What do you mean?" Shi Xiao almost choked on the mouthful of water he had just drunk and hurriedly asked.
Zhou Nian tapped her cheek occasionally with her fingers, which were propping up her chin. To be honest, she was quite shocked to see this player from Blue Star here. Although the two had cooperated in the previous dungeon, this player's presence in a place where she shouldn't be was highly suspicious. Could this player be an undercover agent sent by the horror game?
Zhou Nian stared at Shi Xiao for a long time, her gaze making Shi Xiao's whole body tremble: "I said, um... Manager Zhou, we're all human, can't you just say what you want to say directly?"
"My surname is Jiang, Jiang Wan. Do you remember what I told you last time?" Zhou Nian finally spoke.
Shi Xiao looked puzzled: "Okay, Manager Jiang, what did you say last time... You said so much, which sentence was it?"
Jiang Wan continued tapping her cheek with her fingers: "You should still remember about the Ghost Realm and the Ghost Star, right?"
Shi Xiao nodded: "Of course I remember. The Ghost Star is the energy body that supports the operation of the Ghost Realm, and the Ghost Realm is the so-called copy... Nest?" Shi Xiao suddenly remembered. No wonder she felt something was strange while driving yesterday. So that's why!
Dungeons have boundaries. For example, in the previous dungeon, Li Family Village, the area within Li Family Village is part of the dungeon. Players who haven't cleared the dungeon cannot leave the dungeon area. Everything outside the boundary should appear as a blur to the player, indistinct and unreachable.
In the "Evil Bus" instance, there's also a boundary barrier that only allows players to see things relevant to the instance, such as buses, parking lots, roads, and bus stops. Things unrelated to the instance, like distant city buildings and mountains, should theoretically appear as a blur in Shi Xiao's eyes.
But Shi Xiao didn't see the boundary of this instance when he was driving yesterday! No wonder he always felt like he had overlooked something.
Therefore, taking into account what Jiangwan said...
"You mean the office we're in now isn't even part of the instance? I walked out of the instance? Where is this? A creepy world? Holy crap, how did I get out of the instance? Will this affect my chances of completing the game?" Shi Xiao was shocked. Her mind was filled with exclamation marks; this was completely beyond her understanding of horror games.
Jiang Wan shook her head: "It's not just the office."
Seeing that Shi Xiao's shocked expression seemed genuine, Jiang Wan continued thoughtfully, "The formation of a Ghost Star requires certain opportunities. For example, the previous instance you experienced was nurtured by Li Guangzong's endless hatred, and by chance, a Ghost Star was formed, which in turn gave birth to the Ghost Realm. The instance you experienced was Li Family Village within the Ghost Realm, not the real Li Family Village in this world. Do you understand now?"
Shi Xiao struggled to process Jiang Wan's words: "So you mean this isn't a dungeon at all, but the real Black Wind City? Will that affect my ability to clear the game?"
This Earth player is fairly quick-witted, but... why is all she can think about is clearing the game? Jiang Wan nodded: "That's right, dungeons exist independently of the original world. For example, the Li Family Village dungeon may have disappeared, but the real Li Family Village still exists in this world."
Although the answer was affirmative, Shi Xiao didn't seem happy. She pouted and said, "So, why am I here? Will being here affect my progress?"
Jiang Wan, who had been looking serious, couldn't help but twitch her lips upon hearing this: "Although I don't know why you're here, I feel it's necessary to tell you something. Since the instance exists based on this real world, if you do something that affects the real world, then the instance will also change accordingly."
Shi Xiao listened intently: "You mean if I kill one of the strange creatures here, then that strange creature in the instance will also disappear?"
Jiang Wan nodded: "Yes, that's what I mean."
Shi Xiao suddenly had a bold idea: "What if, I mean, what if, I blew up the entire Blackwind City? Would all the instances built on Blackwind City disappear?"
Jiang Wan: "...Well, in that case, it's not wrong."
"There's another question," Shi Xiao rubbed his hands together. "If we follow your logic, then wouldn't the ghost realm that descended upon our Blue Star be..."
"Ha." Jiang Wan sneered: "That's right, what you call a dungeon is the ghost realm that once descended upon our home planet."
"The place you are in now once had another name: Azure Star. Isn't that nice? With the arrival of one ghost realm after another, it has now become a bizarre world."
Shi Xiao remained in shock: "You mean, you're a native of this planet?"
"Yes, Azure Star used to be just like your Blue Star, without horror games, without the supernatural…" A nostalgic look appeared in Jiang Wan's eyes: "Perhaps one day, your Blue Star will eventually become like that…"
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Shi Xiao interrupted Jiang Muwan, saying something she didn't like: "Maybe. If that day really comes, even if I've already died in the horror game, I believe there will still be humans like you on our planet, striving to survive in this strange world."
Seeing the look determined in Shi Xiao's eyes, Jiang Wan's heart stirred slightly: "I wish you success. Although I don't know why you're here, as a fellow human being, I hope you'll remember this."
Jiang Wan's fingertips were tinged with a faint eerie aura as she drew a pattern in mid-air—a dragon-shaped logo.
"What is this?" Shi Xiao asked curiously, wondering why the pattern looked familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
Jiang Wan waved her hand, and the eerie pattern condensed in mid-air slowly dissipated: "This is the symbol of the Godslayer Society, representing the human faction on our Blue Star. You're right, we humans on Blue Star haven't given up yet. For example, the Sanmu Group in Black Wind City belongs to our Godslayer Society."
She remembered! Shi Xiao remembered the pattern she had seen yesterday at the terminal station of the Sanmu Sanatorium, in front of the convenience store, and the pattern printed on the medicine boxes. She never expected that these places would belong to the human camp!
To establish a human community on a planet that has almost completely fallen and fight against horror games is an incredibly difficult task.
"But how exactly do you humans survive in a world full of strange and bizarre things?" Shi Xiao couldn't help but ask.
Jiang Wan took a medicine bottle from her desk drawer and handed it to Shi Xiao: "Here, use this."
These...aren't these the medicine bottles I saw in the sanatorium's storeroom? Shi Xiao opened the bottle, poured the contents into her palm, and found only white pills inside: "What are these pills for?"
"These are the Ghostly Qi Pills developed by the God-Slaying Society. After taking them, one can possess Ghostly Qi for a short period of time. The one you see is white. Taking one will guarantee that your strength will remain at the maximum level of Evil Spirit for three days," Jiang Wan explained.
"No...no side effects?" Shi Xiao was so shocked she could barely speak. Had the technology on Azure Star become this advanced? They had even developed drugs disguised as strange substances?
"Of course." Jiang Wan took out two more bottles of medicine with identical packaging: "The white pills have very few side effects. We also have pink and red pills. The pink pills can raise your strength to the maximum level of the Evil Ghost level, and the red pills can raise it to the Ghost King level. The more powerful the pill, the more severe the side effects."
Jiang Wan only gave the two bottles of medicine to Shi Xiao for a glance before taking them back: "I can give you the white ones, but the pink and red ones are banned drugs even in the God-Slaying Society. Especially the red ones, I won't take them unless absolutely necessary."
"Thank you." However, she had a warehouse full of such medicine, but Shi Xiao dared not say so. She thought she had robbed a horror game, but now she realized she had actually robbed her fellow humans, burning everything to the ground so there would be no evidence. She feared that if she spoke out, Jiang Wan, in a fit of anger, might add another layer of difficulty to her progress.
Furthermore, she had her own selfish motives. The effects of this pill were almost equivalent to her talent! She had to bring this batch of drugs back. It would be best if the official medical institutions could research it successfully, but if the research failed... if Blue Star really fell, this batch of drugs might be China's last trump card.
