High-Risk Mission! The Rusted Bus

Chapter 22: High-Risk Mission! The Rusty Bus

This outing has been a great harvest.

He took out another golden treasure chest.

Upon opening the chest, he saw an earphone lying inside.

This earphone might have been sealed for too long, as opening the treasure chest caused no reaction.

"Since it's an earphone, its anomaly ability must be related to hearing."

Chen Yu didn't waste any time and directly took out the Anomaly Earphone, putting it on.

As soon as the Anomaly Earphone was on, a chilling sensation instantly spread through Chen Yu's entire body.

Static sounds began to come from the Anomaly Earphone.

[You have put on the Anomaly Earphone.] [The Anomaly Earphone is a special anomaly.] [Wearing it, you can hear the movements of nearby anomalies.]

Following this prompt.

The static in Chen Yu's Anomaly Earphone grew louder, and then anomalous sounds began to appear.

[Rustle... rustle... thud thud...]

The sound was like the rustling of leaves in the wind, and sometimes like muffled thuds, as if someone was jumping rope on a rooftop.

Chen Yu frowned.

The appearance of these sounds from the Anomaly Earphone indicated the presence of anomalies nearby.

He quickly looked around, but the surroundings were empty, with not a soul in sight. Where could the anomalies be?

"Perhaps I can't hear clearly just by wearing it."

Chen Yu directly swallowed the Anomaly Earphone bit by bit.

Eating the Anomaly Earphone tasted just like the Anomaly Computer, like chewing on a piece of rock. Fortunately, Chen Yu had strong teeth, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to eat it.

After swallowing the Anomaly Earphone.

It transformed into a wisp of energy that filled Chen Yu's limbs and bones.

[Congratulations, you have devoured a level 6 Anomaly Earphone.] [Potential: 5.5 stars.] [Anomaly Ability: Can hear the movements of nearby anomalies (range can be increased).]

Chen Yu didn't delay and immediately activated the Anomaly Earphone's ability.

"Hee hee... Haha... Hee hee hee..."

This time, the sound was very clear.

It was clearly the sound of a child giggling, light and innocent.

But to hear it in this place was truly bone-chilling.

He frowned.

But where was there any child around?

Chen Yu's spine suddenly felt cold!

Hearing this anomalous laughter suddenly meant it was nearby, yet Chen Yu couldn't see It!

Could it be an Anomaly Infant?!

On the official forum of the Anomaly Era.

There were several leaderboards.

The most prominent was the Strongest Anomaly leaderboard, followed by the Most Dangerous Anomaly leaderboard.

Strongest did not necessarily mean most dangerous, as some anomalies did not immediately kill people. Anomalies that killed were the most dangerous.

And below these two leaderboards, there was one called the Troublesome Anomaly leaderboard.

The Anomaly Infant ranked highly on it!

The Investigation Bureau had personally posted, stating that if any Ghost Controller encountered an Anomaly Infant, the best course of action was to flee!

The reason it was classified as extremely dangerous and exceptionally troublesome was due to recorded instances: Anomaly Infants had massacred an orphanage!

Everyone in the orphanage had died at Its hands!

Anomaly Infants were incredibly fast, and due to their small size, ordinary attacks posed no threat to them.

Now, Chen Yu felt like an Anomaly Infant was staring at him from the shadows!

Being suddenly targeted by an Anomaly Infant was definitely related to Chen Yu taking out the Ghost Embryo from Tong Jian's belly earlier!

That thing was probably an infected clone of an Anomaly Infant?

"Anomaly Infant?"

Chen Yu frowned at first, then a sinister smile spread across his face. He licked his lips, "It's got its eyes on me?"

"I welcome your arrival with open arms."

Chen Yu sensed the anomalous aura suddenly disappear. He began searching everywhere, but just then, his phone rang.

He glanced at the vanished Anomaly Infant, then pulled out his phone with a frown.

"Han Ningning?"

It was the school beauty, Han Ningning, who had sent him a message.

Chen Yu opened the message.

[Chen Yu, are you there? I have something I need to ask for your help with, can you help me?]

As Han Ningning typed these words on the other end, she mustered immense courage.

Others didn't know how powerful Chen Yu was, but she knew very well.

She had seen everything in the school corridor that day. Although Han Ningning hadn't told anyone else, she had deeply remembered that incident!

