CH 102

【Hong——

After some time, the bus stopped again.

The urging voice from the television restored the gloomy atmosphere.

[Second stop —— the old city centre hospital. Please choose the sinner who will get off the bus.]

[Nineteen years ago, a highly skilled female head nurse gave birth to a sickly child.

A few days later, a wealthy couple also gave birth to a baby boy at the hospital.

The head nurse’s child was placed next to that baby’s cradle, so she used her authority to swap the children.

The baby’s mom noticed this and wanted to expose the true face of the head nurse. Unfortunately, she was pushed off the roof by the head nurse and died.

Many years later, in a car accident, the baby boy who was swapped also got pushed by his unrelated sister in a traffic accident and died.]

[Passengers, please get off the bus carefully and explore.]

[Please choose the sinner who will stay here after exploring —— choosing the wrong person will have serious consequences.]

[We’ve already arrived —— I wish all passengers a joyful trip.]

The door slowly opened, and everyone on the bus went crazy like never before.

“Who’s the sinner?! Who the fuck is it? Get out of the bus! Get out!” The young man who had lost an eye at the previous stop roared hoarsely.

The other passengers also stood up and glanced around in suspicion.

Looking at the nerve-wracking scene, the middle-aged woman sitting in the back row lowered her head.

Ominous light flashed through her eyes.】

—— From《Bus of Hell》

Looking at the seemingly harmless young man in front of her, Liu Cai swallowed her saliva and glanced at Lao Qi who was also buried in the ruins.

They all knew that danger was everywhere in the horror world.

In this place, things that looked harmless were often the most dangerous.

Liu Cai quickly winked at Lao Qi before looking back at the young man who was poking at them in curiosity.

Lao Qi held his breath nervously, praying that Liu Cai would succeed in taking care of this brat!

After all, they were now buried underneath with bruises all over their bodies and almost all of their physical strength was exhausted.

If this young man had any bad intentions, they might die for real —— for now, the only way out was to win over this guy.

“Hello, Brother. Can you do me a favour?”

Liu Cai dashed towards Zhou Yu and curved up the corner of her mouth, trying to show what she thought was her most charming smile.

Zhou Yu got stunned and his pupil shrank. 

To the outside world, the young man seemed to be captivated by Liu Cai’s smile.

Looking at the newbie native, pride flashed upon Liu Cai’s eyes. She was waiting for her impending success.

But in reality, Zhou Yu only saw some blurry shades and broken views. He couldn’t even see her face which was full of dust and dirt.

Movie-like pictures flashed in his mind.

In the first picture, there was an elegant clown standing in the dark, with a glass ball-like thing suspended in his hand —— countless wailing souls collided in the ball, but none could get out.

The following picture was a dilapidated bus that fell down into a ravine —— inside the bus, there was a lot of dying people struggling to get out.

Thud——Thud, thud, thud——

The abrupt sound of falling objects pulled Zhou Yu’s mind back.

A series of bricks and rocks fell from the hole above and hit Liu Cai’s beautiful face with precision.

“AAAAHHH! My nose!? This cost me 2,000 points AAHHH!!!”

Zhou Yu got stunned again.

He was relatively close to the fall, but he did not get hit in the slightest, even the dust did not.

But he could hear the crisp sound of bone fracture from the strange woman in front of him very clearly.

Before he had time to ponder the meaning of the pictures just now, he grimaced as if he felt the pain too.

Wowie! This is so stimulating.

On the other dimension, the clown casually put one of his hands in his pocket while the other was used to hold his can. He stood in a leisurely manner, looking a bit ruffian.

He looked indifferent as if he had done nothing.

“Are you okay, this… uh, Big Sister?”

Zhou Yu stared at the dirty, blood-stained woman. He was not sure whether he should call her auntie or not.

Lao Qi also showed an utterly distressed face.

2,000 points for a nose?

Oh my god!

He bought so many props with 5,000 reward points, and that was already all his savings over the past ten years!

[Dear passenger, considering the home theatre is damaged for an unknown reason, you——]

Hearing this, Zhou Yu, who was still observing the two weirdos and thinking about the fleeting pictures, immediately became nervous and hurriedly said, “Wh, what? Do I fail? Please don’t fail me!”

Although he had not seen the true face of the voice, Zhou Yu unconsciously let his guard down.

There was even a hint of intimacy in his tone now.

Across the dimension, the clown, whose speech was interrupted by Zhou Yu’s soft voice, got stiff.

He felt his ears were a little hot, so he embarrassedly raised his hat.

This little guy is really impatient. —— How could I be willing to let you fail?

[——pass the first level.] The cold and inorganic voice was filled with love hidden by its master.

The clown stretched his finger at the youth in front of him.

Although he knew he could not touch it, he traced it along the youth’s round cheeks.

How strange… How can this little guy become cuter every time I see him —— I really want to keep him away from other people, so he will always be mine alone.

Lao Qi finally lifted away the heaviest piece of cement board from his body and heaved a sigh of relief.

“Big Bro, help me! Cough I’m losing too much blood…”

Besides him, Liu Cai tried her best to move away the bricks and tiles, revealing her bloody face.

Lao Qi was injured all over, however, he still faithfully ran over to help. It was just he could not bear to see her after taking a single glance.

It’s really f*cking hurt to see.

But there was no way, they had not escaped yet, so they could not tear the other’s face[1] and had to support each other.

Thinking of this, Lao Qi took a deep breath and began to move away the debris from Liu Cai.

Soon, the two climbed out of the ruins.

After using Liu Cai’s quick-acting spray, their wounds quickly healed and began to form a scab.

However, Liu Cai’s half-disfigured face could not be healed.