Jiang Wan, unaware of Shi Xiao's ultimate motives, handed her the white medicine bottle: "You should have seen these medicine bottles before, right?"
"Yes, yes, I saw it when I was impersonating Liu Ming to deliver goods, but I didn't know what it was for." Shi Xiao was a little nervous, and her palms were sweating.
"What a pity, sigh—that warehouse at the sanatorium had been secretly used for three years, but I never expected it to be discovered by the horror game. Yesterday, the warehouse was suddenly burned down." Jiang Wan sighed, then glanced at Shi Xiao: "It shouldn't... have been you, right?"
"What? That warehouse was burned down?" Shi Xiao didn't rush to deny it, but looked shocked, which made Jiang Wan temporarily put aside her suspicions.
"Was it that old man surnamed Ma who did it! I could tell he wasn't a good person at first glance, it must be him! Those who are not of our kind are bound to have different hearts." Shifting the blame, shifting the blame, Shi Xiao thought of Boss Ma in the warehouse, who didn't look like a good person at all, and who was drinking "red tea" made from human blood.
Jiang Wan shook her head and said calmly, "No, Ma Zhong is human."
Shi Xiao exclaimed in disbelief, "That old man... he's human? How is that possible? A human drinking 'red tea'?"
Hearing this, Jiang Wan asked in surprise, "What black tea?"
"You don't know?" Shi Xiao imitated Ma Zhong's tone: "This is my treasured 'black tea,' with fresh 'raw' blood added. It's very expensive, and I won't give it to others who want to drink it."
Jiang Wan frowned, then gave him the order to leave: "Alright, you can go now. I have other things to take care of."
After chasing Shi Xiao away, Jiang Wan's expression turned even uglier. After pondering for a long time, she finally activated the quick message function on her bracelet, edited a message, and sent it out.
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As Shi Xiao left the general manager's office, she walked slowly toward the stairwell, looking absent-minded, her mind racing to sort out her chaotic thoughts.
She has already triggered the 1-star, 2-star, 3-star, and 4-star completion methods. The 1-star mission is the simplest ticket selling; as long as the player is bold and careful, they should have no problem completing it and surviving. The 2-star mission is to investigate the disappearance of a child, and the 3-star mission is to investigate the secret of the cannery; both clues point to the Black Wind Cannery.
The 4-star mission was to destroy the sanatorium's medicine warehouse. From Jiang Wan, she had learned that the Sanmu Group belonged to the human faction, and medicine was a crucial survival tool for humans in this bizarre world. It seemed the horror game's mission wasn't just a simple level completion task, but rather a target of the remaining human forces on Azure Star!
The horror game seemed to be using players from Earth to deal with the remaining humans on the planet Blue. Upon realizing this, Shi Xiao broke out in a cold sweat.
Completing the mission weakens humanity's power on Planet Blue, while failing harms humanity. No matter which choice you make, it seems to lead to certain death...
Shi Xiao felt as if all her strength had been drained away, leaving her utterly exhausted. She was originally just an ordinary elementary school teacher, and even after experiencing two lifetimes, she was still just a naive young woman. The sudden arrival of the horror game was already like an insurmountable mountain pressing down on her, and now she had discovered a shocking secret hidden behind it, a secret that made it difficult for her to even breathe.
Could it be that Earth will follow in the footsteps of Planet Azure? Are these so-called players not saviors at all?
Will more and more demons descend upon Earth? Perhaps one day, players from another planet will appear on Earth, harboring dreams of saving humanity, to reap the harvest of the remaining human brethren.
"Heh, a horror game, how disgusting..." Suddenly realizing all this, Shi Xiao slumped down on the steps of the stairwell, dejected. What should she do?
Meanwhile, Shi Xiao's live stream finally returned to normal after an hour of blackout.
[What the heck? Why has the screen been black ever since Sister Xiao entered the general manager's office?]
[Just wondering, has Shi Xiao been eliminated...?]
[Get out of here, you jinx! The horror game isn't even out of contention yet, what right do you have to chime in!]
[Don't do this! Give me back my Xiao Jie!]
...
[I can see it! I can see it! Sister Xiao is out!]
[So what exactly happened in that hour? Was there anything we VIPs couldn't see?]
Am I the only one who thinks my expression after laughing looks a bit off?
You're not alone upstairs
[The light in the child's eyes has disappeared! What kind of trauma did they suffer? Waaaaaah!]
Zhang Jianguo, who was also watching the live stream, had a medical examination report next to him. It was Shi Xiao's psychological test report when she entered the base. Zhang Jianguo had read it many times, and the paper was curled up from being turned so many times.
Shi Xiao's psychological test showed no problems. The results indicated that she was a typical obedient girl, almost unbelievably normal compared to Wang Ziran and the others. But this only made Zhang Jianguo more worried.
Because in bloody and terrifying dungeons, overly well-behaved and normal people are destined not to go far.
Seeing that Shi Xiao's condition was clearly abnormal when he reappeared after the screen went black, Zhang Jianguo pondered for a moment and then called Li Ping'an over: "Xiao Li, I need to talk to Comrade Shi Xiao."
Li Ping'an was shocked: "Commander-in-Chief, each call costs 100 National Fortune Points, and we only have less than 200 points left..."
Zhang Jianguo interrupted Li Ping'an, his face serious: "This is a military order, arrange it immediately! I will personally bear any consequences."
Li Ping'an replied solemnly, "Yes, Commander-in-Chief, I'll arrange it immediately!"
Shi Xiao, slumped on the stairs, quickly received a notification from his bracelet: [Beep—China Command requests a call, accept?]
Shi Xiao was taken aback. Zhang Jianguo wanted to call her? She knew that outsiders could make calls to players during horror game live streams, but it was said to be extremely costly, and few countries were willing to use this function.
Without hesitation, Shi Xiao answered the call, and Zhang Jianguo's steady voice came from the bracelet.
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"Comrade Xiaoshi, time is limited, please listen to me."
Shi Xiao responded and listened quietly as Zhang Jianguo continued, "The live stream was black for an hour just now. I don't know what you went through, but you must remember that what horror games want to break us is not just our bodies, but also our spirits! No matter what you saw or heard, don't let it affect you. Listen to your heart. Ask yourself what you truly want. There are some things we can't help you with, but whatever decision you make, as long as you have a clear conscience, China will always stand behind you."
"Thank you, Commander Zhang."
[Beep—One minute is up, call ended]
Sitting in his office, Zhang Jianguo put down his phone and sighed. He hoped that the 100 national luck points could help Comrade Xiaoshi. He quite liked this polite and cheerful girl, unlike the other brats who often embarrassed him in front of outsiders.
Sitting on the steps, Shi Xiao hung up the phone and sat there in a daze for several minutes before finally standing up and patting the dust off her bottom.
Zhang Jianguo's words were like a needle, drawing a clear thread through her chaotic thoughts. She had figured it out. Yes, she was just an ordinary person, and ordinary people have selfish desires. Her selfish desires boiled down to two things: one was to fight for China, and the other was to settle the regrets of her previous life. She wanted to live on and witness the karmic retribution for Su Tian and Lin Yi.
Those problems are too distant and abstract for her to solve right now. Her only priority is to achieve a higher star rating in the game. Only then can she become stronger, ensure China's invincibility in the horror game, and save more innocent lives…
This may not be fair to the humans who are still working hard on the blue planet, but under the shadow of horror games, are there any other options?
Once she understood everything, Shi Xiao felt relieved, and her intelligence returned to its former glory.
If the horror game truly intends to use Earth's players to fight against the human forces on Azure Star, then the Black Wind Cannery, which is involved in both the 2-star and 3-star missions, is highly likely already under the control of Azure Star's humans.
There is only one 5-star mission left that she has not yet triggered, but based on the current reasoning, it must be a similar mission, but it will definitely be more destructive.
