Chapter 270: Online Dating Scam Record (Thirty-three)
[Virtual Lover 211: ...]
Guo Guo: (Withdrawn) (Withdrawn)
Guo Guo: Just kidding. Let's get back to the point. Can you help me move around safely and freely in this building?
Although she had little trust and good feelings towards the fraud gang, at least before they took her life at night, a virtual lover was undoubtedly an extremely useful tool.
Of course, the capabilities of these "tools" are limited, so she has to determine the situation first.
As expected, the other party reacted strongly:
"Why don't you let me make you a pair of wings so you can fly away? Please, I'm just a chat companion, not God. Can you please make some practical requests?"
Guo Guo discovered that although it was not known whether the NPCs in these fraud gangs were part-time students from the university town or people who produced and sold copies themselves, they also had different personalities and attributes like the student NPCs.
Some are just pure tools, while others are online chat companions with very improper work attitudes.
Heart Sutra...Why would the customer service give her this arrangement? Is there any other use for it that she hasn't discovered?
In short, he said what he wanted to say to whoever he met, and Guo Guo quickly threw in the towel: "Then tell me what you can do. Anyway, if I die here, you'll lose both your salary and your performance."
【Virtual Lover: …………】
As if he had used up all the speechlessness in the entire copy, he finally spoke:
[In the corridor, go right, not left. Wait three minutes before crossing a fork in the road. You can look through closed doors, enter locked doors, but don't enter open doors. If there are no doors, avoid them.]
Guo Guo immediately took note: "Then I can move freely?"
【Then you can survive for at least 30 minutes. 】
Guo Guo: “…”
"Oh, but don't get the wrong idea." The other side reluctantly reminded: "The greatest danger doesn't come from your current environment, but from your beloved school teachers."
If they find out you're no longer in the dorm building, they'll definitely chase you back. By then, the new building will have become the old one, and the big one will have become the small one. Will you still be able to see the scenery you have now?
Guo Guo understood immediately: "I understand."
To her surprise, the interior of the "university town" which looked the most bizarre and mysterious did not seem to pose any obvious threat to the candidates. The real danger still came from the copy.
Now she had taken advantage of a loophole in the copy and ran from the first teaching building of University A into the actual university town.
So next, could she find a place that could completely escape the control of the copy through some method - or get more useful information like the stickman chat group in the Academic Affairs Office yesterday?
With these thoughts in mind, Guo Guo continued to walk inside.
Following the instructions given by her virtual lover, she moved forward along the right side, only to see that all the classroom doors were closed, and the situation inside was similar to what she had just seen: students were sitting in them full of students, sometimes they were studying normally, sometimes they were missing limbs and looked miserable, and very occasionally they would emit black gas all over their bodies - when encountering such situations, Guo Guo would quickly avert her gaze to prevent the "students" inside from noticing her.
After walking for an unknown amount of time , a feeling of dizziness gradually set in. It seemed as if the road ahead and behind were always the same, with always plain white walls and neat black doors… Guo Guo could no longer tell which door he passed.
Do you feel like time and space are misaligned, and your perception of the outside world is being lost? 】
The virtual lover gloated over the situation: "Your brain hasn't yet upgraded to fully withstand this place. If you keep going, you'll completely lose your judgment and won't be able to leave."
Guo Guo calmly opened his phone's clock, took a screenshot, and sent it over: [This is the time.]
She then opened VX to count her steps: [This is Space.]
Finally, she opened the alarm and memo: [This is my judgment.]
She said earnestly, "It's the 21st century now. There's no one who doesn't know how to use a mobile phone, right?"
Virtual Lover: [……]
Irony aside, Guo Guo certainly wasn't pinning all her hopes on her phone. She hurried along, seizing the moment, and soon came to a three-way intersection.
Three minutes, two minutes, one minute—
After three minutes of silent recitation, the road in the middle indeed changed: a small blue door appeared in the endless white walls and black doors.
But...isn't this door a little too small?
As she got closer, she could see more clearly that, judging by Guo Guo's height of less than 1.6 meters, the door only reached her neck. To see through the window, she had to bend down and move closer. Only then could she peek into the equally small cubic room inside.
