ITOTIABSAM | Infinite Flow | 165
There should have been a scar there.
It was left behind when he first entered the Punishment World.
In the apocalyptic world filled with zombies, Gu Cong's account had zero available points. He relied entirely on the swordsmanship and body techniques taught to him personally by a certain immortal to complete the tasks and survive.
The mechanism of the Punishment World was special. After arriving at the transfer station, the injuries that should have been left for the original owner still manifested on his body through the soul, vividly and bloodily. During subsequent treatment, Gu Cong clearly had enough points, yet he deliberately left one injury—a spot where his heart was nearly torn open by the zombie king.
Because he felt that the location of this injury was very similar to the one Xie Ye had suffered.
Nowadays, Gu Cong had already challenged various difficult tasks and ranked first on the points leaderboard, becoming a well-known top employee in the bureau.
His original small world that once made him reluctant to leave, Gu Cong had also returned to it, reliving his life at the age of eighteen, avoiding the car accident and accompanying his parents until their old age.
Despite the calm and comfort, his mentality could not return to the way it was at the beginning.
After that, Gu Cong, who had realized his wishes, just aimlessly and habitually took on tasks. He didn't even know why he continued, why he continued to be a not-so-interesting quick-wear employee.
But the moment he saw Xie Ye, Gu Cong suddenly realized that his spirit was unexpectedly active and focused, after a long absence.
It seemed like the moment he had been subconsciously waiting for, even though he himself was not clear about it.
[The programmer was lazy and just reused the same appearance,] 0028 timely poured cold water on him, "It's better not to have any expectations."
Outside the bus, the teenager who had just lowered his head again was being spoken to by a woman.
His memory was very confused, and his thoughts were incredibly slow. His soft hair was messy and drooping, making him appear harmless yet somewhat dull.
Of course, in the world of infinite games, being harmless was not usually a good adjective.
"Newcomer?" Tang Yan noticed a faint bulge under the oversized cuffs of the teenager's school uniform, resembling the shape of a wristwatch. She stopped in her tracks, raised an eyebrow, and asked.
The mud Bodhisattva crossing the river fears for its own safety. She was not a saint who loved to meddle in others' affairs, but by coincidence, the quiet appearance of the young man standing there reminded Tang Yan of her own brother.
Same age, similar temperament, it softened her heart that had long been hardened and brought forth a bit of longing.
"Newcomer?"
Blankly, the teenager glanced at the woman's left hand, where a black circular wristwatch-like ring was worn, but he didn't speak.
Tang Yan wasn't annoyed, and even faintly dispelled two points of vigilance: perhaps due to the so-called immersive experience touted in the game announcements, aside from players, NPCs and bosses in the instance couldn't see this.
It was as if they were afraid the NPCs would break character.
Being able to enter a level 7 difficulty instance, even if they were cannon fodder intentionally sent in by the system to hinder progress, they should have at least one successful completion experience.
Guessing that the other party might have been traumatized by the previous instance, Tang Yan didn't ask further questions but instead gestured to him, saying, "Get on the bus."
According to the background introduction of the mission, the small town the bus was taking them to was the destination of this trip.
And she could only offer this much help to him.
Silently, the teenager blinked and followed Tang Yan.
In just a few sentences, many passengers had returned to the bus. People of all ages and styles were present, and the appearance of the teenager didn't attract too much attention.
After all, it was Saturday, and it was normal for students to be on holiday.
The only trouble was that Xie Ye didn't know his seat.
—Yes, after a few minutes of effort to recall, the teenager finally remembered his name.
But that was all he remembered.
Seemingly unintentionally, he reached into his pocket, flipping through it without much hope. Then, as if someone was intentionally fulfilling his request, a ticket appeared out of thin air.
A thin paper product with no discernible texture.
Experienced players had already confirmed possible clues before boarding the bus, like Tang Yan who didn't hesitate and went straight to her seat.
No one would take out their ticket to find their seat midway through the journey.
However, Xie Ye calmly stood in front of all the passengers, carefully reading the contents of the ticket word by word, then slowly made his way to the row closest to the rear door.
"This newcomer might be a bit simple-minded," whispered a young man who had sat down next to Gu Cong two minutes ago, his voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "Now everyone, players or ghosts, knows he's an easy target."
His name was Zhao Dong, a very ordinary name, but he was one of the earliest players who followed Jiang Chuan. In the level 7 instance, originally, he could barely manage on his own, but in the previous instance, he had expended too much energy. Plus, Cheng Xiaorong in the team was participating in an advanced instance for the first time, so he had to ask the leader for help.
Thinking of this, he felt a bit worried, "Where's Xiaorong?"
As the bus inside became increasingly crowded, why hadn't she arrived yet?
As soon as Zhao Dong finished speaking, he suddenly felt a chill at the back of his neck. He turned around to find the young man he had just described as easy to bully standing right behind him, silently staring at him.
More accurately, he was staring at Zhao Dong's seat.
As for "Zhao Dong" himself, it seemed that he wasn't even in the other person's consideration.
Feeling a subtle sense of defeat for no apparent reason, Zhao Dong immediately switched to social mode, smiled, and appeared very easygoing and approachable. "Sorry, sorry, I just love talking and couldn't hold back. I wanted to chat with someone casually. Is this your seat?"
