Chapter 39: The First Victim Makes a Powerful Entrance!

The gloomy weather brought with it gusts of chilly wind.

It had to be said, it was indeed a perfect time to skip work and take a long nap.

But this was the world of Weird Tales, and the Chosen Ones were panicking. "Driver, if you don't start driving soon, we might not be able to leave!"

The thick fog outside the station grew denser and denser, appearing like a demon that swallowed everything in its path.

Gazing into the pitch-black fog, the hearts of the Chosen Ones felt as though they were being weighed down by heavy stones.

On the platform, many of the bolder individuals were already approaching the bus.

A keen observer among the Chosen Ones could notice their Adam's apples bobbing up and down; some even had glistening saliva trickling from the corners of their mouths.

The eight passengers inside the bus seemed in no hurry and showed no intention of rushing the tour guide. They were all busy with their own affairs, as if the mist outside were invisible to them.

The bus doors were left open. If this continued, the people outside might board the vehicle. At this critical moment, Mitarai Saburo, a Chosen One from Japan, was the first to make a judgment.

He stood up, walked over to the driver's side, and used the most polite language to wake him.

After the driver woke up, something strange happened.

The people on the platform began to retreat one after another; some even left entirely, vanishing into the mist.

Once the driver closed the doors, he slammed on the gas, driving the bus out of the station.

"It seems these people are quite afraid of the driver. The driver might actually be the guardian deity of this bus. Of course, that guardianship is relative—as long as I don't provoke him, he certainly won't harm me."

Witnessing this, Mitarai Saburo became even more certain of his judgment.

Whether they could survive this journey depended heavily on the role of the driver.

After Mitarai Saburo's bus departed first, the other Chosen Ones seemed to snap out of it as well; they couldn't just sit there and wait for death.

With trepidation in their hearts, they woke the driver, believing that as long as he was awake, they could depart smoothly.

Most of the Chosen Ones were relatively normal, with the exception of a Chosen One from the Land of Ramen, who was quite outrageous.

The Chosen One from the Land of Ramen was a street thug in reality, a gang enforcer of sorts.

Accustomed to a life of living on the edge, he was used to being reckless, possessing both skill and a volatile temper.

He shouted from his seat, telling the driver to hurry up and drive.

But the driver seemed to be sleeping soundly and couldn't hear him.

Whether due to a neurological glitch or simply out of professional habit, the man walked straight up and slapped the driver on the head, demanding he drive immediately.

As a result, he became the only man to trigger a "Death End."

After being slapped on the head, the driver seemed furious. He threw the man straight off the bus, slammed the door, and drove away.

Facing the powerful driver, the Chosen One from the Land of Ramen was as helpless as a little chick.

Though he fought back desperately, how could he possibly move a body that felt like solid steel?

Once the bus left, the people on the platform lunged forward like hungry tigers. The screen for the Land of Ramen went black.

The expert group and the audience from the Land of Ramen were stunned.

My God, is this guy insane? It's one thing to seek his own death, but why does he have to endanger us?

This kind of person is just a brainless brute. He has skill but no brains; he was bound to die sooner or later. Why is our Land of Ramen so unlucky, always picking these ridiculous people?

I think he was trying to imitate the Chosen One from the Dragon Kingdom. He watched too many of his successful runs and thought he could do it too.

This guy has the temper of a supernatural being but none of the actual power!

Exactly! Even the Dragon Kingdom's Chosen One wasn't that reckless this time. What gives him the right to be so wild?

I have to say, in a scenario where death is basically impossible, this guy managed to find the one path to death. That's quite an achievement.

The Land of Ramen had suffered two consecutive crushing defeats in these Weird Tales—the last one waited for death, and this one sought it.

The expert group didn't even have the chance to warn him.

The Land of Ramen faced another disaster; they were now on a four-game losing streak, and the situation was looking grim.

On the Dragon Kingdom's side, Zhang Yangqing was quite relaxed and pleasant. His method was simpler than anyone else's, characterized by a single word: laziness.

He simply had his beautiful little assistant go wake the driver, not even bothering to do it himself.

When it came to delegating tasks, Zhang Yangqing was a professional.

The Dragon Kingdom's audience was very familiar with this; after all, in the previous dungeon, that Goblin security guard had been treated like a subordinate by Master Zhang.

There were many seats on the bus, but without exception, the eight passengers—aside from those who arrived together—were not sitting near each other, maintaining a certain distance.

Normally, the tour guide would sit at the front, near the driver, by the front door.

No one wanted to sit in the middle of this group of people; compared to the seemingly bizarre passengers, the driver was much more reliable.

There were two seats next to the front door. Many people sat in the inner seat, leaving the outer seat for the beautiful assistant.

This was to minimize the probability of being attacked.

Since everyone had watched Zhang Yangqing's successful runs, they figured: if you can use someone, use them.

Thus, they felt there was nothing wrong with using the beautiful assistant as a human shield.

Although they felt a slight pang of conscience about using such a pure and lively assistant as a shield, it was better than dying themselves.

Then, everyone thought: *The Dragon Kingdom's Chosen One would definitely do this; he's the one who taught us. Beautiful, don't blame me for being cold-hearted; blame him instead.*

It was like everyone was acting against their conscience, but while doing so, they told themselves, *This isn't my intention; I'm just following his example.*

It was a classic case of being "hypocritical while acting righteous."

To everyone's surprise, however, on the Dragon Kingdom's big screen, Zhang Yangqing had the beautiful assistant sit in the inner seat while he sat in the outer one.

The assistant seemed to be a chatterbox, constantly communicating with the Chosen Ones.

Her crisp voice helped alleviate some of the pressure of this somber journey.

But this was the world of Weird Tales; the Chosen Ones were still in a state of high tension, giving her only one-word or half-hearted replies. Everyone's actions were consistent: they were searching the bus for clues and intelligence.

Only Zhang Yangqing was chatting casually with the assistant, and the two seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation.

While chatting, Zhang Yangqing discovered station prompts on the bus.

Rule 5 clearly stated: *Please confirm your destination and find a way to make the driver stop. If you miss your destination, you bear the consequences yourself.*

This was an open-ended question. The choice of where to get off determined whether a Chosen One could survive.

Before even boarding the bus, both Zhang Yangqing and Mitarai Saburo had considered this.

It could be said that they considered much more than the other Chosen Ones; Mitarai Saburo was perhaps the only person whose intellect and judgment could keep up with Zhang Yangqing.

Soon, everyone noticed that several stations were written on the bus.

They were

Initial Station — Joyful Graveyard — Smiling Hospital — Sunny Volcano — Misty Forest — Goodbye Slaughterhouse

Upon seeing the name of the last station, Zhang Yangqing understood. If they missed the preceding stations and the bus reached the Slaughterhouse, it would essentially be a death sentence.

The "bear the consequences yourself" mentioned in Rule 5 was likely a hint that the Slaughterhouse was dangerous.

Since the tour guide was responsible for arranging the passengers' stops, the first two could be ruled out.

Who would go to a graveyard or a hospital for fun during a trip? Therefore, the answer must lie between Sunny Volcano and Misty Forest.

As for which specific stop would allow them to survive, that would depend on the upcoming intelligence.

Shortly after, the Chosen Ones discovered a slip of paper tucked into a crevice in their seats, which contained several rules.

(End of Chapter)