In a blue "grid" with three computers placed neatly on all sides, there is a person sitting behind the computer whose face cannot be seen clearly, and only the crackling sound of keyboard typing can be heard.
Guo Guo accidentally touched the door and heard a slight sound of metal chain - the door was locked!
The virtual lover said that you can look into closed doors and enter locked doors... Guo Guo confirmed with the other party again, and only used the props after getting a positive answer.
With a slight sound, the blue door opened.
The scene inside was completely different from what she had imagined: there were no square rooms or computers at all, only a narrow path of about two or three steps, and at the end of the corridor was an even shorter and smaller blue door!
Guo Guo walked in, bending over. The second small blue door reached only to her waist and was still locked. Looking through the window above the door, she could still see the same square room inside, only the whole room had become smaller.
After hesitating for a moment, she decided to open it. A premonition reminded her that there must be something inside.
After the door opened, there was another small path. This time, bending over was no longer effective. Guo Guo estimated the height and decided to squat and lower his head to slowly move in. The third door was even more ridiculous, with a height of only 30 centimeters. To see inside the window, he had to bend down, put his head close, and squint his eyes.
This time, she finally saw who was typing on the keyboard behind the three computers.
Three stick figures?
Ta-da-da, ta-da-da... the stickman's thin arms flashed quickly on the pocket keyboard.
At the same time, Guo Guo's phone flashed, and he received a new message.
However, this message did not come from any social software, but from the game customer service in the [Dormitory Survival App]:
[Ding, your complaint has been successfully received. We will investigate after the copy is completed. Thank you for your feedback! ]
Guo Guo:?
If she remembered correctly, this was after they discovered the identity of the zombie last night and reported it to customer service while preparing the trap - it would be fine if they only replied after such a long time, but they actually had to wait until the copy was over before they could investigate.
What’s the difference between this and directly saying “You guys die first, and we’ll come and collect your bodies after your team is wiped out”?
She immediately retorted: "The existence of violations of the rules in the transcript has seriously affected the fairness of the exam. Shouldn't it be dealt with immediately?"
"Oh no!"
Suddenly, a soft sigh reached his ears. Guo Guo was startled, and following the sound, he discovered that it was coming from the stick figure in the small blue door.
The stickman knocked the table twice angrily, and then continued tapping on the keyboard.
Game Customer Service: [Due to the complexity of the situation and the need to coordinate with higher authorities, we are unable to fully confirm any violations at this time. Please be patient.]
Guo Guo: ...
A bold guess suddenly popped up in her mind.
Guo Guo: I do not accept this answer. Please find another customer service representative. I want to continue my complaint.
"Oh no!"
"Oh no!"
Two sighs echoed in the small square room, and the two stick figures began slamming their hands on the table. After venting their frustrations for a few moments, they continued typing:
[The corresponding credits have been deducted and you will be connected to the next customer service representative.]
Customer Service 002: Sorry, the situation is quite complicated and needs to be coordinated with higher authorities...
After trying it several times, Guo Guo finally confirmed that the system customer service in the game were actually these little stick figures?!
If that’s the case, then the customer service of the fraud gang in the copy couldn’t also be in the form of some kind of stick figure, right?
Wait, if they are all stick figures, then the Heart Sutra is now...
A multitude of thoughts raced through his mind, fast-forwarding to the moment Tang Xinjue transformed into a stick figure. Guo Guo frowned and asked his virtual lover directly:
“Where can I find your customer service?”
[Virtual Lover: Sorry, your service has basically been used up. I'm still here occasionally reminding you because I love my job and am dedicated to it, understand?]
Guo Guo didn't think the other person was very dedicated to his work. She thought for a moment and then tentatively said, "Then you can block me and cancel the contract. I'll contact customer service to order another virtual lover."
【Virtual Lover: ……】
[Virtual Lover: What are you talking about? Am I the type to block customers?]
Guo Guo: You weren't? I saw you blocked me very quickly last time, didn't you?
She quickly realized something: [You didn't want to help me at all, you were forced, right?]
The other party didn't say anything, proving that she had guessed it right.
As for why she was forced, the reason is naturally needless to say - who else but Tang Xinjue could open a back door for her in the enemy camp?