After thinking for a moment, Shi Xiao decided to go to the planning and operations department's office. Liu Ming had told her that there was a bus route map in the planning and operations department's office.
The Planning and Operations Department was on the second floor. Shi Xiao went down the stairs, and the first room on the right after exiting the stairwell was the office. It was a large office with a row of workstations in the middle. Shi Xiao glanced at it and estimated it could seat about 20 people. A large map hung on the wall, clearly the bus route map Liu Ming had mentioned. There were no staff members on duty in the office, which was convenient for Shi Xiao.
The bus route map was very detailed, with each stop and surrounding buildings clearly marked. Shi Xiao carefully examined it.
Starting from the Black Wind Bus Company terminal, I carefully observed each station.
While driving, Shi Xiao hadn't paid much attention, but this alerted her. The buses only changed shifts every hour; if someone wanted to hide medicine on the bus within that hour, the source of the medicine must be nearby.
Shi Xiao had actually asked Liu Ming this question before, but Liu Ming said he didn't know either. He was only responsible for driving the truck to transport the goods, and he didn't even know what kind of medicine it was. Someone would hide the goods under the bus, and all he had to do was drive the bus to the terminal and hand it over to Ma Zhong.
This job was introduced to him by Ma Zhong. Liu Ming had been running this route for over twenty years. In the past, when he reached the terminal station, he would just go to the convenience store to find someone to play cards with. Until three years ago, Liu Ming met Ma Zhong while playing cards at the convenience store. Ma Zhong was a generous and open-handed person who promised Liu Ming 500 yuan for each trip.
500 yuan a day, that's 5000 yuan a month! Liu Ming's monthly salary was only 5000 yuan, and he was immediately tempted. Liu Ming asked Ma Zhong what kind of medicine he was transporting and why he was smuggling it under the bus. Ma Zhong told him that it was some nutritional supplements he had obtained through special channels for the elderly people living in nursing homes. Because of the special channels, the medicines were much cheaper than the market price, and to avoid being discovered by city regulators, he had to use this method.
Besides Liu Ming, the other two drivers on this route were also secretly earning extra money with Ma Zhong.
The employee handbook changed abruptly around that time. According to Liu Ming, the bus company didn't have many rules and regulations before. Many drivers were dissatisfied with the new handbook and deliberately stopped for more than two minutes, deliberately left their vehicles during working hours, deliberately dirtied the bus, and so on, but they were not punished in any way.
It wasn't until later, when one of the drivers smuggling medicine also violated the employee code of conduct by losing the medicine hidden under the car, that Liu Ming realized that the newly formulated employee code of conduct was not intended to regulate normal drivers, but was made for a few people like them!
Liu Ming was terrified for a long time, fearing that the company's higher-ups and boss would find out that he was secretly using buses to transport goods and earn extra money. However, after the new employee handbook was in effect for a considerable period of time, the company remained calm and there were no disturbances. Only then did Liu Ming and his companions feel relieved and continue to help Ma Zhong smuggle medicines.
If Liu Ming wasn't lying to her, then the source of the medicine must be not far from the bus company headquarters; otherwise, there would be no need to risk hiding the medicine on a bus and then transporting it to the sanatorium in this way.
Shi Xiao looked at the map and saw that the nearest bus stops to the bus company included Heifeng Hospital, Anxin Jiayuan, Heifeng Farmers Market, and the city buildings near these stops.
The slovenly old man got on the bus at Black Wind Hospital, the mother and son got on at Anxin Jiayuan, Chen Dabiao and Dahu got on at Black Wind Farmers Market, while reporter Zhao Xin and the middle-aged woman who dug up the corpse got on buses outside of these areas. It's still unknown whether these individuals are involved in drug trafficking. While pondering this, Shi Xiao grabbed a notebook and pen from the nearby desk and jotted down her thoughts—a habit she had since her days as a teacher.
The "Evil Bus" dungeon doesn't give players a few days, but it gets more dangerous as time goes on. Although she currently has a powerful henchman, Shi Xiao still hopes to find clues to clear it with 5 stars as soon as possible, just in case things get complicated.
It seems I still need to take a stroll around Heifeng Hospital, Anxin Jiayuan, and Heifeng Farmers Market.
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The bus terminal wasn't far from Black Wind Hospital, and since the midday buses had already left, Shi Xiao, unable to hitch a ride, had no choice but to walk. While it would normally take a normal person over 20 minutes to walk to Black Wind Hospital, Shi Xiao's speed hospital attribute had already been boosted to 44 points. At full speed, she arrived at the entrance in less than 5 minutes.
Black Wind Hospital consists of only three buildings. The outermost two-story outpatient building was bustling with activity at this early hour. To the right was the inpatient building, a four-story structure with far fewer patients. Behind the outpatient building was the administrative building, a three-story structure that appeared much quieter in comparison.
Shi Xiao strolled around the hospital and noticed two security guards in black uniforms near the entrances to the outpatient building and the inpatient department. They seemed relaxed and unhurried, merely performing routine public order duties. There was a security booth at the entrance to the administration building, but no security personnel were visible.
She even mingled among the patients, touring the entire outpatient building and inpatient ward. Almost every office and ward was occupied, clearly indicating that these places were not suitable for storing large quantities of medicine.
Shi Xiao stared intently at the administration building; this was the only place she hadn't yet checked. Although the building appeared to be unmanned, six sets of uniforms hung in the security room, indicating six security guards changed shifts, meaning there should also be six on duty now. Besides the four security guards on duty in the outpatient and inpatient wards, where were the other two?
Shi Xiao circled the administration building again. Behind the building was a two-meter-high wall with a locked iron gate. Outside the wall was likely a nearby residential area. After searching fruitlessly, she decided not to waste any more time and to check the surrounding area. In any case, the person who delivered the medicine would definitely make another move before her night shift.
After leaving Black Wind Hospital, Shi Xiao wandered around to the residential area behind the hospital. The houses here were no more than five stories high, dilapidated, with large patches of mottled exterior walls revealing the red bricks inside. It looked like a poor area in the city.
The corridor was littered with garbage, and the stench was unbearable. Shi Xiao strolled around casually and was about to leave when she unexpectedly saw a familiar face.
A disheveled old man emerged from a distant alley, strolling leisurely with his hands behind his back. The old man had learned his lesson today; to avoid running into that menacing driver with the sickle from yesterday, he decided not to take the bus. Instead, he set off early and walked to the square to find his card-playing friends.
As soon as he stepped out of the alley, the disheveled old man saw "Liu Ming" standing not far away. The old man rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Was he seeing things? The person standing in front of him looked so much like the menacing driver he had encountered yesterday!
He rubbed his eyes repeatedly, and when he looked again, "Liu Ming," who was more than 200 meters away just a second ago, suddenly appeared only two meters away from him.
"Oh my god—" The slovenly old man was startled and sat down on the ground with a thud. Still in shock, he patted his chest and cursed, "You little brat, what are you doing!"
Shi greeted the old man with a smile: "Oh, old man, what a coincidence! You live here?"
The disheveled old man scrambled to his feet, his small eyes darting around. There was only the driver in front of him; the big, dark-skinned guy with the long gun from yesterday seemed to be gone. But how did this monstrous driver find his house? Was he deliberately following him? Good heavens, Old Liu had lived this long and had never encountered such a perverted driver, actually following an old man like him! But don't think this will threaten him; he's definitely going to sue!
The old man, looking impatient, glared at Shi Xiao and said irritably, "Let me tell you, don't do anything reckless. This isn't your car, and I'm not afraid of you!"
Shi Xiao still had a smiling face: "What are you saying? I just wanted to ask you if any vehicles appear around here at a certain time every day?"
