Chapter 48: No way, surely no one actually noticed!

Without a doubt, Zhang Yangqing's bus arrived at the toll station first.

There was no other way; he had fueled up too much and spent too little time parked.

By the time many of the Chosen Ones were just departing from the gas station, he was already nearing the toll station.

Even the second-place finisher, Saburo Mitarai, was a step behind him.

But strangely, although he arrived earliest, he faced the most "obstacles."

Many vehicles appeared within Zhang Yangqing's field of vision, more than when other Chosen Ones arrived.

This was easy to understand, as the toll station ahead of all Chosen Ones was blocked by 20 cars.

Arriving early meant seeing more; arriving late meant seeing fewer, as the vehicles ahead would have already passed.

Perhaps this was the advantage of arriving early: having more time to observe.

"It seems we aren't the only ones preparing to hunt; it looks like other citizens are heading out too."

Zhang Yangqing was the first to deduce this.

Next came the process of queuing through the toll station, and the buses of other Chosen Ones began to arrive one after another.

The familiar waiting time brought a slight smile to Zhang Yangqing's lips.

This wasn't his first time entering. Generally speaking, the so-called "temporary waiting phase" of a dungeon wasn't meant for resting, but for finding more clues to pass through.

One could say he had the most time available.

He spent it observing whether there was anything special about the people nearby.

There were over ten buses and small cars in front of the toll station, but they were moving very slowly.

It seemed every vehicle had to undergo an inspection by the toll station staff.

Opening the windows, one could hear many cries and curses.

It was visible that many staff members dressed in white were leading certain [Citizens] off the buses and making them stand aside.

Once these citizens disembarked, their vehicles were allowed to pass through the toll station.

These citizens had already accumulated to about thirty people, and they all looked bewildered.

Zhang Yangqing could speculate that these toll station staff definitely did not belong to the [Citizens], nor did they belong to the [Ingredients]. They were likely hidden Weirdities. They possessed their own rules, and if a Chosen One violated those rules, they would kill them.

Zhang Yangqing was all too familiar with this; he had encountered two such entities in the previous dungeon.

Hidden Weirdities were special species of the Ghost Story World. They could not be killed, but they were powerful; fighting them was merely a waste of time.

There seemed to be no need to force a breakthrough, as the bus driver was currently asleep, and starting the engine wouldn't provide enough speed.

He could fight his way through, but the passengers on the bus didn't seem to be a match for the toll station staff, and reducing the number of passengers was not a good option.

This was easy to judge because the passengers getting off the buses were all citizens. The citizens previously detained by the staff had no way to resist, and the people on his own bus would likely be the same.

This was perhaps the problem he was meant to observe by staying here.

Eight minutes passed, and many vehicles ahead drove through the toll station.

Three vehicles ahead were detained; from their conversation, it seemed that one could not leave without a [Tour Guide].

At that moment, a toll station staff member dressed in white approached Zhang Yangqing's bus, ordering him to open the door for inspection.

The other Chosen Ones chose to turn a deaf ear at this time, even Saburo Mitarai.

The radio information had mentioned that only those dressed in red were the true staff members. This person was clearly not one, so his demands could be ignored.

Everyone found it strange: there were about five staff members in white, but no one had seen any staff members in red. Where were they?

After knocking on the door for a while, the white-clad staff member naturally left.

Then, the scene took a terrifying turn.

The white-clad staff members began to massacre the citizens who had disembarked. The citizens dared not resist, but they could run.

Many citizens ran to the doors of the buses where the Chosen Ones were located, their eyes filled with pleading.

"Please, open the door and let me in, please!"

"Even if you won't let me in, just open the door for my child, please. He's just a kid, he hasn't eaten in a long time!"

"Have mercy, I'll kneel and beg you, I really don't want to die!"

The wailing was heart-wrenching, and bloody handprints continuously slapped against the bus windows.

Many Chosen Ones found it unbearable, feeling as if their hearts were being squeezed, their minds filled with constant self-reproach.

Watching creatures that looked much like themselves facing a massacre, many Chosen Ones felt a stir in their hearts.

Yet, they feared that letting them on board would lead to some danger, making the cost outweigh the benefit.

Was this stage testing their compassion? Perhaps cold-bloodedness was the secret to passing.

Then, a person suddenly came to their minds: the Chosen One from the Dragon Kingdom.

They had all watched the previous Ghost Story World; only the cold-blooded could avoid gambling with their lives and find the correct answer.

So, they muttered to themselves: *It's not that I'm cold-blooded; I'm just learning from the Dragon Kingdom's Chosen One. If you want to blame someone, blame him.*

They used this method to soothe their inner guilt.

They could only watch helplessly as more than thirty citizens were killed outside the window; most Chosen Ones remained indifferent.

Some even turned their heads away and covered their ears, refusing to look or listen.

It wasn't until all the citizens outside the bus were killed and the staff members' clothes were completely stained red that many Chosen Ones snapped back to reality.

"Could the 'staff members in red' mentioned on the radio be these people?"

Saburo Mitarai began to make a bold deduction, because he had indeed scanned the area just now and saw no staff in red.

Now that they were drenched in blood, weren't they effectively staff members in red?

Many people felt relieved that they hadn't opened their doors just now, otherwise, they might have been washed in blood.

At this moment, the "red-clad" staff members were dragging the corpses near the bus away. There were men, women, old, and young; the scene looked terrifying and nauseating.

Many with weaker psychological fortitude felt their stomachs churning.

It seemed that for this stage, as long as one satisfied the requirements of the red-clad staff, they could pass.

In this scene that resembled a living hell, they didn't want to stay for even a second longer.

As for the Dragon Kingdom's Chosen One, whom everyone thought should be the most "cold-blooded"...

While the white-clad staff members were massacring the citizens, he stepped off the bus.

And he shouted loudly: "Stop!"

The moment he stepped off, the staff members suddenly ceased their slaughter, and almost every gaze turned toward him.

Some looked directly, some out of the corners of their eyes, and some even watched through the glass, as if they were viewing him as prey.

Zhang Yangqing wasn't afraid of them. You might be unkillable, but you can't beat me either.

However, his actions left many Dragon Kingdom viewers puzzled. Was Master Zhang going to save these citizens?

It seemed unnecessary. This stage required the citizens to die for the red-clad staff to appear.

Strange. Logically, Master Zhang should be the most ruthless one; why was he starting to act kind?

But kindness was poorly timed.

The expert group even wanted to call him to warn him to go back.

If Zhang Yangqing knew what they were thinking, he would surely laugh.

*I'm not being kind. This is a bonus segment—a reward stage. Has no one really seen that?*