Could someone who could easily resolve anomalies be an ordinary person?

Therefore, her words were extremely respectful and timid.

"Help you, help you with what?"

Chen Yu asked.

[I've joined the Investigation Bureau's Order Keeper program. This is a new program by the Investigation Bureau to discover promising new Ghost Controllers and cultivate them fully. They use the anomalies controlled by Ghost Controllers to deal with the current rampant anomalies.]

Han Ningning quickly explained everything.

Chen Yu wasn't surprised by this.

He had long sensed that Han Ningning harbored an anomaly.

He hadn't expected the Investigation Bureau to be so swift in bringing Han Ningning into their ranks.

[And I've taken on the first mission as an Order Keeper. This mission is very difficult, so I wanted to ask if you could help me, please...]

Chen Yu wasn't interested in these missions and was about to refuse.

But then, Han Ningning's message came again.

[This mission is very difficult. I heard there might be troublesome Anomaly Infants inside, and the danger level is extreme.]

Han Ningning said nervously, Afraid Chen Yu would refuse.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yu's interest was immediately piqued.

An extremely dangerous anomalous event would surely involve powerful anomalies.

And there were Anomaly Infants!

Chen Yu had to eat that Anomaly Infant.

It could slaughter an entire orphanage, and the Ghost Embryo planted in Tong Jian was already so strong.

Could this Anomaly Infant be ordinary?

"Alright, I promise. But I need to bring someone with me. And what's the mission content? Tell me the specifics."

Chen Yu said.

Seeing that Chen Yu had actually agreed, Han Ningning jumped up and down like a little girl with excitement, then said: [Of course, I don't mind. I'm grateful to you. You can bring whoever you want. I'll send you the mission link right away.]

With that, Han Ningning sent a link to a post on the official Anomaly Era forum.

Chen Yu clicked on it.

It was a bounty post.

[Anomaly Zoo!]

[Difficulty: Extreme!]

[After an unknown anomaly invaded the zoo, it became a deadly anomalous zone. More than three anomalies are known! More ominous signs!]

[Team-ups are allowed to resolve this anomalous event.]

[Reward: Each team member receives fifty million Huaxia coins, five hundred Investigation Bureau merit points, and five hundred kilograms of gold!]

Seeing the dungeon's difficulty, plus the numerous anomalies!

Chen Yu's mouth began to water.

He immediately did a 360-degree turn in his attitude and quickly messaged Han Ningning: "We have to go! It's everyone's duty to protect the school beauty. When do we depart?"

[Great, we'll depart now. I'll send you the address, and we'll meet there.]

Then, Han Ningning sent Chen Yu the address of the [Anomaly Zoo].

Chen Yu opened the "Unscrupulous Navigation" app and found that the cheapest and fastest option was to take the bus.

Chen Yu followed the navigation all the way to the bus stop.

It was already nighttime.

Chen Yu checked the time on his phone. According to the display on the station sign, the last bus hadn't passed yet, so Chen Yu had a chance to catch it.

While waiting for the bus, Chen Yu was chatting with Tong Jian.

No, not Tong Jian, it was more accurate to say he was chatting with the Ghost Doll on Tong Jian's back.

The doll, like a porcelain doll loli, didn't even have an expression, making it impossible to have a real conversation.

After chatting for about half an hour.

A bus finally appeared in the distance.

Chen Yu took out a few coins from his pocket. As he waited for the bus to arrive, he suddenly noticed something and frowned slightly.

The bus was driving very bumpily.

The road here was flat, so why was it like this?

Moreover, the bus looked like it hadn't been maintained in a long time, with the outer paint peeling off.

Revealing the metal underneath.

The metal was covered in deep brown rust.

And the windows, whether cracked due to age or deliberately broken, were not intact.

What surprised Chen Yu even more was that.

The exhaust from the bus wasn't black or colorless.

It was a faint red.

Something's wrong.

Isn't this a piece of junk?

It can still drive even with flat tires?

Chen Yu couldn't help but activate the Anomaly Earphone's anomalous ability to listen.

[Rustle... Rumble... Rustle...]

Rumbling sounds appeared in Chen Yu's ears.

Abnormal sounds indicated that this was an Anomaly.

Chen Yu's frown relaxed.

