Song Mo rubbed her temples, feeling a bit of a headache coming on.
In the abandoned stone house of Wenshan Village, the chirping of cicadas drifted in through the window frame.
A'yan was hanging upside down from the roof beam, tossing her detached head up and down like a toy.
Wearing a comical shroud, the Mouse Servant sat with its back turned, greedily devouring a plump ratsnake. Its whiskers twitched, and its mouth was smeared with blood.
Song Mo glanced over and then withdrew her gaze.
In the three Instance Mirrors formed by ink-wash text, the death toll finally paused at the number "7."
Mirror 1 had not suffered any casualties yet.
In Mirror 2, although Lin Hao was sinister and selfish, he still played a certain role in leading the team.
As for Mirror 3, it was an absolute disaster.
Wang Lei was as timid as a mouse, shrinking into a corner like a turtle hiding in its shell.
Three groups, three completely different attitudes.
It was obvious that Su Ya's group wanted to actively complete the quest and leave as soon as possible.
Many in Lin Hao's group had been dragged into the Instance out of sheer desperation; once they calmed down, they quickly accepted the reality of their situation.
Wang Lei's group, on the other hand, was completely resistant, refusing to believe that supernatural Instances even existed.
They had forced the bus to stop and tried to set out on foot to find clues to leave.
—As a result, before they could even get very far, they were all hung up like cured meat by the Hanged Ghost.
Of the remaining four survivors, one was a rich second-generation heir, one was a bullied girl, one was a finance guy who had failed in his investments, and the last was the half-paper-doll Wang Lei.
“In a puzzle-solving script, Players need to complete quests to obtain clues. The more casualties they suffer, the greater the pressure of survival on the remaining Players.”
Song Mo shook her head, not holding out much hope for this group.
There were a total of five ghosts in this Instance.
She had placed the Hanged Ghost at the entrance of the Instance precisely to prevent Players from hiding outside the village for seven days.
Of course, if a Player could survive the Hanged Ghost's pursuit until the end of the Instance, that would also count as a way to clear it.
Since this was a newly running Instance, Song Mo had a bit of a headache, but not much of one.
Within the Instance, the first group was already searching for their luggage on the bus, planning to enter Wenshan Village.
Although the second group's progress was slightly slower, they were still functioning normally.
But as for the third group—
“Oh?”
Song Mo let out a soft sound of interest.
...
...
Inside the bus, there was a dead silence. Outside, the wind and snow rustled. The corpses swayed in the wind, their insteps hitting the glass with muffled thuds.
A foul, sour stench filled the air.
—When a person is hanged, they naturally lose control of their bowels.
But no matter how bad the smell was, the four survivors on the bus did not dare to leave.
Just five minutes ago, the bus had been as noisy as a bustling market.
Most of them simply hadn't believed the so-called Instance prompts. Of course, there were some who did believe but still chose to take their chances.
Jiang Chen didn't know who had opened the bus door first.
Nor had anyone seen how that thing appeared.
On the winding mountain road in the snowy night, everything was shrouded in fog. With no villages or inns in sight, only the faint outline of the twisting road could be seen.
The six people who had left the bus to find a signal for help were now all hanging from the roof.
He could even hear the heavy thuds of bodies hitting the roof.
—This was absolutely not a strength that any human or animal could possess.
The four survivors shrank back into their seats, not daring to make a single sound.
Jiang Chen licked his lips.
Having lived a life of luxury and privilege, he had tried all kinds of extreme thrills—midnight street racing, skydiving, deep-sea diving.
But suddenly seeing six corpses, the sheer impact and thrill of it was completely incomparable to any "extreme sport."
This was no game.
Nor was it a prank.
He could die at any moment.
A stronger wave of excitement surged from the depths of Jiang Chen's heart, burning through his bones like wildfire and making his fingertips tingle.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze landing on the upper part of the window.
A pair of feet hung down from the roof.
The feet were clad in black sneakers, the insteps stretched taut. The toes gently tapped against the window glass, over and over.
“Tap.”
“Tap.”
“Tap.”
The rhythm was very slow and light.
This was the first person who had disappeared just now—a gambler who had blustered, “Stupid livestream room! I've lost hundreds of thousands betting on soccer and wasn't afraid. Why would I be scared of a ghost?”
And then, he had become a corpse hanging from the roof.
...
...
Jiang Chen stared at the feet, his Adam's apple bobbing.
Thrilling.
Incredibly thrilling.
During those few minutes of zoning out, he was even wondering: what did the thing that hung people up actually look like?
Sitting across from him was a man in his thirties wearing a suit with a crooked tie. His name was Zhou Chang, and he had supposedly made a wish to enter after his stocks crashed.
Shrunk in the innermost corner of the row behind him was a girl in a school uniform, Kang Xiaojia.
She had curled herself into a tight little ball, pulling her school uniform jacket over her head, leaving only her eyes exposed.
In the corner of the very last row sat a weirdo in hospital pajamas who hadn't said a single word from start to finish.
