Chapter 117: [Harboring a Ghostly Secret] A Pair of Embroidered Shoes
However, even though everyone was worried and uneasy, there was nothing they could do.
The entire bus was still moving forward, and no one was familiar with the surrounding environment.
Even if they were familiar, such pitch-black conditions were abnormal.
Under everyone’s tense anticipation, the bus braked again.
This time, it directly crashed into the sedan chair.
Unlike the previous three times, this time the sedan chair seemed to be floating, as if someone was carrying it, colliding directly with the bus.
And it was only for a split second.
The bus headlights were blocked for a moment, so there was a flash of darkness. When the light returned, the front was empty.
But everyone only had time to look for a moment before the lights went out again.
This time, the entire world seemed to have fallen into darkness.
The bus lights did not turn back on, and the driver sat there motionless.
Minute after minute passed.
At the third minute, the players received a notification sound.
[Ding—Players, please be sure to reach the destination within one hour, otherwise, you will bear the consequences yourself—]
This was urging them to hurry.
A player mustered up the courage and peered out the window.
It was pitch black, and nothing could be seen.
“I feel like we have to go down and take a look.”
In the darkness, a player turned on their phone’s flashlight.
“If we don’t go down and look, we probably won’t know what’s going on at all. Just sitting here and waiting is useless.”
“Or… does anyone know how to drive? Why don’t we just run it over?” another player suggested a different idea.
The main reason was that getting out felt too unsafe.
Bai Cha shone her flashlight on the words on the flyer. One passage described that on the way to Ruolan Temple, you would pass through a continuous mountain range and see a long river. That would mean you were almost at the destination.
This flyer should be like a coordinate, allowing them to roughly estimate how much longer it would take to arrive.
But it was too dark, and no one could see outside, so they probably still had to go down.
“Let’s go down, let’s all go down together.”
Gao Wei stood up. He was tall and sturdy, and his somewhat overweight body felt quite reassuring at this moment.
The players looked at each other, and some also got up one after another.
Bai Cha and Xu Shengsheng also got up.
However, some players’ butts seemed to be rooted to their seats.
“You guys go out. We’ll watch from inside. If there’s anything you can’t see, we can remind you.”
The players who stood up were a little angry.
“No way, knowing that it’s more dangerous outside, who wouldn’t want to hide in the car? We’re all trying to survive and complete the task as soon as possible. There are only nine of us in total. You want five of us to go while the four of you just sit here, is that it?”
Seeing that the atmosphere was suddenly becoming tense.
Xu Shengsheng whispered, “Sis, do you think that thing that we crashed into just now might be right in front?”
Bai Cha shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“According to horror movie tropes, once most people get out, the car will become a closed killing space with fewer people inside, or if only a few people go down, they’ll never come back.”
Bai Cha: “…”
What kind of stuff does she watch?
She patted the “Five-Three” in her arms, telling her to shut up.
Xu Shengsheng’s words made a player who didn’t want to move hesitate and get up.
“Forget it, let’s all go together. It’s safer together.”
The remaining three people had ugly expressions.
One of them gave Xu Shengsheng a cold glare.
However, Xu Shengsheng didn’t notice at all in the pitch darkness.
Bai Cha’s eyes, after being modified by the dodder flower, were much better. She noticed it and memorized that player’s face.
If she remembered correctly, that woman’s self-introduced name was Jin Qiao.
“Let’s go, let’s go down and take a look sooner rather than later. If we delay any longer, who knows what will happen,” Gao Wei said, already walking towards the car door.
The driver moved at this moment and helped them open the car door.
Pretty good, like an intelligent AI service.
The players got off one by one and stood by the car.
It was indeed very dark outside. The moon in the sky wasn’t bright, with a hazy ring around it, quite like the legendary “hairy moon.”
It was said that under such a celestial phenomenon, ghosts and monsters usually roamed freely.
There was wind.
Everyone felt very cold.
And no one dared to look at the front of the car.
Xu Shengsheng’s grip on Bai Cha’s arm tightened a little.
Her heart was pounding, and her eyes were wide open.
She had adapted relatively quickly, and her personality wasn’t particularly sensitive. With her sister by her side, although she had been a little scared at first, it wasn’t until this moment that she felt a belated sense of fear and trepidation.
Bai Cha held her hand, comforting her.
Gao Wei was clearly bolder. He had already walked to the front of the car with his flashlight and shone it.
Then his expression changed slightly, and he instinctively retreated.
Everyone looked at him.
Gao Wei swallowed, because the flashlight’s light was shining from below. Although weak, it made his expression even stranger.
“A… a pair of shoes.”
He didn’t even dare to say they were embroidered shoes.
However, those shoes were undoubtedly the ones that had been revealed in the sedan chair earlier.
Everyone’s expressions were not good.
“It’s right an inch in front of the car. This might be what’s blocking us,” Gao Wei said, having calmed down a bit.
“We probably have to take the shoes away.”
Otherwise, they definitely wouldn’t be able to move forward. This was clearly blocking the front of the car.
But the problem was, since they clearly knew that the pair of shoes, or rather the owner of those shoes, was standing there blocking the car, who would dare to move the shoes?
So the scene inevitably became tense again. This was one of the downsides of having a large group. Because no one wanted to risk themselves for others.
“If you guys aren’t going, then I’ll go,” Gao Wei said again.
“Let’s get this straight first. In this kind of storyline exploration instance, usually, the more of the storyline you explore, the higher the reward evaluation you get. The initial difficulty definitely isn’t that high. Don’t regret it later.”
The woman named Jin Qiao, who had glared at Xu Shengsheng earlier, sneered upon hearing this.
“Why are you saying so much? Are you going or not? If you want to go, then go. If you don’t want to, just say so, and we’ll figure out another way.”
Some players strongly agreed with this, while others looked embarrassed. Most people silently acquiesced to the statement.
Bai Cha and Xu Shengsheng were also in the crowd, not very conspicuous. Bai Cha had no intention of taking the lead. In this instance, her priority would be survival.
Gao Wei didn’t say anything more upon hearing this and went to the front of the car again.
Everyone waited quietly in the night wind.
The sounds of unknown birds came from the mountain forests on both sides of the road, carrying an ominous feeling.
It was as if Gao Wei had disappeared after going to the front of the car.
Just as a player was about to go take a look, they suddenly heard Gao Wei scream, and then he jumped back, quickly shaking something off.
That thing landed and quickly came towards the players.
“There’s a snake!”
Someone exclaimed, instinctively wanting to hide on the bus. But the bus door closed at this moment.
