In the icy space, Bai Ci watched the countdown timer finally tick down to zero, and the familiar wave of dizziness washed over her without warning.
This time, the dizziness was brief and mild. It felt like no more than a blink of an eye before the rhythmic rumble of an engine and the friction of tires rolling over the road reached her ears.
The faint smell of gasoline and the musty scent of old leather lingered at the tip of her nose, mingled with a subtle trace of disinfectant. Bai Ci slowly opened her eyes. What met her gaze was a mottled, yellowing bus ceiling and neat rows of deep blue seats on either side.
Without a doubt, she was riding on a bumpy bus.
The view outside the window was blurry. She could only make out patches of dark, gray trees rapidly receding into the distance beneath an oppressive, leaden sky.
Bai Ci quickly scanned the cabin. The bus looked quite old; the paint on the interior walls had peeled away in large patches, exposing the rusted metal underneath. Behind the front windshield, the driver's back was stiff and rigid, giving off the eerie vibe of a plastic mannequin.
There were only five passengers in the cabin, including herself, scattered across the last two rows.
Bai Ci sat in a window seat on the left, with a young girl sitting next to her.
The young girl wore her hair in a high ponytail and looked to be around twenty years old, likely a college student. She wore a simple white T-shirt and jeans, clutching a faded canvas bag tightly to her chest.
Her head was slightly lowered, long bangs obscuring her eyes. Her shoulders were tense, and she exuded an aura of sheer timidity, breathing so softly as if terrified of drawing anyone's attention.
The woman sitting in front of Bai Ci wore a sleekly tailored black leather jacket. Her long black hair fell over her shoulders, the ends brushing her shoulder blades. She sat with her arms crossed, her eyes occasionally darting around the cabin before she forced herself to look away.
Next to the woman in the leather jacket was a young man with a buzz cut, wearing a hoodie printed with an anime pattern. In stark contrast to the silent girl beside Bai Ci, he was crane-necking to look around the cabin, muttering something under his breath. His eyes were a mix of excitement and anxiety, and his fingers tapped restlessly against his knees.
Across the aisle from the buzz-cut youth sat a slightly plump, middle-aged man in a plaid shirt. His face bore the weathered lines of experience, but his gaze was steady. He simply leaned back against his seat, calmly observing everyone in the bus, exuding a reliable aura.
Bai Ci quickly committed their appearances to memory. The woman in the leather jacket and the middle-aged man were clearly veterans, while the college girl was definitely a newbie. The buzz-cut youth was harder to read, but Bai Ci's intuition told her he was likely a newcomer as well.
The buzz-cut youth was the first to break the silence. He cleared his throat, his voice carrying the clear tone of a young man, though slightly loud and boisterous.
“Hey, did you guys... also suddenly appear here? I remember crossing the street one second, and the next, I was sitting here. What's the deal? Did we get abducted by aliens?”
The moment he finished speaking, the college girl visibly shuddered. She buried her head even lower, a soft, mosquito-like whimper escaping her throat as if she were on the verge of tears.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man cleared his throat softly and spoke up. “Easy there, kid. Don't make such a fuss, you're scaring the young lady. You all must have just arrived, right? This isn't an alien abduction. It's a game called ‘Anomalous Infection.’”
His voice was resonant, carrying a distinct northeastern accent. Though his tone was gentle, it possessed an inherent, reassuring authority.
“A game?” The buzz-cut youth's eyes lit up, and he instantly perked up, leaning forward.
“What kind of game? Like Terror Infinity? I love reading unlimited flow novels. Isn't this exactly like those web novel plots?”
“I don't know what Terror Infinity is, but this is much more dangerous than any novel,” the middle-aged man said, leaning back against his seat as he slowly explained.
“Simply put, everyone who enters this game is someone who died an accidental death in their original world.”
“If you want to live again, you have to participate in the game's instances. Once you accumulate ten S-grade evaluations, you can trigger the Return Mechanism, go back to the world you left, and regain your original identity and health.”
“Death?” The excitement on the buzz-cut youth's face faded slightly, only to be replaced by an even more intense wave of thrill. “Holy crap! So I really died!”
“No wonder! I was just walking down the street when someone suddenly stabbed me. It hurt like hell, and then everything went black.”
“So this is my chance to extend my life? That's awesome! Is my unlimited flow protagonist arc finally starting?”
He grew more and more excited as he spoke, gesturing wildly. He didn't seem to care about “death” or “danger” at all. Clearly, he had read too many novels and had fully cast himself as the main character.
Having finished observing her temporary teammates for this instance, Bai Ci took advantage of the safe exploration period to search for clues. She began checking her own belongings and her immediate surroundings while listening to the conversation between the buzz-cut youth and the middle-aged man.
She noticed a black backpack resting by her hand, likely an initial item assigned by the instance.
She pulled the backpack onto her lap and unzipped it. There was nothing particularly unusual inside—just a notebook, a pen, and a business card with her photo printed on it.
She picked up the business card and glanced at it. It read: “Bai Ci, Detective of Starlight Detective Agency,” along with a phone number and the agency's address. This was likely the identity the instance had assigned to her.
“What's your name?” Bai Ci asked casually, hearing the buzz-cut youth's slightly chuunibyou remarks.
It seemed like her teammates this time weren't bad people. Of course, she couldn't rule out the possibility that someone was just a very good actor.
“Are you asking me, beautiful?” The buzz-cut youth scratched his head. “I'm Zhao Lei.”
“Oh, then you're out of luck. No web novel protagonist is named that,” Bai Ci teased.
She hoped this naive kid would snap out of it. This was no novel, and there was no such thing as protagonist armor. Only by being cautious and careful could one survive longer.
“Aw, come on!” The buzz-cut youth slumped, his volume dropping by half. “What if it's a comedy-focused novel? I could still make it work... Is it too late for me to change my last name to Bai, Lin, or Ye?”
The college girl quietly raised her head, revealing a pair of red-rimmed eyes. She looked timidly at the middle-aged man and asked in a weak voice, “Is... is what you said true? As long as we get enough S-grade evaluations, we can go back?”
“At least, that's what the game says.” The middle-aged man nodded, softening his tone slightly. “How did you end up here?”
“I... I accidentally missed a step on the stairs and fell down the steps of the teaching building...” The ponytail-wearing college girl lowered her head, her voice trembling with tears.
“I lost consciousness after I fell, and when I woke up, I was here. I thought... I'd never see my parents again.”
“Don't worry. Just clear the instances properly, and you'll be able to go back and see them,” the middle-aged man comforted her before turning his gaze to Bai Ci and the woman in the leather jacket. “How many instances have you two cleared?”
Rate on N.U.
