Buddhist player

It's called a fog town, and it truly lives up to its name.

No matter where you are in the town, everything is shrouded in a thin layer of mist. Although the mist doesn't look very thick, it makes things blurry just a few meters away, as if everything here has been absorbed into the mist.

...a very strange illusion.

Perhaps because of this factor, the whole town looked rather deserted. Occasionally, pedestrians would emerge from the fog and then hurry to the other side of the fog, where they would be quietly swallowed up by the soft mist.

The place that Sister Dao and the others were talking about was a hotel in town... or rather, the word "hotel" is not quite accurate; it should be more like a small hostel.

Short, small, dirty, broken.

Not only were all four items available, but there were also very few waiters. The only good thing was that the ubiquitous fog was finally gone from the room.

"Alright, can you tell me now?"

With a hint of disdain, Bai Chen wiped away the dust from the sofa and sat down.

"Judging from your conversation earlier, you've been here for several days now?"

"For me, it's the fifth day, but for Qingyi, it's the second day since she arrived here."

She sat down on the other side of the sofa as well, her tone indifferent.

"I was the first one to arrive here, and I arrived in the same way as you, on that bus. Not only me, but everyone's experiences are remarkably similar."

"The same group of passengers?"

Recalling the passengers on the bus, Bai Chen couldn't help but frown.

"Yes, not only were they the same group of passengers, but what happened on the train was also exactly the same."

Sister Dao nodded.

"I woke up in the back seat of the bus, and the person sitting in front of me suddenly vomited. While cleaning up the mess, his body suddenly changed and he was eaten by a group of crazy passengers, or perhaps we intervened and forcibly kicked him off the bus... As for his specific fate, it depends on the actions we take."

As she spoke, Sister Dao glanced at him again.

"The outcome that I, the door panel, and Yiwan played was to forcibly kick the other person off the bus; the outcome that Qingyi played was to watch helplessly as the other person was devoured by the frenzied passengers; and you, you let the other person live intact until they got off the bus."

"Sharing?"

Turning his head, Bai Chen looked at Qing Shiyi, who was hiding behind Sister Dao's sofa.

"……Um."

After a moment's hesitation, Qingyi nodded.

"Those passengers were practically insane; they brutally tore that man apart on the train, devouring him completely..."

As if recalling the crazy scene on the bus earlier, the girl's face appeared somewhat pale.

"Didn't you think about lending a hand?"

"Help? In an unknown environment and with an unclear situation, self-preservation is the best policy. There's no need to waste precious potions on an NPC. Rushing into someone else's affairs when nothing is clear could very well lead to unpredictable consequences."

It was somewhat amusing, and Sister Dao shook her head.

"That guy in the door panel did try to help, but according to him, before he could even get the potion to the other person's mouth, he was met with hostility from everyone on the bus and was almost attacked... You used a skill, didn't you?"

As she spoke, Sister Dao looked at him.

"Healing skills are rare, which is why I said you're lucky."

"Hmm... what happens after the people get off the bus?"

He didn't linger on that topic for long. After thinking for a while, Bai Chen changed the subject.

Although rescuing that man cost him 50 points of internal energy, for his current total of 500 points of internal energy, the 50-point consumption was not considered a major blow.

While other players are still using skill items, he now possesses a complete internal energy system, demonstrating the high value of perfect-grade items.

"They follow the established routine, working and living honestly in the town, but after today, they will disappear like smoke, and then reappear on that bus."

Seeing that he didn't want to talk, Sister Dao didn't force him, but just shrugged slightly.

"We tracked all 34 passengers, but we didn't find anything new. Even if we knocked some of them unconscious and tied them up, they would disappear naturally after a while. They had no idea about these things, and we couldn't get anything out of them. They knew less than we did... But now it's different."

"Because there's now an extra passenger?"

Raising an eyebrow, Bai Chen continued the conversation.

"Yes, the 35th passenger."

Sister Dao nodded.

"Just now, the door panel and the bowl were there to track down and investigate that person."

"...Let's talk about something else."

Bai Chen reached out and pressed his brow.

"I still haven't received any mission notifications, which is very unusual."

"Quest hint? The trigger point for this quest is at the Lord's Mansion. As long as you go to the Lord's Mansion, you can start the quest. Normally, as long as you successfully arrive at the town and conduct basic exploration of the town, you can successfully activate the quest."

Sister Dao waved her hand.

"I'll take you there in a little while."

"Lord's Mansion... what are the specific details of the mission?"

After thinking for a moment, Bai Chen asked the question.

"It's very simple. Helping the lord solve the five strange things that are happening in this town is a standard mission. By the way, the bus that brings a fixed number of people here every day is also one of the five strange things."

Shrugged and stood up from the sofa.

"Generally speaking, people who have just arrived from a bus need to rest because they have been fighting on the bus, which is why I thought of bringing you to my accommodation to rest. But now it seems that you don't need that."

"No... you call this a routine mission?"

Bai Chen looked at the scarred woman who stood up in front of him with a subtle expression.

"Well, the start was a bit strange, but the mission itself is still normal. You arrived late, and the four of us had already solved two strange things. There are only three strange things left."

Unlike him, Sister Dao appeared quite optimistic.

"To be honest, I'm quite envious of you. The later you arrive, the luckier you get. I just don't know how many teammates we have this time. Maybe by the time the last teammate arrives, we'll have already finished the mission and he'll just be carrying the team."

"...I hope things really do develop the way you expect."

Forcibly suppressing a vague unease that was rising in his heart, Bai Chen pressed his brow hard with his hand and stood up from the sofa.

"Let's go, take me to the lord's manor."