They moved closer to examine the driver, who was lying in the aisle.
The driver's body kept twitching and struggling. His arms and legs thrashed wildly, and he kept reaching for Shen Yu as if he still wanted to pull him down.
It really did look like a sudden illness!
A few middle-aged men hurried to restrain the driver and carried him to the middle of the bus.
A middle-aged woman put on a strained smile and tentatively struck up a conversation with Shen Yu. "Students these days are really something. You can even drive a bus."
Shen Yu didn't answer. He focused on the road ahead, keeping an eye on the traffic.
His hands on the steering wheel were slick with sweat.
This was his first time driving, too!
Fortunately, he'd watched drivers operate buses when he was bored in the past. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to find another passenger who knew how to drive.
The woman stood nervously beside him, gripping the railing tightly as she watched the traffic ahead, her heart in her throat.
She was terrified! The lives of everyone on the bus were in the hands of this young student, but she didn't dare step forward and bother him.
The commotion had startled everyone on the bus. Now they had all gathered together, asking what had happened.
The woman, who had seen the whole thing, told them, "Goodness, you should've seen it. That was terrifying! The driver suddenly had some kind of attack. If it hadn't been for this young man, who knows what would've happened to all of us?"
"Heroes really do come from the younger generation!"
"Thank you, young man."
"You're such a handsome boy. Do you have a girlfriend? Should I introduce you to someone?"
"So handsome! I can't compete."
"You're so young, yet you can drive a bus this big. That's incredible!"
As they praised Shen Yu for being quick-witted, capable, and talented, they couldn't help feeling a chill run down their spines. They had come this close to crashing and dying.
They really had escaped death!
Grateful to Shen Yu for saving their lives, they kept thanking him. Some even tried to give him money, but he politely declined.
The driver was very strong. It took several adults just to hold him down.
He kept trying to break free from the passengers restraining him. With a grimace, he bared his teeth and snapped at them, so the others had to take off their ties and bind his mouth shut.
When Shen Yu saw that they had the driver under control, he asked the woman beside him to call the police.
The call was answered quickly.
"Officer, there's been an incident on our bus. The driver suddenly had some kind of attack and can't drive."
"A traffic accident? No, there hasn't been one."
"Oh! A student is driving the bus."
"We're about to enter District XX."
"All right, all right."
The woman immediately repeated the officer's instructions to Shen Yu. "Young man, the officer says to pull over and cooperate with the Patrol Officer."
"Okay," Shen Yu replied.
The Patrol Officer arrived as quickly as possible. After clearing the traffic around them, he quickly signaled to Shen Yu that he could stop.
Shen Yu stepped on the brake.
Only after the bus came to a complete stop did the passengers get out. Some of them then realized their legs were trembling.
Patrol Officer Zhang Lin reassured the passengers. "There was no collision. We just need to take a few statements."
Zhang Lin was about to ask what had happened.
Then trouble broke out.
Perhaps the Patrol Officer's arrival had made the passengers relax. The driver, who had been restrained, suddenly broke free. His tremendous strength sent several of them stumbling.
The driver lunged at one passenger, knocked him to the ground, and bit down on his shoulder.
"Ahhhhh!"
The passenger screamed in terror.
Seeing this, Zhang Lin hurried over and tried to pull the driver away.
The driver was incredibly strong. Even Zhang Lin and several passengers together couldn't pull him off!
In the struggle, the driver bit off a chunk of flesh from the passenger's shoulder!
Could a human really be this strong?
Shen Yu wanted to help, but as soon as he approached, an indescribable sense of danger washed over him, making his hair stand on end.
No! He couldn't go near!
But his powerful premonition warned him that if he did nothing, the situation would spiral out of control!
Shen Yu suddenly remembered that when the bus accident happened, he seemed to have activated a system.
"System?"
"Hello, host."
The system's mechanical voice sounded in Shen Yu's mind again.
"Is the driver's abnormal behavior related to the Horror Game?"
"The host does not have sufficient permissions. The system cannot answer. Would you like to activate the Anomaly Detection function and scan the area for abnormalities?"
The system gave him a different answer.
Insufficient permissions?
Shen Yu had no choice but to say, "Then activate the detection function!"
"Ding! System scanning... A faint anomalous presence has been detected. Number of targets: 7. The system recommends that the host draw a Character Card and use its abilities to fight the anomalies."
Anomalies? What were they? What connection did their appearance have to the Eerie Era mentioned by the Horror Game?
Shen Yu was completely confused. Unfortunately, the system couldn't answer his questions without sufficient permissions.
It did, however, transmit an explanation of the Character Cards to his mind.
Character Cards were powerful tools that helped the host establish an organization, contain anomalies, and fight contamination. By acting as the characters on the cards and improving their Character Perfection, the host could gradually unlock their abilities.
The Horror Game's announcement had never left Shen Yu's mind. He knew that cases like the driver's would become more and more common in the future.
Whether he wanted to survive in a future full of danger or deal with the crisis in front of him, he had to get a Character Card.
"How do I draw a Character Card?"
"Each Character Card draw costs 1,000 Construction Points. Construction Points can be obtained by building and improving the organization, completing containment missions, and promoting the organization to the public so that people recognize and believe in its existence."
"The first Character Card draw is free. Draw now?"
"Draw now!"
"Drawing Character Card..."
"Ding! Congratulations! You drew an S-rank Character Card—Bai Zuo!"
Shen Yu opened the Character Card.
In the center of an exquisite, ornate card with a dark background and platinum trim stood a handsome, gloomy-looking black-haired youth. He wore a faintly sickening smile and looked down at you from above.
Just looking at him, the thick, clinging malice, like a quagmire, pierced straight into your eyes. It was as if a venomous snake had fixed its gaze on you, making you recoil in fear.
"Character: Bai Zuo" "Rank: S (Can be upgraded; minimum E, maximum 3S)" "Identity: Contract Anomalist (Can be increased)" "Personality: Vicious and calculating, antisocial (a social menace), skilled at manipulating people, born evil." "Abilities: Mind Control (Perfect), Hacking (Excellent), Analysis (Perfect), Observation (Excellent), locked!" "Special Ability: Mind Control (Perfect), locked!" "Anomaly Artifact: Locked!" "Contracted Anomaly: Heart Gu (S)—A pure-white Spider that spins webs to ensnare people's hearts, absorb their humanity, and control their bodies. It must be fed malice or it will devour its host." "Associated Characters: 2" "Character Perfection: 0%" "Use now?"
"Use now!"
Before you continue