Chapter 42: Bus Number 404 (11)

It was not that Jiang Shensheng felt a guilty conscience; rather, she was mostly afraid of slipping up and having the system judge her as OOC (Out Of Character) during the settlement, which would lead to her points being ruthlessly deducted.

Every single point of hers was hard-earned through her acting, and she felt a pang of heartache over even a single point lost.

The raincoat-wearing man's sudden movement caused everyone to grow deeply vigilant. The volume of their curses dropped significantly, out of fear that Song Wu might decide to kill someone on a whim.

Of course, Song Wu would not do such a thing.

He still needed to maintain his image in front of his baby; bloody and violent acts like murder had nothing to do with him.

"Hehe, have you found the odd one out yet? If you haven't, you'll all be accompanying her to your deaths, you know~"

That entity popped out to stir up trouble, its rising inflection making the already aggrieved crowd boil with anger as they glared hatefully at the display screen.

When it all came down to it, this was entirely the fault of this damned thing!

They had simply boarded a bus, only to be dragged into a bloody and brutal game where lives could be snuffed out at a moment's notice. The entity was simply watching a group of desperately pleading clowns put on a destined-to-fail tragedy.

"Oh my, oh my, don't look at me like that. I just wanted to play a little game with you all. Surely you won't fail to clear such a simple fourth game, right?"

"Hehe, the next station—[Dulu Nandan] has arrived! Please refrain from crowding when getting off the bus."

Amidst the horrified expressions of the crowd, the front and back doors slowly slid open. The first things to enter their field of vision were a few heads that looked like inflated balloons.

The inspectors were top-heavy, their thousand-pound heads resting atop slender necks, making one instinctively wonder if their necks would snap under the weight the very next second.

Wearing sunglasses, the inspectors pulled out fountain pens and clipboards, inspecting the passengers one by one from head to toe. Their hand movements grew slower and slower, and they began randomly scribbling circles across the white paper filled with black text.

The result was self-evident: they had succeeded, successfully using a bug to jam the inspector's search.

Furious, the inspectors ripped off their sunglasses, their scarlet eyes sweeping across the people inside the bus one by one. A hoarse voice laced with deep resentment rasped, "Damn it! I remember you rule-breakers! Don't let me run into you a second time!"

The bamboo-pole inspectors with their oversized heads disembarked, the doors closed, and their figures vanished into the darkness.

Never had they imagined they could actually fool the inspectors this way, thanks to Meng Zimu. Remembering the foul-mouthed abuse they had hurled just moments before, quite a few people felt so embarrassed their toes curled inside their shoes, stammering as they wanted to apologize to Meng Zimu.

The person involved, Meng Zimu, did not care at all.

As soon as it was over, like a puppy that had finished playing outside, he eagerly bounded up to his master's side, whimpering and acting coquettishly in hopes of receiving praise.

Jiang Shensheng was extremely supportive, giving a thumbs-up with a happy, flushed face: "So amazing! Good thing we had you, otherwise I would have had to get off the bus..."

[Cut, who hasn't had a flash of quick wit?]

[Who's jealous? I won't say, I'm just crying secretly under the quilt, waiting for Shensheng to come comfort me.]

At the mere thought of the chewing sounds that had echoed after stepping off the bus, Jiang Shensheng shuddered with lingering fear.

At the [Dulu Nandan] station, Bus 404 lingered for a moment before moving forward once more.

Song Wu tossed the black raincoat out of the bus door and leisurely straightened his slim-fit shirt, rolling up his sleeves to reveal delicate wrist bones.

Turning a blind eye to everyone's wary and guarded gazes, Song Wu suddenly frowned, his dark eyes glancing out the window at a pair of blood-red pupils flashing past.

The straight line of his mouth curved into a smile. Song Wu thought that the baby would surely remember him once she saw him shortly.

Since the baby was so delicate, Bus 404 must be terrifying to her.

Having suffered one shock after another, the spirits of the crowd—now like birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring—were inevitably somewhat wilted. They dared not lower their guard, knowing full well that thing might launch a sneak attack.

"I didn't expect you all to be able to fool the inspectors. I suppose you have some capability," the entity paused before continuing, "Hehe, out of the goodness of my heart, I'll kindly remind you that the fifth game has already begun."

