Get In!

After carefully reading the blood-red text in his vision, Xiao Ran felt a sense of confusion.

This time, Miyuan City seemed different from before.

According to the prompt, he needed to travel to the mission location himself.

If he wasn't mistaken, it was the four stops indicated on the license plate in front of him.

The four mission locations seemed to be interconnected, unlike the previous time when it was a sealed village.

"Hmm... no wonder last time was a trial, but this time it's participation."

Xiao Ran read the prompt again carefully, confirming that there were no misleading hints this time like there were last time, and his gaze sharpened: "What is this 'Weird Tale'?"

"Crack!"

Just as Xiao Ran was lost in thought, a sharp cracking sound made him immediately alert. His eyes followed the direction of the sound, and he turned his head to look at the alley across the street.

In the dim alley, a shadowy mass seemed to be crawling on the ground, emerging from the alley step by step.

When the faint streetlights illuminated the shadow, Xiao Ran's brow furrowed, and he quickly retrieved a short knife from the Micheng Space.

This short knife was Xue Hongling's weapon from before. He had casually tossed it into the space when he collected Xue Hongling's body.

"What is this thing??" Xiao Ran's pupils reflected the other party's silhouette.

In the shadows in front of the street, the dark shadow crawled on the ground. Its emaciated body was nothing but skin and bones. Its posture, crawling on the ground, looked like a large cat if one didn't look closely.

Its grayish-green fingernails were long and sharp, making a rustling sound on the ground.

The monster had no face. Long, slender tentacles dangled from its cheeks to the ground, as if it were meticulously searching for something. Looking at its twisted limbs, it resembled a beggar deliberately crippled to beg for alms, as seen on the news.

At this moment, a cool breeze blew past Xiao Ran. The monster's movements paused, and it slowly raised its head. The tentacles on its face gently swayed in the air, as if it had caught a scent. It suddenly turned its body towards Xiao Ran.

A feeling of being targeted arose. As Xiao Ran quickly retreated, the black Ghost Cloak was put on at the same time.

"Activate!!"

Black Curse Marks emerged along Xiao Ran's shoulders and quickly merged with the Ghost Cloak.

[Ghost Cloak · Trainee]

After merging with the Curse Mark, dark Curse Mark shadows appeared on the cloak. The shadows grew denser, enveloping Xiao Ran's figure within them, and soon he blended completely into the darkness.

Privilege 1: Night Walk. At night, one can enter a semi-stealth state, and when still, enter full stealth.

However, the monster seemed unaffected by the stealth. The slender tentacles on its face twitched in the air a few times before uniformly locking onto Xiao Ran's direction, then charging straight at him.

Its distorted limbs began to elongate, and its body seemed to transform into a spider's form in an instant.

Before it even got close, a pungent stench assailed him. The intense pressure made Xiao Ran's heart race. He gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, his body slightly crouched beneath the cloak, the standard stance for Blade Draw Slash.

The monster's speed was astonishing. In the blink of an eye, it had reached the road.

Suddenly, it pushed off with its legs, leaping forward like a hunting leopard.

But in that very instant, two strong beams of light pierced through the fog.

"Beep! Beep beep!!"

Accompanied by a piercing horn, two strong headlights in the darkness suddenly illuminated the road.

A bus with the license plate [404] rushed out of the darkness at an incredibly high speed, showing no signs of slowing down or braking, and charged straight ahead.

With a muffled "Bang!!", Xiao Ran watched in shock as the monster was directly sent flying. It spun 360 degrees in mid-air before crashing heavily more than ten meters away.

"Screech~~~ Hiss~~~"

The sudden turn of events caught Xiao Ran completely off guard. Only when the ear-piercing screech of brakes sounded did Xiao Ran snap back to reality. He looked up and saw a yellow bus slowly stopping in front of him.

The bus looked quite old.

It was more like a product of the 1980s. The mottled paint on its body was peeling off, revealing the dull metal underneath. Rust had spread to the corners of the doors and the edges of the windows. Even the glass of the windows had a hazy texture.