The disheveled old man rubbed his sore backside and said irritably, "What kind of vehicles are there? Even if there were, I wouldn't tell you! Get out of the way, don't block my way."
The old man smiled as he pushed aside the object, then turned to leave with his hands behind his back. But as soon as he took a step, he felt a chill on his neck. A black scythe, shrouded in a faint eerie aura, was placed against his neck.
The old man froze in his tracks. He was truly on the verge of tears. This ruthless driver actually dared to lay a hand on him!
"You... sir, what exactly do you want? Why do you have to bully an old man like me? Waaaaah!" The disheveled old man was truly flexible; the moment the sickle was placed against his neck, his expression changed, and he immediately yielded.
A smiling face approached the old man, her tone gentle and quite polite—it would have been even better if she hadn't been holding a sickle: "Excuse me, have you seen any particular vehicles frequently around here?"
The old man nodded tactfully, "Yes, yes, there are two vehicles. One is the car of the convenience store owner at the end of the road, which comes almost every morning and leaves in the evening. The other one is a garbage truck that appears frequently."
The convenience store owner's car comes in the morning and leaves in the evening, which doesn't fit the delivery person's situation, so we can rule him out for now. Shi Xiao thought for a moment and then asked, "When does that garbage truck usually appear?"
The old man stammered, "No, I'm not sure. I've seen it a few times when I came back from playing cards in the morning, and sometimes I see it when I go out in the middle of the night."
"Around what time?"
"Around 6 or 7 in the morning? Midnight, midnight, um, around 10 or 11 o'clock, I'm not really sure about the exact time."
Upon receiving the reply, Shi Xiao withdrew the sickle from the old man's neck. The old man, exhausted, slumped to the ground again, whimpering, "My wife is right. We still can't go out late at night anymore. The security situation in Black Wind City has been getting worse and worse lately."
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After putting away the sickle, Shi Xiao grinned at the old man: "You should have said so earlier. You made me take out the sickle. Thanks, old man."
Waaaaah, the disheveled old man wanted to cry. Only after Shi Xiao had walked away did he scramble to his feet, still shaken, and run home as fast as he could: "Old woman, let me tell you, it's so dangerous outside! You almost didn't see me again..."
This garbage truck was indeed very suspicious, but Shi Xiao glanced at her wristband. It was still early before her night shift, so she decided to take another look around Anxin Jiayuan and the farmers' market area.
Compared to the residential areas near the hospital, Anxin Jiayuan was significantly more upscale. Although there were few pedestrians on the street, the roads were clean and free of litter and odors. Shi Xiao wandered around for a bit before leaving. The area consisted mostly of small apartment buildings with elevators, lacking suitable facilities for producing or storing medicines.
As for the Black Wind Farmers Market, there are quite a few large warehouses here, but the warehouses have obviously been abandoned for quite some time. The iron locks hanging outside are already rusty and show no signs of frequent entry or exit.
After wandering around for a while, it was almost 11 p.m. Shi Xiao looked at her bracelet and realized it was about time to go back to Black Wind Hospital, which was the place she suspected the most.
At 11 p.m., the bustling outpatient building gradually quieted down, and doctors and nurses came out of their offices in twos and threes, it seemed they were about to leave work.
Shi Xiao disguised herself as a family member staying overnight and sneaked into the inpatient building. From the top floor of the inpatient building, she could clearly see the iron gate behind the administration building. Shi Xiao waited there for the mysterious medicine delivery person to appear.
At approximately 11:15 PM, in the quiet of the night, a dilapidated garbage truck, accompanied by the rumbling of its engine, appeared outside the wall. A person dressed entirely in black, wearing a black mask that obscured their face, got out of the truck, opened the iron gate, and entered the administration building.
The administration building was dark, and the staff had already left for the night. But Shi Xiao possessed an eerie night vision ability and could see everything clearly. The man in black entered the administration building but didn't go upstairs. Instead, he went around to the first floor and disappeared behind the stairs.
A few minutes later, the man in black reappeared, carrying nothing in his hands. He walked out of the iron gate, got into his garbage truck, and drove away.
Having witnessed the whole process, Shi Xiao left the hospital and sped off towards the bus terminal.
When Shi Xiao arrived at the bus terminal, the parking lot security guards were changing shifts. The entire parking lot was empty, and the garbage truck obviously hadn't arrived yet. She checked the bus where Liu Ming worked, and found that the undercarriage was completely empty. After checking, she simply hid inside the bus.
A few minutes later, the rumbling of the garbage truck grew louder, and the mysterious person delivering the medicine arrived!
Shi Xiao dared not disturb the mysterious person who delivered the medicine, so she sent out the two little ones, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan. The two little ones were only the size of a palm. They floated lightly under the car and hid in the darkness without making a sound.
The garbage truck stopped outside the parking lot, and the man in black got out. Shi Xiao didn't dare to look anymore. She could only feel a slight rustling sound coming from under the bus. The sound lasted for about five minutes before Tuan Tuan's voice rang in Shi Xiao's ear: "Let's go, let's go."
Soon, the rumbling of the garbage truck resumed, this time fading into the distance, indicating the delivery person had left. Shi Xiao quietly stepped off the truck, using both hands and feet to climb underneath. The previously empty space under the truck was now completely filled with ten large cardboard boxes.
However, the horror game system remained completely silent, which puzzled Shi Xiao. How could a five-star completion not be triggered yet? What exactly is the five-star mission for this dungeon?
Wait! She seems to have missed some important information!
When the man in black came out of Black Wind Hospital, his hands were empty! Shi Xiao didn't think much of it when he saw it. It wasn't surprising; the man in black must have put the box into his bracelet space.
But since he had already put the medicine into the bracelet's storage space, why didn't he just send it to the nursing home? Why go through the extra trouble and take a greater risk by tying the medicine under the bus and secretly transporting it to the nursing home?
What information did I miss?
Why did they do that?
Shi Xiao was even more confused now. She wrote down all her findings in the notebook she had taken from the planning and operations department, one by one.
What went wrong with the cannery related to 2-star and 3-star missions, and the hospital, bus, and sanatorium related to 4-star missions?
Shi Xiao stared blankly at the known information written in her notebook.
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Meanwhile, in the Snow Country's live stream, Odin had already found the receipt for buying and selling corpses at the Blackwind Cannery, successfully completed the 3-star clear mission, and left the instance.
Hassan from the Black Oil Country also used his "money power" to obtain help from the journalist NPC, exposed the truth about the abduction at Miki Kindergarten, completed the 2-star clear mission, and escaped the instance.
Of course, the two players who lost their work IDs yesterday due to their mischievous children had already had their live stream screens go black, the game system announced their failure to complete the level, and the punishment was imposed.
Of the original 20 live streaming rooms, only 11 remain.
With work time fast approaching, Shi Xiao didn't continue to sit in the car deep in thought. Instead, she went back to Liu Ming's dormitory, brought out Black General and the bound Liu Ming, and also grabbed a can of pork, which she ate as she walked.
The canned pork was pretty good; it tasted quite similar to the luncheon meat Shi Xiao had eaten before. After finishing the whole can, she was barely full, and it was already 12 o'clock. As usual, Shi Xiao hung the ticket bag around Liu Ming's neck.
Just as they were about to stuff a rag into Liu Ming's mouth, Liu Ming hurriedly begged for mercy: "Two big shots, could you please not stuff a rag in my mouth today? I promise! I absolutely won't say anything out of line! If I, if I say anything out of line, you... you cut off my head!"
That rag was the one Liu Ming usually used to wipe the windows. It was something someone else had thrown away in the office and he picked it up. He hadn't even washed it after picking it up, so you can imagine how smelly it was!
Shi Xiao thought about it and decided it was fine. Anyway, with General Hei in charge, Liu Ming probably couldn't cause any trouble. So he loosened the ropes binding him.