Then there was no need to worry about anything. Guo Guo directly threatened: [Adhere to the service spirit and shine until the last second, or face complaints. You choose one.]
The other party was silent for a moment, then finally compromised: "Then at least change your request. I'm really running out of energy. If I can just tell you the customer service location, why don't I just tell you where our hideout is, then give you two packs of explosives and just take you down with me?"
[Alright.] Guo Guo decided to quit while he was ahead: [Then if there are any special doors like this ahead, you must warn me in advance.]
After reaching an agreement, she crawled out and continued forward before the little stickman inside noticed.
Not long after, the virtual lover issued a prompt: [There's another special door ahead! But I'm not sure what's inside... Are you sure you want to go through?]
Before he could even finish his reminder, Guo Guo had already rushed to the door. However, the door in front of him was not blue, but a strange scarlet.
Guo Guo's heart skipped a beat. Just as she was about to step back to observe carefully, a suction force suddenly came from the door and pulled her in!
“Cough cough cough…”
Guo Guo opened her eyes and immediately started coughing from the paper scraps floating in the air. She propped herself up and found herself sitting at a spacious desk. The surroundings seemed familiar... Wait, a stick figure?
She opened her eyes wide, and the stick figures sitting behind the other three tables also turned to look at her at the same time, tilting their heads at the same time.
One of the stick figures suddenly stood up and walked towards her.
Guo Guo shuddered. "Wait, don't come over here! I didn't mean to barge in. I can explain—eh?"
But the stickman simply took out a cube and swiped it across her phone, and a series of message prompts popped up on the screen:
[No. 3 (Z): Why you again?]
[No. 2 (Will Not Become a Civilian in Next Life): Why you again?]
[No. 1 (What's the relationship between Zhou Shuren and me, Lu Xun): Why you again?]
[Guo Guo: …]
She also wanted to ask, why are you guys here again?
Through the chat group, it can be confirmed 100% that the three big stick figures in front of us, who seem to have broken through the dimensional wall, are the three mysterious NPCs we met in the Academic Affairs Office yesterday.
It wasn't a big deal before when I looked at the simple drawings on the white paper, but now there are three stick figures the same size as normal people standing in front of me. It's really weird and a bit scary.
[No. 3 (Z): Didn’t I leave something for you? Why did you come back from the dead?]
[Guo Guo: ...I'm not dead! I'm here to look for someone.]
Since she was already there, and she was pretty sure the other party had no ill intentions, Guo Guo simply told them about her search for Tang Xin Jue. Since the other party didn't understand what the dungeon or quest was, she simply said she was being hunted and was looking for her roommate.
Number 2 (Not a Civil Engineer in My Next Life): Looking for someone? I'm not good at this. I do have a lot of blueprints, but I just tore up half of them. Oh, and I have to come up with a new plan. My head hurts.
[No. 1 (What's the relationship between Zhou Shuren and me, Lu Xun): If Xiaobu were here, he should be able to help you find it; the system is his domain. It's a pity that you always come by coincidence, and there are only three of us here. But are you sure your roommates are not here , and you're alone?]
Guo Guo was slightly startled: [What's wrong?]
[No. 3(Z): Because right now, there is another person beside you.]
After saying that, Stickman No. 3 suddenly raised his hand and patted Guo Guo's right shoulder. When he retracted his arm, a vague human-shaped ball of light appeared in his hand.
From the halo, it can be seen that this is the shape of a young boy, who is now struggling in the hands of No. 3.
Guo Guo was startled: "What is this?"
The phone vibrated violently:
【Virtual Lover: This is me!!!】
[Virtual Lover: Save me! I'm dying! Their energy is too strong! I can't get close to them!]
Guo Guo: “…”
If you are not careful, the tool will be gone.
She scratched her head and explained, "This isn't my roommate. He's the one I ordered, uh, to chat with me and help me out."
Number 3 said seriously: "But I saw that he was holding a spike in his hand and pointing it at your neck."
Guo Guo: "Well, killing me at night is part of his job."
Stickman:?
The group chat was silent for a few seconds before responding: "Are we already so behind the times? You have such a rich variety of entertainment activities."
Even so, No. 3 didn't give his virtual lover any chance and crushed him directly in the air.
