98: Chapter 98 The Dummy at the Terminal

The old bus stop sign under the abandoned overpass began to leak water.

It was not rainwater.

The water seeped out bit by bit from the back of the iron sign, carrying a smell of rust, and upon hitting the ground, it turned into thin black threads. The black threads wound around Zhao Ye's shoes, bypassed Lin Zhao's temporary protective talisman, and finally crawled toward Chen Jue's feet.

Chen Jue had not yet fully recovered; he was leaning against the wall, his face pale.

Zhao Ye stepped on the black thread, pressing down with his evil-breaking short staff. The gray-white Fire Seal flared up, and the black thread emitted a shrill sound like brakes screeching.

"Lin Zhao, the boundary!"

Lin Zhao did not waste words. He pulled out the trace-marking stickers from his temporary tool bag and applied them in a semicircle around the bus stop sign. His movements were not particularly skilled, and his fingers were stiff from being frozen by the rain, but he did not place them in the wrong position.

The fake Chen Shi took a step back, its figure beginning to flicker.

It had no shadow, and the rain could not wet it.

This made Chen Jue finally understand completely what he had almost acknowledged just a moment ago.

"I almost..."

"Almost died." Zhao Ye finished for him, his tone harsh. "And almost dragged your brother into this."

Chen Jue's face turned even paler, stung by these words, but he did not retort.

In the channel, Shen Qinghe's voice sounded a bit weak. As the Fate-Illuminating Bronze Bell captured the rules of the bus stop sign through the Fire Seal, her tinnitus was getting worse.

"The dummy is not the core. The bus stop sign is."

Bai Ya added: "It is not just the bus stop sign. This place seems to be a Terminal Station pieced together temporarily. The old bus pass, the address contamination, and the iron sign—these three remnants might be in different places."

"Get to the point." Zhao Ye roared.

"The point is, if you smash one now, the other two might move at the same time." Bai Ya was also annoyed, "Do you think I am not in a rush?"

Lin Zhao watched the marking stickers being soaked bit by bit by the black water, and suddenly said: "It is waiting for us to separate."

Zhao Ye glanced at him.

Lin Zhao continued: "Chen Jue ran out, Zhao Ye came to save him, and the Safe House is missing a frontline fighter. This bus stop sign is just to lure people out; the real target might be the Safe House."

For once, Zhao Ye did not snap back at him.

Because he was right.

The fake Chen Shi suddenly laughed.

The laughter no longer sounded like Chen Shi, but like another voice they were familiar with and detested.

"The little friend got it right."

From behind the bus stop sign, a man wearing an ill-fitting suit walked out slowly. The cheap greasepaint on his face was washed away by the rain, but his mouth was still stretched into a grin.

The Clown.

Chen Jue instinctively stepped back.

The Clown spread his hands, his tone like someone hosting a children's show.

"This round of the game is very simple. Someone gets on the bus, someone looks for someone, and someone guards the door. Guess, which side will make a mistake first?"

Zhao Ye tightened his grip on his staff.

Shen Qinghe immediately warned: "Don't engage with his rules."

Zhao Ye took a deep breath and swallowed the profanity.

The Clown wore an expression of regret.

"You are becoming less and less fun."

He raised his hand and patted the old bus stop sign.

The three characters for [Terminal Station] on the sign suddenly lit up. At the same time, a frantic alarm sounded from the direction of the Safe House.

Tang Zhiwei's voice carried obvious anger for the first time: "All the phones lit up at the same time!"

Xu Minglan immediately followed up: "The patients have started walking toward the door, Li Xi was pushed down, I need support here!"

The Clown tilted his head and looked at Zhao Ye.

"Next stop, Safe House."

Zhao Ye stepped forward, but was stopped by Shen Qinghe.

"Zhao Ye, don't chase him. The bus stop sign."

"He is going to run!"

"He is not the core!"

This time, Zhao Ye stopped.

