In the pitch-black interior of the bus, apart from the front and rear windshields, only the three windows on the left and right let in the eerie, chaotic light from outside.
{Open it, and it will eat away your lifespan.}
Huang Xu stared at the door in front of him.
It looked no different than usual, yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that if he pushed it open, he would step into a vast new world…
At the cost of… his lifespan…
{Hesitating? Right, there are so many people on this bus. Why should I be the one to take the fall?}
He glanced back at the few passengers sitting in the grim seats, watching him with cold detachment. Their eyes were venomous, as if they had made up their minds—either he opened the door for them, or they would all die together.
–A bunch of bastards who ought to rot in hell,–
Huang Xu muttered under his breath, then reached out and touched the handle. A greasy, slippery sensation met his fingers, as if he were touching a living membrane.
–Director Huang, you actually believe that bullshit?–
–Guess we’ll find out.– Huang Xu’s voice dripped with resentment. Face twisted with hatred, he yanked the handle. –Eat as much of my life as you want, just fucking open up!–
Swish!
The door slid aside with a sharp whoosh. Beyond the gloomy cabin lay a dark, wooded road, but in the distance glimmered a hazy, warm otherworldly city.
–It actually worked?–
The people in the carriage suddenly stood up. The door that had been impossible to open moments earlier was now actually open, and they immediately scrambled to rush out.
Huang Xu, who had aged decades in an instant, stepped out of the car. He turned to look at the seven or eight people jostling to get to him, a conflicted expression on his face.
{If they die here, you can take their lifespan.}
At this inopportune moment, the flickering monitor emitted a seductive voice.
Huang Xu’s face tensed. He closed his eyes, grabbed the door handle, and said, –Then all of you can die, you ungrateful bastards!–
……
–I… just dreamt of that car?– Huang Xu frowned, lying beside the work shed table. The camp was utterly silent. He looked around—somehow everyone was asleep.
In the dim light, a small orb descended. Inside it materialized a cool little elf boy.
–You failed, you big idiot.–
–Huh? Failed?– Huang Xu was taken aback.
Without another word, the elf darted over to several people lying on the ground, snoring loudly.
Behind him, a drowsy voice came, –Huh? When did I fall asleep?–
One person rubbed his eyes and got up, followed by another.
A little reporter appeared, and Huang Xu immediately became alert. Was someone attacking this place? He grabbed the luggage beside him—some cold-proof work clothes and food distributed to the workers by Rose Creek. Then he stepped out of the shed and glanced at the towering, elegant hall in the distance.
He had heard that the big client’s cargo team was inside that hall. His emotions were conflicted, but after a moment’s thought, Huang Xu made an unequivocal decision to leave early. He didn’t want any familiar person to see him in such a down-and-out state.
……
In the hall where the campfire crackled and burned quietly, a few whispers gradually rose.
{Congratulations, baby Yuanyuan, for successfully passing the 【Joint Entry Mental Strength and Good-Evil Tendency Test Assessment】 of the 【Lost Illusion Company】.}
{Baby Yuanyuan’s peak mental strength assessment is second ring, second order, and your good-evil tendency is positive three~}
Whoosh! As soon as this sharp, tiny voice finished speaking, the little elf hovering beside Xu Aiyuan’s head shot upward.
Sleepy-eyed Xu Aiyuan looked at her intact wine-red clothes in confusion, then touched the flower at her collar.
The embroidered rose opened a delicate eye as fine as a petal, glanced at her, and said:
{Finally awake, was it fun?}
–Just a dream?- Xu Aiyuan’s voice, cool as jade, murmured. Then she immediately realized—she must have been hit by a psychic attack.
She looked around warily, as if facing a formidable enemy, then raised her head to gaze at a small orb of light above. A little elf zipped out of it and soared high into the sky, as if too embarrassed to show its face to her.
–Am I drunk?-
One by one, people woke up.
–Hey, how did we all get drunk? Hey hey hey, guys, I just dreamed about you all.-
–I dreamed about you too. Wait—I failed? What does that mean?-
The little elf above, as if spotting a lifesaver, flew over and, with a grand swagger, pointed its tiny finger at the few people who had just woken up at the table.
–You bunch—you, you, you, and you—all negative points!-
–Huh?-
……
Xu Aiyuan looked at the young man lying beside her, still sound asleep, his body reeking of alcohol, with a faint, hazy layer of energy vaguely shimmering on him.
Xu Aiyuan reached out her fair hand to touch the man’s cheek, but the energy layer completely repelled it.
The ball of light flew down and landed on Xu Aiyuan’s shoulder.
