Just then, the few people staring at their phones saw the game screen suddenly go dark with a "BIU" sound, as if it had given up entirely...

Fatty: "..."

Zi Liang: "..."

Although the game screen had gone dark, Gu Mian had not yet emerged.

Fatty stared blankly, waiting for a long time, but the blasted game didn't spit the Doctor out.

He was dumbfounded. "Where is my Doctor? My great big Doctor..."

He said this while gesturing, spreading his arms wide like a fat chicken attempting to stretch its wings.

"Did this game eat my huge Doctor?"

And then, those present heard an unusual commotion.

The sound was exceptionally strange, seeming to surge from all directions, unceremoniously flooding their ears.

"The wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves" was the most fitting idiom to describe it.

The instant this peculiar sound echoed through the corridor, Fatty almost thought a pack of wailing wolves had rushed into the school. He even pictured a pack of wolves huddled together, weeping. He couldn't understand why the face of Grey Wolf was gradually forming in his mind...

Before long, other sounds began to mix into the ghostly wails and wolfish howls.

Sounds like old electrical wires CRACKLING with sparks, like the static from an old CRT television screen from his childhood.

The ROAR of a motorcycle, the WHIRR of an electric fan, and, not to be outdone, the piercing SCRAPE of chalk on a blackboard.

Listening to such sounds in the summer heat was incredibly agitating. The cacophony of noises seemed to twist into a tangled mess, forcibly stuffed into their ears until their minds were filled with the screech of chalk on a blackboard.

Fatty felt like his brain was being turned into a blackboard constantly being scratched by chalk.

Zi Liang felt nauseous. He propped himself against the wall with one hand, a sound like a strangled retch escaping his throat. "This is disgusting... I'm going to puke..."

Fatty was also struggling. Fortunately, he hadn't eaten much for breakfast, so the urge to vomit wasn't overwhelming, but his face was deathly pale. "Did this stupid game launch a sonic attack? My stomach hurts."

At this point, both of them were pale-faced and leaning against the wall.

These sounds, forcibly crammed into their minds, seemed to possess immense destructive power, causing them both to twitch uncontrollably. An indescribable sensation wracked their bodies from head to toe, making it impossible to think.

Zi Liang swore this was the first time in his life he had felt so utterly miserable!

Even when he was caught and handcuffed by the anti-vice squad back then, he hadn't felt this miserable!

But with the sliver of rationality he had left, Zi Liang noticed that Chu Changge, standing nearby, seemed completely unfazed.

Chu Changge was as cool and collected as ever, his expression unchanged, as if entirely unaffected. He even had the presence of mind to look at his phone, apparently analyzing something seriously.

Seeing the unresponsive Chu Changge, Zi Liang couldn't help but dry heave again.

The one trapped in the game was a deity; this one in front of him was probably a ghost!

He didn't dwell on it for long, soon resuming his battle with his rebelling stomach. The feeling of wanting to vomit but being unable to was truly agonizing.

To make matters worse, Chu Changge actually began to analyze the situation calmly. "Look at this phone screen."

As he spoke, he turned the phone screen towards the two of them.

The previously dark phone screen had started flickering again. Game images flashed by intermittently, but the periods of black screen were longer.

It resembled a television screen with poor signal reception.

By now, Fatty and Zi Liang were so overwhelmed they were gasping for breath. They had no energy to comprehend what Chu Changge was saying, nor to examine the strange state of the phone screen.

Chu Changge, realizing they were likely unable to communicate at the moment, withdrew his hand and stopped trying to talk to them. Instead, he began to mutter to himself, "The game screen is flickering. It's as if something is forcibly trying to reopen the game, but the attempt is being obstructed, hence the screen's current state."

By this time, Zi Liang had slumped to the floor, trying to draw some coolness from the tiles.

However, the corridor tiles had been baked hot by the relentless sun. While not hot enough to fry an egg directly, they weren't far off.

Prostrating himself like this only made him feel worse.

Fatty was still barely on his feet, his gaze drifting towards Chu Changge now and then, as if wanting to affirm his words—though Fatty probably hadn't heard a thing Chu Changge said.

Chu Changge glanced at the two, who seemed to have lost all strength. "Just hang on a little longer. I suspect this situation won't last too much longer."

As he spoke, he shifted his gaze back to the phone screen, which was still flickering with game images as before.

Chu Changge watched the screen. "I suspect two forces are currently clashing within the game. One is trying to force it to reopen, while the other wants to prevent it from restarting. This intense conflict must be what's causing these changes in the instance."

"Have you read fantasy novels? What about wuxia novels?" he asked, turning again to Fatty and Zi Liang.

Naturally, neither of them had the strength to answer.

But Chu Changge continued as if he understood, "When two distinct powers clash, the consequences can be severe. It could very well lead to self-destruction in the end."

This instance was clearly on the brink of self-destruction already.

Judging by the current situation, this pixel game clearly doesn't want to be reopened. Its message before the screen went black—"It seems there's nothing left in the school. It's time to end this bizarre game"—had already made that clear.

So, where does the force compelling the game to reopen come from? Could there be more than just the pixel game's faction in this instance?

Just then, Chu Changge suddenly noticed a few flickers beside him, like a white shadow.

He glanced to the side. The flickering repeated a few more times, and then a familiar, comical figure materialized there.

It was Gu Mian, dressed like a Christmas tree.

He had finally been spat out by the pixel game.

For some reason, Gu Mian was no longer in his student uniform. He had reverted to his appearance from his mid-twenties, not the high school student he'd been upon entering this instance. The others, however, were still in their high school student disguises.

Before Chu Changge could think too much about it, Gu Mian, who was dressed as flamboyantly as a Christmas tree, moved.

Gu Mian also seemed taken aback by the bizarre sounds.

Zi Liang lifted his head to see Gu Mian, now back in his Doctor's attire, wearing an odd expression. Gu Mian glanced around and then asked, "What's all this wailing and howling?"

Then, the Doctor apparently noticed Zi Liang sprawled on the ground in agony. His expression grew even more peculiar. "What's wrong with you?"

Apart from finding the noise a bit grating, this Doctor seemed completely unaffected.

A wave of nausea churned Zi Liang's stomach again. He was utterly exasperated. He no longer wanted to vomit food; he wanted to vomit blood.

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