Zi Liang scratched his head. "Didn't the game ask you to choose your attire before entering the instance for the first time? I remember there were outfits like 'school swimsuit,' 'mosaic,' and such..."

He seemed quite fond of the school swimsuit and mosaic outfits, but ultimately lacked the courage to choose them.

"Of course, I chose my own clothes, but I didn't expect the handcuffs would also be brought into the game. Every time I manage to get them off within an instance, my clothes reset the next time I enter, and the handcuffs are back. It's just like how if your hand or arm gets cut off in one instance, you're perfectly fine in the next... Trying to remove them in the real world doesn't work either. Sigh. So, every time I enter an instance, I have this thing with me..."

"But don't misunderstand!" The student-like figure in front of him quickly waved his hands. "I wasn't handcuffed because I was doing... *that* kind of thing..."

Arrested by a vice squad and he still claims he wasn't doing *that* kind of thing? Then what *was* he doing?

"To be honest," Zi Liang lowered his voice, "I'm a Supernatural Author. However, I often lack inspiration, so I have to go out and gather material."

Gu Mian raised an eyebrow. "That's hardly an excuse for whatever you were up to."

"No, no," Zi Liang shook his head vigorously. "I heard that three types of people have the most contact with diverse individuals and events, making it easiest to get stories from them: doctors, lawyers, and... well, them... So, I just wanted to find some stories."

Gu Mian said with dawning understanding, "So, even though you were caught by the vice squad, you're innocent, right?"

Zi Liang nodded in fervent agreement.

"Alright, enough messing around," Gu Mian said, putting the chainsaw back into his guitar bag. He then glanced at the mirror above the sink. "Let's head back to class first."

In the mirror, Gu Mian still looked like himself, only a few years younger, as if he were back in his high school days.

This is probably the instance's Disguise ability; otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for an intern doctor to pass as a high school sophomore.

At this moment, the two small figures on the game screen changed again; they had started a new conversation.

[Gu Gu: Class is about to start! Let's go back to the classroom. If we stay here any longer, we'll die!]

[Liang'er: Yeah! I need to get out of here!]

Gu Mian frowned. "Die?"

What kind of nonsense is this?

Immediately after, Gu Mian noticed that the small figure named [Liang'er] had started moving on its own, but the Zi Liang in front of him hadn't budged.

Zi Liang was clearly surprised too. He quickly pulled his phone from his uniform pocket and saw that his registered character was already speeding out of the restroom.

"AH—" Zi Liang exclaimed. "We'll die if we stay here? No, wait... this little character can move on its own?"

He started walking while looking at his phone. "Doctor, I need to go first. You saw what the game said; our characters will die if we stay here any longer. Doctor, you should hurry too."

They both knew the name of this instance: "The Vanishing Game."

This "Vanishing Game" clearly referred to the game they had downloaded on their phones. If the registered characters died, the people who registered them would likely die as well.

Gu Mian nodded to him. "You go first. By the way, do you know what grade and class you're in?"

Knowing his class would make it easier to find him later.

Zi Liang paused for a moment, seemingly trying to recall, then said, "I didn't check, but I remember our classroom is at the far right end of this hallway."

Gu Mian nodded. "Okay, you go on ahead."

Zi Liang hesitated, then asked, "Aren't you leaving?"

Staying here, the game character could die!

Gu Mian shook his head. "I'll wait a bit longer."

Alright then… This Doctor seems unfathomably mysterious, even pulling a chainsaw from a guitar bag. Zi Liang didn't press further and instead chased after his game character, running out.

Watching Zi Liang run off, Gu Mian looked down and started fiddling with his phone again. Although the game was primarily in a top-down view, the angle could be tilted slightly.

He tilted the screen with his finger, wanting to observe his own little character from all directions.

But just then, his little character changed again.

[Gu Gu: It's too dangerous! I must get out of here!]

After this message, Gu Mian's character surprisingly started running on its own as well. The surrounding scenery moved along with the character. Once the little character ran out, the game screen switched to the hallway.

Gu Mian looked down at his phone; his little character was running towards the classrooms.

What's so dangerous? Gu Mian found it strange.

He looked up at the restroom again; not even the shadow of a ghost was in sight.

And just then, Gu Mian saw another small figure appear on his phone screen.

This new little figure emerged from one edge of the screen and slowly walked towards the restroom's location.

It wore the same student uniform, had short hair, was a male character, and the name above its head was [Wang Panzi].

He knew who it was just by the name.

Gu Mian stepped out of the restroom. Sure enough, as soon as he exited, he saw Fatty peering around in the hallway. Fatty looked much younger, like a high school student—though still as fat as ever.

Fatty spotted Gu Mian at once and jogged over excitedly.

Gu Mian saw that Fatty's corresponding little character in the game was also running over.

"Doctor, you look so young now!" Fatty said, panting heavily. Then, seeming to realize he was stating the obvious, he quickly changed the subject. "I was on the second floor just now and heard someone sprinting wildly in the hallway up here. So, I came up to check it out. Didn't expect you to actually be here."

The one sprinting just now must have been Zi Liang. But if Fatty was on the second floor, does that mean this is the third floor?

Gu Mian asked, "Have you seen any other players?"

Fatty shook his head. "Nah. When I first got here, I saw this phone on a desk. A little character prompted me to pick a name, so I just chose one randomly... By the way, Doctor, this game is the 'Vanishing Game' the instance mentioned, right?"

Gu Mian nodded. "Although it doesn't seem scary at all right now, I have a feeling it will eventually turn into a horror game."

He noticed that his own registered little character had returned to his side and was now conversing with [Wang Panzi].

[Gu Gu: What are you doing here?]

[Wang Panzi: I'm here looking for someone.]

[Gu Gu: Have you found them now?]

[Wang Panzi: I have.]

The dialogue between these two characters is completely different from his conversation with Fatty.

Gu Mian stroked his chin. Could it be that this instance requires analyzing something from the dialogue between these little characters? The missing upperclassmen? The terrifying restroom? Who is Fatty's little character looking for? The more he thought about it, the weirder it got.

Just then, Fatty suddenly said to Gu Mian, "Doctor, I heard other students talking about this game earlier. They said... it seems like all the students who downloaded this game before have disappeared..."

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