the two ghosts chasing them had vanished.

He checked the screen again. Sure enough...

[Gu Mian: Why did you two just rush at me like that! So scary!]

[Gu Mian: Hey, why are you turning around and running away now?]

Fatty: "..."

Zi Liang: "..."

Fatty swallowed, then cautiously spoke to the phone screen, "Doctor?"

Zi Liang chimed in with him.

The Gu Mian on the screen didn't react.

[Gu Mian: I just opened a door, and I didn't expect to encounter something this bizarre. Speaking of which, is this inside that God Hidden game?]

Zi Liang was devastated. "He really did open that terrifying door Chu Hang warned about!"

Fatty started to argue, "If you had that dormitory key, you would have opened the door too, wouldn't you?"

Zi Liang closed his mouth, falling silent.

"Did the Doctor enter the game world through that dormitory door?" Fatty pulled out a strand of his hair in frustration. "Did the missing folks disappear because they were dragged into the game? But just now, those ghosts were able to come into the real world..."

Even though the ghosts chasing them were gone, things seemed to have become even more bizarre.

Zi Liang stared fixedly at the screen, his eyes unblinking, as if trying to deduce Gu Mian's three-dimensional form from the flat, pixelated figure.

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