Hearing this, Gu Mian glanced at the bracelet on his wrist.

The dark-gold bracelet was engraved with ancient, mysterious patterns and made a dull sound when struck.

This was the rare special item, "Angel Halo," obtained from the Hide-and-Seek instance.

The "rare" designation implied it wasn't easily acquired.

At the very least, despite having gone through so many instances, this was the first time Gu Mian had encountered a special item designated as "rare."

[Angel Halo (Rare)]

[Description: A mysterious halo of unknown age, rumored to be a creation of some creator god. Although called a halo, it is actually a bracelet-like item. Absolutely do not wear it on your head!]

[Function: A special item exclusive to the Doctor profession. It can absorb a large quantity of medicine; within a certain range, the medicine stored inside can directly affect a patient under the halo's effect.]

Initially, Gu Mian hadn't fully understood this thing's function. He only discovered its use after he made a cut on Fatty with a knife.

As long as Fatty was within a two-meter radius, the medicine in the bracelet could directly affect Fatty's wound, much like a Priest's healing in a game.

"Well, I am a Doctor, after all. It's not really right to screw over other players like this," Gu Mian said, stroking his chin. "But, better you than me. I'll try my best not to let my 'friend' die."

"Speaking of which..." Gu Mian continued, still stroking his chin, "you heard it too in that Hide-and-Seek instance, right? The word the ghost uttered before it died."

Fatty corrected, "Before it was *destroyed*."

To be fair, this was the most pitiful ghost Fatty had seen since the game began. Although most other ghosts he'd encountered had also perished, their deaths weren't unjust; they were all killed after losing duels with the Doctor.

But the ghost from the Hide-and-Seek instance was different. It was directly destroyed by the instance itself. Even Dou E, were she here, wouldn't dare claim her grievance was greater than its.

Thinking of this, Fatty actually started to sympathize with the ghost, tears even welling up in the corners of his eyes.

At this moment, Chu Changge, who was beside them, suddenly spoke. "The destruction occurred because that ghost revealed an absolutely forbidden secret. It uttered just one word, and the instance immediately self-destructed. That was a heavy price. This indicates that the word it spoke before its demise was already enough to pose a threat to the instance, and perhaps even the entire game world."

A threat to perhaps even the entire game world…

Fatty kept repeating Chu Changge's last sentence in his mind. Could it really be that significant?

Gu Mian lowered his hand. "I remember my question was, 'Where are you from?'"

And the ghost's answer was only a single word: "Seven."

It wasn't that it didn't want to say more; it was just immediately destroyed by the instance.

Gu Mian couldn't, for the life of him, connect the word "seven" to any specific location.

Fatty piped up strangely, "Was it trying to say 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'?"

Gu Mian glanced at him. "Your intelligence level is only fit for watching cartoons."

Fatty was speechless.

The air conditioner had been turned on. The dilapidated unit seemed very reluctant to work, emitting a HUMMING noise, as if accusing Gu Mian of exploiting elderly labor.

Amidst the noisy HUM, Gu Mian turned to Chu Changge beside him. "Do you know any place names that include 'seven'?"

Chu Changge pushed up his glasses again. "Place names I know that contain numbers include Sanming, Sanmenxia, Siping, Liu'an, Liupanshui, Jiujiang, Shiyan…"

Fatty listened, somewhat bewildered. "Are you a reincarnated map?"

Chu Changge continued, "As for place names starting with 'seven,' I only recall two: Qi Xing Tai and Qi Tai River."

Gu Mian felt a sudden headache. Although he'd asked, he didn't actually believe the ghost came from the real world.

If real-world ghosts were pulled into instances to act as NPCs, this game would be too unreliable. The King of Hell would probably revolt against the organizers…

Though, it's not certain if the King of Hell even exists in this world. Even if he does, he might have been eradicated by the holy light of core socialist values.

"But if the 'seven' that ghost mentioned isn't a place name, then what could it be?" Gu Mian pondered, unable to figure it out.

Chu Changge's voice came from the side. "At the very least, from the Hide-and-Seek instance, we've gained one clue: some ghosts within instances might know certain things. Of course, this excludes the weak underlings. Only very powerful and intelligent ghosts or monsters are likely to have access to such clues."

Fatty stood under the air conditioner, warming his hands. "That ghost from Hide-and-Seek was indeed formidable. It's the smartest and most formidable ghost I've seen since the game started."

Its abilities to sense player locations and teleport alone were enough to instantly kill many players.

As Fatty spoke, he glanced at Xiao Hong, who was standing stiffly nearby.

Xiao Hong remained silent as usual.

Fatty averted his gaze, thinking, Xiao Hong looks like a minion at first glance. Even under severe torture, nothing useful would be extracted from him.

Gu Mian was still discussing with Chu Changge. "So, in future instances, my task is to capture powerful ghosts, beat them up, and demand clues?"

Chu Changge paused for a moment, then seemed to agree with his perspective. "It's best if other players don't see you."

Indeed, other players mustn't see. Otherwise, they might be scared enough to bite their own tongues off and commit suicide.

Fatty was already imagining a scene in the next instance where all his teammates bit their tongues off to commit suicide. And while they're doing that, the Doctor with the halo would be there stopping their bleeding?

Chu Changge continued, "Also..."

At this, Fatty also leaned in, listening intently to what Chu Changge would say next.

"I think beating up NPCs might be more effective than ghosts, especially NPCs like Mr. Green, who appear in those variety show-like instances."

Gu Mian silently took note and decided to give Mr. Green a good beating the next time he saw him.

Gu Mian still hadn't figured out the specific meaning of the word "seven."

However, since they had a starting point, they could follow the trail of clues in other instances.

Everything from the Spirit Car had been moved inside. Gu Mian decided to stay in this house for a while and resume their journey once the temperature warmed up.

Their next objective had also been set by Chu Changge.

It was to find a high-level ticket booth. Allegedly, the probability of being matched into a high-level instance at a high-level ticket booth was slightly higher.

Furthermore, the likelihood of finding the clues Gu Mian desired in a high-level instance was also slightly greater. He hoped to find a high-level ticket booth and then fleece it daily.

Heavy snow a few days prior had practically blanketed the entire city.

But just a few days after Gu Mian and his group had settled in, the sun finally made its long-awaited appearance.

Once the sun appeared, it seemed to stay. Brilliant sunlight illuminated the entire city, and the air finally carried a hint of spring.

The temperature also began to rise with the sun's appearance, as if someone had suddenly lit a massive bonfire beneath the earth. Over the past few days, Fatty had personally watched the thermometer climb rapidly, and the accumulated snow on the roads began to melt.

The severe cold had passed, but the situation was far from optimistic.

As the snow melted, Gu Mian discovered that there were more things hidden beneath it, and these things were now becoming visible.

They were utterly horrifying.

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