ITOTIABSAM | Infinite Flow | 167
With his thoughts entirely focused on one person, Gu Cong naturally noticed Xie Ye's subtle movements.
Without making a sound, he leaned back slightly, and sure enough, he caught sight of the gap where the teenager, thinking that was concealed, leaned closer to him again, but didn't touch even a corner of his clothes.
This made Gu Cong, who had once lived alongside the otherworldly immortal, feel a subtle sense of discomfort.
But he also understood that to Xie Ye now, he was just a stranger on this chance encounter, at most sharing a bit of camaraderie over a piece of chocolate. Sitting at a distance was only normal.
Across the aisle, Li Jie, who had pushed over the body, was still losing it. Not out of fear - he had seen many similar scenes before - but because as a seasoned veteran, he had been publicly played by a newcomer.
"If you knew all along, why say it now?" Li Jie smirked, looking for trouble. "Could it be you've already seen the ghost and been possessed by it?"
Tang Yan, who was paying attention to the situation in the back row, immediately frowned in disagreement:
At the beginning of a dungeon there have been many times when the BOSS hasn't realized they're a ghost yet. Being exposed by a player might just make them go berserk.
However, he could also see that this person had great confidence in his own abilities, which is why he dared to do things that were taboo in the eyes of ordinary players, putting pressure on the youth while possibly even luring out the ghost.
"'Why aren't you saying anything?' Not sensing any danger from Xie Ye, Li Jie became even more relaxed, raising his eyebrows unabashedly, venting his frustration, 'Could it be that I've hit the nail on the head?'
Dividing and isolating, rallying common interests, these tactics are also applicable in the Infinite Game. If other players also see this guy as a threat, they will naturally distance themselves from him.
However, the youth who was being cornered at every step seemed naturally emotionally dull, showing no signs of panic or fear, just answering calmly, “Because nobody asked me.”
Because nobody asked, so he didn't speak.
"As for the ghost..." Unable to determine who he really was, Xie Ye turned around, seeking opinions, and looked at Gu Cong, who was currently the friendliest to him, "Am I the ghost?"
Xie Ye's expression was too bewildered, and his tone too serious, making it impossible for people to treat this question as a joke or a provocation against Li Jie.
Honestly, Gu Cong shook his head. Although he didn't care whether Xie Ye was a human, a ghost, or something else, as of now, he couldn't give a definite answer to the other party. He didn't want to lie to Xie Ye but also wanted to protect him. So, Gu Cong simply shook his head.
To outsiders, it seemed like he acknowledged Xie Ye's identity, confirming that Li Jie was talking nonsense.
Most players who could enter the advanced levels of the game had been through a lot in Infinite Game, aside from the rookies randomly selected by the system or specifically meant to cause trouble. Even though Gu Cong had mostly been chatting with that strange newcomer the whole time, he still appeared stronger than Li Jie, who was all bark and no bite.
After all, in the advanced levels where everyone's nerves were constantly tense, an individual who was handsome, approachable, and so gentle that it was difficult to judge their true emotions naturally symbolized strength.
Li Jie was very aware of who could be provoked and who couldn't, seeing Gu Cong clearly indicating support for that silly kid, Li Jie quickly weighed the pros and cons. With a gloomy face, he stopped his aggressive stance and closed his mouth.
Being nothing more than a pretty face, it was easy to cling to others' thighs. Let the other party revel in their temporary triumph. When danger arose, they would naturally realize who would be the first to be abandoned.
Zhao Dong, busy observing the body without leaving his seat, stole a glance at Cheng Xiaorong and signaled with his eyes, "How did someone like him manage to survive until now?"
Surprisingly, he hadn't been assassinated by enemies yet.
Cheng Xiaorong, shrugging nonchalantly, pondered. When the boss had just stood up, he seemed to casually glance their way and tapped his ear.
What could that mean?
In Infinite Game, clearly a game, there was no team channel, which made her unable to resist the urge to complain every time.
As a thin mist spread and the sky grew darker, sporadic NPC passengers engaged in idle chatter gradually closed their eyes, seemingly falling asleep with half of their faces pressed against the window. Zhao Dong suddenly sat upright, feeling his eyes sting, about to tell Cheng Xiaorong of his discovery when he heard someone voice the same speculation to him:
"The scenery outside is repeating."
It was Tang Yan.
Her voice was still hoarse from crying, and the girl next to her, who had just managed to calm herself down, mustered the courage to add, "I saw the same road signs."
On both sides of the highway, there were often uniform fields and trees, combined with the dim surroundings, making it indeed an easily overlooked clue.
The volume, audible to most players, couldn't be considered light no matter how you looked at it. It was probably noisy, as a passenger with an empty wrist space hummed a couple of times but didn't wake up.
"So, it means there's no chance." Tang Yan stood in the aisle of her seat, calmly scanning around. "If we can't figure it out, nobody will make it off this bus alive."
Li Jie's expression instantly turned ugly.
This messed up his original plan: even if they couldn't catch the ghost, the journey would eventually come to an end, and even if a few more newcomers died, the bus would eventually stop.