Earlier, when the group was clamoring to get off the bus, Jiang Chen felt something was off, so he didn't join them.
Kang Xiaojia and Zhou Chang had stayed behind out of fear.
As for the weirdo in the back row, he had completely ignored everyone, lost in his own world.
“The driver ran away. W-what... what do we do now?”
Kang Xiaojia was a mess of tears and snot, crying hysterically. “I... I haven't even finished my homework today. I still have two English worksheets left.”
“Since it said we need to go to Wenshan Village, we should probably keep driving forward,” Jiang Chen replied, his gaze shifting to Zhou Chang and Wang Lei. “Do either of you know how to drive this kind of old-fashioned bus?”
Zhou Chang shook his head blankly.
“Don't touch anything in the Instance randomly,” Wang Lei finally spoke up, his voice trembling as he interrupted Jiang Chen.
“If you want to go to that village, go by yourself. I'm definitely not going. Anyway... anyway, as long as we hide and survive for seven days, we'll be fine. Don't go looking for death. Yes, don't go looking for death.”
This was the first time any of them had heard him speak.
Before Jiang Chen and Kang Xiaojia could react, Zhou Chang, pushed to his breaking point by the intense pressure, snapped. He suddenly stood up, grabbed Wang Lei by the collar, and questioned him hysterically:
“How do you know we shouldn't touch anything? Do you know something? Huh? Speak! Are you in league with this stupid Instance to try and kill me?! Answer me!”
To everyone's surprise, Wang Lei, a full-grown man, was actually lifted off the ground by him with ease.
“Ah!!”
Kang Xiaojia shrieked. The other two instinctively followed her gaze—
The loose hospital pajamas failed to cover his arm, revealing that half of it was made of paper-mache. Underneath the thin, paper-like skin were blood vessels and a skeletal frame that looked like wheat straw.
“What kind of monster are you!”
Zhou Chang shuddered in fear and threw Wang Lei away. The latter let out a scream and quickly curled up on the seat.
“Don't ask me! I don't know anything!”
“Please, let me go! I'll never steal your things again!”
“I'll give the gold back to you! I'll give it back, I'll give it back!”
Now, Jiang Chen had also noticed Wang Lei's abnormality. He exchanged a look with Zhou Chang, and through a mix of coercion and threats, they finally pried out information about the existence of other Instances.
“Damn!”
Zhou Chang's eyes were bloodshot. He suddenly took a deep breath, a bizarre expression of excitement mixed with greed appearing on his face.
“You mean, as long as we complete the quests, we really get money?!”
“Yes, yes! The woman who entered the Instance with me last time even became some kind of professional Player and got superpowers!”
Wang Lei nodded, snot running down his chin.
“I'm really not lying! If you don't believe me, look at me! It's because of the Instance that I turned into this goddamned thing!”
“If that's the case—”
Zhou Chang's mind immediately began to race. He glanced at the silent Kang Xiaojia and Jiang Chen, then cleared his throat:
“Since the Instance requires us to go to Wenshan Village, it means there must be a way to avoid the ghosts there. I want to go. What do you guys think?”
Jiang Chen naturally agreed.
Kang Xiaojia didn't dare to raise her hand, only asking weakly:
“The Instance said we can leave as long as we survive for seven days, and it also said we're safe as long as the vehicle is in motion... We could just stay on the bus until the seventh day.”
This was a possibility none of them had considered.
【You are safe while the vehicle is in motion.】
Wang Lei's eyes lit up, also thinking this was a good idea.
But just as he was about to speak, he was glared back down by the bloodshot-eyed Zhou Chang.
Just then, a very faint sound came from outside the window.
“Thud.”
It was very soft, like a snowball hitting the side of the bus.
The hair on their necks stood on end as they suddenly realized they had been arguing for so long while surrounded by corpses and an unknown ghost.
Then, another sound rang out.
“Crunch...”
“Crunch...”
It sounded like footsteps stepping into deep snow. The sound was slow and heavy, walking around the bus step by step.
From the rear to the left side, from the left side to the front, and then from the front to the right side.
Round and round, circle after circle.
The four of them were like terrified chicks, poking their heads out to look—
In the raging blizzard, the mountain road was a winding, blurry expanse of white. They could only make out a swaying dark silhouette pacing beside the bus.
It wasn't the driver. It was a tall figure with a hunched back, but the sneakers on its feet looked incredibly familiar.
“!”
Jiang Chen's eyes suddenly widened as a chilling realization struck him:
The tapping sounds on the window had stopped a long time ago.
“Thud, thud.”
Someone tapped on the right window.
The force wasn't strong, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet snowy night.
A face pressed against the glass.
It was a pale, bluish face with cloudy, yellowed eyes and dark purple lips. The corners of its mouth were torn all the way to its ears, and a thick, long tongue lolled out, hanging over its chest so far that the root of the tongue was almost visible.
It pressed against the glass, its nose flattened as it stared inside the bus.
It was the corpse of one of the Players.
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