Gu Mian hadn't entered this instance for online dating. Seeing that Ai Zitao didn't bring up the topic of romance, he didn't press further and changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, this should be the Exile World, right?" Gu Mian said, still gripping Ai Zitao as he looked up towards the stairwell entrance.

They were in the school cafeteria. It was mealtime, so the floors above and below were bustling with people. Fortunately, this staircase was rather secluded, so hardly anyone used it.

"It should be," Chu Changge said, adjusting his glasses and also glancing towards the stairwell. "This world seems quite normal."

Among the seven worlds, the Second World and the Exile World are both similar to Earth and relatively normal. Chu Changge could sense this wasn't the Second World, so it was most likely the Exile World.

"When we returned to Earth from the Seventh World, the train conductor gave us a 'Chronicle of the Seven Worlds' History'." Gu Mian reached for his guitar case and took out a small, crudely made booklet from an outer pocket. It was the very same historical record the conductor had hastily written under Gu Mian's intimidation.

"The conductor said that each world has a key figure. Finding these key figures will tell us more about this game," Gu Mian said, flipping through the booklet with his free hand.

However, the booklet didn't specify who the key figure of the Exile World was; the conductor didn't know either.

In that case, they'd have to find out for themselves.

The Seventh World has practically collapsed, barely holding on through sheer Xingyun. It probably won't be long before Earth's curse spreads to the other worlds. When the Low-Dimensional Worlds completely collapse, Chu Changge, Xiao Qiao, and the others will all be goners.

Gu Mian's plan was to find these key figures and discuss with them how to save the worlds.

But right now, he doesn't even know who the key figure of the Exile World is, not even a name. Asking these bottom-tier ghosts probably wouldn't yield anything, Gu Mian thought, lowering his gaze to the Ai Zitao in his hand.

"Do you know any other NPCs?" Gu Mian asked, giving it a shot.

A ghost this substantial should know at least a few ordinary NPCs, even if it doesn't know any high-ranking ones.

But Ai Zitao kept his eyes tightly shut, remaining silent.

Looks like it's time for the thrilling and intense interrogation phase.

Gu Mian reached for his guitar case with practiced ease. Ai Zitao, as if knowing what was coming next, shuddered and opened his eyes.

He finally broke his silence. Just before Gu Mian could unzip the guitar case, Ai Zitao quickly pointed to one of the mobile phones on the ground, stammering, "...It... knows..."

Earlier, when Gu Mian had "unplugged" the ghosts, he'd casually tossed the three empty phone shells onto the ground.

Now, Ai Zitao was pointing at one of them.

Keke picked up the phone he was pointing at, examined it, and then handed it to Gu Mian. "It's Zhao Tiankuo's."

Gu Mian took the phone and waved it in front of Ai Zitao. "So, you're saying Zhao Tiankuo knows other NPCs?"

Ai Zitao's expression was one of pity. He nodded with difficulty, as if already mourning for Zhao Tiankuo in advance.

Looks like they'll have to find Zhao Tiankuo after all.

Gu Mian continued to interrogate Ai Zitao with a mix of threats and inducements for a while longer. When he realized he couldn't squeeze any more useful information out of him, he let Ai Zitao return to his phone to be by himself.

At Gu Mian's word, Ai Zitao scrambled back into his own phone as if fleeing for his life, terrified that if he were a second too slow, Gu Mian would open the guitar case and "serenade" him.

Meanwhile, Gu Mian was fiddling with the phone in his hand, musing, This phone can hold a ghost. I wonder if it can be taken out of the instance. I could put Xiao Hong in here. Inside, Xiao Hong might even be able to communicate with us by typing, instead of spitting out words one by one like she usually does when she talks.

Lost in thought, Gu Mian pocketed the other two phones, keeping only the one housing Ai Zitao in his hand.

First, I need to find the runaway Zhao Tiankuo. I have to get to the other NPCs through him. But who knows where Zhao Tiankuo has run off to? Finding him will be a pain.

So, Gu Mian opened the pink interface of the dating app and sent a message to the Ai Zitao inside: 'Do you know where Zhao Tiankuo is?'

Perhaps retreating into the phone had given him some courage, as Ai Zitao wasn't as timid as before. He replied swiftly; Gu Mian received Ai Zitao's response from the phone within two seconds of sending the message.

Ai Zitao: Don't know.

This ghost is completely clueless, Gu Mian thought. Seems pretty useless.

Keke, standing nearby, spoke softly, "It's a pity. When we entered the instance, I only borrowed the Ghost Census from Miss Xiao Qiao. I didn't borrow the Big Data Search. If I had, it might have helped us find Zhao Tiankuo's location."

"Even if you had borrowed it, it would've been useless," Gu Mian said, pocketing Ai Zitao's phone. "That thing can only be used once every seven days, and Fatty used it yesterday. My freshly washed shirt disappeared yesterday. Fatty borrowed the Big Data Search from Miss Xiao Qiao to find it and discovered Xiao Hong had hidden it under the bed."

Keke fell silent.

For a moment, she didn't know what to say.

Setting aside the use of such a valuable special item to find a shirt, the way the shirt disappeared was also quite odd—hidden under the bed by Xiao Hong. Come to think of it, a few days ago, I did see Xiao Hong sneakily crouching by the clothesline in the yard...

"So, how do we find Zhao Tiankuo now?" Keke stopped dwelling on Fatty using the Big Data Search to find a shirt and brought her focus back to the present issue.

Finding two hiding ghosts in an instance is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Keke suspected that by the time the instance ended in three days, they wouldn't have found even a single ghostly hair.

Gu Mian was also seriously pondering this problem.

If Zhao Tiankuo and Xia Yutong are determined to hide, they will indeed be rather hard to find.

As he thought, his attention shifted to the love interests of the other two players.

Ai Zitao, Zhao Tiankuo, and Xia Yutong are our trio's love interests. But there are two other players in this instance. I remember one is called Wind Blows Butt Cool and the other is Moonfall Crow Cries. Their respective love interests are the college student Song Meng and the high schooler Feng Cheng. Those two players probably still don't know that the 'people' they're dating are ghosts hidden in their phones.

With this in mind, Gu Mian took out his phone again and sent a message to Ai Zitao: 'Can you contact Song Meng and Feng Cheng?'

We can't find Zhao Tiankuo and Xia Yutong for now. Catching Song Meng and Feng Cheng wouldn't be bad either. We might be able to get something out of them.

Chu Changge, who was looking at the phone screen from the side, remarked, "The ghosts inside the phones should be able to contact each other through the messaging app."

Sure enough, Ai Zitao inside the phone replied with a single word: 'Can.'

Gu Mian continued typing: 'Where are they now?'

After a good while, Ai Zitao sent a reply: 'Yifa Mall.'

Gu Mian figured that during the delay, Ai Zitao had gone to ask the other two ghosts. Song Meng and Feng Cheng are still unaware that Ai Zitao has fallen into my hands and already switched allegiances. The two unsuspecting ghosts readily revealed their location.

Chu Changge suddenly spoke up, "Yifa Mall isn't far from here."

Keke looked at him in surprise. "You know where that mall is?"

Chu Changge nodded. "When I went to the internet cafe to check the map earlier, I paid attention to the buildings in this area. Yifa Mall is west of this school. After leaving the main gate, head west, and it's just past one intersection."