The bus started and drove out of the bus terminal parking lot.
The streets were much the same as last night, with few vehicles and pedestrians. Shi Xiao drove leisurely and soon arrived at Black Wind Hospital. A young couple got on the bus; the wife was holding a baby in her arms.
Without needing a reminder, Liu Ming proactively said, "Adults pay 2 yuan, children pay 1 yuan, please buy tickets."
The husband, a burly man no less imposing than Chen Dabiao, glared at the words and angrily demanded, "One yuan for a child?" His wife, holding the baby, retorted angrily, "What do you mean? Even such a small baby needs a ticket?"
Faced with the two men's anger, Liu Ming cowered, shrinking his neck like a quail, and looked at Shi Xiao in the driver's seat.
Shi Xiao received Liu Ming's look and decisively chose to close the door and unleash the dogs—no, to close the door and unleash General Hei.
The car door was slammed shut, and General Hei slowly stood up. Standing two meters tall, he exuded an imposing aura, his body shrouded in a dense, eerie energy. He stared at the couple, his voice hoarse: "Buy...tickets..."
This time, the couple backed down. They fell silent, and the man obediently took out his money to buy tickets. He pulled his wife and quickly walked to the back. Buying tickets was fine, but their lives were more important.
The next stop was Anxin Jiayuan. The door opened, and an elderly woman with a cane boarded. After getting on the bus, apart from being startled by the black car, she didn't cause any trouble. She bought her ticket and found a seat.
Compared to yesterday, the carriage was unexpectedly quiet today. At the next few stops, Shi Xiao stopped for two minutes as required, but no passengers got on or off. It wasn't until they reached Heifeng Middle School that three middle school students carrying backpacks and soccer balls boarded.
Although they were middle school students, Shi Xiao had identified them with her bracelet and found that all three were actually evil-level monsters. Although they were only at the initial stage of evil-level monsters, their strength was significantly greater than that of yesterday's passengers.
After boarding the bus, the three of them didn't buy tickets. Instead, they took out their student IDs and handed them to Liu Ming, who was sitting in the ticket seller's seat, with a grin: "Uncle, student IDs."
Liu Ming glanced at them, nodded, and was about to let the three pass. Students with Black Wind City ID cards could enter for free, a fact that Liu Ming, an experienced driver, certainly knew, but Shi Xiao did not.
A jet-black sickle and a gleaming silver spear simultaneously blocked the path of three middle school students: "Hey, students, it's two yuan per person."
The student standing in the middle was probably the leader of the three. His eyes narrowed, his mouth gradually split open, and his head was turned 180 degrees in a strange posture as he looked at Shi Xiao and said, "Uncle driver, are you going to play with us?"
Seeing that the student in the middle was about to turn into a monster, the two students next to him also revealed eerie smiles, playing with the soccer ball in their arms: "So the driver uncle wanted to play with us!"
As he spoke, he kicked the soccer ball in his arms toward Shi Xiao. The soccer ball spun rapidly and flew toward Shi Xiao. When it got closer, Shi Xiao realized that it was not a soccer ball at all, but a human head with its eyes open and a gruesome death.
Shi Xiao reacted quickly, cleaving the flying head in half with a single scythe. Seeing their beloved soccer ball cut in two by the driver, the three middle school students let out a shrill scream, and a sinister, black mist-like aura instantly surged forth.
Everyone in the carriage couldn't help but cover their ears; the three people's screams were so shrill that they hurt their ears. Tuantuan and Yuanyuan landed listlessly on Shi Xiao's head, covering their ears tightly: "Noisy, noisy." "Ugh, ugly."
Only General Black was an exception; the three men's sonic attacks had no effect on him whatsoever. But that didn't mean he didn't find them unpleasant. General Black's resolute brows furrowed, and finally, unable to hold back, he raised his hand and gave each of the three middle school students a pocketful.
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Three loud "snap, snap, snap" sounds rang out.
The three middle school students' screams stopped abruptly. They touched their swollen cheeks, looked at each other, and were completely bewildered. Had they been beaten? Ouch—it hurts so much.
"Waaaaah... I don't want to play anymore, I don't want to play anymore, it hurts so much, waaaaah!" One of the middle school students covered his swollen face, wailing loudly, and ran towards the back of the train. He wanted to get away from this terrifying black man! It was too scary!
The middle school student leading the group was even angrier, but he also knew that the three of them were no match for the black man in front of them. He glared at Shi Xiao hatefully. Damn it, how dare he slap him in the face in front of his underlings! Where would he, as the leader, put his face after this? Damn it! He'd remember this driver! After glaring at Shi Xiao, the leading student rushed to the back of the car.
The last remaining middle school student, tears welling in his eyes, saw that his leader and his brothers had already escaped. He reluctantly pulled out six yuan from his pocket and stammered, handing it to Liu Ming: "Uncle, here's the money..."
Liu Ming reached out, starting the student again: "Ah—I was wrong, I was wrong, please stop hitting me..." The middle school student cried and shouted as he shoved the money into Liu Ming's hand and ran away with his eyes closed.
Liu Ming scratched his head, satisfied, and put the money into his ticket bag. Seeing the miserable state of the three middle school students, he suddenly felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
At the next few stops, no passengers got on or off, which made Shi Xiao happy to relax.
However, the relief didn't last long. When they arrived at the riverside villa, the three middle school students got off the bus, and the bus stalled again after crossing the bridge.
Shi Xiao glanced at Liu Ming, who looked at her in confusion: "Light the engine and hurry up and leave! What are you hesitating for?" Is this temporary worker impersonating him out of his mind? Didn't I already told him yesterday? No stopping on the bridge, no stopping, it'll cause an accident!
However, Shi Xiao remained motionless, staring at him: "Tell me, what would happen if the person under the car crawled out?"
"I'm going to die! I'm going to die!" Seeing Shi Xiao sitting still, Liu Ming was so anxious that he jumped up and down, wishing he could drag her out of the driver's seat and drive himself.
"Oh? Then I'd really like to see." Shi Xiao maintained a nonchalant expression as she looked at Liu Ming.
Liu Ming was on the verge of tears: "Big brother, boss, ancestor, what exactly do you want? Are you here specifically to torture me? I beg you, I'll tell you everything, just leave now, hurry up! If you stay any longer, you'll really die!"
The hand under the car had already reached onto the windshield, and Shi Xiao could even see the strangely protruding half of a head. Ah, not just half, but only half of its head was visible. Shi Xiao could clearly see the brain matter mixed with blood swaying inside that half-head.
Shi Xiao took the opportunity to use her bracelet to identify it, and unexpectedly, it turned out to be a max-level evil spirit! She wondered if General Hei could defeat it.
The eerie lips of the half-headed creature moved as if trying to say something, but Shi Xiao couldn't hear a word through the glass. Meanwhile, Yuan Yuan circled around Shi Xiao, muttering, "So hungry, so hungry."
Hmm? So hungry? Is the little paper doll hungry again?
Shi Xiao finally started the car and slammed on the gas pedal. The bus mercilessly ran over the strange creature again, and Liu Ming, who had been jumping up and down in anxiety, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, a woman's scream came from the back of the carriage: "Ah—thief!" It was the couple with the child; the wife looked terrified.
The old lady, leaning on her cane, kindly asked, "What's missing?" Unexpectedly, she was met with a glare from the couple: "Old woman, mind your own business!" The old lady's expression changed, and she didn't say anything more.
The husband stormed ahead, telling Shi Xiao to stop the car immediately; their wallets were gone. The only people sitting next to them were the three middle school students. They realized their wallets were missing as soon as the students got out of the car—they must have stolen them!
