Only after the bus had picked up all the similarly invited individuals did the fixed event truly begin to reveal its true nature.
After roughly going over the known information, Chen Miao hesitated for quite a while before finally speaking, "Can't you turn back?"
As his words fell,
the atmosphere inside the bus suddenly became tense. The middle-aged man who was conversing nearby suddenly held his breath, closed his eyes, and pretended as if he heard nothing, a practice of mindfulness by focusing on his breathing.
"It's not that we can't."
Doctor Gou started speaking with a wry smile, "That is the first guest. As the ticket collector, you should go collect the fare. Before this guest has paid the fare, he is in a state where he might attack at any moment."
"Do your best to avoid direct eye contact, so as not to provoke unnecessary conflict."
"Should I go directly to ask for it? How much is the fare?"
"I'm not sure about the fare, but if the guest is willing to pay, they will offer a suitable amount. It's a challenging situation since the bus is supposed to be a fundamentally safe space where attacks cannot happen."
Doctor Gou carefully chose his words before continuing, "The only way to collect the fare from a guest is to defeat them in combat. The bus stops for 2 minutes at each station."
"That is the only time you can take the guest off the bus to ask for the fare."
"This is part of the ticket collector's duties. If there are still guests who have not paid their fare when the bus reaches its final destination, the ticket collector will be executed. That's all I know about the role of the ticket collector."
"I'm not exactly clear on the specifics."
"But don't worry too much. The bus has not officially departed yet. Once we officially set off, a panel will provide you with detailed information."
...
Chen Miao didn't speak again; he had roughly understood his role and had confirmed that the Hungry Monkey behind him wasn't a real one, but likely some sort of ghostly creature. With this in mind, there was nothing to worry about.
All that remained was to consider whether his firepower was strong enough or whether these so-called guests were stronger.
After Doctor Gou boarded, the itinerary began to change continuously.
The previous stop "Jingjiu City" - the current stop "Broken Pot City" - the next stop "Fei Yu City" - the next stop "Good Cat City" -...
No one spoke on the bus anymore, including Doctor Gou, who had fallen into thought, pondering over something.
The Hell Bus stopped and started intermittently, picking up a superhuman from other cities each time it stopped.
During the official journey, there will be 11 stops in total, each lasting 10 minutes. During this time, adventurers are free to move around.
Once the time is up, the bus will automatically close its doors and set off again.
When the bus reaches the final destination, the event is officially over, and the bus will take all adventurers back to their embarkation points.
Good luck to all.
Maintenance on the spot for 30 minutes will be followed by an official departure to the first stop, 'Mile Park'."
-
The panels weren't too complicated.
But there was an additional panel in front of Chen Miao.
"Ding, congratulations to player Chen Miao for being the lucky choice as this Hell Bus's ticket collector. As the ticket collector, you may choose to stay on the bus at any time."
"However, as part of your duties, you will need to collect a certain fare from uninvited guests who board the bus without permission; and when the bus encounters crises or obstacles, you will need to address these incidents."
"When the train enters the final station, if there are still uninvited guests onboard who have not been charged a fare, player Chen Miao will be permanently left on this bus to assume the role of a ticket collector."
"If all goes well, player Chen Miao will receive an additional reward as recognition for an outstanding ticket collector."
...
"Alright."
At that moment—
the voice of the middle-aged man from Gaobei City in the bus compartment rang out again, "Since things have come to this point, there's no need for everyone to look so downcast. The difficulty may have increased, but if we all work together, we might not end up with the same result."
"Let me introduce myself first."
"I am from Gaobei City, a fighter, level 24. For convenience, you can just call me Old Gao."
A middle-aged woman in the bus, who appeared somewhat voluptuous, seemed completely distraught, and her voice even trembled, "I'm from Fei Yu City, an archer, level 21."
"I just saw an invitation in front of me. I didn't know what it was, so I clicked it, and here I am."
"Is the difficulty really high? Am I going to die?"