What?!

Those few simple words threw everyone on the bus into a panic, causing them to frantically look around in an attempt to find the monster of the new game.

Shielded in a corner by three tall men, Jiang Shensheng suddenly caught a faint scent—so delicate that one would fail to notice it without careful sniffing.

Before she could warn Meng Zimu and the others, her eyelids suddenly grew heavy, the world spun before her eyes, and she passed out cold.

"Thud, thud."

Those who inhaled the fragrance released by the illusion flower lost consciousness one after another, collapsing haphazardly onto the floor.

Meng Zimu and the other two were the last to lose consciousness.

Catching sight of Jiang Shensheng's tightly closed eyes as she fell sideways out of the corner of his eye, all three instinctively reached out to catch her.

Just as their fingertips brushed the hem of her clothes, a large hand appeared out of nowhere, catching her and pulling her firmly into that person's embrace.

Before his consciousness faded completely, Meng Ze clearly made out the man before him—the raincoat-wearing man, Song Wu.

In the dead silence of the carriage, only Song Wu remained standing rigidly upright.

He had caught Jiang Shensheng.

At last... at last he was holding his well-behaved, adorable baby in his arms once more. The handsome man's fingers trembled with excitement, and his breathing grew heavier.

The corners of his eyes overflowed with obsessive adoration. Murmuring softly to himself, he buried his face into the crook of her neck, let out a sigh of complete satisfaction, and rubbed against her vigorously.

His nose was filled entirely with the sweet scent belonging to the baby. He felt so satisfied, so utterly fond of it.

"Baby, be a good girl and wait for me in your dreams. I'll come find you right away..."

[Shensheng is in danger!]

[It's over, it's really over, he's going to devour all four of them!]

[Let go of her and let me do it!]

[What?! Is the illusion realm some kind of super VIP content that can't be watched?! I can pay extra!]

Lying on the cold wooden bed, the woman slowly opened her eyes. She rubbed them, instinctively wanting to reach out and grasp something that brought her peace of mind—wait, why was she doing that?

Jiang Shensheng felt as though she had forgotten something very important. She shook her head, unable to recall it no matter how hard she tried, and as the headache worsened, she simply gave up and let it be.

A narrow, cramped, and shabby dilapidated rental apartment welcomed its tenant. Jiang Shensheng looked in bewilderment as she tugged at her sleeve, then swept her gaze over the barren walls of her home, strongly suspecting something had gone wrong with her memory.

The shabby apartment was damp and moldy, the air permeated with an unpleasant mildew smell, and water was still seeping down from the cracked ceiling above.

The glamorous Jiang Shensheng looked utterly out of place in front of the rental apartment before her.

She could not remember why she had rented this place, nor did she know what she should do next.

"Ding-dong!"

The dull doorbell rang, making Jiang Shensheng startle all over.

She shuffled slowly toward the entryway and asked in a low voice, "Who is it?"

The person outside did not answer, merely ringing the doorbell repeatedly.

"Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"

The rings of the doorbell came one after another, growing increasingly frenzied.

Scared, Jiang Shensheng retreated step by step, staring in terror at the rusted iron door rattling under the blows.

The person outside seemed frantically eager to get in. At first, he had merely been testing the waters, but upon hearing her voice, he pressed his blood-red eyes against the peephole, catching sight of the tender young woman through the lens.

"Open the door! Open the door! Little beauty, I saw you, hahaha! Open the door and let big brother in!"

The man's rough voice twisted into a lewd tone, the sticky and disgusting sound amplified with every blow against the door.

In a panic, Jiang Shensheng pushed the shoe cabinet from the entryway behind the door to brace it.

Fearing it wouldn't hold the man back, she shoved the dilapidated sofa with all her might, gritting her teeth so hard they clicked, a testament to just how much strength she was using.

"Blocking it is useless! Open the door obediently, and I might spare your life!"

"Damn it! Did you hear what I said or not?! Don't force me to kick the door down, you bitch!"

"Didn't you rent a place here just to sell yourself?! What are you putting on an act for? Wanting to be a whore while setting up a memorial arch for chastity?!"