"Isn't that right?" Gu Mian countered.
Fatty tightened his grip on the red envelope in his hand. "Fine, if you say so… But Doctor, did you get to the truth?"
Even though they were out of the instance, Fatty remained incredibly curious, for instance, about how Zhao Guanhai had really died.
Gu Mian paused momentarily. "I did see it. I've seen the past. Shortly after Zhao Guanhai's death, Zhao Lei found the letter and bank card Zhao Guanhai had left under the bed. Then he clutched those two items and cried like an idiot."
Fatty pressed on, "So Zhao Lei had something to do with Zhao Guanhai's death then?"
"Yes," Gu Mian replied, pausing as if he didn't want to elaborate further. "But what does that have to do with us? The instance mission wasn't even completed."
Fatty's breath hitched. Indeed, even though the three of them had escaped the World in the Mirror, they hadn't truly left Terror Manor. The door was firmly shut, preventing their escape, and Gu Mian had even been hit by a falling ceiling tile.
So, this counted as a failed instance, with no mission reward.
However, one perk of teaming up with Gu Mian was that even if the instance mission failed, they would still get compensation.
The compensation had already been sent to their inboxes: 1,000 Game Coins and one Spin-the-Wheel of Surprises.
The original reward for Terror Manor was 200 Game Coins and one Spin-the-Wheel of Surprises.
So, they somehow made a profit then?
Only Gu Mian, looking gloomily at the reward, said, "Normal rewards are just a thousand Game Coins, but this time a 'Spin-the-Wheel of Surprises' appeared. It's 'full of surprises,' so it definitely isn't anything good."
Definitely life's new trick to assassinate him.
Fatty, however, was quite straightforward. He naturally began to spin the Wheel of Surprises. "A lottery draw... Doctor, have you ever bought a lottery ticket that made you lose money instead...?"
But before he could finish his sentence, he froze.
Gu Mian turned to look, and indeed the Wheel of Surprises was full of surprises—
[Big Flotation Cooker]
[Description: A large cooker made by an old, cunning man who has made countless enemies.
"As long as I go out wearing this cooker on my head, my enemies won't see me!"
Of course, this is not an invisibility tool. After he wore the cooker on his head for so long, his enemies became very familiar with it.
Every time they see this cooker, they know that the cunning old man has taken to the streets again.]
[Function: Attracts hostility when worn.]
[Note: This item is only an auxiliary tool; its real effect depends on the user's actions.]
Fatty stared, dumbfounded, at this big cooker.
What the hell is this? This is even more outrageous than buying a lottery ticket that makes you lose money!
The cooker was massive, with a diameter of about one meter, and even had straps like a backpack attached to both sides. It seemed to be meant to be carried on the back.
Fatty swallowed, holding up the cooker to Gu Mian. "Doctor... I think this cooker might suit you..."
"No, no, no," Gu Mian hurriedly waved his hands. "It suits you better. From now on, you'll be the one drawing aggro in the team."
At this point, Chu Changge had also spun for his prize.
Gu Mian turned to look at him and saw he had also drawn an unusual item.
[A Failed Experimental Test Tube]
[Description: A failed test tube produced in the Toy Goose Company's laboratory.]
[Function: Consuming or injecting this test tube will double speed attributes for ten minutes.]
"The Toy Goose Company?" Gu Mian frowned slightly. "Isn't the Toy Goose Company appearing a bit too frequently?"
The phone he got in the Terror Manor instance was also produced by the Toy Goose Company.
Did this hint at connections between the different instances?
"Speaking of which, this test tube should be quite useful," Fatty said, looking at the test tube, about the thickness of a little finger, in Chu Changge's hand. "But it will be most effective if used by someone with high speed. Still, I wonder what would happen if the Doctor drank it?"
Gu Mian glanced at him. "0 × 2 = 0."
Fatty choked a little. "That's a concise and easy-to-understand explanation."
This malevolent lottery wheel couldn't be skipped; otherwise, Gu Mian would have definitely given up on drawing.
He looked at his own interface and, before spinning, specifically warned the other two, "You two better stay away from me."
No one knew if Gu Mian would draw a "Sky-High Lightning Strike."
Then a bolt of lightning might strike him dead, and Chu Changge and Fatty standing nearby would suffer along with him.
Fatty looked somewhat puzzled. "It wouldn't be that bad, would it?"
Gu Mian looked up and uttered, in a melancholic and somewhat pedantic tone, "I always suspect life with the utmost malice."
Fatty scratched his head. "That sounds strangely familiar... Did Lu Xun say that?"
By now, Gu Mian had started the draw.
He hadn't held out much hope for his luck to begin with, but he hadn't expected it to be *this* horrendous.
[Introduction: A pursuit order issued by a certain organization.] Googlᴇ search Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
[Function: The player who draws this item will be hunted by a powerful assassin. The order will become invalid if either the hunted player or the assassin dies. If the assassin dies, their possessions will belong to the player.]
[Note: The moment this item is drawn, the assassin has already descended into the Human World and can enter game instances for the hunt.]
This barely counts as a reward, right?
Kill the assassin, and I get all his possessions. By that logic, I've drawn many items at once. What a bargain... my ass!
"Oh, shit!" Fatty's reaction was very genuine. "The assassin descends into the Human World? He's not going to materialize right next to us, is he?"
Gu Mian glanced around; there was no one in sight. "Maybe the assassin landed far from us. He'll have to travel a long way to come and kill me. It would be great if he landed in Antarctica.
"The North Pole would work too. I wonder if polar bears eat people...
"Forget it. Life has been coveting my life for so many years; I don't care anymore," Gu Mian commented nonchalantly.
Fatty suddenly interjected, "Doctor, you can't be like that! You have to know, accidents happen when people least expect them… You need to live in constant fear, worrying about your life every moment. That's the only way you might live a little longer."
Fatty's mouth had never been known for producing pearls of wisdom; Gu Mian was used to it.
Tonight was New Year's Eve, and they hadn't even finished dinner yet.
Fatty had planned to make a feast but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of robbers.
The food had been left outside when they entered the instance and was now lost. They had to go into the supermarket to buy some more things.
Fortunately, after busting an instance, Gu Mian had money now.
The game company's supermarket was right next door. The group arrived at the brightly lit store.
Right inside the door was the cashier's counter, with the entrance next to it.
This supermarket was no different from the ones they had been in before, but one thing caught Gu Mian's attention.
Next to the cash register was a waist-high table displaying several items. They were clearly priced and appeared to be merchandise.
Seeing they seemed interested in the items on the table, the cashier picked up a sign from the table. "These are our store's recent best-selling products. It seems many ticket sellers one."
Gu Mian looked at the sign, which read, "Gu Mian and dogs are not allowed inside," and fell into deep thought.