Still on the bridge, Liu Ming, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, stubbornly refused to stop the car. Seeing her furious husband about to hit her, Liu Ming immediately hid behind General Hei. General Hei stood there with a cold face, and the husband's arrogant arrogance was instantly extinguished.
When they reached the next stop, Black Wind Cannery, Shi Xiao finally pulled the bus over. The couple, carrying their child, hurriedly got off. Before the doors closed, the husband glared resentfully at the group. He couldn't beat the burly, dark-skinned man, but the driver and conductor... he sneered, "I'll get you sooner or later!"
After the couple got out of the car, the old lady, leaning on her cane, hobbled over to Liu Ming and started chatting with the others. It wasn't anything particularly interesting; she just complained about the couple's rudeness earlier and casually asked Liu Ming how much longer it would take to get to the sanatorium.
Shi Xiao wasn't interested in what the old lady was saying and focused on driving. Black General also quietly closed his eyes to rest. Only Liu Ming chatted with the old lady intermittently.
After the old lady got off at the terminal station, Shi Xiao and Hei Jiangjun, smiling broadly, each blocked one of Liu Ming's sides. Even the two little ones, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, stood beside them with their hands on their hips, looking both cute and fierce.
"Speak," Shi Xiao said, blocking Liu Ming's path and wiping the black sickle in his hand with a smile.
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Liu Ming glanced at Shi Xiao, then at the menacing Black General on the other side, and swallowed hard. "I'll tell you, I'll tell you. Actually... more than 20 years ago, Black Wind City only consisted of the area east of the river. There was no bridge across the river before. The large area now occupied by the sanatorium, slaughterhouse, and cannery was all wasteland back then."
Shi Xiao wiped the sickle, gesturing for Liu Ming to continue.
Liu Ming swallowed again: "Later, a new mayor came to Black Wind City and wanted to develop this area west of the river, so he built this bridge across the river. However, it is said that no matter what, the last pile of the bridge just couldn't be driven in, which was very strange. With the construction deadline approaching, an experienced foreman suggested to the contractor that they should sacrifice someone."
Shi Xiao had heard of similar things on Blue Star, but he didn't expect to hear about them on Azure Star. It seems that the contractor ultimately took the old master's advice.
"And then, continue." The jet-black blade had been polished to a gleaming shine by Shi Xiao.
Looking at the increasingly sharp sickle, Liu Ming finally dared not hide anything and honestly told everyone he knew: "Later, when the ghost realm descended upon Black Wind City, that strange creature appeared on the cross-river bridge. It is said that he was the construction worker who was sacrificed when the bridge was built."
"Ever since he appeared, no pedestrians have dared to walk on the bridge across the river. I heard that... all the pedestrians who walked onto the bridge disappeared. They were all dragged into the river and eaten by that construction worker."
"At first, it was just pedestrians who had accidents, but later the vehicles on the bridge also started to stall. I heard that one driver got out to check and disappeared on the bridge with his car. Tsk tsk tsk, that construction worker must have a lot of resentment. But as long as you don't get out of the car and leave the bridge quickly, you're still safe."
Safety? Shi Xiao scoffed. At first, only pedestrians were involved, which meant that the construction worker's strange power wasn't strong enough. After consuming more and more strange entities, his strength had probably increased significantly. Right now, only cars had stalled, but it was likely that after a while, no vehicle would be able to safely leave the bridge.
Rather than saying that the construction worker appeared after the arrival of the ghost realm, Shi Xiao felt it was more likely that the ghost realm descended upon Black Wind City because of the construction worker's resentment.
A thought suddenly popped into her head: perhaps she had been misled by Jiang Wan's words.
Shi Xiao asked General Hei to keep an eye on Liu Ming, while she took Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan to the convenience store.
They hadn't taken more than a couple of steps when they heard Liu Ming exclaim, "Oh my god, my wallet's gone too! It must be that old woman! Damn it, Brother Hei, Uncle Hei, come with me to catch her!"
Shi Xiao didn't even turn his head, and General Hei let Liu Ming shout and yell. He held his long spear in front of Liu Ming without moving, as if he would dare to strike Liu Ming down if he dared to run away.
There was a different clerk at the convenience store, not the one from yesterday. Shi Xiao didn't think much of it; it was probably just a shift change.
When Shi Xiao came in, the shop assistant was happily munching on something. When he saw "Liu Ming" come in, he quickly hid the thing and said with a smile, "Brother Liu is here."
Shi Xiao nodded and casually asked, "Is Mr. Ma here?"
The shop assistant's smile turned sinister as he stared intently at her: "Mr. Ma? Of course Mr. Ma is here. Please come in."
The clerk looked strange, so Shi Xiao became more alert, pushed open the back door of the convenience store, walked through the empty corridor, and entered the warehouse.
Upon entering, one sees a warehouse piled high with empty cardboard boxes and wooden frames, with charred marks from the fire still visible on the floor and walls.
Shi Xiao suddenly realized something was wrong!
Today, she was so focused on tracing the source of the drugs that she forgot what Jiang Wan had said: the warehouse had already been discovered by the horror game!
Shi Xiao immediately turned around and pushed the door, but the door leading from the convenience store corridor was already locked from the inside, and she was locked in this abandoned warehouse.
A convenience store clerk's mocking voice came from behind the door: "Liu Ming, you're going to die."
Then torches were continuously thrown in through the warehouse's ventilation windows, landing on the cardboard boxes and wooden frames, instantly intensifying the fire. The two little paper figures, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, were so frightened that they quickly scurried into Shi Xiao's shirt pocket, not daring to let a single hair of their heads stick out.
These monsters want to burn her alive? Impossible! Shi Xiao took out a black scythe from her spatial storage and slashed it at the corridor door. The door was made of wooden planks, and even though it was sturdy enough, it was quickly cleaved into a large hole by the scythe that could cut through iron like mud.
Judging from the number of torches thrown from the warehouse window, there were clearly quite a few strange creatures guarding outside. Even if she could break down the door, without General Black, she probably wouldn't be able to handle them alone. Returning the way she came, however, only involved the single strange shop assistant. Given the contrast, Shi Xiao knew exactly which option to choose.
Shi Xiao slashed open the back door of the convenience store again through the long corridor and appeared inside. The clerk stared at her in astonishment: "You, you, how did you get out?" What was Liu Ming holding? A black scythe emanating an eerie aura? The intelligence report didn't mention him having such a powerful weapon!
Although the clerk was surprised, he reacted quickly and immediately pressed the alarm, which then sounded a sharp alarm.
Shi Xiao 74 unleashed his full speed and power, his ghostly figure flashing in front of the shop assistant. The shop assistant, who had just pressed the alarm, was caught off guard and was hit squarely with a knife. His entire arm and shoulder were sliced off, and he fell to the ground screaming in pain, clutching his shoulder.
Ignoring the fallen clerk, Shi Xiao rushed out of the convenience store.
The Black General, who was left on the bus, also saw the warehouse emitting black smoke. He leaped off the bus and saw Shi Xiao rushing out of the convenience store.
Without bothering to explain to General Hei, Shi Xiao crawled under the car and deftly removed the cardboard tied boxes to the bottom. When he opened them, good heavens, the boxes were indeed not filled with medicine, but with a bunch of random junk.
The strange creatures guarding outside the warehouse had also caught up, but with General Black there, they were no match for him and were easily wiped out.
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"Come on, get in the car." Shi Xiao sat back in the driver's seat, called back Black General and the two little paper figures who had been cheering her on. She probably already knew where the 5-star clear for this dungeon was hidden.
Tuantuan and Yuanyuan flew back to Shixiao's side, the two little ones jumping around and shouting, "Driver, it ran away! Driver, it ran away!"
It turned out that Liu Ming took advantage of the moment when General Hei got out of the car to deal with those strange creatures to slip away.