“Hiss——”

Liu Cai touched her twisted, disfigured nose and gasped in pain.

“D*mn it! My nose!”

Lao Qi sprayed his arm and watched the wound gradually recover.

He did not dare to look at Liu Cai’s face, so he turned around and looked at the native youth not far away and said, “Hey! What that kid’s doing! Is he sane?”

Upon hearing this, Liu Cai took a close look at the youth and laughed, “Ahaha that will make things easy to do. I’m afraid he was a fool!”

Zhou Yu, who was immersed in talking with the clown, had not noticed the two people yet.

Looking at the crazy youth who was talking alone, Lao Qi and Liu Cai began to discuss countermeasures.

“Lao Qi, he should be a plot character. Look, he’s so relaxed and has no fear at all —— maybe he’s an important character!”

Lao Qi nodded in agreement, and calmly said, “We don’t know the plot right now, so it’s best not to hurt any characters. Besides, we don’t have a mission now. It’s better not stir up any problem.”

“I know, I know. And, maybe we can escape from here if we follow him!”

After speaking, Liu Cai wiped off her nosebleed and sprayed her nose to stop the blood.

“Anyway, Big Bro, we can’t stay here for long! Just now I’ve seen a group of people coming. If I didn’t blow up the wall, I wouldn’t have been able to meet you alive.

As Liu Cai talked, she showed her “good brother” expression again, but coupled with her extremely disfigured features, it was enough to scare Lao Qi into tears.

“Sister, you’re right! Let’s lure him![2] Even if he’s a lunatic, we have to stay with him!”

Lao Qi blinked, trying his best to suppress his churning stomach.

He finally understood what the uncanny valley[3] was —— she looked like a person, but did not look normal.

D*mn! It’s so weird! Even a zombie’s face is better.

“Thank you! I don’t know what to say! Anyway,  you’re really kind, Buddy!” Zhou Yu smiled brightly.

[You’re welcome, dear passenger. As long as you are satisfied, I’m willing to pay any price.] 

The icy voice was deep and rich, making the whole sentence full of ambiguity.

This sentence made Zhou Yu immediately remembered the previous events. He scratched his head in embarrassment.

He was not a fool.

Especially since the bus television confessed so blatantly. But, he didn’t want to hurt this non-human being who had always been friendly to him —— It was just he really not gay.

Well… If it’s Brother Clown, I’ll consider it.

As the clown’s image suddenly crossed his mind, Zhou Yu blushed and made up his mind.

He wanted to make it clear with the bus television!

Zhou Yu, who had watched a lot of TV series, knew very well that being indecisive would only hurt the other.

Since he could not accept it, he needed to make it clear, so the bus television could drop this idea forever and be free.

Even if this would cause the game to fail!

He really could not continue to deceive such a kind non-human being.

Zhou Yu’s long eyelashes trembled as he opened his rosy lips. The clown could feel the inconspicuous shyness mixed in it.

The clown clenched his cane, feeling a little nervous. He pulled the tie around his neck and his posture became more and more upright.

He was waiting for his beloved little one’s sweet answer.

“Although it’s a bit ruthless, I——”

The clown, who heard the first half of the sentence, still had no change in emotion, but his cane was already on the verge of being destroyed again.

“Hey! Little brother!”

A big hand patted Zhou Yu’s shoulder. The voice was loud and powerful, making Zhou Yu froze in fright.

“F*ck! Scared me to death!”

Zhou Yu, who was frightened, let out a rare curse word. All his fluffy hair standing straight up on end.

He looked like a scared, fluffy squirrel.

“Who, who are you?!”

Zhou Yu’s beautiful and delicate almond eyes glared angrily at the bald uncle behind him.

“Don’t you see I’m busy! Why did you come here?!”

He was so scared that he forgot all his words.

Lao Qi did not dare to anger this important plot character. He just smiled and said, “Aiya! Sorry, Brother. My brain ah, I should have greeted you earlier. Is it urgent? I hope you forgive me!”

“What’s wrong?”

After Zhou Yu recovered, he was no longer angry. His tone also returned to normal.

It just——

He looked at the two flattering strangers in suspicion.

He did not trust these two guys who fell from the sky.

Small theatre:

Zhou Yu: No! Who has a soft voice?! Who acts coyly?! You’re slandering people! I’m a pure man! (the_pride_of_an_acute_straight_man.jpg)

Clown: (teary_eyes.jpg) The promised sweet agreement. Stabbing my heart! (clown’s_style_sad_face.jpg)

Future world’s consciousness: (expressionless) Where do I need to start? Perfect match?

Nightmare world’s consciousness: (holding out a bouquet of banknotes) Future! Marry me!

Future world’s consciousness: (taking the clown’s cane) I’ll take care of you first before I continue criticizing.

Nightmare world’s consciousness: (painfully_happy.jpg) I already know ah! Hitting is kissing and cursing is love. So that means, Future, you like me! (teary eyes)

Future world’s consciousness: (on_the_brink_of_collapse_from_ballet.jpg) Who can come and save me AAHHHH!!!

Tn

[1] : 不能撕破脸, translated as could not tear the other’s face. This means Lao Qi couldn’t stop pretending they’re friend and leave Liu Cai alone.

[2] : 威逼利诱, translated as let’s lure him. This is an idiom which means to use carrot-and-stick approach (threats and promises).

[3] : 恐怖谷, translated as the uncanny valley. Quoting from Wikipedia, “In aesthetics, the uncanny valley is a hypothesized relation between an object’s degree of resemblance to a human being and the emotional response to the object. The concept suggests that humanoid objects that imperfectly resemble actual human beings provoke uncanny or strangely familiar feelings of uneasiness and revulsion in observers.”