Global Collapse-Chapter 603 - 571: Xiao Qiang Must Strive to be Joe!_1

Xiao Qiao had no clue what the Fortune-teller was thinking. She was just excitedly holding the rat's tail.

Chu Changge seemed to guess what the Fortune-teller was thinking. He looked at the constantly struggling rat. "This rat has been staying in the recycling station for a long time. I guess it knows what items are useful. It probably wanted to drag this perfume bottle to its rat hole."

The not-so-bright Xiao Qiao thought for a few seconds and then asked, "Do you mean this rat drags many useful things into its hole?"

Chu Changge nodded slightly.

The Fortune-teller, who had regained some strength, also understood. "You're right. If that thing is really underground, it's likely that the rat dragged it into its hole. We can't dig open the surface, but if we find the rat's hole, we might find a way to get underground."

However, it wasn't easy to find the rat hole. Many NPCs were rushing towards Gu Mian, presumably to help him complete his task. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

They didn't know how much longer they could stay in this instance.

Chu Changge stuck the perfume bottle back in the rat's mouth. "So we have to let it go. The rat's hole is likely nearby. If it faces danger and is released, it will surely run towards its hole. We just need to follow it to find the entrance."

Time was pressing, and Xiao Qiao let go of the rat upon hearing Chu Changge's advice.

The freed rat, as expected, darted off in one direction once it hit the ground.

The group followed closely behind. After circling several garbage hills, the rat disappeared.

Chu Changge looked at a nearby garbage hill; the rat had disappeared underneath it.

"Found it here," he said, squatting down.

Searching for rat holes in instances wasn't something regular players usually did.

Normal players wouldn't even consider it, especially female players. What if a rat suddenly jumps out while they're digging and bites them?

Xiao Qiao, on the other hand, didn't mind any of that. She dared to catch rats bare-handed, so digging was naturally no problem for her.

The Fortune-teller used to be scared of being bitten by rats. However, after experiencing numerous horror instances, her mindset had completely changed. Now, not only was she unafraid of being bitten by rats, but she even dared to bite one herself if necessary.

She drank the energy drink in one gulp and joined the search for the rat hole. The energy drink was very effective; she felt her strength gradually returning.

With time running out, she buried her head and began rummaging through the garbage pile.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for the Fortune-teller to find a tunnel hidden in the garbage.

She cleared the surrounding garbage to one side and called out to Chu Changge and Xiao Qiao, "Over here!"

Hearing her call, the other two gathered. The three of them huddled together, looking at the hole the Fortune-teller had found.

They saw a human head-sized hole in the grayish-white ground. It was the first time they had seen such a large rat hole.

Chu Changge adjusted his glasses as he looked at the dark hole. "Rat holes are usually small and hidden. I guess it dug such a large hole to drag bigger things inside."

The Fortune-teller measured the size of the hole with her hands. "A hole that big could indeed drag the mask inside."

The hole was large for a rat hole, but it was still very small for the three of them.

Xiao Qiao tried to stick her head inside, but it got stuck halfway.

While pulling Xiao Qiao out, Chu Changge said, "The clown mask is likely in this rat hole, but we can't get in…"

The Fortune-teller grew somewhat nervous. "What do we do? Those NPCs should have reached Gu Mian by now. I don't know how long we can stay in this instance."

Wouldn't it be a total waste if we left without the clown mask?

As she spoke, she gestured at the hole again. My dog definitely wouldn't fit in there, she thought.

Chu Changge finally pulled Xiao Qiao out. He thought for a moment and then opened the group chat to text Fatty.

Fatty was lurking somewhat furtively among the NPCs, eavesdropping on their conversations.

At this point, the NPCs were engrossed in a heated discussion, completely oblivious to Fatty's presence.

It's worth mentioning that these NPCs were divided on whether to end the instance prematurely.

There was the conservative faction.

"Ending the instance prematurely would be a violation. The contract explicitly states that an instance can only be terminated if the instance itself or any important NPCs suffer significant damage... Even though no one took this rule seriously when it was drafted, thinking such a thing would never happen…"

"If we violate the rules, we'll face severe punishment! I reckon everyone knows what the punishment is. We might all be done for. If you really want to terminate the instance, then all I can say is Joyful Cemetery is having a promotion: buy one grave, get one free. We should all go together and reserve a few spots."

"In this instance, Gu Mian can only sit on the platform; nothing should happen. As for the bomb at the food factory last time, I heard it was supplied by a player who was a Fortune-teller. Fortunately, that bomb was one of a kind, so we don't need to worry about this place being blown up too."

Then there was the radical faction.

"Everyone knows that no instance targeted by Gu Mian has ever survived. That fiend can even sabotage another instance from within one he's currently in! If you ask me, we should terminate the instance immediately and kick him out without a second thought."

"As for whether we'll be done for, terminating the instance isn't necessarily the worst outcome. Look at Coach Che, isn't he worse off than us? He's truly trapped with no way out. And Host Green had it even worse; he was directly carried out. If we don't terminate the instance, we might end up just like them!"

"Just look around this recycling station! See all the garbage left from those two other instances? Coach Che's cars, the cages from Host Green's instance... You see those things, then you look at Gu Mian. Doesn't it send a shiver down your spine?"

"I agree completely. Other instances might be one thing, but this one is connected to many worlds. If this place blows up, who knows where all the garbage from inside will fly."

"Besides, I heard that *that other* instance lost a pile of its own entry tickets here, didn't it? If Gu Mian's teammates find those tickets, the consequences would be unimaginable."

"You mean the Beast Tamer's instance? Yes, we absolutely cannot let Gu Mian get there. Ever since its main attraction collapsed, that world only has the Circus left as entertainment. If Gu Mian gets into the Circus, it'll be all over for it!"

"You're right; we absolutely can't let Gu Mian into that instance!"

"Even if we submit a request to terminate the instance mid-process, it requires a cooldown period. It would take at least six or seven minutes to shut down. To save time, let's just vote directly. All in favor of immediately shutting down the recycling station, raise your hands…"

Just as Fatty was racking his brains on how to stop the NPCs from ending the instance prematurely, he noticed Chu Changge had sent him a message in the group chat.

[Chu Changge]: Wang Xianzhi, after getting off the rail, go straight, pass five garbage hills, then at a garbage pile with a single bed on it, turn right. Walk about 250 meters, and you'll see us. Come to us.

Fatty was a bit surprised to suddenly see his name.

He could tell Chu Changge had typed in a rush; he hadn't even put a period at the end.

Then Xiao Qiao sent an almost identical message.

[Trying hard to be as strong as Xiao Qiao]: Wang Xizhi, after getting off the rail, go straight, pass five garbage hills, then at a garbage pile with a single bed on it, turn right. Walk about 250 meters, and you'll see us. Come to us.

He could tell it wasn't a copy-paste.

Although Fatty didn't know why Chu Changge was in such a rush, he quickly jogged in the direction indicated.

Before leaving, he glanced back at the NPCs' passionate voting.