The little spirit whispered:
{Want to see what this bad guy is doing inside?}
Xu Aiyuan glanced at it, then nodded slightly, a faint smile curling at the corners of her lips.
{Hehe.}
The impish little creature immediately reached out a tiny hand and pressed gently on Xu Aiyuan’s temple.
In an instant, Xu Aiyuan felt as if she had stepped into a lucid, hazy dream, watching as countless figures floated around her, huddled together in terror as they fought off the wildly thrashing, powerful bandages.
—{My ability is to burn life… Within this range, Nen abilities are nullified…}
–Ah.- Xu Aiyuan gently covered her mouth. After glancing at the sorrowful Lin Site, her gaze quickly swept across the edge of the hall, where the thin man’s body lay by the soup pot against the wall, still clutching a piece of firewood that had never made it into the iron furnace.
She saw a light like splendid brocade spreading and burning, swiftly erasing the bandages around it.
–Is this something Xiao Lin can do?-
{Yes, indeed. His ability is no longer ordinary Nen ability. Well, it’s okay to reveal this to those who passed the assessment. Nen abilities come in many forms—some are simple mental enhancement, while others, because their energy is so pure, have already resonated with the bloodline… That’s all I know.}
The little elf was a bit embarrassed.
Xu Aiyuan nodded. To think such an incredible person had been hiding right beside her.
{Take a peek, Yuanyuan baby—I’m about to get busy. Also, a Lost Illusion company is already preparing a job invitation for you.}
The little elf flew up, dissolving into a faint glow, as if merging into the overlapping phantoms that filled the hall.
With the rapid disappearance of the elf, Xu Aiyuan saw Lin Site, who had just ignited the psionic flame, instantly lose the support of his ability.
Xu Aiyuan tensed up immediately.
Someone had actually murdered this life-offering person!
Fortunately, it was only done by the little journalist.
Within two seconds, Lin Site propped himself up with a dazed look, then saw several figures looking over from beside the table, among them the gentle gaze of the person who had appeared many times in his dreams.
{Congrats, little Tete, you passed the test quota just like that!}
A small elf flew down.
{Originally, this wasn’t meant to be everyone’s test opportunity. It’s so great that you made it through!}
Realizing what had happened, Lin Site’s face blushed bright red.
The noise in the hall grew louder. The energy layers on Morri and Boboli faded away.
{The test was good, but your performance wasn’t that impressive~}
The awakened Boboli heard this voice first.
–What?-
On the other side, the red-haired youth opened his eyes in confusion. He first glanced at Xiao Yushan, who had also woken up clutching the back of his neck, then scrambled backward several steps.
–You, you, you—are you real or not?-
Xiao Yushan stared blankly at the youth who was questioning him, –?-
Captain Qin said hoarsely, –Are we really awake?-
–Someone slap me.-
Slap! Slap, slap.
–Ow, what the hell—go easy.-
Everyone had already realized they’d been pulled into a real dream without knowing when… The same people, but the atmosphere here had become extremely strange and awkward.
Some were almost digging out a luxury villa with their big toes from sheer cringe.
Suddenly, everyone’s gaze fell on the center of the long table.
The faint energy layer on Yang Zicang’s body began to dissipate!
–Hey! Yang Zicang.–
The crowd swarmed over, even Lin Site ran over worriedly from a distance.
The drowsy youth lifted his head to glance at everyone, then flopped back onto the table with a thud.
Soon, a loud snore rang out.
–Ah… you scared me.– Several people wiped the sweat from their foreheads and exchanged glances. Then they looked at Lin Site, and then at the Rose Queen.
Lin Site blushed and quickly changed the subject:
–Who was behind that assassination just now?–
Everyone looked up at once. The small ball of light zipped away into the distance.
……
As the night deepened, after discussing with Boboli, Morri had Boboli take the invisibility ability orb back to Hub Town—the safest place—while he continued distributing the remaining –Proxy Training Contracts– before requesting the Celebrity Train to come pick them up.
Yang Zicang was carried into the only bedroom at the back of the stone hall.
–Boss lady.– A lively girl approached. –That guy just went into your room? Even the Evil Thought Blade hasn’t set foot in there for ages.–
The girl felt a little sorry for the already vanished Flowing Cloud Dao.
Xu Aiyuan gazed at the empty hall. –I’ll stay here tonight.-
She sat quietly at the long, empty table. Only two or three young women accompanied her, some reading, others dozing with their heads on the desk.
As the hall grew quieter and quieter, the only sound left was the crackling of sparks.
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