He really wanted to smash the Clown, really. But he also knew that if he chased after him now, the Safe House would be missing a layer of suppression, and the bus stop sign's rules might take the opportunity to complete.

He gritted his teeth, turned around, and smashed his staff against the base of the bus stop sign.

The gray-white Fire Seal exploded, and the old iron sheet emitted a piercing screech. The black water receded a bit.

Lin Zhao took the opportunity to apply the last two trace-marking stickers, and the boundary finally closed.

The fake Chen Shi stood frozen in place as if pinned down.

Chen Jue looked at that face, the same as his brother's, and suddenly said in a low voice: "You are not him."

This time, he spoke very steadily.

The expression on the dummy's face twisted, and finally collapsed like paper, leaving only a wet, hollow skin.

The Clown retreated into the curtain of rain and clapped twice.

"Very good, one question answered correctly."

His smile deepened.

"But the Terminal Station has already arrived."

When Chen Jue was pressed against the wall by Zhao Ye, his face was covered in rainwater and shame and anger.

He wanted to curse, wanted to break free, and wanted to rush over and tear that fake Chen Shi to shreds. But when the dummy's face collapsed, revealing the hollow, wet paper skin inside, he suddenly could not say a word.

If he had responded just now.

If Zhao Ye had arrived half a minute later.

He might have already been holding that thing's hand, admitting that he had arrived at the Terminal Station.

Seeing him dazed, Lin Zhao said in a low voice: "Don't just stand there, move behind me."

This time, Chen Jue did not argue.

Seeing this scene, the Clown showed an exaggerated expression of disappointment.

"How boring. The little friend has learned to be good."

Zhao Ye looked at him coldly: "You talk too much."

The Clown grinned: "Talking a lot is what makes a host."

"Host your granddaddy." Zhao Ye almost blurted it out, but forced himself to swallow the second half of the sentence. Shen Qinghe had said not to engage with the rules. The Clown loved to turn an insult into an entry question.

He was so frustrated his face turned black.

In the channel, Bai Ya held back laughter: "Zhao Ye, you have made great progress this time."

Zhao Ye gritted his teeth: "Shut up."

Bai Ya: "You can reply to that one."

The situation, tense to the breaking point, was pried open just a little by these two inexplicable exchanges of bickering. Lin Zhao took the opportunity to apply the second layer of marking stickers to the base of the bus stop sign, his movements much steadier than before.

The Clown's laughter, however, slowly died down.

He discovered that the Torch members were not splitting up at the pace he had expected. Zhao Ye did not chase him, Lin Zhao did not cross the line, and Chen Jue did not acknowledge the account a second time. This game was suddenly no longer fun.

So he changed the way he played.

He no longer stared at the scene, but pushed the rules toward the Safe House.

When the notification "Terminal Station has been reached" spread to all the phones, the Clown raised his hand and bowed into the rain as if taking a final curtain call.

"Dear audience, please proceed to the next act."

His body scattered into pieces of wet paper.

The real person was long gone from here.

Lin Zhao watched the scattered wet paper, feeling a lingering fear. If that thing had turned into the face of one of his comrades just now, he might not have performed any better than Chen Jue. Thinking of this, he did not blame Chen Jue again, only pushed him back a bit: "Remember that feeling from just now. Next time it pretends to be an acquaintance, you will know where it touches first." Chen Jue lowered his head and murmured an affirmative response.

Zhao Ye did not chase into the rain. He stood in place, his chest heaving heavily. Lin Zhao knew he was holding back with great difficulty; if it were him, he would also want to smash that smiling face with a staff. But the mission was not about venting anger. That Zhao Ye could stop showed he was no longer just an action-oriented member who only knew how to charge forward.

Rainwater dripped down from his chin; he did not wipe it away, only tightened his grip on his short staff again.

Inside the Safe House, everyone's phone screens lit up at the same time.

[Terminal Station has been reached.]