The front bumper of the bus had several collision marks, repaired crudely. The unevenly colored paint seemed to have been applied haphazardly, clashing with the overall color scheme of the bus. The headlight covers were filled with dust and dead insects.

"Cree~ Buzz~"

The door opened, and the portly driver in the driver's seat poked his head out the window, staring at the monster that had been knocked away. He grumbled, "Damn it, I just washed my car. Can you scavengers get lost!!"

Xiao Ran glanced at the monster still writhing on the ground in the distance, wondering if he should take the opportunity to land a finishing blow and collect the body.

But at this moment, the driver's gaze shifted, and he looked at Xiao Ran, who was standing outside the car door, with an annoyed expression. He frowned and asked, "Getting on or not? If not, I'm closing the door."

Hearing the driver's urging, Xiao Ran felt a pang of regret. It seemed unlikely he could go and collect the body now. After all, getting on the bus was the priority.

"I'm getting on!"

Xiao Ran nodded and walked straight onto the bus.

"Remember to pay!" The driver closed the door and pointed to the coin slot next to him.

Xiao Ran hesitated as he looked at the coin slot, then took out a round copper coin. The greenish-blue patina had an oily sheen, and it was inscribed with the words [Fengcheng Treasure Mirror].

This was one of the rewards from the previous Miyuan City trial. There were only four such copper coins in total.

Since these were coins produced by Miyuan City, they should naturally be spent within Miyuan City.

Holding the copper coin, Xiao Ran glanced at the driver. Seeing that he didn't seem to object, he dropped the copper coin into the slot.

"Clang!"

After the copper coin fell into the coin slot, a whirring sound, like that of a printer, came from inside, and then a blue ticket was ejected from below.

Xiao Ran casually picked it up and took a look. His eyebrows couldn't help but twitch slightly.

[404 Bus Ticket: Valid for this ride only.]

Destination: Seventh Middle School

(Note: Passengers alighting at intermediate stops do so at their own risk)

"Looks like my mission destination this time is Seventh Middle School."

Xiao Ran stuffed the ticket into his pocket. He remembered that Seventh Middle School was the fourth stop, wasn't it?

"Wait, wait...!"

A figure rushed towards the bus door from outside. By the time they reached the door, they scrambled aboard, using their hands and feet, almost crawling into the bus.

The person was wearing a tank top and was panting heavily, their sparse strands of hair falling limply, making them look particularly disheveled.

The driver glanced at the man, then with a look of disgust, extended his fist, as large as a bear's paw, and punched the coin machine.

"Clang!"

After the coin machine shook a few times, the whirring sound started again from inside. Soon, a second ticket was ejected.

Xiao Ran glanced at the writing on the ticket.

He found that the content was different from his own.

It was also a 404 bus ticket, but the destination was [Jiaomu Village], and it had a black stamp on it that read [Trial Use Only].

"Trial? Is this guy a newbie?"

Xiao Ran's heart stirred. What would happen if he swapped the two tickets right now?

Of course, this was just a fleeting thought. Who knew what the consequences would be.

Even if he were to use the man's ticket to participate in the Miyuan City trial again, it wouldn't bring him any particular benefit.

But this newcomer would probably be dead for sure.

"Hurry, hurry, take your ticket, sit down properly, we're leaving."

The driver urged them with a dark expression. Without waiting for the two to find seats, he impatiently stepped on the gas. With the roar of the engine, the bus lurched forward. As if seeking revenge, the driver deliberately swerved the steering wheel, causing the bus to run directly over the monster.

"Crack! Crack!!"

The sound of bones shattering under the wheels was extremely grating. Xiao Ran saw a morbid, bloodthirsty smile on the driver's face and felt a chill run down his spine.

"This guy must be a pervert!"

"Zzzzt... Zzzzt..."

At this moment, the bus radio emitted a burst of static, and a cold voice announced, "Welcome aboard the 404 bus. Passengers, please hold on and remain seated. The next stop is Evil Spirit Lane."

Xiao Ran: ???