Highway 3

What was that?

Since she didn't need to drive manually, Bai Ci dimmed the front lights slightly to see what was happening outside the window.

But she saw nothing.

There was only the pitch-black night, the dense mountain forest, and the empty expressway.

Meanwhile, the sound drew closer. Amidst the squelch of grinding minced meat, there was now the sound of something hard being crushed, as if flesh and bone were being ground together into a fine paste.

The buzz of the electric saw changed as well, sounding as though it had hit something soft and rubbery, its high-pitched whine softening.

The car radio crackled to life again. The host, Beiguan, spoke in his usual flat, emotionless tone. As he spoke, those two sounds continued in the background.

“Next, we will begin our introduction to the scenic sights along the way.”

“To create a one-of-a-kind travel experience and allow our tourists to feel the unique charm of Yefu City, a distinctive audio-visual and electronic auxiliary system has been implemented along the Yefu City Expressway, presenting an immersive scenic experience for everyone.”

“If you notice any unusual occurrences along the way—whether they are sounds, shadows, or other anomalies—please be assured they are merely part of the audio-visual system's performance and are completely normal sights.”

“Dear tourists, there is no need to panic. Please sit back and enjoy the show.”

As soon as the host finished speaking, another sound joined the mixture of grinding meat and buzzing electric saw.

It was a chorus of groans and confessions—the voices of countless people, male and female, young and old. It was a chaotic din, filled with agony, regret, and resentment, drifting in and out.

Bai Ci listened closely and managed to make out a few phrases, such as “I was wrong,” “Please, no,” and “Let me go.”

“Please take special note that this audio-visual auxiliary system will not call out any tourist's name.”

The host's explanation continued.

“If, while driving, you hear someone calling your name or telling you to look back, that indicates—”

“You are simply too tired. It is easy to experience fatigue when driving at night, and auditory hallucinations are a normal phenomenon.”

“If you are already experiencing auditory hallucinations, you can look for a red vending machine upon entering a gas station to purchase Yefu District's specialty refreshing beverage. Drinking it will effectively relieve fatigue and prevent hallucinations.”

“The funds for the beverages have been prepared for our tourists in advance and placed in the glove compartment in front of the passenger seat. The amount is limited, so please use it sparingly and allocate it wisely.”

Bai Ci took out the black wallet she had found earlier when searching for a pen and paper. She had already looked inside it; there were only a few coins and a driver's license belonging to Yu Yue.

Now, thanks to the photo on the driver's license, Bai Ci finally knew what Yu Yue looked like.

Perhaps because the photo captured a serious, unsmiling expression, a chill ran down her spine as those red eyes stared intensely out of the picture.

“This is a white rabbit dyed black,” she thought. “And it wasn't even a good dye job—the eyelashes are still white, giving it away.”

Bai Ci murmured to herself, and the more she looked at the photo, the more she grew accustomed to it.

Bai Ci touched the ring on her middle finger to calm herself down, continuing to parse the information hidden within the chaotic voices.

Even if there really were ghosts, she had the ring's protection, which would give her time to react.

After listening for another few minutes, she actually managed to pick out some commonalities.

Quite a few fragments were related to money.

Some voices carried extreme terror, wailing, “I'll give you all the money!” Others seethed with utter breakdown, shrieking, “I don't want the money anymore!” There were also those pleading with indefinable emotions, arguing, “My money is clean!”

Did the owners of these voices meet such an end because they were all connected to “money” in some way?

Of course, it might not have been caused by money itself. After all, money was involved in far too many situations.

Keeping an analytical mind, Bai Ci noted down this piece of information for the time being.

As she was pondering, she suddenly noticed that the voices were drawing closer, as if whispering right in her ear.

Bai Ci's first instinct was to touch the ring on her left middle finger. Its temperature was normal, which made her sigh with relief.

If a spiritual entity had truly snuck up on her, the ring would have heated up. Since it hadn't, it meant the entity only had this meager ability to interfere with her mind.

This was sheer intimidation, not even an actual attack.

Realizing this, Bai Ci's attitude toward the sounds became much more relaxed. “Go ahead and scream,” she thought. “It's not like you can actually do anything to me.”

After an unknown amount of time, the confessions whispering in her ear gradually faded away.

To Bai Ci, it felt like ten minutes, but a person's perception of time often varied depending on what they were facing, so it wasn't necessarily accurate.

After all, the center console didn't display the time at all, and the navigation screen was permanently stuck on “12 hours to destination” without budging.

Was she just running in place?

Before Bai Ci could ponder further, a sudden wave of heat surged, and the temperature inside the car began to rise.

The previously comfortable temperature had now become so hot that it felt like standing under the midday sun in the dead of summer.

Fine beads of sweat soon broke out on Bai Ci's forehead, trickling down her cheeks.

She fumbled around the center console, even trying voice commands, before finally coming to a conclusion.

This car did not have an air conditioning function.

“What the hell, is this on purpose...?” Bai Ci muttered under her breath.

She was too hot to move, slumping in her seat as sweat poured down her back, soaking a large patch of her dress and leaving her feeling completely sticky.

She could only say that thank goodness this car was on autopilot. If she had to drive manually, even if she knew how to drive, she would have crashed sooner or later under these conditions.

Now, the only thing that still felt cool to the touch was the ring on her left hand.

The ring's temperature was unaffected by the external environment. Unfortunately, it was only so big. Bai Ci pressed her hand to her forehead to give herself a brief moment of relief.

On the car radio, the host, Beiguan, was still diligently working.

“Dear tourists, are you already feeling the rising temperature inside your vehicles?”

“Please do not worry. This is a normal phenomenon, indicating that you are currently entering our Yefu District Hot Spring Experience Zone.”

“There is a rare dormant volcano within Yefu District. Its abundant geothermal energy has not only fostered unique hot spring resources—making Yefu District a famous hot spring resort destination far and wide—but has also driven the rapid development of the local new energy industry.”

“Regrettably, several hot spring establishments were recently found to have substandard water quality, posing safety hazards. Currently, the entire hot spring area is closed for rectification and cannot provide hot spring experience services to our tourists.”

“We hope our dear tourists can understand, and enjoy the rest of your journey.”