Chapter 24: Exchanges and Unexpected Turns

The bespectacled boy was dead, his end coming with shocking suddenness.

After killing the boy, the blood-stained dress worn by the female ghost remained as vibrant as ever. With a single swipe of her claws, she tore the boy’s corpse in two and approached Huan Xiao.

"For you... eat."

The ghost held out one half of the boy’s remains to her. Her blood-red eyes were wide and round, and the smile on her face remained as eerie as ever. Yet, Huan Xiao understood; the ghost wanted to share the boy's ghostly energy and physical remains with her.

It was possible that because Huan Xiao had made eye contact with the white-clad ghost on the glass earlier, it had allowed the entity to board the bus. Now, having killed the boy, the ghost viewed the prey as a joint hunt and intended to split the spoils.

Well... for reasons unknown, her current mood was as indescribable as being gifted a dead mouse by a pet cat. Even though she didn't own a cat.

Given the ghost's gesture of goodwill, Huan Xiao wondered if she was expected to partake. Looking at the mangled flesh, the intestines spilling onto the floor, and the blood-soaked tissue, she hesitated. Only when the ghost looked at her with confusion did she move. She raised her hand and absorbed all the ghostly energy from the half-corpse offered to her.

"Let’s leave it at that. To thank you for the energy, I’ll give you something in return."

Huan Xiao pulled a "Hundred Ghost Supermarket 0.99x Discount Coupon" from her storage grid and handed it to the ghost. The coupon was useless to her, so she might as well offload it to save space.

"Hundred Ghost... discount coupon?"

Seeing the coupon, the ghost’s expression turned to one of surprise. She snatched it away with a terrifying smile, examined it repeatedly, and then crawled out of the bus with the remains of the boy.

Only then did Huan Xiao realize that the 404 bus had been idling there for over three minutes. Just as she began to wonder if the vehicle had broken down, the ghost returned. This time, she brought a pitch-black teddy bear out from the pile of corpses. It was so filthy that Huan Xiao couldn't tell its original color.

Upon seeing Huan Xiao, the ghost extended the bear.

"For... you."

"..."

Such a dirty bear—should she take it or not? Huan Xiao didn’t hesitate, using her ghostly energy to retrieve the toy.

"Thank you, it’s a... cute toy."

Seeing that Huan Xiao had accepted the bear, the ghost wore that same cryptic smile once more. She did not linger on the bus and crawled back out. This time, even after the doors closed, the ghost did not return.

As the bus returned to normal, Huan Xiao examined the bear. Filthy was her first impression. Looking closer, she felt a dense aura of ghostly energy radiating from it. Though it was missing one eye, it was otherwise intact, with no stuffing spilling out—if, indeed, it was filled with cotton.

[Do you wish to store the One-Eyed Skin Bear?]

A prompt popped up on her phone. Huan Xiao didn’t store it immediately; instead, she first absorbed the ghostly energy emanating from the toy. Only after most of the energy was drained did she place it into her storage grid. She would keep it for now—who knew when it might come in handy?

With that done, she looked outside. She expected to see the familiar weeds, but instead, she saw a standard highway. The pitch-black sky was filled with lightning and thunder, and countless raindrops pelted the earth. On the silent road, this was the only vehicle in motion.

Huan Xiao had a vague suspicion: the white-clad ghost had returned to the Corpse Wild Mountains and was no longer following the 404 bus. The rain outside looked ordinary and mundane, just like in the real world, as if no ghosts existed at all.

Time passed, and the bus broadcast sounded once more.

"Ding! We have arrived at Underworld Station. Passengers, please disembark. 404 looks forward to your next visit."

"Huh? We’ve reached the final stop already?"

Huan Xiao was surprised. There were still several stations left—had it ended just like that? The doors opened to reveal an empty station, and Huan Xiao stepped out. The moment she left the bus, the environment shifted violently.

Opening her eyes again, Huan Xiao found herself back in her own home. She instinctively checked the time; only a minute had passed since she had left.

"So sleepy..."

Huan Xiao yawned, summoned the energy to wash up, and collapsed into bed. Today’s experiences felt like a dream, filled with a sense of unreality. Yet, she didn't suffer from insomnia; instead, she slept soundly. Outside, the stars twinkled in the night, and the occasional chirping of insects only served to lull her further into slumber.

***

Huan Xiao was startled awake by a clamor of noise. She frowned, wanting to grab her pillow and cover her ears. Which neighbor was so inconsiderate, throwing a rave in the middle of the night?!

...Wait? Where was her pillow?

Huan Xiao groped around, only to feel her bedsheets. But what was this sensation beneath her—hard, jagged, and painful, like a gravel path? She couldn't have rolled off the bed... but the floor in her home was flat!

"...This person is still sleeping."

"How pathetic. Dragged into the game in the middle of the night; looks like a newbie."

"This player is a goner. I bet she'll be the first to die."

"...Why is she allowed to bring bedsheets, blankets, and shoes? When I was suddenly transported to the game, I only had my underwear on. Is this some kind of discrimination?!"

"Tch, never mind that. This is a three-person team mission—rowing. We need to row to the finish line. Let's form a group."

"A three-person rowing race. Get on the boat and experience the baptism of death. Only those who survive to the end can prove their worth... The mission description is as concise as ever."

"It's not a competitive game, maybe we can cooperate."

...The noise grew louder until Huan Xiao finally opened her eyes. She was stunned by her surroundings. It really was a ground covered in stones. And where, pray tell, was her massive bed?

Huan Xiao saw dozens of people gathered nearby; some had already started walking toward the river in groups of three. It was a river that seemed to have no end, with several small wooden boats drifting on the surface.

But that wasn't the point. Huan Xiao looked on in despair as her bedsheets lay spread across the filthy ground, the corners of her blanket stained with mud. Beside her lay her phone, which should have been on her nightstand, and next to the sheets were her slippers.

Given this situation, what else was there to understand?

Ahhh! God-damned game! She was already asleep, and it still dragged her into the game!

Full of resentment, Huan Xiao opened her phone. Before her eyes was a line of blood-red text:

"The temperature is pleasant today, the weather is perfect, and you are cordially invited to go rowing~ Appreciating the beautiful scenery is a joyful thing, after all!"

Huan Xiao: ...