When the coach stepped down from the car, he was still completely bewildered.
All three test cars had been destroyed.
The written exam center had been severely damaged.
And the perpetrator was now shamelessly asking him for a driver’s license.
Gu Mian looked at him. "Coach, I’ve completed three full laps. Doesn’t that count as passing?"
The coach looked like he wanted to curse but visibly restrained himself. "No! There was an accident. You can’t be considered as having passed. The test cars are all damaged, and the other candidates can’t take the test anymore. I’m going to conclude this instance early; none of you passed today’s test."
Fatty hesitantly spoke up, "But it seems Dr. Gu had already completed his laps before the accident occurred..."
The coach ignored Fatty, making it clear he had no intention of letting Gu Mian pass under any circumstances.
Just then, Gu Mian patted Fatty’s shoulder reassuringly. "Don’t worry. Did you forget I have an instance entry voucher? I’ll bring you guys back in a few days, and we’ll definitely pass next time."
The coach, who was about to turn and leave, abruptly stopped in his tracks.
Coming again? He didn’t want to see this player ever again in his life!
His expression twisted as he shot Gu Mian a bizarre glare, struggling for a long moment before finally speaking, "Fine, you can consider yourself as having passed. Come with me to get your license."
In the end, Gu Mian quite contentedly received his Spirit Car driver’s license.
It wasn’t significantly different from a regular driver’s license; just the name and the official stamp were slightly different.
As they were about to leave the instance under the night sky, Gu Mian glanced back at the coach.
The coach’s expression was complex. He clearly looked sad, yet there was also a hint of delight and relief mixed in, which was quite puzzling.
When they returned to the real world, it was already late.
Because the Spirit Car test was a special instance, they had matched into it directly from the street. Thus, they naturally returned to the street as well.
The three bags of food Fatty had pulled from the delivery truck were still there. Presumably, their belongings had been protected when they entered the instance, so nothing was missing.
However, something new had appeared nearby.
Gu Mian had just emerged from the instance and hadn’t even had time to process things when Fatty let out a loud yell.
What happened? He looked at Fatty.
He saw Fatty frantically scrambling towards him. Far behind Fatty lay a corpse—a real one.
A large pool of blood had spread on the ground, most of it having gushed from the corpse’s neck.
What’s going on? Gu Mian was a bit confused. How could a corpse have appeared here after they entered and exited an instance?
Dying in an instance wasn’t real death, but dying in the real world was truly final.
Chu Changge looked at the corpse and pushed up his glasses. "It’s very likely a violent incident occurred here while we were in the game. Haven’t you noticed there isn’t a single pedestrian around now?"
Gu Mian looked around; it was indeed as Chu Changge said.
Before entering the instance, a few frightened-looking pedestrians could be seen in this area, but now there wasn’t a single soul in sight.
"The impact of this violent event must have been significant; no one dares to walk this way anymore," Chu Changge said, looking at the corpse. "Let’s head back to our place first."
This was indeed not the place to talk, so the three of them started walking back.
Fortunately, they weren’t accosted by robbers or anything similar on the way, and they reached their residence safely.
Notably, on the way back, Gu Mian saw a large, unfamiliar building in the distance. Since it was quite far, he didn’t pay it much mind.
As soon as Fatty walked through the door, he collapsed onto the sofa, utterly drained of energy.
"Those instances are terrifying! If it hadn’t been for Dr. Gu today, my neck would probably have been snapped..."
Gu Mian sat on the sofa and poured himself a glass of water; he was a bit thirsty.
Fatty was still rambling, recounting his experiences to Chu Changge.
"Brother Chu, you have no idea how dangerous it was in the instance! After we got separated, I went to the second floor and ran into a ghost!"
"I was so scared I turned and bolted. When the sounds behind me faded, I ducked into a room to hide."
"I heard the ghost pass my door and then move further away. Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, it suddenly appeared from behind me! That face... oh..."
As Fatty spoke, he squinted, as if unwilling to recall the horrific scene.
"But just then, Dr. Gu suddenly descended from the sky..."
Hearing this, Gu Mian felt a bit embarrassed. He lowered his head slightly and opened his panel, but his attention was immediately drawn to the announcements.
Two new announcements?
Gu Mian looked at the latest one, somewhat puzzled. It read—
[The Spirit Car Driver Exam Center Instance is temporarily suspended]
[Due to special circumstances, the instance’s examination props have sustained severe damage and cannot function normally. The instance is currently under maintenance; reopening time is unknown.]
[We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to all players. Affected players will receive compensation: 1,000 Game Coins.]
As expected, this instance was finally suspended...
Gu Mian carefully counted the zeros after the 1. That’s right, one thousand.
Last time it was only one hundred. Why was the compensation so much more generous this time?
A sense of foreboding arose in Gu Mian’s heart. He continued reading and soon understood why the compensation was so generous this time.
[The following is the list of compensated players—]
The game nicknames and ID numbers of four players were prominently displayed.
First on the list was his own, ID No. 1.
No wonder the compensation increased from one hundred to one thousand. This list exposed their information.
If one instance collapsed and he was among the players, it wouldn’t be surprising.
If two instances collapsed and he was among the players, that would be rather coincidental.
But if three instances collapsed and he was still among the players, then it was no longer a matter of coincidence.
By then, everyone in the world would probably know that Gu Mian was not a player to be trifled with.
Is this a threat? Gu Mian mused.
Publicly releasing the list of involved players meant that if a player appeared multiple times, they would inevitably attract public attention and targeted scrutiny.
A normal person in this situation would definitely lie low and act cautiously, doing their best to keep their name out of the public eye.
But Gu Mian was not a normal person.
"Go ahead and post my name if you want. If it’s posted enough times, everyone will get used to it," he said with understanding.
Without dwelling on this announcement, Gu Mian quickly moved on to the next one.
[Total Game Coins obtained by global players have reached one million. The Mall System is now officially open.]
[Numerous large supermarkets have now been established worldwide. Players can visit these supermarkets to trade using Game Coins.]
[Note: Entry requires a supermarket ticket issued by the ticket booths. The number of supermarket tickets issued each month is limited. Players, please take note.]