"If you keep talking like that, I swear Lu Xun will be spinning in his grave," Gu Mian turned back.
After a good while climbing stairs, the three of them got home well past nine in the evening.
Fatty rushed to the kitchen as soon as he got back. He had only eaten some snacks for dinner, and they were all digested by now.
Gu Mian set his chainsaw aside, sat on the couch, and pulled up his attributes.
Immediately, a column of attributes appeared before him.
The attributes that shouldn’t have changed remained untouched—still a uniform sea of question marks—while only a few had altered.
[Number of Cleared Instances: 2]
Well, at least two instances have unfortunately perished, Gu Mian thought.
Returning to the homepage, he realized a large, colorful section had appeared in the middle that hadn’t been there before.
Chu Changge, sitting nearby, had also noticed the change in the game panel. He was currently pushing up his glasses, carefully examining the activity area.
It seemed to be some sort of event notice.
[First global large-scale event ’Lantern Festival’ is soon to descend on Earth]
[Event Location: Inside Huaxia Country Hengdian Film City]
[Event Time: 19:00–24:00 on February 19th, 2019]
[Content: On the night of the Lantern Festival, the Hengdian district will be adorned with ’Blessings from Ghosts.’
’Blessings from Ghosts’ will manifest as lanterns, each bearing a riddle from its corresponding ghost. Players who answer the riddles correctly can take the lanterns and receive their blessings.
’Blessings’ are diverse, potentially including rare special items, Game Coins, and attributes. However, they might also contain the malice of Evil Ghosts or misfortune that cannot be dispelled.
Please choose your lanterns carefully to avoid any mishaps.]
[Terms of Participation: The Hengdian District will be cordoned off during the event. Tickets obtained from the premium ticket booth are required for entry.]
Gu Mian was well aware that large-scale events were intrinsic to any game.
But he had assumed that these activities would take place in the form of instances. The idea of designating a specific location and restricting participation to only those players who could physically travel there was unexpected.
"So, they’re planning on having all the participants from around the globe pack into Hengdian?" Gu Mian stroked his chin.
Transportation is currently crippled, and the state of the roads makes driving impossible. Planes might still be flyable, but there probably aren’t many who would dare to take a flight. What if the pilot suddenly got pulled into a special instance mid-flight? This event might be troublesome for foreigners.
Chu Changge pushed up his glasses. "I guess this is to make players interact. It seems Earth doesn’t like players staying put."
It’s just another way of herding players into one place.
"Are you planning to participate in this event?" Chu Changge glanced at the calendar unconsciously.
Today was January 2nd, the second day since the game began. There was still more than a month until the event.
They weren’t far from Hengdian, only about a thousand kilometers. By car via the expressway, it would normally take a little over ten hours, but the current circumstances likely made taking the expressway impossible.
"Of course," Gu Mian said, closing the panel. "But we need to prepare first."
For example, gathering enough money to buy a Spirit Car.
Spirit Cars were sold in the supermarket; Gu Mian had seen one earlier that evening.
The salesperson had described it to him :
"The so-called Spirit Car, of course, is not like a regular car. It doesn’t require gasoline or any fuel; just hit the gas and off it goes.
"Our Spirit Car is very powerful. You’ve seen the current road conditions; it’s almost impossible to drive a normal car anymore.
"However, if you get one of our Spirit Cars, everything changes. Our Spirit Cars are designed with drift and leap functions that can help you overcome obstacles. Only 998 for your very own Spirit Car—a high-quality, affordable vehicle!
"Plus, it can be stored in the inventory, making it very portable! But there’s one thing..." Gu Mian remembered the salesperson looking extremely dejected as they continued: "You need a Spirit Car driver’s license to drive a Spirit Car. I’ve heard that the license exam instance was wrecked by some damn bastard! As a result, only one person worldwide has managed to obtain a license..."
Hearing this, Gu Mian had bolted, fearing he would be recognized and mobbed.
He could have afforded a Spirit Car, but since the event page hadn’t appeared yet, Gu Mian had thought buying such a vehicle would be useless and would also make it easy to expose his identity, so he’d simply walked away.
It seems now that it’s only a matter of time before my identity is exposed.
"In a game, events are the easiest way to improve our strength, so we should try to participate in every one," Gu Mian said, stroking his chin. "For our safety, and of course, for the quality of our meals."
Just then, Fatty came out carrying a large basin of fried chicken wings.
"I used a little less than half a bottle of Coke; there’s still plenty left. Do you want some?" he asked, placing the steaming chicken wings on the table.
The chicken wings were beautifully browned and emitted an alluring fragrance. Gu Mian picked one up with his chopsticks; the wings were fried to a perfect crisp on the outside while remaining tender inside. Piercing the crispy skin revealed the succulent, milky-white meat, its delicious aroma filling the air.
Seemingly worried it wouldn’t be enough, Fatty had also made two other dishes and cooked a small pot of rice.
Gu Mian found that ever since the world had gone haywire, his quality of meals had actually improved significantly.
As Fatty poured Coke into cups, he remarked with emotion, "Given the current situation, there probably aren’t many people who can eat as well as we do."
Gu Mian chimed in, "That’s why we have to strive to eat even better."
Fatty finally asked, rubbing his hands together, "Doctor, I noticed the event page seems to have been updated." He had indeed seen the event page.
"Hmm," Gu Mian nodded, gnawing on a chicken wing.
"So, Doctor, are you and Brother Chu planning to go to Hengdian for the event?"
"Hmm," Gu Mian replied, spitting out a bone.
After a good while, Fatty nervously asked, "Then, can I come too?"
Gu Mian had been wondering how to trick Fatty, the only one who could cook, into coming, and unexpectedly, Fatty had walked right into his net.
"You’re not planning to go home?" Gu Mian asked instinctively.
"What home? I’ve never had a permanent place, Fatty here. My parents turned to ashes under the ground long ago..."
At least your parents left ashes, Gu Mian thought, putting down his chopsticks. My parents didn’t even leave ashes for me.
"Alright," Gu Mian readily agreed. "But we probably won’t leave in the next few days. We’ll have to delay a bit. Let me clear a few more instances first."
There’s still over a month, no rush.
The three of them ate their fill that night. Fatty seemed especially joyful. Before bed, he asked Gu Mian, "Doctor, why did you become a doctor?"
The sight of Gu Mian, chainsaw in one hand and the bandit leader’s head in the other, had deeply shaken Fatty. He felt that Gu Mian wasn’t really cut out to be a doctor.
Gu Mian paused for a moment upon hearing the question, then said, "Probably because I once picked up twenty-eight medkits and three medical kits in a single game round. That’s when I realized I had a talent for being a doctor."
Chu Changge raised his hand slightly. "I can testify to that. I was one of those medical kits."
Fatty went to sleep with his mind full of ’medkits’ and ’medical kits,’ even dreaming that he had turned into a medical kit.
The next morning, he woke up to find Gu Mian gone.
Meanwhile, at a ticket booth not far from the apartment, the NPC finally welcomed its first customer to walk in unprompted.