Since it wasn't a ghost, but an Anomaly, he wasn't afraid anymore.

A smile tugged at the corner of Chen Yu's lips.

He then pretended to know nothing and got on the bus as soon as the Ghost Bus pulled into the station.

A female ticket seller stood at the entrance. She was plump and looked to be in her mid-forties. The bus driver was puffing on a pipe.

"Two yuan."

The ticket seller directly extended her hand to Chen Yu.

Chen Yu nodded and handed her two coins.

She took the money and let Chen Yu board.

Tong Jian, being shorter than 1.6 meters, boarded directly without needing a ticket.

Several people were already seated on the bus.

Their expressions were indifferent. Some were looking down at their phones, some had headphones on and were asleep, while others were looking out the window.

Apart from the dilapidated and worn-out interior of the carriage.

Everything else was just like any other bus he usually took.

Chen Yu could tell that these people were normal.

However, a faint aura of anomaly shrouded their eyes.

It was likely caused by their vision being obscured.

The bus continued to move and stopped at a station.

Two people got on from the platform.

These two were dressed strangely, like clothes worn for funerals. Their faces were pale and bloodless, their expressions stiff.

After they boarded, the female ticket seller still blocked their way.

The two stiffly reached into their pockets, pulled out some banknotes, and handed them to the ticket seller.

The ticket seller smiled, "You can go up."

She then pocketed the money.

Chen Yu could see clearly.

The money those two people had just given him wasn't Chinese Yuan at all!

It was several sheets of crisp, white spirit money!

At the same time, as the two walked past Chen Yu.

Chen Yu didn't see their feet.

But everyone on the bus was still doing their own thing, not paying attention.

Chen Yu noticed, but didn't care.

After all, this bus was already problematic, so it was normal for such things to appear.

As long as it didn't pose a threat to him.

But who would have known.

The bus was very quiet, everything seemed normal.

But when Chen Yu looked out the window, he was shocked to discover.

The bus route was wrong!

A sign by the roadside told Chen Yu that this road led to the crematorium!

However, the zoo was conveniently on the way.

Chen Yu didn't mind, as long as he could eventually reach the zoo.

He turned and looked at the passengers in the carriage.

"Something's not right, why is this bus suddenly going this way?"

"Yeah, this isn't the bus route, is it?"

"The final stop was supposed to be Tongzi Road in Linjiang City, how did it suddenly become the crematorium?"

"Did the bus route change?"

"No way, I've been taking this bus for seven or eight years, and I've never heard of the route changing. Driver, did you take a wrong turn?"

"Going straight to the crematorium, it looks a bit creepy."

The passengers had clearly also noticed something was wrong.

They often took this bus, and it was the first time they had seen it go somewhere else.

All the passengers panicked.

However, amidst the crowd, one person remained calm.

This person had dyed yellow hair.

He exuded an Anomaly's aura.

Chen Yu, who possessed many Anomalies himself, could naturally tell that he was a Ghost Controller.

"Driver? Say something?"

"Yeah, why are we going this way? They didn't even notify us."

The passengers hurriedly shouted at the driver.

Seeing that the driver remained motionless for a long time, they then looked at the conductor.

But the conductor was also clueless at this moment, with a bewildered expression, clearly not knowing what was going on.

"Damn it, driving to the crematorium, are they messing with us?"

"Exactly, wasting our time, aren't they?"

"Is this some kind of prank?"

Some passengers, with fiery tempers, stood up and rushed to the driver's cabin, roaring at the driver. But the driver still showed no reaction, his pipe continuously emitting smoke.

"Damn it, are you deaf? Stop the damn bus!"

"Yeah, I want to get off!"

A burly man directly tugged at the driver's clothes.

It was a bad idea to pull.

As soon as he pulled, the driver, who was holding the steering wheel and driving, lost all strength and collapsed onto the ground.

Only then did everyone get a clear look at the driver's face.

At this moment, blood was continuously flowing from the driver's eyes, nostrils, mouth, and ears.

Blood poured from his seven orifices, looking terrifying!

The driver had long since stopped breathing, as if he couldn't possibly be more dead.

The burly man who had pulled the driver froze, quickly let go, and then stumbled backward, scared out of his wits.

"What happened to him? He's dead?!"

"How could he just die out of the blue?!"