Soon, Xia Yutong replied.

[Xia Yutong]: I'm not as beautiful as you said; you're flattering me too much, it's a little embarrassing.

[Xia Yutong]: I hadn't received your reply, so I thought you didn't like me. I was worried for a long time. My mood is just like yours now, as clear as today's sky.

Xia Yutong also sent a photo.

The photo showed a clear blue sky with a few white clouds drifting by.

Aside from the sky, there was no other information in the photo.

Gu Mian began to type again, "What are you doing outside? Did you come out specifically to take a picture of the sky for me?"

[Xia Yutong]: I'm on my way to the cafeteria. I'm going to have lunch. After lunch, I have to work on my thesis. I can't chat anymore.

[Xia Yutong]: Bye, my dear boyfriend.

That nickname is truly unsettling.

Gu Mian hurried back into the Internet cafe and searched for an affectionate nickname to use for his girlfriend. He quickly learned one and responded to Xia Yutong, "Alright, my little goof."

At this point, a pale hand reached out from his pocket and knocked his phone away.

Fortunately, Gu Mian was quick-witted and nimble-handed enough to catch it; otherwise, Chu Changge's 'girlfriend' would have gone flying.

Keke felt a peculiar numbness wash over her, especially after Gu Mian typed out the words "my little goof."

"Chu Changge, use your computer to check if there are any schools nearby. Keke, give me your phone." Gu Mian smoothly pocketed 'Chu Changge's girlfriend' and then extended a mischievous hand toward Keke.

"Are you going to chat with Ai Zitao?" Keke took out her phone and handed it to Gu Mian.

She remembered Chu Changge's girlfriend, Xia Yutong, was an avid cheater. Gu Mian, by comparison, was even worse.

He was simultaneously chatting with three love interests, indifferent to whether they were male or female. Utterly perverse!

Keke suspected that if a player could choose multiple love interests, Gu Mian would undoubtedly select all five characters at once.

"I didn't get any information from Xia Yutong just now, and Zhao Tiankuo is too busy to chat with me. So, I can only try with Ai Zitao now." Gu Mian took Keke's phone.

Keke and Ai Zitao had only exchanged a simple "hello." Neither of them seemed keen on chatting.

Gu Mian remembered Ai Zitao was described as a reticent, old-fashioned office worker, so it wouldn't be good to appear too enthusiastic.

He thought carefully for a moment, then began to type, "You've been quiet. Do you not like me?" His tone seemed to perfectly match Keke's delicate and seemingly harmless Lv Cha persona. However, Ai Zitao didn't appear to be falling for it. Gu Mian held Keke's phone, waiting for a long time, but Ai Zitao didn't reply.

As expected, people who wear glasses and have such an aloof demeanor are hard to communicate with.

At this moment, Chu Changge, who also wore glasses, spoke up, "I've searched. There are two high schools and one university nearby. The university is called Zhao'an University, about five kilometers away from us."

"Let's go check it out first. Xia Yutong is a university student; maybe we can meet her there." Gu Mian also pocketed Ai Zitao—that is, the phone Keke was using to chat with him.

Keke asked, "Are these love interests real people?"

"Not sure yet," Gu Mian said, starting towards the exit of the Internet cafe, "so we have to go and see."

Keke felt a headache coming on. She rubbed her temples. "Following a normal line of thought for this instance, players should be using the chat to probe for the ghost's location. Once they pinpoint the ghost's exact whereabouts, they should get away quickly."

But things were now heading into unpredictable territory.

Gu Mian was already eager to meet the ghost offline.

Meanwhile, the other two players in the instance had also entered the game as a team.

These two thought like normal people. They were wracking their brains, trying to figure out the ghost's information to avoid contact as much as possible.

In a bustling shopping mall, Moonfall Crow Cries frowned at his phone. "Do you think these characters are real? Or are they just a set of data within the software?"

"A set of data can't just crawl out of the phone and kill people, can it?" Wind Blows Butt Cool said with a bitter smile. "I think they must be real."

"If that's the case, we have to figure out where they are and then stay away from that place," Moonfall Crow Cries said, his gaze lowered. "But my chat partner stopped talking to me. He said he was going to take a nap; otherwise, he'd be sleepy during his afternoon classes."

Wind Blows Butt Cool was also chatting with his love interest. "Song Meng also said she's going to work. She needs to earn money for her tuition fees."

"She's not coming to work at this mall, is she?"

"Let's leave this place first," Wind Blows Butt Cool said, immediately standing up, looking uneasy.

The two found a less crowded public square and sat on a bench to continue their discussion.

"Besides us two, there are three other players in this instance. I think we'd better find them. There's strength in numbers, and we can discuss a survival strategy for the instance," Moonfall Crow Cries suggested.

Wind Blows Butt Cool said bitterly, "I'd like to, but I have no idea where those three are. Searching aimlessly will definitely get us nowhere. We'd be better off using our time to chat with our virtual partners; maybe we can get some clues from them."

"But neither of our virtual partners are talking anymore." At this, Moonfall Crow Cries seemed to recall something. "Speaking of which, it's strange. Both of our virtual partners only chatted for a line or two and then stopped. Is it because the instance just started?"

"Perhaps the way to survive this instance is hidden in the chat messages? Do we need to chat with them more to find the way out?"

While thinking, Wind Blows Butt Cool sent another message to Song Meng: "It must be tough working while you're studying, right?"

There was no reply.

He couldn't very well use a harsh tone to force her to reply, so he could only wait idly.

"I remember this Song Meng needs money, right?" Moonfall Crow Cries suddenly spoke. "She stopped chatting with you because she has to work to earn money. I just checked; this software has a feature for sending red packets. If you sent her some money, do you think she might chat with you more?"

"Huh?" Wind Blows Butt Cool examined the software and found that there was indeed a function to send red packets.

"Do I need to top up first?" He searched again but couldn't find a top-up option.