...
Silence.
Like butterfly wings, the teenager's thicker and more curly eyelashes fluttered, as if he didn't understand, yet also as if he didn't hear, expressionless as he continued to stare.
It wasn't until Zhao Dong gave a helpless look to Gu Cong and awkwardly got up that the teenager finally moved, sitting in the vacant seat.
It was odd.
But compared to Xie Ye, Zhao Dong was more concerned about his own teammate. Luckily, as he was preparing to get off to look for her, a familiar figure appeared not far away.
It was a girl who looked to be in her early twenties.
Her short hair was messy, as if it had exploded, and she seemed somewhat disheveled, but there were no obvious external injuries.
"Open the door, open the door! My luck is unbelievable," the girl with the short hair—Cheng Xiaorong, whose seat happened to be adjacent to Zhao Dong's—spoke rapidly. "I woke up in the restroom and knew it was going to be bad."
If luck was also an attribute, then her panel must be negative.
After cautiously assessing the situation around her, Cheng Xiaorong relaxed a bit, raised her hand to tidy her hair, and then nudged Zhao Dong's arm. "Hey, who's that next to the leader?"
Zhao Dong: "Just a newcomer, kinda weird."
Zhao Dong: "Why? Have you seen him before?"
"Of course not," Cheng Xiaorong rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I just think he's... " She paused, swallowing back the words "good-looking," and opted for a different description. "Quite handsome."
Handsome even when wearing a tattered burlap sack that couldn't hide it.
Zhao Dong couldn't argue with that, but in the world of infinite games, being handsome didn't put food on the table. Excessive beauty would only bring about tragedies even more miserable than reality.
Click.
Finishing his third cigarette, the driver, whose temperament seemed irritable just by looking at his face, opened the door and got on the bus. Without even glancing at the passengers behind him, he drove the bus out of the rest area.
One of the players attempted to inquire about their missing teammate, saying, "Excuse me, is there sti—"
[Ding Dong! Ding Dong! Death Announcement: Player Lu Ren has been eliminated. Player Jia Ding has been eliminated. Everyone, let's continue to work hard.]
The announcement fell on their ears like swallowing a dry white steamed bun, blocking all questions in their throats.
No one spoke again.
Because all players received the same message.
[Tsk, this affected tone is so disgusting. It's a mechanical voice, pretending to be cute.] 0028 commented disdainfully.
However, Gu Cong's attention was focused on the young man next to him.
His gaze swept over the dark red corner of the school uniform. When the chatter and snores of the surrounding NPCs began, he spoke in the gentlest tone, "I'm Jiang Chuan."
"What's your name?"
It had been so long since he experienced the emotion called nervousness that he even felt his hand, extended outward, trembling imperceptibly.
With a hint of confusion, Xie Ye tilted his head, staring at the man's neatly trimmed nails. Countless similar scenes flashed through his mind, causing him a headache.
"Xie Ye." With a composed demeanor, he gently held the man's fingertip, giving it a slight shake, and uttered his first words since boarding the bus.
Compared to his own, the young man's hand was noticeably colder, slender and delicate, lacking the calluses from heavy labor or the thin calluses left by frequent writing, yet pleasing to the eye.
On the outer side of his middle finger, there was a faint mole.
Very faint, one had to pay special attention to notice it.
After a few silent seconds, Gu Cong spoke slowly, ‘It's him.’
Thinking that the other party was seeking approval from him, 0028, with its sharp tongue, remarked, "Great, probably another villain. You better check the plot."
It would be a shame if he got eaten by the boss without even knowing.
—Following its host's "preferences," understanding the plot would make the already boring life even more dull. After taking on the role of maintaining the small world, the host had started actively blocking what it called the "original work."
Anyway, Gu Cong's identity was often just a background figure mentioned more frequently in novels, frequently appearing but without much presence. He didn't need to get involved in the main storyline; whether he lived or died didn't matter.
But that was all in the past.
Right now, sitting next to the host was Xie Ye, Gu Cong's most serious failure, all because of him.
It was very necessary to be familiar with the plot.
However, the person who was being concerned by it didn't seem to have any intention of interacting with him. As if performing a magic trick, Gu Cong pulled out a small package of chocolates from somewhere and, taking advantage of the fact that the young man's hand had not yet withdrawn, stuffed it into his palm:
"You seem to be lacking in strength."
"Wanna eat?"
Zhao Dong, who was always paying attention to the leader's movements, almost popped his eyeballs out.
Although Brother Jiang always wore a smile on his face and treated everyone warmly, those who truly understood him knew that it was just a means to an end, a façade, merely because there was value to be exploited.
But what about this little guy in front of him? What was worth Brother Jiang's attention?
His appearance?
But Brother Jiang had always been virtuous and self-disciplined.
Unconsciously, the sky grew darker and darker, and the rest area, lit up with lights, grew farther and farther away. Before Zhao Dong could come up with a reason, the playful system voice sounded again: "Ding Dong! Hehehe, dear players!"
【Friendly reminder】
【There's a ghost on the bus.】
【Hurry up and find it out.】
Author's note:
Xie Ye: A ghost? Am I a ghost?
Gu Cong: (He's really cute)
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