The Most Deeply Hidden Big Shot in "Highway Terror"

After discussing it, the four decided that Tan Xingyun, who drove a taxi for a living, would drive. Xu Xiuman, the only woman, would take the passenger seat, while Xu Xi and Li Kang would sit in the back.

"Remember to fasten your seat belts," Tan Xingyun reminded them after checking the car all around, finding nothing wrong, and getting into the driver's seat.

Xu Xi had just fastened his seat belt when a pair of hands appeared before him, holding several packets of snacks.

He looked up and saw Xu Xiuman.

Xu Xiuman smiled a little sheepishly and explained to the two in the back, "I found these in the glove compartment. You can have some if you get hungry on the road."

"Thank you," Li Kang said shyly as he accepted them.

Xu Xi accepted her kind offer as well. "Okay, thanks."

Once both of them had taken some, Xu Xiuman turned back around.

Tan Xingyun then said, "I'm going to start driving. For now, we'll follow the only road ahead that we can take."

[The uncle with the beer belly and the lady in the denim skirt seem pretty composed.]

[They're thoughtful too. One checked the outside of the car and the other checked the inside. They work well together.]

[I came because of that 2 minutes and 48 seconds, but so far he doesn't seem to live up to the hype.]

[Isn't it normal for a multiplayer instance to take longer? Besides, it depends on the type of instance. This one obviously isn't a puzzle.]

The barrage was buzzing with discussion, and the viewers were more or less disappointed. So far, Xu Xi hadn't shown anything remarkable. Even Li Kang had been more active than him.

[Still, the atmosphere between these people is pretty good so far. It's not like a lot of instances where the players are hostile toward each other.]

[Most instances put a lot of emphasis on cooperation. People who can't control their tempers tend to die early.]

Xu Xi wasn't quiet because he was deliberately acting aloof, nor was it because he lacked ideas of his own and could only go along with others.

He simply preferred to complain in his head when things happened, and he unconsciously talked less around strangers. In other words, he had social anxiety.

Besides, he figured that with his brains, if he didn't have the ability to revive after death, these game instances could make a fool of him.

For proof, one only had to look at the first instance.

So in the second instance, he had run into teammates who seemed reasonably reliable, and their ideas didn't sound unusual. He therefore planned to follow their lead quietly for now.

He couldn't assume he could do whatever he wanted in an instance just because he had a special ability.

What if he died too many times and couldn't come back to life?!

With the principle of laying low whenever possible, Xu Xi had spent the journey listening to the other three chat.

Not long after they set off, everyone spotted a shop beside the road ahead.

"Should we stop and take a look?" Tan Xingyun slowed the car and asked his teammates.

"Let's take a look. There might be clues. After all, we don't have any information right now," Xu Xiuman suggested after thinking for a moment.

"What do you two think?" Tan Xingyun turned his head toward the two in the back.

"Uh..." Li Kang looked hesitant.

He would rather everyone kept going. A shop appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the wilderness seemed suspicious no matter how he looked at it.

"Sure. Let's stop and take a look."

To everyone's surprise, Xu Xi, who had always kept a low profile, actually spoke up and shared his thoughts this time.

[Well, look who finally stopped playing mute?]

[Even 2 minutes and 48 seconds has spoken up. Looks like there's something to this shop.]

[What kind of name is that, person above?]

[There can be plenty of big shots, but there's only one 2 minutes and 48 seconds in the whole world. It's so distinctive. As soon as I say it, you all know who I mean, don't you?]

[...6]

[Low-key promotion from a suspected devoted fan.]

Seeing that even Xu Xi had spoken up in favor of stopping, Li Kang had no choice but to nod as well, his face troubled.

He didn't know why, but although Tan Xingyun and Xu Xiuman had both performed well along the way, he kept unconsciously glancing out of the corner of his eye at Xu Xi, who was sitting beside him.

He had a particular feeling. Even though the other two seemed steady, there was an inescapable tension in their eyes—a worry born of not knowing whether they would live or die.

But the young man beside him, who looked about his age, didn't seem worried about his situation at all, as though he had something to rely on.

Li Kang had always trusted his instincts. He felt that, compared to the uncle and the woman in the denim skirt, perhaps the young man beside him was the most deeply hidden big shot on the team.

Xu Xi had no idea what the teammate beside him was thinking.

He hadn't even noticed it himself. Although he kept warning himself not to act recklessly just because of his ability, to avoid dying whenever he could, and so on, he had to admit that knowing he had a definite safeguard put his subconscious mind at ease.

As a result, he seemed a little more relaxed than the other players.

Tan Xingyun soon parked the car in front of the shop.

After getting out, the four first looked over the shop's exterior.

The wooden shop wasn't very large, and it seemed to have been built a long time ago. There were even traces of insect damage in some places.

"Is this... a funeral supply shop?!" Li Kang exclaimed under his breath.

Looking through the open doorway, they saw that it was filled with wreaths and flower baskets commonly used at funerals, as well as paper offerings and other ritual supplies. They packed the already cramped space to the brim.

It was already strange enough for a shop to appear in the middle of nowhere, but on getting closer, they discovered it was a funeral supply shop.

A chill wind blew past, and everyone shivered.

"Maybe we should..." Xu Xiuman rubbed her chilly arms and was about to suggest they leave, but before she could finish her slow-spoken sentence, hurried footsteps came from inside.

The floorboards creaked repeatedly, as if unable to bear the weight, and the sounds seemed to strike at everyone's hearts.

Li Kang nearly jumped out of his skin.

Tan Xingyun quickly took several steps back, ready to call for everyone to retreat at once if things took a bad turn.

Xu Xi's heart rose into his throat as well. In the previous instance, he hadn't seen a single living NPC.

[Holy crap, seriously? It's this intense right off the bat!]

[Where's the barrage? Protect me, protect me!!]

Just as everyone braced themselves, a figure appeared before the four of them.

"Welcome. What would you folks like to buy?"

The person who came out wasn't the monster Xu Xi and the others had imagined, but a short old man.

He had neither a terrifying appearance nor a raspy voice. On the contrary, the old man had a kindly face, and he warmly greeted the customers outside the shop.

The four looked at one another, and no one answered.

Perhaps sensing the wariness his customers were hiding, the old man said with a smile, "It looks like you folks are headed to the Funeral Parlor. Drive a little farther and you'll reach the Daoji Highway."

"The Funeral Parlor?" Tan Xingyun sucked in his beer belly and cautiously probed, "How did you know we were going to the Funeral Parlor?"