Chapter 28 Wandering the Ancient Town - First Visit to Qing Shi Town

Appearing alongside the game's voice was that same teleprompter-like light screen.

"It's back, this screen is back again. What kind of sci-fi movie is this?"

Someone tremblingly reached out to touch the light screen, but it didn't even show a ripple, remaining perfectly still as the hand passed right through it.

"Everyone, don't panic. We don't know what the mastermind's intentions are; this is too eerie. Let's look for tools in the bus first, pry open the driver's cab door, and stop the bus." A middle-aged man raised his hand to signal for silence, telling everyone to follow his lead.

"This older brother is right; we need to get the bus under control first," another young man with dyed ash-gray hair chimed in. Just as he finished speaking and stood up, the seatbelt on the bus—without any human control—suddenly acted as if it had grown hands, swiftly snapping across his waist and pulling him firmly back into his seat, locking him tight.

The man frantically clawed at the buckle, but it seemed jammed; no matter how hard he pressed, it wouldn't release.

The seatbelts moved simultaneously, and everyone else was soon locked into their seats.

"What's going on? There's definitely something wrong with this driver. He must have pressed some button to lock us in," the girl who had been suspicious of the driver earlier shrieked.

"What does this light screen mean? What kind of game does it want us to participate in? What is its goal?!"

...

Bai Xiao had selected [Yes] the moment the light screen appeared. By now, the text on the screen before her had changed to a "Waiting" status.

Watching everyone's panic, Bai Xiao couldn't help but recall the scene when she first participated in the game.

She hesitated over whether to speak up and warn them. Her conscience felt a bit uneasy if she stayed silent, but she knew all too well that if she spoke such fantastical truths, no one would believe her. Instead, it would only put her in an extremely passive position in the subsequent game.

Once her words were proven true later on, she might be regarded as an accomplice of the game's mastermind. Everyone would turn against her. At that point, she would not only face the life-or-death trials of the game but also be viewed as an enemy by the other players, truly besieged from all sides.

While she was locked in this internal conflict, a player had already made a choice.

"No matter what, we won't cooperate. What can it do to us? We can't keep being passive like this. Let's all refuse together!"

The young man with the dyed gray hair shouted to the crowd with the resolve of a hero facing a desperate end, then clicked [No], refusing the game.

After he clicked it, the light screen vanished. Seeing this, the man began to smile triumphantly. However, before two seconds had passed, the seatbelt around his waist suddenly tightened. It grew tighter and tighter, squeezing the flesh on his stomach into two distinct sections.

"Ah! Help! Save me!" The man was in extreme pain from the constriction, feeling his ribs and internal organs being crushed. He began to gasp for air, his hands instinctively trying to reach under the seatbelt, desperately trying to pull it away so he could breathe.

With a strange cracking sound, like something splitting or breaking, the man could eventually only manage a muffled gurgle. A moment later, his legs kicked weakly twice, and then he moved no more.

This scene could only be seen by the person sitting by the window on the other side of the aisle. The others were either trapped or had their view blocked, so they could only hear his agonizing screams without seeing what was happening.

"Murder! Murder!" The girl on the other side of the aisle was so terrified that she started thrashing in her seat, wanting to jump and run, but she was pinned down by the seatbelt, with nowhere to hide.

She watched in horror as the man was strangled to death by the seatbelt. His face had turned a purplish-red, his eyes bulged, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His expression was distorted and hideous, like a malevolent ghost.

"What happened? What's going on?" Those in the front and back who could only hear but not see kept asking, filled with fear and anxiety.

After several seconds, the girl finally found her voice: "He's dead!..."

"What?! How did he die?"

"He... he seemed to have clicked 'Refuse Game' and was strangled to death by the seatbelt."

"How is that possible?" Those who hadn't witnessed it could hardly believe their ears. A seatbelt could strangle someone to death?

Someone else wanted to ask more, but the countdown on the light screen only had ten seconds left. At the same time, that mechanical voice rang out again.

[Please make your choice before the countdown ends. 9, 8, 7...]

The frightened girl was the first to select [Yes], and the others, gripped by fear and doubt, tremblingly clicked [Yes] as well.

—The light screen options vanished, but new text emerged along with the announcement.

[Welcome, players, to the 'Game Theme' game. This game consists of three stages. After entering the town area, the Guide will announce specific game tasks at different times.]

[Main Quest: Players who obtain the qualification for the God Procession, choose the correct Divine Path, and return the Mountain God to the temple will survive until the end.]

[Game Hint: The Mountain God is sacred and must not be profaned. Please treat Him with devotion.]

[Please note: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Those who violate the customs of the ancient town will be rejected by the Townsfolk.]

The game announcement ended, and the light screen vanished along with it.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, everyone trying their best to process this series of events.

...

The bus that had been traveling through the mountains earlier suddenly came upon an open view after rounding a peak. The continuous mountain ranges on both sides grew further apart, and a flat expanse of rice fields appeared. The bus drove along a small path through the fields.

Not far ahead, a towering Gate Tower spanned across the intersection. As they drew closer, Bai Xiao saw three ancient characters written on it: Qingshi Town.

Passing the Gate Tower, they were inside Qingshi Town. The bus turned a corner and pulled over against a wall.

Bai Xiao looked outside; they had stopped at a small building at the entrance of the town with a sign that read "Guesthouse."

As soon as the bus stopped, the seatbelts on everyone unbuckled themselves, and even the bus door, which previously wouldn't budge no matter how hard it was pulled, opened automatically.

The people on the bus couldn't stay in their seats for even another second, and they all stood up, wanting to leave quickly.

When passing the dead man, the more timid ones didn't even dare to look or breathe, while the bolder ones tremblingly reached out to check under his nose.

He really wasn't breathing!

"He's really dead!" the person who checked exclaimed loudly.

Upon hearing this, the people who had been huddled together immediately scattered like startled birds and beasts, each running out the bus door as if their lives depended on it.

Bai Xiao put on her backpack and followed the crowd toward the door. As she passed the strangled man, she stole a quick glance.

His death was indeed quite gruesome, but having already experienced one game, she had seen several people die just as miserably. Aside from a heavy feeling in her heart, she no longer felt that extreme terror and dread at the sight of a corpse.

Reaching the door, the driver's cab was right in front of her. Earlier, when they had first entered the game and she could still move, she had been busy checking her storage slot and hadn't had a chance to walk around.

Through the window of the driver's cab, the driver indeed looked very strange. Even though the bus had been parked for so long, he still maintained his driving posture, motionless. In fact—Bai Xiao looked closer—he didn't seem to be breathing!