"Well, it seems like cooperation might be the only way forward," Cheng Xiaorong said openly, rising from her seat after receiving Zhao Dong's affirmative nod and confirming that the information was accurate. "So, if anyone has any ideas, feel free to speak up."
Like a rigid program set with rules, no matter how much noise erupted in the carriage, as long as the players didn't leave their seats, the driver, who was driving with his head down, seemed deaf, showing no reaction.
Not understanding why this group of people was so enthusiastic about this boring ghost-catching game, Xie Ye let out a small yawn, feeling a heavy sense of fatigue.
Unconsciously, his eyelashes cast a faint shade of pale blue under his eyes. Like a chick pecking at grains, he nodded slowly, each nod leaning him closer to toppling over. However, just as he was about to tilt over, he suddenly sat upright, alert.
Not once, not twice, but when the young man swayed again as if about to collapse, Gu Cong reached out, catching him just before he sat upright again, gently pressing Xie Ye's head against his shoulder. "I'll lend it to you."
"Like a pillow."
In contrast to him, the man's body temperature was quite high. Even through layers of clothing, Xie Ye could feel warmth. His eyelids felt as heavy as if they were laden with lead. He mumbled, "It's dirty."
"My clothes."
"It's okay," his thoughts spinning, immediately realizing the reasons why the young man had avoided physical contact with him several times, Gu Cong couldn't help but curl his lips, coaxing with a smile, "You're very clean."
Completely shedding the greenness of his youth, his voice was now deep and magnetic, like fine wine, instantly soothing to the ears.
With his mind slightly loosened, Xie Ye, no longer struggling and allowing his weight to be taken by the other.
The onlooker 0028, had a myriad of criticisms to express: He slept when NPCs slept, aside from the wristwatch, what made Xie Ye resemble a player at all? It refused to believe that Gu Cong hadn't noticed.
Pretending to be ignorant while knowing full well.
"It doesn't matter," easily guessing what 0028 was fussing about, Gu Cong adjusted his sitting posture slightly to make the young man more comfortable leaning on him. "As long as he's Xie Ye."
At least in this lifetime, he would protect him and repay those feelings of guilt.
... Repay, yes, repay indeed.
Breaking the deadlock, 0028 thought Gu Cong could only move forward once he untied the knot in his heart. It was just a point earned from a difficult task, something he could afford to lose, so what was there to fear?
"No external injuries," closest to the second corpse, Li Jie patiently examined it and sneered, "He was trembling when he gave up his seat to me earlier. Maybe he died of fright."
Ignoring the other's sarcasm, Tang Yan said, "We've all seen the mushrooms feeding on flesh. They seem to be relatively calm for now. The only wound on the body is in the chest, on the left side."
"The sample size is too small," pushing his glasses up, the male player dressed as a doctor turned to Cheng Xiaorong, "How did the two players before die?"
—Cheng Xiaorong was the last passenger to board, and her appearance seemed a bit disheveled, easily leading people to think that something had attacked her during the rest stop.
"I'm not sure if they had the same experience as me," admitting without hesitation, Cheng Xiaorong explained straightforwardly, "When I woke up, I was in the women's restroom. There was something dirty in the mirror above the sink, trying to pull me in to keep it company, but I managed to escape."
To prove her words, Cheng Xiaorong decisively rolled up her sleeve, revealing five fierce bruises on her arm, which she had been enduring without complaint.
With this revelation, the carriage fell silent once again:
Of the three known conditions for death, if Cheng Xiaorong's encounter with the ghost in the mirror could be considered a classic horror movie trope with traceable origins, then the experiences of the other two players could only be described as absurd and unrelated to the entire subplot.
It's unclear who initiated it, but slowly, the players' gazes began to converge on Gu Cong. After all, he appeared to be the calmest and most composed person in the carriage at the moment.
Concise and to the point, Gu Cong said, "Death announcements."
Death announcements?
What about death announcements?
Finally understanding why the boss had pointed to his ear earlier, Cheng Xiaorong pondered hard. Suddenly, she realized that even after all this time, the system had not yet announced the deaths of the two players.
"What if they're waiting to announce them together after we reach the town?" Recognizing the same point, Tang Yan raised an objection. "The last time it happened was also after the bus started moving."
Calming and composed, Gu Cong nodded, "Very good, I also have this doubt."
"So..." casually fiddling with the wristwatch on his left hand, he softly said, "System, query the current number of surviving players."
【Ding—Dong—】
The lingering tone of the mechanical sound was quite prolonged, lacking its usual malicious tone: "Current number of surviving players: 13."
However, there were only fifteen players participating in "Nightmare Town".
In other words, the only ones truly eliminated were Lu Renyi and Jia Ding, who hadn't boarded the bus. The two corpses in front of them were both fakes.
Thinking of the name of the new subplot, Zhao Dong suddenly had a realization. Surveying the sleeping passengers around him, he murmured, "Are we in a dream?"
Gu Cong: "That's right."
Gu Cong: "Rather than studying the ways of death, we should think about how to wake up as soon as possible."
"Otherwise..." In front of all the players, he specifically lowered his gaze to Xie Ye, hinting at something and covering for the young man, "We might end up sleeping forever."
Author's note:
PS: Xie Ye's wristwatch is genuine, so he will be counted as a player.
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