Activating the Anomaly Containment System

Tonight is New Year's Eve, and many are looking forward to the arrival of the new year.

"10."

"9."

"3."

"2."

"1."

As the countdown ends, Blue Star officially steps into 2025.

"Beep--------"

Simultaneously, a harsh and prolonged mechanical sound rings out in the minds of everyone across the globe.

"The Horror Game [Eerie Era] has officially launched. Entrant: Blue Star!"

The anticipation on everyone's faces is replaced by panic and confusion.

"Horror Game?"

"Thought implantation? Aliens?"

"Mom, Mom, someone is talking inside my head."

"Is the end of the world finally here?"

"What a shitty day. Let the world just end already!"

On chat software, people are sharing and discussing it everywhere, and the matter quickly surges to the top of the trending searches.

January 1st.

It should have been a time of chaos, but most people have already forgotten about the incident after a few hours.

Only a very small number of people still retain the memory. They want to speak out, to tell others, but they only receive mockery and misunderstanding, with people calling them delusional or saying they are overthinking.

Others ask if they are spreading these rumors just to incite panic.

Under the ridicule and suppression of others, these informed individuals gradually fall silent, no longer posting any comments.

Comments and messages about the matter on the internet also vanish, and everything seems to return to normal.

Only the leaders of various countries hold meeting after meeting with grave expressions.

On the streets, there are more and more patrolling police officers, especially at night, with police cars flashing red and blue lights active everywhere.

For a time, crime rates across various regions drop significantly.

Seven o'clock in the morning.

Shen Yu listens to music while waiting for the bus at the station.

The morning temperature in Yeyang City is extremely low, and a thin mist permeates everything. Looking at the city from a distance, it appears hazy, as if covered by a white veil, its true face obscured.

The ground is covered in a thin layer of snow. As pedestrians walk by, their breath forms white mist that blends into the city, seemingly adding threads to the white veil draped over it.

Shen Yu exhales a puff of hot air to soothe his frozen fingers.

Finally, a bus marked 201 pulls up.

The bus stops, the doors open, and Shen Yu steps on.

He takes the card from his pocket and taps it against the reader.

"Beep! Student card!"

There are very few passengers on this bus, which Shen Yu finds strange; usually, at this hour, the bus would be packed with people rushing to school or work.

However, having a seat is better than standing, so Shen Yu finds an empty one in the back and sits down.

The bus starts moving.

Five minutes into the journey.

Drip!

Shen Yu feels something land on his neck, the bone-chilling cold making him shudder involuntarily.

Shen Yu reaches back to touch his neck while looking up at the ceiling, but finds nothing unusual, nor any leaks.

It is as if it were all just an illusion.

Yet, Shen Yu knows it couldn't have been an illusion, because he is one of the very few who still retains the memory of the "Eerie Era."

Why does he still remember? Is he different? Or has he been targeted?

Shen Yu carefully probes his neck but finds nothing wrong; he tries taking a photo with his phone, but the skin shows no abnormalities.

This makes him somewhat restless.

His life, which he could see to the end, seems finally disrupted by an accident, yet this accident is something Shen Yu cannot control.

He rubs his neck fiercely until the skin there becomes red and stinging.

Calm down!

This does not necessarily mean he has encountered an anomaly.

Even if he has.

He still needs to find a way to verify it.

Shen Yu observed the other passengers calmly, wondering if he was the only one, or if others had encountered it too.

There were not many passengers on the bus: a few office workers, some students, and a handful of middle-aged men and women out early to shop for groceries.

Some were whispering to each other, some sat dazed with sleepy eyes, some were looking down at their phones, and others were leaning against the seatbacks to catch up on sleep.

Their behavior was perfectly normal.

Until Shen Yu looked toward the front.

The driver sat upright, hands gripping the steering wheel, driving meticulously through the heavy traffic on the road.

The rearview mirror inside the bus reflected the driver's face; his pale skin lacked even a hint of color.

In the opposite lane, a tanker truck was approaching.

Shen Yu's heart rate suddenly accelerated, and a strong premonition tugged at him.

Shen Yu stood up abruptly and ran quickly toward the front; a student nearby glanced up at him with a strange look.

The driver's expression was ghastly, faintly exuding an aura of death. He glared with wide, ferocious eyes, his eyeballs appearing as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. The veins on his hands gripping the steering wheel were bulging, and the bus swayed unsteadily from left to right.

A look of struggle appeared on his face, his humanity battling against an unknown distortion.

In the end, the driver could not overcome the thing controlling him; he slammed his foot onto the accelerator and drove straight into the tanker truck in the left lane!

Several small cars were flipped over, and everyone on the bus was thrown into the air by the powerful inertia.

Shen Yu's body was flung backward; it was too late!

The screeching sound of a chain-reaction collision and the roar of a violent explosion filled his eardrums!

"Ding! Anomaly Containment System activation initiated... Activation complete!"

"Host detected in a life-or-death crisis. Deducting 10,000 Construction Points to purchase One-Time Time Rewind."

"One-Time Time Rewind has been used!"

Everything around him froze.

Then, Shen Yu's body, the destroyed vehicles, and the passengers seemed like a movie played in reverse, everything rewinding to the moment before the accident occurred.

The screeching sound of the explosion and the desperate screams still echoed in his ears.

Shen Yu sat in his seat, gripping the back of the seat in front of him, gasping for air. He looked around.

The expressions of the passengers were as normal as ever; they seemed to have forgotten what had just happened.

The driver!

There was no time to think; this time, Shen Yu rushed to the driver's cabin with even greater speed.

The driver's expression was one of struggle, his eyes bulging, the pain making his face look abnormally twisted and terrifying.

The driver noticed Shen Yu approaching.

His neck turned slowly with a jerky, rusted motion, revealing a gaze pleading for help.

Shen Yu yanked him from the seat.

He took the driver's place and gripped the steering wheel.

The commotion at the front drew the attention of the passengers.

"What are you doing? Hijacking the bus?"

"Hey! Why did you pull the driver away?"

Many people immediately stood up and moved toward him.

Shen Yu explained the situation calmly: "Don't touch me. The driver is having a medical episode, possibly a seizure. The bus is still on the road and needs someone to drive it. You guys restrain him first, and don't interfere with me."

Several passengers looked at him with suspicion and uncertainty.