"It's dangerous. The university town is still under construction and we can't let this kind of thing in," he explained succinctly.
However, as if to express compensation, he took out another prop and placed it on Guo Guo's desk.
"Is this okay? I won't die, will I?"
For some reason, Guo Guo felt like a weak, pitiful, and helpless child in front of them, surrounded by adults worrying about how to survive. She touched her nose awkwardly and said, "Thank you, thank you?"
The prop was a blank name tag that could be hung around the neck. Just as Guo Guo was about to ask how to use it, a new message popped up on his phone:
[Customer Service Xiao Tang: Why is the virtual lover gone?]
Guo Guo answered truthfully: [I was captured by...the stick figure.]
She didn't need to explain further. The other party just thought about it for a moment and immediately responded: "Wait a moment."
Immediately afterwards, the customer service avatar dimmed, while the virtual lover's avatar lit up again.
[Virtual Lover: I can only talk freely with my account for a limited time. Give your phone to the person in front of you and I will communicate with them.]
If Guo Guo still had some doubts before, now seeing the familiar tone, he could finally be completely sure that the person on the other side of the screen was Tang Xinjue.
She handed the phone over without hesitation. The stickman was taken aback, then actually took it.
I don't know what Tang Xin Jue said to the three stickman classmates, but I know that five minutes later, the stickman returned the phone:
"We can't sense what's happening outside, but you need to leave now. Your friend told us that danger is approaching, and you need to go to the most crowded floor."
He emphasized: "Remember, this is the layer with the most people."
Guo Guo took note. Then, her eyes blurred, and she was greeted by an empty classroom. The stick figures and desks vanished. She hurried out, only to find the door had become a plain black wooden door.
Which floor has the most people?
She hung the blank name tag around her neck, put the other four ghost-control prop sets in her pocket, and began to look for the stairs along the way she came.
She successfully ran back to the hall and just as she rushed to the second floor, she heard a burst of malicious muttering and whispering.
"Have you found it? ..."
"It's almost time, she can't run far!"
It was the school that recovered it!
As the sound got closer, the surrounding environment changed visibly: the wide corridors and halls began to narrow rapidly, changing from a brand new and neat solid color to a rusty and old appearance, and the entire building began to gradually switch from a university town back to a copy state.
run!
Guo Guo couldn't let herself be caught. She ran upwards with all her might, half her attention focused on the NPCs she was searching behind her, and the other half observing the corridors on each floor.
What does it mean when the Heart Sutra tells her to go to the floor with the most people?
What kind of “person” meets the requirements?
When Guo Guo ran up to the sixth floor in one breath, he paused and his sharp ears caught some noise.
The voices were those of both a man and a woman, and they seemed to be arguing about something.
Although the sound was not loud, it was extremely unusual in this extremely quiet building.
The thought flashed through her mind, and she immediately changed direction and ran towards the source of the sound.
Almost at the same time, a group of ghostly footsteps followed. Guo Guo didn't have time to carefully search for which classroom the sound came from, so he just found a locked door nearby and forced his way in.
There was an empty room behind the door and there was no place to hide, so she leaned against the door and looked outside.
The school authorities had already arrived, and they couldn't tell where Guo Guo was for a moment, so they searched every room one by one.
"Not that room, not that room, there's no one in that room!"
A fat man with a greasy hair was checking and cursing, directing others: "There must be no one in this room. Don't waste time, just listen to me."
No one listened to him. A sharp-faced female teacher opened the boxes one by one, and the fat man laughed strangely behind them:
"See, I said, there's absolutely no way there could be—someone???"
The ghost's sticky voice was still lingering in the air before it could be retracted when the classroom door, which had just been keyed, was slammed open with a loud bang, and a group of students who looked to be about twenty years old rushed out!
"The door finally opened, and I was almost squeezed to death. I haven't seen so many living people since I entered the game... Hey, why is there a scene here? Are they NPCs?"
The female teacher who was unexpectedly squeezed and trampled again: "..."
The fat man was knocked directly against the door frame opposite, staring at Guo Guo who was hiding behind the door: "..."
Guo Guo: ...She seemed to understand the meaning of the words Tang Xinjue left behind.
The huge crowd outside is indeed "people", and they are real people.
——They are all candidates!
