Chapter 41: Bus 404 (10)

If the ghosts in the live-streaming room did not initially understand Meng Zimu’s purpose in using the auxiliary item, they now only wanted to shake Jiang Shengsheng awake and cut the dark-hearted Meng Zimu in half to show her the blackness within him.

Guilt, sorrow, and self-reproach caused Jiang Shengsheng to step forward involuntarily, until her wrist was gently held by the man.

The fluffy, oversized hood hanging behind her was lifted by fingers as white as jade, then carefully and gently placed over her head, shielding the black spot on her forehead.

The temperature plummeted in the early hours of the morning. Inside the vehicle, those with hats wore them, and those with scarves wrapped them tight, everyone desperate to bundle themselves into balls to block the biting wind that crept in through every gap.

The young girl, her eyes and eyelids rimmed with red, looked up at him. Meng Ze’s heart, which had been tightly bound by vines of jealousy, came back to life.

He curled his lips in pleasure: "Don't worry, Zimu will be fine."

Meng Ze was conflicted. As a third party trying to steal someone away, he should have felt guilty and in the wrong when facing Meng Zimu. But the truth was, he wished he could pull her into his arms right then and there and soothe her with gentle words.

Even if Meng Zimu saw him, he wouldn't let go.

He forgot to mention one thing.

They were not only similar in other respects, but their personalities were also eerily alike...

Facing the torrent of spittle-flecked abuse, Meng Zimu shrugged heartlessly: "Everyone, I have a way to clear this level without anyone dying, it just depends on whether you agree—"

"Go to hell!" Before Meng Zimu could finish, a woman still shaken by fear interrupted him, spat on the ground, and pointed at him: "You want to die yourself, and you want to drag the rest of us down with you?! You heartless monster!"

No one enjoys being pointed at and cursed. The smile on Meng Zimu’s face faded, and his cold gaze swept over the crowd: "You don't agree..."

Amidst the furious glares of the crowd, Meng Zimu smiled brilliantly: "So what? There is nothing I want to do that I cannot accomplish."

With that, Meng Zimu took a marker from his pocket and stepped forward with a smile.

"Damn it! A little brat still wet behind the ears dares to threaten us! Get him! Even if we have to tie him up, we’re dragging this freak out of here!"

A burly man jumped out from the crowd. With a wave of his hand, he led a group of indignant people to charge forward.

Unlike the mindless NPCs, the remaining nine players saw through Meng Zimu’s goal: to exploit a bug and sabotage the inspector’s search.

They realized that the entity behind the screen would not actually wipe out everyone on the bus; it only wanted to watch them descend into a bloodthirsty frenzy.

The players exchanged a knowing look, consciously spent a pittance of points in the game store to buy markers, and excitedly dove into the crowd.

They guaranteed they would draw them exactly as required—a fun-seeker’s puzzle game.

"Damn! I don't want to be drawn on!"

"Let me go! You bunch of lunatics!"

No matter how they resisted, the players had ways to make them obediently accept the black dots.

"It's over, it's over! We're all going to die!"

Those who were marked rubbed their foreheads frantically, not daring to stop even when the skin became raw and stinging.

The markers from the game store were of explosive quality; they dried the moment they touched the skin. Instant drying was no dream.

When the last woman was pinned down and marked, Meng Zimu, mission accomplished, clapped his hands with a smile: "Don't worry, I am eighty percent sure we can all live."

The crowd did not believe him. They glared at Meng Zimu with extreme ferocity, wishing they could tear him into pieces and swallow him whole.

Even if they died, they would haunt this lunatic as ghosts!

Meng Ze and Hang Qimo had long since marked each other as soon as Meng Zimu turned around.

If it weren't for Jiang Shengsheng watching them nervously with her own eyes, Meng Ze and Hang Qimo would likely have played dirty behind the scenes—to eliminate their romantic rivals.

Hang Qimo felt frustrated.

He was not good at expressing his emotions, accustomed to keeping a straight face and remaining cold and distant to everyone, yet he was the only one who did not want to treat Jiang Shengsheng that way.

Having never believed in love at first sight, when he saw those watery eyes that could hold only him, that indescribable emotion in Hang Qimo’s heart was magnified infinitely.

Falling in love at first sight with others was hard, but falling in love with his cute, obedient darling was easy.

His darling was so sweet and adorable, who wouldn't like her?

And so, she was being targeted by two vicious dogs.

Finally, only the man in the raincoat remained unmarked.

He was just an NPC, not their wife, so who cared? The men, who were usually hostile toward each other, had their thoughts perfectly aligned at that moment.

The man in the raincoat seemed to sense their thoughts. He took the initiative to remove his damp, long black raincoat, revealing a neat white shirt.

Jiang Shengsheng’s gaze was drawn to his actions.

When that familiar face was exposed to her, her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but let out a sharp, internal shriek.

Nani!

Did any system tell her why her ghost boyfriend from the [Jealousy] instance, Song Wu, was appearing here!

Jiang Shengsheng’s breathing faltered imperceptibly for a split second, but she quickly adjusted, pretending to see Song Wu for the first time, blinking with curiosity and a hint of amazement.

[Wait, did my wifey's expression flicker with panic for a second!]

[I smell a scandal!]

[No way, no way, is this still a proper game instance? Where has this brought me?]

[Hiss, there are four of them now. Can baby Shengsheng handle it?]

[What is the user above saying? Be careful of getting banned!]

It must be said that Song Wu had matured a lot.

It wasn't just his overbearing presence, but his appearance as well.

The man had shed his youthful looks, becoming mature and handsome, his deep eyes dark and unfathomable. His crow-black hair was swept back, revealing a full forehead.

His sharp eyes, like those of a falcon, flashed with intensity. Song Wu’s gaze cut past the man with the bowl-cut and landed straight on the sweet, obedient Jiang Shengsheng.

His wife, his baby—had she recognized him?

An intensely exciting pleasure stimulated his nerves. Song Wu thought maliciously: If his baby had forgotten him, what method should he use to make her remember?

Scold her? He couldn't bear to.

Hit her? That was even more impossible.

Then he would lock her on the bed, kiss that little mouth of hers that only knew how to trick him until it was bruised, and drain her so thoroughly she wouldn't be able to get out of bed for ten days or a fortnight.

Song Wu couldn't articulate what kind of outcome he wanted. On one hand, he looked forward to Jiang Shengsheng remembering him; on the other, he wanted to act on the dark thoughts in his head.

How truly bothersome.

Right, he had killed so many ghosts just to crawl out of hell to find his baby. Shouldn't she reward him?

Hmm, let's just make the reward... being tackled.

The impeccably dressed man suppressed his surging emotions, his precarious sanity held together by a tight string, the key to which was in Jiang Shengsheng’s hands.

Unfortunately, Jiang Shengsheng was destined never to acknowledge him.

Watching the light in Song Wu’s eyes grow dimmer and finally fall into silence, Jiang Shengsheng felt a tightening in her chest and lowered her head, not daring to look at him again.

They were all just NPCs roleplaying. Why should the staff make things difficult for other staff? Let everything that happened in the last session stay in the past.