"Okay, let's ignore him." Shi Xiao patted the two little ones' heads and started the car. If she guessed correctly, the 5-star pass was indeed hidden on the bridge, then she was about to pass the pass, and the driver could go wherever he wanted.
The bus sped towards the cross-river bridge. Shi Xiao stopped the bus at the bridgehead and got off with Black General and the two little ones.
Upon receiving Shi Xiao's order, General Hei gathered dense black energy on his spear and slashed it down towards the last bridge pier.
With a tremendous roar, the bridge pier exploded, scattering countless rubble that tumbled into the river. The steel bars inside the pier were exposed, and sure enough, a skeleton was revealed inside.
Instantly, the entire river surged violently, water splashing two or three meters high, crashing against the broken bridge piers and exposed bones. Thick black mist rose from the bridge, and a bizarre figure with only half a head appeared on the bridge, its head drooping, limping towards Shi Xiao and his companions, muttering repeatedly, "So hungry, so hungry, I'm so hungry..."
The construction worker's movements seemed slow and eerie, yet in the blink of an eye he appeared less than 5 meters away from Shi Xiao and the others. His drooping head was turned 90 degrees, staring at Shi Xiao and the Black General with drooling eyes... He was so hungry. If he could eat these two monsters in front of him, he could become a Monster King... Hungry, so hungry.
Seeing the construction worker approaching eerily, the Black General's spear flashed with silver light, carrying a black, eerie aura, and charged forward with an invincible momentum.
The construction worker barely dodged the bullet, then stretched out his rotting, skeletal hand, and a shovel appeared in his grasp, also shrouded in a thick, eerie black aura.
While the two max-level evil spirits were locked in battle, Shi Xiao secretly led Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan to the cross-river bridge. Below them were half-broken bridge piers. Without hesitation, Shi Xiao jumped off the bridge.
At this moment, the river was churning with waves and the wind was howling. Fortunately, the cross-sectional area of the bridge piers was large enough, otherwise she might have accidentally jumped into the river.
The construction worker's skeleton was sealed in cement within the steel reinforcement of the bridge pier. Although most of it was already exposed, Shi Xiao tried to pull it out but couldn't. Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan followed behind Shi Xiao, tugging at her clothes. Shi Xiao grabbed the skeleton's head, a faint black aura gathering in her hand, and the three of them exerted their strength again.
With a "crack," Shi Xiao pulled the white skull off, while the construction worker's skeletal body remained stuck in the cement, motionless.
"Awooo—" The construction worker, who was fighting against the Black General, suddenly let out a heart-wrenching howl. Damn it, someone had tampered with his skeleton!
When the head was in his hands, Shi Xiao finally heard the long-awaited system notification sound.
[You have obtained an important clue: the construction worker's skull]
[Beep - 5-star completion triggered, the secret of the cross-river bridge]
[A construction worker's vengeful spirit is about to break through to the level of a Ghost King. Will you help him fulfill his life's obsession, or kill him?]
Her obsession before death? What a joke! Black Wind City has long since fallen into a bizarre world. More than twenty years have passed. Even if the contractor and others from back then were still alive, where would she find them?
If it were the original herself Shi Xiao, she might have actually been willing to spend more time helping the construction worker who was wrongfully killed. But even Shi Xiao didn't realize that her views had been subtly changing...
"His head's already been ripped off, and now you're talking to him about obsessions?" Shi Xiao scoffed, "Black General, kill him!"
Even though both were max-level evil monsters, the construction worker monster was clearly no match for the battle-hardened Black General. In addition, after Shi Xiao ripped off its head, it was quickly defeated and beheaded by Black General with a single spear thrust.
The construction worker was strangely decapitated, with half of his head rolling on the ground, his eyes still wide open in despair.
Adhering to the principle of not wasting food, Shi Xiao looked at Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan: "This... do you want some?"
Tuantuan and Yuanyuan turned away in disgust: "Stinky, stinky, I don't want to eat it."
The construction worker, lying on the ground with his head severed from his body, quickly turned into black mist and dissipated into the air.
At the same time, Shi Xiao heard the notification sound indicating that the level had been cleared.
Congratulations! You have completed the Evil Bus dungeon.
[Dungeon Completion Difficulty: 5 stars]
[You are about to exit the instance. Rewards have been distributed. Please check your account.]
Shi Xiao's body gradually faded away. She waved to General Hei and said, "Bye-bye, General Hei. Thank you for your hard work. See you next time."
General Black glanced at Shi Xiao's swaying arm, then at his own arm encased in armor. He raised it, his movements stiff, and before he could even swing it, he vanished from the spot.
8. Book.com
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After leaving the instance, Shi Xiao re-entered that mysterious white space, and the voice that did not belong to the horror game system rang out again.
Please select a talent upgrade direction.
[Option 1: You can freely choose to transform and de-transform; you can transform three times per dungeon]
[Option Two: After transformation, the strength of the acquired strange entity is increased from 30% to 50%, and 1% of the strange entity's strange energy value will be permanently obtained after clearing the level.]
[Option 3: Before transformation, you can choose from three bizarre entities; you can choose once per dungeon]
Please select your talent upgrade path: 10, 9, 8, 7...
Option two offered little improvement, so Shi Xiao thought about it and chose option three.
Although the change in her talent in this life has caused many minor things to have a butterfly effect, Shi Xiao's understanding of Lin Yi will probably still lead her to seek him out.
The next dungeon is a multiplayer dungeon. Lin Yi chose this dungeon to kill her back then, so she needs to be prepared in advance.
[Talent upgrade complete]
The white light faded, and when Shi Xiao opened her eyes again, she was back in Villa No. 6.
Shi Xiao's sudden appearance in the villa's living room started led Xu Ziyi, who was cleaning. She dropped the vase she was wiping, exclaiming, "Oh my god!"
Although the advent of horror games has spawned numerous industries related to game streaming, most ordinary people still need to work to support their families, and watching live streams is something they do after work. Xu Ziyi also only has time to watch Shi Xiao's live streams after finishing work.
Shi Xiao reacted quickly, catching the flying vase firmly in her hand in a flash, and grinned at Xu Ziyi: "Ziyi, I'm back."
Seeing this series of actions, Xu Ziyi's eyes sparkled: "Wow, Miss Shi, you're back! That move of yours was so cool!"
Compared to the Evil Bus instance, Shi Xiao's speed had increased again. She guessed it was because of the completion reward. She silently put down the vase and opened the personal attribute panel of her bracelet.
Personal Attributes:
Current level: Level 6 Evil Spirit (Evil Aura Value 562)
Stamina: 26+5 (extremely weak)
Strength: 16+5 (extremely weak)
Spirit: 34+5 (extremely weak)
Speed: 44+5 (incredibly weak)
Freely allocable attribute points: 40
Hmm? This time, clearing the dungeon directly rewarded me with 500 points of Eerie Energy. Is it because this dungeon was significantly more difficult than the previous one in Li Family Village? Shi Xiao was delighted and continued to allocate all her Eerie Energy points to her speed. Her speed had now reached a staggering 49 points. A healthy, ordinary young person's speed is around 20 points, meaning her current far speed surpasses that of a normal human, and is even faster than most malevolent Eerie-level monsters.
Seeing Shi Xiao checking her bracelet information, Xu Ziyi didn't disturb her. She needed to finish cleaning up the rest of the room quickly. Shi Xiao had been eating barely edible canned food for the past few days in the horror game instance, so she needed to finish quickly and take Shi Xiao out for a proper meal.
After checking his personal attributes, Shi Xiao happily clicked on the level completion reward again, and a panel popped up:
Five-star completion reward:
Construction Worker's Head *1 (The head of a max-level evil spirit, can release the resentment trap, effective against evil spirits below max level, can be used 3 times.)
Eerie Aura Pill - White*1 (Reaches maximum level of Evil Spirit power within 72 hours of use)
Evil Aura Pill - Powder*1 (Reaches maximum Evil Aura strength within 72 hours of use)
Ghostly Aura Pill - Red*1 (Reaches maximum Ghost King strength within 72 hours of use)
500 points of eerie aura (can be used to increase personal attributes)
Evil Qi Value 12 points (The talent that permanently grants Liu Ming 1% Evil Qi Value has been activated)
All attributes increased by 5 points.
Holy crap! Seeing this reward, Shi Xiao was so angry she cursed the horror game's ancestors for eighteen generations! She knew it! How could the horror game suddenly be so kind, giving her 500 eerie points all at once! They actually swallowed a whole warehouse of her pills! Shameless!
This makes sense now. It explains why Jiang Wan and the others didn't choose to store the eerie pills in the bracelet's space and use it for transportation. The bracelet's space is a product of a horror game; it's incredibly easy for the system to tamper with the items within. Once bitten, twice shy; it seems she can't put similar items in her space anymore.
Seeing Shi Xiao's previously cheerful face instantly darken and become long and drawn out, Xu Ziyi, who had just finished cleaning, didn't know why, but after hesitating for a long time, she cautiously asked, "Miss Shi, are you alright? Would you like to get something to eat?"
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Eat! We have to eat! Eat big bowls! Shi Xiao, who was so angry that he laughed, pulled Xu Ziyi and headed straight for the Jingcheng Hotel at the base.
After finishing a large meal, Shi Xiao's anger subsided somewhat. After the meal, she followed Xu Ziyi to the medical center.
Every player of the horror game in China must undergo a comprehensive medical check-up after leaving the instance. This is a requirement imposed by Zhang Jianguo to prevent any hidden physical or mental health issues from arising.
After the inspection was completed, it was already past 4 p.m. Xu Ziyi received a notification from her superiors that Zhang Jianguo wanted to see Shi Xiao.
The two went to the command headquarters building with ease. Zhang Jianguo and Li Ping'an were both there. In addition to these two, there was another unexpected person who also appeared in the commander-in-chief's office.
It was actually Lin Yi!
According to the plot of the previous life, Lin Yi should have already been to Shanhai City, but he did not find Shi Xiao, so he chose to wait for her in Zhang Jianguo's office.
Zhang Jianguo smiled and pointed to the sofa: "Comrade Xiaoshi, sit down."
Lin Yi sat on the sofa, and Shi Xiao glanced at him, not wanting to sit next to him. So he moved a stool himself, placed it next to Zhang Jianguo's desk, and sat down.
Lin Yi on the sofa: "?" Why does this new player named Shi Xiao seem to dislike him? Am I overthinking it?
Li Pingan poured Shi Xiao a cup of tea, and Shi Xiao smiled and thanked him. She then picked out some unimportant things from the Evil Spirit Bus dungeon and chatted and laughed with Zhang Jianguo.
Lin Yi, who was being ignored, was speechless. He didn't think much of it; this new player really didn't like him.
After chatting about Shi Xiao's experiences in this instance, Zhang Jianguo was in a good mood. He then remembered Lin Yi, who had been neglected for a long time, and introduced him to Shi Xiao: "Comrade Shi Xiao, this is Comrade Lin, the Ghost Hunter from China."
Lin Yi smiled naturally and extended his hand to Shi Xiao: "Miss Shi, it's great to finally meet you."
Shi Xiao simply nodded politely to him, showing no intention of shaking hands.
Lin Yi withdrew his hand slightly embarrassed, but maintained a kind and understanding demeanor on the surface, and smiled: "Miss Shi, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Lin Yi."
Shi Xiao resisted the urge to roll her eyes and nodded: "Oh, you're celebrating too soon."
Lin Yi, who had been inexplicably given a cold shoulder, was speechless.
Zhang Jianguo coughed lightly, breaking the awkward silence between the two: "Ahem, Comrade Xiao Shi, you should know the rules of the Ghost Hunters, right?"
Upon hearing Zhang Jianguo's question, Shi Xiao regained her composure: "Is it the rule that you have to enter the dungeon at least once a month? I roughly understand it."
Zhang Jianguo nodded solemnly: "Yes, the next dungeon is the last one this month. According to the rules, all hunters who haven't entered a dungeon this month will be forced to enter."
"In that case, the other three hunters should also go in, right?" Shi Xiao was a little puzzled. If all four hunters were going to enter the dungeon, why was Lin Yi the only one here?
"That's right, the other two hunters will also go in." Zhang Jianguo corrected Shi Xiao's words, and then continued, "According to the command's observations over the past three years, the difficulty of clearing the dungeon is adjusted according to the level of the players entering. This month, according to the data provided by the live broadcast observation team, only one hunter appeared in the first two dungeons, while there are currently 10 known hunters on Blue Star."
"In other words, nine hunters will enter the next instance at the same time, which means that the difficulty of the next instance will be greatly increased." Zhang Jianguo's expression became more and more serious. He could see that Comrade Xiao Shi seemed to have some resistance and dislike towards Comrade Xiao Lin, but this was related to her own life and death, and even the fate of China. He could not afford to be petty at this time.
"The other two? Commander Zhang, do you mean Wei Ziqi...?" Could it be that Wei Ziqi has really quit the horror game?
Zhang Jianguo understood the meaning behind Shi Xiao's unfinished words and nodded: "Wei Ziqi... due to health reasons, he can no longer fight for the country. Although he has not retired yet, but..."
Although Zhang Jianguo didn't finish his sentence, Shi Xiao already understood what he meant. No wonder he hadn't seen Wei Ziqi on the live stream for the past six months; it turned out he had health problems. The former number one Ghost Hunter in China, the hero who brought hope to countless Chinese people—although he had suspected it before, hearing Zhang Jianguo confirm the news himself still made Shi Xiao sigh for the hero.
Lin Yi's carefully maintained smile stiffened. This new player was so concerned about a cripple, yet avoided him like the plague. Could it be that she already knew something? Could it be that Gao Sheng and Su Tian had slipped up? Those two are more trouble than they're worth.
Zhang Jianguo pointed to Lin Yi beside him: "Comrade Xiaoshi, although Comrade Xiao Lin is young, he has S-level talent. Among the three of us, his overall strength is undoubtedly the best. Originally, he had no obligation to protect you, but Comrade Xiao Lin has a high level of awareness and volunteered to take on this task."
After saying that, he looked at Lin Yi and said, "Comrade Lin, Xiao Shi is also a rare S-level talent. You young people should communicate with her. She is young, so please be more understanding."
Lin Yi smiled and nodded in response, "Yes, Uncle Zhang, don't worry."
At the same time, Shi Xiao spoke up, saying, "Commander-in-Chief, I request a replacement!"
Zhang Jianguo's brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed again, even more deeply than before. The Shi Xiao he remembered was not such an inconsiderate girl. Could it be that there was some kind of grudge between the two of them?
"Sigh—" Zhang Jianguo sighed helplessly, but he was powerless to do anything about these troublesome ancestors.
"Hey, Uncle Zhang, what's with that sigh?" Just as Zhang Jianguo was fretting, a cheerful voice broke the silence in the office.
Wang Ziran steered his electric wheelchair in through the door, followed by a strong, burly middle-aged man, easily over 1.9 meters tall, with broad shoulders, well-defined muscles, and a resolute face. That was Qin Jiuzhou, one of the Ghost Hunters; Shi Xiao had seen him before in a live stream.
Upon seeing Wang Ziran and Qin Jiuzhou enter, Shi Xiao decisively pointed towards the door: "If I want to change people, I'll change him!"
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